Everything is wonderful and peachy-keen in Obamaland if you rely on the reporting on the front page of The New York Times. Just ask CNBC's Jim Cramer. On his Feb. 12 program the "Mad Money" host dealt with the $789 billion stimulus package.
"Now if you were to believe what's in the papers, holy cow - except for the funny papers - you would think this package was wonderful," Cramer said he said of the reported agreement congressional leaders had reached on ironing out the package's details.
Cramer was referring to a front-page article by Richard W. Stevenson in the Feb. 12 Times, which gave a glowing account of this as a victory in the early stages of the Obama administration.
"Look at the front page of The New York Times today," Cramer said. "I love this one, ‘Measuring a Victory,' by this guy, Stevenson. He's a famous guy, you know? He's not Robert Louis Stevenson, he's Richard W. Stevenson. He writes - it's like a comedy routine - ‘It is a quick sweet victory for the new president and potentially a historic one.' Who edits this B.S.?"
According the Cramer, the bill doesn't address the specific economic problems, but instead is a mix of tax cuts and government handouts.
"The only thing historic here is how useless this package is when it comes to confronting any of our serious problems," Cramer said. "Congress passed a pastiche of tax cuts and pork-laden handouts to state governments. Great, it'll help my municipal bond portfolio."
Cramer questioned how the package would impact the key components in the ailing economy.
"Tell me, what does it do to solve housing?" Cramer asked. "What does it do to solve unemployment? How about the ever-hideous banking crisis? No? Anyone who follows the economy knows this stimulus package is a total and utter joke."
The blame for the failure of this massive spending should be placed on Congress, said the "Mad Money" host.
"Congress, heh - OK, I'm a diplomat and an elder statesman and gentleman farmer in the mold of Thomas Jefferson, with a little Frank Lesser mixed in, and all I say is these guys and dolls - they are just plain clueless."
By way of example, Cramer cited the tax credit the stimulus package would give new home buyers.
"So hey, how does Congress respond to the foreclosure crisis in its stimulus package?" Cramer asked. "With a solution that's about as efficacious as an invisible garment. It adds $500 to a tax credit for first time homebuyers. Five-hundred dollars - I got that in my pocket for heaven's sake. Yeah, I'm sure that'll do a world of good."
"Everyone in the press is pretending this package is wonderful, but in reality it's just as substantial as the emperor's new clothes," he added.
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WTG Cramer!
February 13, 2009 - 10:08 ET by HoosierEmToo bad these idiots won't listen to you, or anyone. This whole stimulus thing is not going to turn out well but I have the feeling the republicans will still be blamed for it.
What does this matter?
February 13, 2009 - 10:14 ET by marpelWhat does this matter? It's going to be Bush's fault anyway.... I wish someone would report or write on how this whole economic business is from the Jimmy Carter administration....why can't someone in the media tell the truth?
How do you figure?
February 13, 2009 - 10:45 ET by mvfreemanThe economy goes through inevitable cycles regardless of who's in office.
Carter hasn't been in office for almost thirty years. We have had several ups and downs in the economy since then.
This current economic crisis is from when the housing market crashed in the last two years.
And before you try to blame the CRA, most bad mortgages were held by non-depository, private lenders who are not subject to CRA requirements.
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/10/misunderstandin.html
I wish somebody would report or write some objective analysis what a friggin joke this bill is. Most of the money isn't even going to be spent until 2010 and beyond.
Oh no
February 13, 2009 - 10:43 ET by cvgbuckeyeOh No! This is all great. Haven't you seen the lady and the nut speaking to Chairman Obama while he was out campaigning for his Marxism or the lady that called the bank and told them they better not try to repossess her car now because "WE HAS OBAMA NOW".
Or the lady who thinks he will give her a house (and he probably will)----------I wants a three bettroom house wiss two baffrooms so's my ONTEEE can live wiff me!!!!!
How about it folks that voted for this mess. Are any of you having second thoughts? You are getting just what we told you we would get!
Good one.
February 13, 2009 - 10:48 ET by mvfreemanA buddy emailed the audio to me several weeks ago.
What a riot!!
The cluelessness of these people is almost incredible.
I heard about that car repo
February 13, 2009 - 11:46 ET by marpelI heard about that car repo audio...something about she was going to be rich now that Obama was President. It's sad, very sad. Maybe she will be rich. I don't think I will be. I'm the wrong color.
The sad part for her is...
February 14, 2009 - 06:51 ET by JohnMcGrew...that she will never be. Worse than that, the inflation that will result from printing $3-trillion will hurt her far more than anything real or imagined that Bush may have done to her.
At least that little mouse will be OK
February 13, 2009 - 12:08 ET by StarAZHello, China? We need money again--yes, a mouse....But you don't understand... if it dies, that's it for that species, maybe, you know...uh.... OK, what about the weatherstripping...well, somebody has to...or should...no, they can't do it with a hairdryer and that stuff from Home Depot...The train, then...Las Vegas...runs on air...uh...I think...yes, air...
It gets better
February 13, 2009 - 12:28 ET by kdizzydazeHenrietta, the lady that wanted the free house got just that. A free house from - wait for it -a conservative rep from here in the great state of Florida.
And, she has a deadbeat 37 year old son and another family member that has a house in Naples, FL, neither of which would take her in.
The buyer's remorse on Barry O has got to be swelling by the hour!!!!
God made man, but he used a monkey to do it -- DEVO
→ Henrietta
February 13, 2009 - 12:32 ET by Cool ArrowHow did you manage to get the scoop on Henrietta's deadbeat son? It's not like she's Joe the Plumber whose life story was a free-for-all the moment he axed a question.
→ Rahm's gonna getcha
February 13, 2009 - 12:43 ET by Cool ArrowRahmbo's gonna make sure the Good Samaritan who loaned her a house forever pays for this deed.
Lawyers will descend on the home within weeks to determine the domicile is overrun with black mold and Mrs. Hughes will sue for millions.
No good deed goes unpunished.
tell it like it is
February 13, 2009 - 10:42 ET by anormBOO-YAH Jim, for telling it like it is! Keep it up!
I'm not sure we can comment on it . . .
February 13, 2009 - 10:47 ET by SilverZero. . . seeing as how nobody has been able to properly read it. What's the deal with releasing PDF images of the bill (thus rendering them unsearchable by normal users)? And what about the promise of a 48-hour public review before the vote? My, how time flies when you're getting lied to.
I hope Kennedy really can't make the vote, forcing one of those RINOs to be the 60th "yea." If you're going to sell out, might as well do it whole-hog.
Oh well, at least I'll be able to buy my first home with that $500 credit and the extra $13 in my paycheck every week.
PDF POS
February 13, 2009 - 13:38 ET by slickwillie2001Rush was not quite right when he said they released the stinker "as a PDF so it would not be searchable". Many PDF files are searchable, it just depends on how it is put together and whether or not the person that converted it from a word file to a PDF file decided to allow searchability. Certainly, if they scanned it and converted each page to a picture and then ran that through Acrobat, that is one way to ensure that a document is not searchable, but it is a silly way to do it.
Anyway, let's hope that some enterprising group fixes this problem. I believe Heritage (?) is analyzing the POS, but in any case it is likely to be voted on before we know what is in it.
Apparently, the porkulus
February 13, 2009 - 13:56 ET by UndercoverConservativeApparently, the porkulus bill was submitted as a single image then converted to pdf for cross platform readability. Essentially scanned, perhaps as a TIFF file, like we do here for our document archiving. Readable, but not searchable, especially considering a) the technical savvy of our lawmakers and b) that the whole point was to make it so it wasn't read-just like Clinton's "crime bill" was so huge no one read it all and c) most lawmakers want the plausible deniability of pretending they didn't know what Porkulis I was really about.
Bread and Circuses, indeed. Welcome back to the failing of the Roman Empire
"to call an illegal immigrant an "undocumented alien" is like calling a streetcorner drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist".
"You spend your money anyway you want and respect other's rights to do the same&quo
To put things into
February 13, 2009 - 11:02 ET by bassndudeTo put things into perspective. To put congress in charge of the economy is like putting Charles Manson in charge of the Justice System, and Jerry Springer should be the Pope. I mean if we are going to take this crap, lets go all the way! Goverment interference in the markets and money is what caused this problem.
At this point, its like the inmates are running the asylum. To know this is not going to work, all one needs to do is look at Japan and England.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
England...
February 13, 2009 - 11:10 ET by SickofLibs'Sharia banking' up next.
New York Times Editorial
February 13, 2009 - 11:16 ET by mattmNew York Times Editorial Staff
Wasn’t the chimp that
February 13, 2009 - 14:36 ET by needleWasn’t the chimp that edits the NYT’s front page let go as part of the last cut-back?
Impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat.
Error
February 13, 2009 - 16:26 ET by slickwillie2001That's no chimp, that's Pinch Sulzberger. Don't insult chimps; studies have shown that their intelligence has been underestimated.
Okay...
February 13, 2009 - 13:03 ET by jdubyaMr. Cramer is getting another "good" check on his name in my book. He still has plenty more to go to get to net-neutral.
As long as he doesn't put Olbermann on his show to discuss this, he may just pull himself out of the filth at CNBC (C Nuttin'but crap)
Except...
February 14, 2009 - 06:53 ET by JohnMcGrew...wasn't Cramer a big Obama guy before the election?
If he's so brilliant, I don't know why he didn't see this coming. Most of us did.
"Everyone in the press is
February 13, 2009 - 21:29 ET by TN Mom"Everyone in the press is pretending this package is wonderful, but in reality it's just as substantial as the emperor's new clothes"
Exactly! Can't wait until the obama supporters find out how they were screwed by obama/pelosi/reid. Oh, and they will find out, without the help from the MSM. They'll figure out real fast when the freebies don't come.
The Best
February 13, 2009 - 23:42 ET by ConLosRepublicanosNolashing I've seen so far against the MSM, am sending him a mulligan.