Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Liberal prophesies in review

Democrats are perpetually outraged at how some conservative policy will inevitably lead to disaster.  So, it is occasionally useful to review their predictions as Steven Hayward has done here regarding Reagan's decontrol of oil prices in 1981:
Liberals reacted with horror, predicting the price of gasoline—then about $1.40 a gallon—would soar. Sen. Don Riegle of Michigan said that “It will hurt our people within a matter of days.” Sen. Dale Bumpers of Arkansas predicted that “without rationing, gasoline will soon go to $3 a gallon.” Congressman (now Senator) Ed Markey said “I believe that decontrol as a cure will prove to be worse than the disease of oil addiction.” Sen. George Mitchell said “Every citizen and every family will find their living standards reduced by this decision.” What actually happened? Sure enough, oil prices started falling immediately, with gasoline drifting down to 89 cents a gallon by 1986. The liberal prophecies disappeared down a memory hole.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Obama thinks you're a fool

This is the latest email from  the Orwellian-named "truth team" at BarackObama.com:
Here's an Obamacare number that's hard to argue with:

1.2 million.

That's how many Americans have signed up for coverage so far since October, according to new data released this week.

This is exactly why people like us fought so hard for reform for so long -- to actually help people get better, more affordable care. These are results worth writing home, or at least on Facebook and Twitter, about.

Share this number far and wide today....

The anti-Obamacare crowd might have more money than our side does, but they don't have numbers like this. This is great news, and shows we're definitely moving in the right direction -- but we're not done yet. So while they keep running their messaging wars with deception and scare tactics, there's nothing better than fighting back with facts like this.

Share the news about these 1.2 million Americans with your friends and family on Facebook....
They don't mention that 5 million people have lost their health insurance (and millions more in the future) because of Obamacare.  Yet only, even if we unwisely accept their number at face value, 1.2M have "signed up."  That is a net loss, so far, of 3.8 million insurance policies.

Who buys "designer" brands?

According to a marketing consultant, it is the insecure who overpay for status:
“There is a direct correlation between lack of self-esteem and the brands you buy," says marketing consultant Martin Lindstrom. "The less self-esteem, the more brands you wrap yourself in.”
For more, see the full article on Bloomberg.com.
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