Blaming Bush

I’m getting real weary of the Liberal Left excusing our government’s ineptitude by saying our problems are due to President Bush. Sure we were in debt under Bush but that does not excuse a dramatic 10x growth in our nation’s debt. Yes, the recession started at the end of the Bush Presidency but that does not excuse bail-outs and government take-over of businesses. And raising taxes to pay for a bloated government is no way to grow jobs.

People lament the loss of manufacturing jobs that go off shore but one of the major factors causing this to happen is a growing tax burden on corporations. And perhaps worse than the actual taxes is the uncertainty over regulations that make a big difference on the profitability of a business. Companies are just not taking risks because of this and that means there are fewer jobs created as a result.

The Whitehouse and Congress is now working on a “jobs bill” that is really just another stimulus spending bill which we know is really just more pork barrel hand-outs to favored special interest groups. The strategy of trying to spend our way out of a recession will cause our recession to get worse. I know that is the case because Japan has been doing that for the past decade and all they have to show for it is mounting debt that is 190 percent of their GDP.

I know that some will look at Japan and say the U.S. debt at 70 percent of GDP is not as bad off as Japan and they have not melted down yet so we have room to spend more. But, the U.S. is not Japan because the personal saving rate is way lower here than in Japan. And our ability to spend more is only propped up by China and others being willing to fund our debt which may be reaching a tipping point.

I’d like to think that Obama and his ideological compatriots will realize that their policies are damaging our economy and change their ways. But Nancy Pelosi promised to ram through the government take over of health care against the will of the people. And I expect Obama and his defenders will go on blaming Bush for what ails us so that they don’t have to worry about the consequences of their actions. While all this sounds distressing, I am encouraged when I remember that God is in control even when we are ruled over by evil people.

God is allowing our government to damage our economy for a reason. I’m convinced that the demise of the United States as an economic super power is necessary to make way for a world-wide government. There may well be other reasons that I am not aware of. But, “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, NKJ).