McCain leading Obama on the economy as common sense lights itself on fire

Sorry, Sports Guy, I had to borrow your catchphrase, because things have really gotten that silly.

Today's news brings us word that John McCain (McBush, McPow, McDouche) has opened a lead in polls asking Americans who they think would be a better steward of our economy. As NYT columnist Paul Krugman points out, this is mainly Obama's doing. It's hard to get folks on your side when you vacation in Hawai'i during the election and if your economy speechs are so riddled with statistics that the average person gets lost in the numbers. To Obama's credit, however, he's hitting back with some solid ads in battleground states (saw one last night - it was very good).

What's most troubling about this turn of events is what seems to at the core of McCain's bump - offshore drilling and gas prices. We've damn near hit stagflation (stagnant job growth + inflation) on account of rising gas prices and a U.S. economy that's struggling to readjust. To an economic layperson like myself, the root of our economic problems appears geared to our dependence on oil. Our economy is built around cheap oil, and it so thoroughly infused in our daily lives that when the price of oil jumps, not only does the cost of everything jump, but also our business stop growing.

The solution, one would think, is simple. To borrow a term from conservative economist and former Fed Chairman Allen Greenspan, we need a little creative destruction (I know, he didn't figure this one out, but his book explains it well). Our nation needs to restructure the economy not just to ween itself off oil, but to also to make itself generally more efficient. We've seen what happens when we tie our economic fortunes to one type of energy: we fail. It's like all those Red Sox teams that were built on power hitting alone - great on paper, but utterly decimated by good pitching. The rising price of oil, to make a terrible analogy, is like good pitching.

And this is why it's utterly mystifying why John McCain should be considered stronger on the economy. The sum total of his economic and energy policy lately has been off-shore drilling, which equates to continuing dependency on oil (to be clear, he's also a tax-cut-aholic, but energy is the main concern now). Are we merely so frightened by the price at the pump that we're willing to do anything to pay less for gas, or are we Americans truly ignorant regarding the economy? To borrow from Simmons again, common sense is about to light itself on fire, and probably jump out the window to make sure. This is absurd.

Here's to hoping that Obama gets the message and clears up his act. He's a gifted orator, he knows the problems with the economy, and he has a better way to fix them (or at least a credible one). We can't afford four years of McCain.

Dews Wednesday wrap-it-up

Rumors of my death were again greatly exaggerated, but I enjoy falling off the grid for a day to raise questions :)

Busy things going on for me with work seemingly still crazy and looking for new apartments for myself and some others (as well as an overactive nightlife it seems) have contributed to a sub-par amount of postings from myself, but I shall do my best to fix that from time to time...

Anyway, on to the news of the day...

Leading off, some extremely disturbing news about the treatment of Vets suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Apparently Fort Benning has decided that the most appropriate location for people with said disorder (which can commonly be triggered by loud noises that could mimic, oh, gunfire maybe?), is next to a firing range.

Across the street from their assigned housing, about 200 yards away, are some of the Army infantry's main firing ranges, and day and night, several days each week, barrages from rifles and machine guns echo around Strickland's building. The noise makes the wounded cringe, startle in their formations, and stay awake and on edge, according to several soldiers interviewed at the barracks last month. The gunfire recently sent one soldier to the emergency room with an anxiety attack, they said.

Great decisions all around for the Army here, but what else is new?

In a sign of how much the poor Oil industry is obviously suffering, its rumored that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council is trying to purchase a 75% stake in the famous Chrysler building in Mid-town New York...

Sources say the super-rich Abu Dhabi Investment Council is negotiating an $800 million deal for a 75 percent stake in the Art Deco treasure that has defined the Midtown skyline since 1930.

Again, my heart goes out to these long-suffering oil barons that I am SURE are feeling the pinch from this whole Oil pricing problem we seem to be having....

Finally, my solemn sympathies for the City of Boston for having your hearts handed to you by a late comeback by my scrappy Baltimore Orioles (oh yea, and they lost some basketball game too I think).

Better luck next time you pink hat wearing popped collared douche bags! :)

That is all...

Oil!

The big news of the day; other than Pakistan's continual denial of any Bhutto assassination involvement by hiring Scotland Yard detectives to further investigate, was that the cost of a barrel of oil is dangerously close to hitting the $100 mark. We have known this for quite sometime that this milestone was approaching. But we have never reached this high. Way back in my college days I had a college economics professor tell the class just about everyday (And actually put this argument into his quiz's to make sure we were paying attention) that if the cost of oil ever hit $100 dollars that we are FUBAR. He compared 100 dollars/barrel to 12:00 on the doomsday clock.

Now this was back in 1999, and we labeled him as "a madman". Perhaps there was some wisdom in his madman rants. Salaries are stagnant (if not lowering) the job market is drying up, people are losing their homes, tuition rates are at an all-time high, we are engaged in a pointless and expensive war, and of course half this nation doesn't have 2 credit cards to rub together. Perhaps the oil issue is the catalyst that will nudge our economy down that inevitable path toward recession.

Every time I read an "oil crisis" article I think back to my college days and realize how right that guy really was. G*d I miss college sometimes. Enjoy my "madman" rant of the day.....