So it looks like President Obama will get his health care bill passed.  But at what cost?

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/12/21/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6006838.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody

So much for change we can believe in.  This is old-style bribery.  A key senator in Nebraska got the federal government to start paying for his state’s share of Medicaid costs.  A senator in Louisiana got a similar pledge.  And a senator in Florida got special protections for seniors in his state who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.

This is how health care reform was passed?  Not by writing a good bill but by running up a bill that the taxpayers will have to pay for?

This week we are continuing our series on “what’s in the news” and we begin with oil prices:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126110607887196613.html

As the article notes:

“Oil prices have risen nearly 60% this year, thanks in part to OPEC production cuts. But the cartel faces problems heading into 2010. Some members, such as Iraq and Venezuela, are increasing output even as OPEC tries to purge a huge buildup of oil. And waning stimulus efforts could pinch consumer demand for oil in industrialized nations.”

In other words, even though we are experiencing a recession, oil prices are going up because OPEC has restricted production. So the question is: how long will we Americans allow OPEC to hold a gun to our heads?

The time has come for the US to quit importing its energy and start producing it right here and right now.

This week we’ve been blogging about Washington’s ideas that don’t make sense and don’t work. Today, we look at the impact these policies are having on how the American people view the Democratic Party:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126100346902694549.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

Support for the Democratic Party has fallen dramatically.  As the article notes:

“In December’s survey, for the first time, less than half of Americans approved of the job Barack Obama is doing, marking a steeper first-year fall for this president than his recent predecessors. Also for the first time this year, the electorate is split when asked which party they would like to see in charge after the 2010 elections. For months, a clear plurality favored Democratic control.”

Duh! The Democrats pursue policies that don’t make any sense and the public turns on them. Maybe they should try something else.

Remember when the Obama stimulus was going to turn the economy around?  These days, the White House doesn’t even pretend to believe that anymore:

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1209/stimulus_big_enough_d73b7ad9-b743-4181-92fa-bfb2bcadbe6f.html

As the article notes, the White House now sheepishly says that “we got what we could get” with the stimulus package and that it was the “political load that could be carried.”

What?  So we passed a $787 billion spending bill not because it would work but because it was politically feasible?  No wonder the stimulus hasn’t worked.  It wasn’t designed to work.  Instead it was designed to show the government busy doing something.  But as a great writer once put it, there is a difference between motion and action.  The Obama White House has given us lots of motion and little action.

But here’s the sad part: the White House is talking about doing even more to “stimulate” the economy.  I say “no thanks” to that.  Let’s let entrepeneurs and business leaders lead this economy.  We don’t need anymore of Washington’s “political load.”

Remember when the Obama stimulus was going to turn the economy around?  These days, the White House doesn’t even pretend to believe that anymore:

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1209/stimulus_big_enough_d73b7ad9-b743-4181-92fa-bfb2bcadbe6f.html

As the article notes, the White House now sheepishly says that “we got what we could get” with the stimulus package and that it was the “political load that could be carried.”

What?  So we passed a $787 billion spending bill not because it would work but because it was politically feasible?  No wonder the stimulus hasn’t worked.  It wasn’t designed to work.  Instead it was designed to show the government busy doing something.  But as a great writer once put it, there is a difference between motion and action.  The Obama White House has given us lots of motion and little action.

But here’s the sad part: the White House is talking about doing even more to “stimulate” the economy.  I say “no thanks” to that.  Let’s let entrepeneurs and business leaders lead this economy.  We don’t need anymore of Washington’s “political load.”

Remember the story about the couple of who attended a State Dinner at the White House without an invitation?  Evidently, this isn’t the only example of the White House security messing up:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091216/D9CK7BAO0.html

So this nice couple from Georgia shows up at the White House for a tour, accidentally ends up at a meeting with the president, tells the staff they don’t belong and are told to just “go with the flow”? Incredible. As the story notes:

“So the Dardens served themselves at the buffet, and took their seats. Shortly thereafter, Barack and Michelle Obama arrived and began talking and getting photographs with guests at each table. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, also stopped by. Darden said it was ‘quite a treat’ to meet the Obamas and the Bidens. But he remains puzzled about how he was escorted into a private breakfast – and he grew a little anxious after the Salahi episode exploded in the news. The couple’s only regret, Darden said, is that they haven’t received a copy of that picture taken with the Obamas.”

After an episode like this, why does the White House want us to believe it can manage the car industry or health care?  They can’t even manage a dinner party.

So President Obama has given up on a government-run health insurance plan.  His new idea?  Allowing people younger than 65 to buy-into Medicare:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091214/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_overhaul

Come again?  At a time that the Medicare ship is sinking, political leaders in Washington are seriously considering adding more people on deck?

“It calls for jettisoning a plan for government-run insurance that Reid had initially placed in the measure. In its place would be the expansion of Medicare, alongside a system of nationwide plans to be offered by private insurers and overseen by the federal agency that supervises the health care system that members of Congress use.”

This is another great example of Washington’s cure being worse than the disease.  No other industry in America would consider adding more people to a program that is going broke.

What is Washington thinking?

This week we continue our series on what’s in the news.  A few days ago, I blogged about the federal government giving pay raises to its employees while the economy is in a recession.  Well, the story just got even more bizarre:

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=428&sid=1838232

Evidently, the federal government can’t get these same employees to pay taxes!  As the article notes:

“Federal workers owe more than $3 billion in income taxes they failed to pay in 2008. According to Internal Revenue Service documents, 276,300 federal employees and retirees owe $3,042,200,000.”

Incredible.  While the rest of the country is suffering, civil servants are getting a pay raise and yet still can’t pay their taxes!

Here is another classic example of why you shouldn’t put too much faith in government efforts to jump start the economy:
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20091211/1afedpay11_st.art.htm?loc=interstitialskip

So, in the midst of one of the worst recessions in memory, the only people making money are civil servants!  According to this story:

“Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession’s first 18 months — and that’s before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.”

In other words, one out of every five federal employees now makes more than a $100,000.  Incredible.  I guess when the president talked about a jobs stimulus plan, he meant people who work for the public sector, not the private sector.

File this one in the category of “believe it when you see it.”

Remember when the government was going to help people with their mortgages?  I didn’t think it would happen. Well, I was wrong.  The government has helped them…all 31,000 of them:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9CGKQB02&show_article=1

In other words, this much hyped plan to help people hold onto their homes has helped only a handful of people in a country with tens of millions of homeowners.

This is another good reminder to not believe everything you hear from the government.  I continue to say “believe it when you see it.”

Here is why you should be concerned about the government running health care: it can’t even stop carp.

In the Mississippi River, the torpedo-shaped Asian carp often leap out of the water as boats are approaching. But more serious than the danger they pose to ships is the danger they pose to other fish. They prey on other species and because they are so large pose a real threat to smaller fish. As the carp continue swimming north in the Mississippi, they could endanger the recreational fishing industry in the Great Lakes.

So here comes the government to save the day.

First, fish poison was pumped into the water to kill the carp. But it hasn’t worked. Now the government is considering separating the Great Lakes from the Mississippi water basin.

The question is: if the government can’t stop the carp, how can it run health care, or win a war or turn the economy around?

Here is why you should be concerned about the government running health care: it can’t even stop carp.

In the Mississippi River, the torpedo-shaped Asian carp often leap out of the water as boats are approaching. But more serious than the danger they pose to ships is the danger they pose to other fish. They prey on other species and because they are so large pose a real threat to smaller fish. As the carp continue swimming north in the Mississippi, they could endanger the recreational fishing industry in the Great Lakes.

So here comes the government to save the day.

First, fish poison was pumped into the water to kill the carp. But it hasn’t worked. Now the government is considering separating the Great Lakes from the Mississippi water basin.

The question is: if the government can’t stop the carp, how can it run health care, or win a war or turn the economy around?

This week on the blog we’re starting a new series: News of the Day.

Each day this week, we’ll take a look at some story in the news that you may have missed but that might have an impact on you, your family and your business.

So check in each day this week as we look at what’s in the news and what it means to you.

Today we end our series on housing by looking at the bright side.

There are simple steps that the government can take today to help turn around the housing market of tomorrow.

First, we need to slow down federal spending. If we don’t we are heading toward inflation, and that will make housing even more expensive and negatively impact the housing market. If we can slow down spending, we can help strengthen the overall economy, which will help strengthen the housing sector.

Second, we need to stop the process of encouraging loans for folks who don’t need them or can’t afford them. Subprime mortgages helped start this contagion. And we need to end that process.

Third, we need to provide incentives for home purchases. The first-time home owner’s tax credit should be extended, for example.

With these three steps, we could help speed up the recovery of the housing market and the entire economy.

Don’t take my word for it that the housing crisis is not over:

http://www.reuters.com/article/gc03/idUSTRE5B14TY20091202

Mark Zandi is the chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. This week, he gave an interview to Reuters and predicted: “The housing crash is not over.”

Zandi noted that home prices in some areas have been going up. He thinks the reason for this is that foreclosure sales declined over the last few months.

“This lull in foreclosures sales has resulted in the price gains in the past few months,” he said.

Zandi also argued, as I do, that things will get worse, not better:

“Foreclosure sales will increase, and home prices will resume their decline by early 2010 as mortgage servicers figure out who will not qualify for a modification,” he said.

Today, the Federal Housing Authority will announce plans to protect its declining reserves:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125972834950872387.html

“Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, plans to ask Congress on Wednesday to raise the cap on the annual insurance premium that the FHA can charge borrowers. In testimony before a congressional panel, he will also outline steps the agency is considering to set minimum credit scores, to require home buyers to put more money down, and to make lenders more accountable for loans that the agency insures.”

Doesn’t that make you feel better about the housing market? Me neither. If FHA is going to start raising premiums on borrowers, how is that going to help the housing market rebound?

It’s not. That’s why I still believe the housing crisis is going to be worse before it gets better.

The Federal Housing Authority may be in trouble:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/12/AR2009111210694.html

This is the federal organization that insures lenders against default. Yet according to this article, the FHA has a major cash flow challenge:

“The Federal Housing Administration’s cash reserves have shrunk to a level far below what is required by law, and the agency could need taxpayer funding if worst-case scenarios play out, according to an independent audit designed to measure the agency’s financial soundness.”

In other words, if the FHA can’t fix this problem on its own, you and I will be fixing it by paying for yet another bailout package.