A series of bailouts, bank rescues and other economic lifelines could end up costing the federal government as much as $23 trillion, the U.S. government’s watchdog over the effort says – a staggering amount that is nearly double the nation’s entire economic output for a year.

If the feds end up spending that amount, it could be more than the federal government has spent on any single effort in American history. Read the rest of this entry »

By Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 20, 2009 5:04 PM

The Obama administration is delaying release of a congressionally mandated report on the nation’s economic conditions, spawning speculation that it is trying to tamp down bad economic news to avoid further complicating the already fraught legislative debate over health care reform.

The report, which is normally published by late July, is being delayed by several weeks, the administration acknowledged on Monday. Officials said the hold-up is not unusual in presidential transition years, noting that Presidents George W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton each published their initial budget updates weeks late. Read the rest of this entry »

Three House Democratic leaders who were whipping members on the climate change bill gave tens of thousands in campaign cash to party moderates around the time of the 219-212 vote on June 26, according to Federal Election Commission records.

It’s impossible to tell if that torrent of cash was an attempt to schmear wavering Democrats — or just part of the usual cash dump made by leaders on the eve of the June 30 quarterly fundraising deadline.

Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) doled out $28,000 to reps who eventually voted yes on June 24, two days before the big vote — on a day when House leaders were doing some heavy-duty arm-twisting. Read the rest of this entry »

By JIM KUHNHENN

WASHINGTON (AP) — With four simple words — “Give it to me!” — President Barack Obama took possession of the economy.

For months, the White House and Obama’s economic team have laid the economic crisis at the feet of President George W. Bush. But there comes a point in a presidency when inheritance becomes ownership. Obama made that pivot Tuesday in Michigan, the state suffering the worst unemployment in the nation.

“I love these folks who helped get us in this mess and then suddenly say, ‘Well, this is Obama’s economy,’” the president said in a pointed deviation from his prepared text. “That’s fine. Give it to me!” Read the rest of this entry »

Phil Kerpen – FOXNews.com – July 15, 2009

Guess what? Everything we’ve ever heard about the Democrats plan for health care reform is true. And it’s not a pretty picture.

The House Democrats released their long-awaited draft health care reform bill today, and every rumor about what tax hikes would be included was true–and then some. My friend Ryan Ellis over at Americans for Tax Reform posted the details. Read the rest of this entry »

Phil Kerpen – FOXNews.com – July 14, 2009

In the bizarre through-the-looking-glass world of Washington these days, maybe it should come as no surprise that the reaction to the failure of the stimulus bill is to call for more of the same.

The deficit today crossed the startling trillion dollar threshold, a number never before even contemplated for a full year of federal borrowing, but that we have now breezed through in just half a year. Such a deficit represents a crushing future tax burden for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren — who will pay back every penny with interest. The so-called stimulus bill was slammed through on partisan lines despite the overwhelming anger of almost everyone who was paying attention. The bill, we were told, was our economic salvation (purely a coincidence, of course, that it happened to contain every item on the left’s big government wish list). Now the verdict is in, and it’s ugly. Read the rest of this entry »

by Doc Hastings

With 9.5 percent of Americans out of work and rumors of yet another costly stimulus, President Obama and White House officials regularly say that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to getting our economy back on track.

But after six months in office, President Obama should revise his statement to reflect his Administration’s unspoken policy that “nothing is off the table – except for the creation of many types of energy jobs.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Stephen Gandel

The $787 billion stimulus plan is turning out to be far less stimulating than its architects expected.

Back in early January, when Barack Obama was still President-elect, two of his chief economic advisers — leading proponents of a stimulus bill — predicted that the passage of a large economic-aid package would boost the economy and keep the unemployment rate below 8%. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Last month, the jobless rate in the U.S. hit 9.5%, the highest level it has reached since 1983. Read the rest of this entry »