Capital, my dear man

Via Real Clear Politics

"There are three major areas a corporation, small or large, has to worry about: health care costs, energy costs and the cost of money. In each of these, the administration either has or is planning regulations worth thousands of pages which (a) are going to raise costs, as we know, but also are going to interact in ways that nobody understands and are going to create uncertainty. If you're trying to figure out who you're going to hire and how many, and you have no idea if you're going to be able to afford the extra health care costs, you're not going to hire. With energy and cap and trade, you know it's going to increase the cost of energy, and, with the cost of money, the financial regulations are not just going to affect the big banks, but this consumer agency is going to involve itself and regulate every kind of lending, from auto dealers to shirt makers. So, in every area, there's going to be an increase in uncertainty, you know the increase in regulation. And when you don't know what's going to happen, you don't invest. We are having a capital strike."

Charles Krauthammer.

Coming soon!

From Jolly Old England this cheering news:

Patients were routinely neglected or left "sobbing and humiliated" by staff at an NHS trust where at least 400 deaths have been linked to appalling care.

An independent inquiry found that managers at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust stopped providing safe care because they were preoccupied with government targets and cutting costs.

Must rein in those costs. Oh bother, all these troublesome patients costing money and causing us to miss our targets. So many old, wretched and disgusting ones too!

New Home Sales Lowest On Record

Unexpectedly! It's only going to get worse, darlings.

Backdoor Taxes

It's what you've been waiting for, darlings.

Backdoor taxes to hit the middle class.

The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.

(snip)

The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010.

If the provisions are allowed to expire on December 31, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.

(snip)

Millions of middle-class households already may be facing higher taxes in 2010 because Congress has failed to extend tax breaks that expired on January 1, most notably a "patch" that limited the impact of the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, initially designed to prevent the very rich from avoiding income taxes, was never indexed for inflation. Now the tax is affecting millions of middle-income households, but lawmakers have been reluctant to repeal it because it has become a key source of revenue.

Ah, dish it out for Barry, and feel noble while doing it.

And more on the president's speech in Cairo

It's not what you say, darling, it's just that you look so good saying it! The NY Times: "The 55-minute speech was remarkable and historic not so much for the delivery or even the words, but for the context, the orator, the moment."

Allahpundit cattily remarks:

When you’ve got the media calling you an oratorical genius notwithstanding the content or delivery of your speeches, you’ve got it made, kid.

Barry is so charming - he doesn't need to be burdened with all those boring things like substance, vision and insight. What a wonderful presidency this is turning out to be.

Obama butters them up

In the news today, President Barack Obama made just a lovely speech to the Muslim world in Cairo:

With his trademark humility, President Obama noted in his speech this morning that "change cannot happen overnight" and that one speech in Cairo -- even delivered by him -- will not bring about world peace.

The question, darlings, is how many speeches in Cairo will it take to bring about world peace? If one is not enough, surely President Barry can muster up at least a dozen or so more. Is it not worth it?