A Quick Little Shot of DOOM!

(All hail the mighty Slublog for the graphic.)

While I labor on part 3 of my "basics of economics" series (Savings, Credit, Debt, and Banking), I thought it wise to remind you that DOOM! still lurks close by. You know, in case your mood had improved or you were thinking of being happy today.

President Obama's speech didn't exactly thrill Congressman Paul Ryan, who'd been specifically invited to attend. You might say that Obama's partisan, hectoring, mean-spirited speech pissed him right off, in fact. It's kind of like being invited to a party only to find that the point of the whole party was to insult you.

The WSJ wasn't feeling the love either. Our very own Ace shat on it from a great height yesterday. The Hammer thought it was "a disgrace". So to whatever juiceboxer Obama detailed to write that abomination of a speech, congratulations! You certainly had an impact!

Many rank-and-file Republicans have become rather dispirited at how little "there" is there in the hard-fought Continuing Resolution spending bill that House Speaker Boehner proudly announced early in the week. Mark Steyn captures some of the ennui:

At some point, you have to close a cabinet department just to show you’re serious. Instead, the governing class is sending the message that the political institutions of the United States are so diseased they do not permit meaningful course correction.

To the looming public-sector pension "bomb", the housing "bomb", the Medicare "bomb", the Social Security "bomb", and the real actual Iranian "bomb", we can now add the "tax and debt bomb". We've got so many bombs up in here we oughta open up a bomb store. Complete destruction, now 10% off! Every bomb must go!

This just in from rdbrewer: Jobless claims jump by 27,000 to 412,000. All together now -- unexpectedly!

And yes...California and Illinois are still boned.

[UPDATE 1]: Here's a good policy-level discussion of what Obama's budget alternative really means in fiscal terms. (I can summarize it: much higher taxes, not much in terms of reduced spending. And it doesn't touch entitlement spending at all.)

[UPDATE 2]: A reminder -- Atlas Shrugged opens tomorrow. I've never been a huge fan of the book -- I think The Fountainhead is a far better work -- but I'm going to see the movie. It feels almost like a duty to go see it at this point.

posted by Monty at 08:34 AM

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