Richard Epstein in Hoover’s Defining Ideas:

What is so striking about Obama’s shopworn rhetoric is its juvenile intellectual quality. His explanation for how the AJA will create jobs is a non-starter because he does not explain how we get from here to there. As in so many other cases, the president thinks that waving a wand over a problem will make his most ardent wishes come true, even when similar earlier efforts have proved to be dismal failures. This dreadful hodgepodge of a bill will likely be dead-on-arrival in Congress, but it remains a patriotic duty to explicate some of its worst provisions.

The most evident feature of the AJA is that it is a combination of ill-conceived, disparate measures. The wandering quality of the bill makes it impossible to cover all of its silliness, but it is possible to focus on some of the core job provisions, all of which kill the very jobs that the AJA is supposed to create.

One does not have to dip very far into the bill to find trouble. Section 4 of the AJA imposes “Buy American” restrictions on the use of funds appropriated under this statute for work on public buildings. “[A]ll the iron, steel and manufactured goods” used on such projects are to be fabricated in the United States. There are obvious administrative difficulties in deciding what counts as a “manufactured good” for the purposes of the act. But don’t sweat the small stuff.

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This is all that remains of the very popular Ford commercial that went viral on the internet and was featured on cable news channels over the past three weeks:

According to the Detroit News, Ford has pulled the ad due to pressure from the Obama White House:

Ford pulled the ad after individuals inside the White House questioned whether the copy was publicly denigrating the controversial bailout policy CEO Alan Mulally repeatedly supported in the dark days of late 2008, in early ‘09 and again when the ad flap arose. And more.

With President Barack Obama tuning his re-election campaign amid dismal economic conditions and simmering antipathy toward his stimulus spending and associated bailouts, the Ford ad carried the makings of a political liability when Team Obama can least afford yet another one. Can’t have that.

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart.com, the “star” of the popular ad, Chris McDaniel told me he was “a little bit flustered’ by Ford’s decision. He found out about it during a live radio interview this morning.  “I had no idea.  As soon as I got off the interview, I sent an e-mail to Ford’s VP of Marketing.”  He told me,  “I put myself out there on the line.  You either stand behind it or you don’t.”

Ford has not yet returned Mr. McDaniel’s e-mail.

A note posted by Ford Motor Co. on Facebook responding to the controversy says:

“(W)e were not coerced into pulling the ad down. The campaign continues to run. We took the ad out of rotation after 4 weeks which is consistent with the typical lifecycle for the campaign.”

But this explanation is inconsistent with the past practice of Ford and their handling of these commercials.  Other “press conference” style ads that they have produced are still available on YouTube, but the one featuring Chris McDaniel has been removed.

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Sally Pipes, President of the Pacific Research Institute, has written an important article in Forbes analyzing new survey results demonstrating that 87% of medical physicians in the United States no longer view the American Medical Association as representing their views and interests.

Ms. Pipes states: “Much of that dissatisfaction stems from the organization’s support for President Obama’s contentious health care reform package.” The survey, conducted by physician recruitment firm Jackson & Coker, discovered that more than three times as many doctors believed that the quality of American health care would “deteriorate” rather than “improve” under ObamaCare; and nine of ten physicians think ObamaCare will have a negative impact on their profession. Most member driven organizations would collapse with such negative trends; but the AMA survives by collecting up to $70 million from its exclusive relationship with the federal government to provide CPT Codes in direct conflict with medical doctors.

The Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code are maintained by the Chicago-based American Medical Association to describe medical, surgical, and diagnostic services and is designed to communicate a uniform set of information about medical services and procedures to physicians, patients, accreditation organizations, and payers for administrative, financial, and Medicare and Medicaid billing coders. These codes have been designated by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to be published for treatment guidelines and billings.

Federal and state spending on health care is $1.1 trillion; about 42% of all healthcare spending in the U.S. last year. CPT codes set average physician and hospital reimbursement rates. For example the average physician rates for treating Medicare beneficiaries is 81% of the rate private insurers pay and for Medicaid patients the reimbursements are just 56% of the private rate.

American Medical Association 2009 revenue according to “Hoover’s Company Profiles” was $248 million; with $70 million of income coming from “publishing”. This is an especially large percentage of revenue, considering that the AMA membership dues were only $42 million.

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From The Detroit News:

As part of a campaign featuring “real people” explaining their decision to buy the Blue Oval, a guy named “Chris” says he “wasn’t going to buy another car that was bailed out by our government,” according the text of the ad, launched in early September.

“I was going to buy from a manufacturer that’s standing on their own: win, lose, or draw. That’s what America is about is taking the chance to succeed and understanding when you fail that you gotta’ pick yourself up and go back to work.”

That’s what some of America is about, evidently. Because Ford pulled the ad after individuals inside the White House questioned whether the copy was publicly denigrating the controversial bailout policy CEO Alan Mulally repeatedly supported in the dark days of late 2008, in early ‘09 and again when the ad flap arose. And more.

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Even if you are not a free market advocate, anyone who has ever had to wait to hail a cab will appreciate this story.

[MILWAUKEE] The City of Milwaukee limits its number of taxicab licenses to 321, and the Institute for Justice is suing to have the cap removed.

“If you break that cap, they’re going to have competition from a lot more people,” said Anthony Sanders, attorney for the Institute for Justice. “It will take away their monopoly and high value of those permits.”

The Institute filed the lawsuit in Milwaukee County Court on Tuesday morning.  It claims the cap results in a “taxi cartel” that holds a monopoly over the industry in Milwaukee, stifling competition and driving up rates.

The only way to currently get a taxicab permit in Milwaukee is to buy one from an existing taxi company.  They charge $150,000 for one.

People who drive for Milwaukee’s cab companies pay a weekly rental fee, which can cost as much as a thousand dollars a week.  One former driver who is working with the Institute said he only took home $15,000 the last year he drove a cab.

Sanders anticipates a hard fight from the city over this issue that could last a couple years.

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Elizabeth Blackney are joined by Hans von Spakovsky from the Heritage Foundation to discuss the 11th Circuit case against Obamacare that is now headed to the Supreme Court, why this is the most important of the legal challenges, and how the court may rule.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Health reform lawsuit appears headed for Supreme Court
Decision on health-care law means Supreme Court will likely determine constitutionality next summer
Three reasons the White House is taking health reform straight to Supreme Court
Obama Administration Decides Not to Petition for Rehearing in Eleventh Circuit Mandate Case
Hans von Spakovsky at the Heritage Foundation

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Obama is on a swing through the West, promoting his ’save my job’ jobs bill. Yesterday, he “randomly” picked a guy in the audience for a question. The guy just happened to be a rich dude who wants the government to raise his taxes. He also just happens to be an ex-Google exec who has given buckets of cash to Democrats. Ace has a good rundown of some of his generosity.

Today, Obama stumps in Colorado, a state he won by 9 points in 2008. So how are things looking there for him? Not so great:

His fall in Colorado has been especially striking. The last major statewide poll, taken just before the August stock market swoon by the Democratic Public Policy Polling firm found the president under water, with a 46 percent-50 percent approval/disapproval split — a 10-point drop since February. Most alarming, was the collapse of support among the one-third of state voters who identify themselves as unaffiliated independents: 38 percent now approve of Obama, down 14 points from the winter.

FaceBook has launched a political PAC. Is that a face palm, or a clever way to stay ahead of the problems MicroSoft and Google have both encountered?

Perry’s poor showing in the Florida debate and losing the straw poll to Herman Cain have forced him to double-back to reassure his base. It’s early enough  for him to  pull that off, but he can’t afford to allow it to occur again.

The Perry campaign conducted two “tele-town halls,” dialing into the homes of targeted GOP voters across both states and asking them to hold for the governor, according to a South Carolina Republican source who received one of the calls.

Maryland is poised to launch a program intended to ensure that high school graduates are financially literate. Excuse me, but isn’t that precisely what the racist, homophobic Tea Party  has been trying to teach the government for the past few years? If government does anything well, it’s irony.

Franchot has been trying to get the Maryland General Assembly to pass legislation requiring a standalone course in financial literacy as a criterion for graduating high school. The bill has died the last two years, but Franchot says he wants to give lawmakers a petition with 10,000 signatures when they reconvene in January.

Speaking of government, ours is on the road to avoiding a shut-down. Was there ever really any doubt? They always do seem to always enjoy playing the drama out, regardless of the fact that neither party would risk the consequences.

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In yet another example the Obama Administration’s pandering to its union cronies while thumbing its nose at the other 88% of America that is union free, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will be headlining (at taxpayer expense) to an AFL-CIO “summit” later this week in Minneapolis. The subject of the conference? How to unionize young people (and others).

Targeting younger workers has been part of the AFL-CIO’s strategy since Richard Trumka took over the reins of the AFL-CIO in 2009. Elizabeth Shuler, the AFL-CIO’s Secretary Treasurer, has been spearheading the effort and is hosting the “Next Up: Young Workers Summit” in Minneapolis later this week.

The summit was announced back in March on the Communist-run People’s World website:

The AFL-CIO’s new young workers advisory council is taking charge of the movement to invigorate the labor movement – and make its leadership more youthful – says Liz Shuler, the federation’s secretary-treasurer.

One key step, she said, will be a second “Next Up” summit for young workers and activists, to be held in Minneapolis-St. Paul from Sept. 28-Oct. 2.

Shuler has led the effort to make labor’s leadership younger and look more like its members.  The first summit, in D.C. last year, drew approximately 300 delegates from around the country.  Shuler hopes for 800 this time. (more…)

Another opinion poll was released reporting s a deterioration of Barack Obama’s support in the Jewish Community.  What makes this set of results surprising is the poll was conducted by the American Jewish Committee, a group who’s leanings are so liberal,  it chastises more conservative Jewish organizations that criticize Obama’s Israel policy. Another surprise in the survey (at lease for those unfamiliar with Jewish voters) is that Israel is just one of the issues driving Jews away from Obama.

For the first time since his inauguration, the annual  AJC poll shows more Jews disapproving of Obama’s performance than approving. Approval of Obama’s performance declined to 45 percent, and disapproval rose to 48 percent. Last year’s AJC survey reported 51 percent approved, and 44 percent disapproved.

Key areas of  Jewish voter disapproval are the economy (duh), and immigration. Foreign policy is a wash and most Jews approve of  the President’s performance with National Security and Energy.

As expected, the President’s Israel Policy meets with disapproval.

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From the Associated Press;

A bitterly divided and poll-battered Congress has nearly worked its way out of a nasty fight over disaster aid, but only by abruptly abandoning efforts to immediately refill almost empty federal disaster relief accounts.

Instead, with the administration assuring lawmakers that the immediate infusion of $1 billion in disaster money wasn’t needed to avoid a cutoff this week, Senate leaders moved quickly Monday to jettison the money from a pending Democratic measure and instead pass bare-bones legislation to avert a government shutdown at week’s end.

That measure, approved by the Senate on a 79-12 vote, would keep the government running until mid-November.

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When President Obama announced his jobs plan back at the beginning of September, he focused almost exclusively on what the government could do for Americans. He mentioned thousands of “shovel ready” projects that needed the strong arms and constitutions of Americans willing to lend their hands to government-run projects across the country. From his speech, you’d think there were no possible projects in the private sector about to provide thousands of jobs to the growing number of unemployed.

Of course, that perception would be incorrect. While President Obama is pushing government-funded jobs across the country, he is ignoring at least one such private sector initiative awaiting his approval: a private sector initiative that could employ thousands, boost the GDP and help provide the US with energy independence…at absolutely no cost to the American taxpayer. The $7 billion Keystone pipeline project – an oil pipeline spanning the continental United States from the oil sands in Canada to the heart of Texas – is just that project.

Unfortunately, because of the Obama Administration and its cronies in environmental groups, Nebraska government and elsewhere, the Keystone pipeline project, which has the potential to create thousands of jobs, may be in jeopardy.

The Keystone Pipeline would originate in Canada, transporting nearly 150,000 barrels of oil per day from the oil sands in western Canada, down through the United States to refineries in Texas and projects in a handful of other states. Once the Obama Administration approves its construction, it could bring over a million barrels of oil per day to American refineries, boosting a severely lagging oil industry in the Gulf and possibly millions of dollars in revenue to the US. Plus, it would severely decrease our dependence on foreign oil.

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The Solyndra scandal involving the squandering a half a billion taxpayer dollars down a campaign supporter’s rathole, and then subordinating the taxpayer to another of said supporter’s interests in apparent violation of the Energy Policy Act, marches on. And as it does, so do the ramblings of Obama administration apologists sensing the danger posed, and their talking points are becoming increasingly confused.

But one distraction has proved persistent within the repertoire even as others get tried out. It is a new utilitarian “green” talking point, applied so far to the entire suite of folly, from electric cars to windmills, and thus deserves response. That is, we had to make bold moves on this front or face the prospect of falling behind China in the great [insert green boondoggle here] race.

Given that this does not seem to be going away any time soon, please consider the following about the alleged Yellow Peril.

Americans should be far more concerned about Belgium producing better beer, chocolate and Brussels sprouts than us than over the prospect of China developing a superior solar panel. It’s a solar panel. Not Flubber.

I understand that this can be difficult to keep in mind with all of the mysticism attached to anything labeled “green”. But the romantic folly is getting really expensive.

Solar electricity generation was first patented in 1888 and Music Men have sauntered into town ever since vowing revolutionary this and that and cost competitiveness juuust around the corner — it’s always been just around the corner, and always will be — and that they’ve finally fixed the bugs in the system such that it’s now viable…some of which bugs upon scrutiny are actually features (the sun, like the wind, is intermittent, that is, it isn’t an alternative to something that works when you need it, let alone all the time; and it is very diffuse, meaning it takes a lot of space to produce a little).

And so we’ve squandered scores of billions time and gain. Yes, billions. So much for “isn’t it time we began investing in…”

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Whether I’m criticizing Warren Buffett’s innumeracy or explaining how to identify illegitimate loopholes, I frequently write about the perverse impact of double taxation.

By this, I mean the tendency of politicians to impose multiple layers of taxation on income that is saved and invested. Examples of this self-destructive practice include the death tax, the capital gains tax, and the second layer of tax of dividends.

Double taxation is particularly foolish since every economic theory – including socialism and Marxism – agrees that capital formation is necessary for long-run growth and higher living standards.

Yet even though this is a critically important issue, I’ve never been satisfied with the way I explain the topic. But perhaps this flowchart makes everything easier to understand (click it for better resolution).

There are a lot of boxes, so it’s not a simple flowchart, but the underlying message hopefully is very clear.

1. We earn income.

2. We then pay tax on that income.

3. We then either consume our after-tax income, or we save and invest it.

4. If we consume our after-tax income, the government largely leaves us alone.

5. If we save and invest our after-tax income, a single dollar of income can be taxed as many as four different times.

You don’t have to be a wild-eyed supply-side economist to conclude that this heavy bias against saving and investment is not a good idea for America’s long-run prosperity.

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Today, in 1979, the Department of Education received final Congressional approval, becoming the 13th cabinet agency. And…the state of public education has so improved from those days…oh wait…

When President Obama once again addresses public school students this week, he will likely hit all the poll-tested phrases (“The future of America depends on you”) and other warmed-over pablum (“There is no excuse for not trying”) which will leave the kids reaching for their contraband ear buds.

At the risk of being too cynical, the speech will only waste class time and provide unionized teachers with an opportunity to tell students why the National Education Association endorsed this great, transformative man.

That’s what I expect will happen when the president speaks to the nation’s youth on Wednesday. That being said, here’s the speech Obama should give to students.

“Good morning and thank you.  America is being tested as it has rarely been tested before.  We’re witnessing countries on the brink of default.  America’s debt has never been higher.  Washington is in gridlock – and denial – over the national security threat we face because of our insatiable thirst for spending.

“On top of that, our competitiveness is slipping globally.  We rank behind such countries as Iceland and Hungary when it comes to student achievement and that is unacceptable.  America shouldn’t be second in anything, let alone 24th or 25th.  We should demand better of ourselves and not accept anything less.

“Children are being left behind and spending more money won’t fix the problem.  We’ve been spending billions each year attempting to alleviate poverty, but recent statistics show poverty rates have never been higher.  Nearly one in four children is below the poverty line.

“Education – that is, preparing students for life – is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty.  Government can’t do it.  Only personal responsibility, hard work and the generosity of our fellow Americans will.

“We also know government schools are not meeting the needs of every student.  Kids are falling through the cracks. That is why we as politicians must put the interests of children and parents first.  To that end, I am calling on leaders at every level and of every political stripe to embrace parental choice.

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Fresh off his stunning victory in the Republican straw poll in Florida this past weekend, Herman Cain now leads the entire GOP field in a new Zogby poll of Republican primary voters, with Gov. Rick Perry in second and former Gov. Mitt Romney in third:

UTICA, NY–Rick Perry has tumbled by more than 20 percentage points over the past month among Republican presidential primary voters and is now second to Herman Cain, who leads the field with 28%.

Mitt Romney received little benefit from Perrys fall, garnering 17% of the vote for third place.

As for President Barack Obama, both his job approval (42%) and the percentage who believe he deserves re-election (37%) are little changed from recent polls, but he does seem to be winning back some supporters who have been disappointed in his job performance.

These results are from an IBOPE Zogby interactive poll conducted Sept. 23-26 of all likely voters and of likely Republican primary voters.

Read more here.

James Delingpole is a bestselling British author and blogger who helped expose the Climategate scandal back in 2009. Reason.tv caught up with Delingpole in Los Angeles recently to learn more about his entertaining and provocative new book Watermelons: The Green Movement’s True Colors. At its very roots, argues Delingpole, climate change is an ideological battle, not a scientific one. In other words, it’s green on the outside and red on the inside. At the end of the day, according to Delingpole, the “watermelons” of the modern environmental movement do not want to save the world. They want to rule it.

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From Reuters:

The Obama administration on Monday cleared the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide in its 2011-12 term the president’s signature healthcare law that requires Americans to buy insurance or face a penalty.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said it decided against asking the full U.S. Appeals Court for the 11th Circuit to review the August ruling by a three-judge panel of the court that found the requirement unconstitutional.

The decision not to seek review by the full appeals court will likely speed up consideration of the matter by the high court in its 2011-12 term that begins next week. A ruling could come by late June, in the middle of the presidential campaign.

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