Wondering why the economy continues to stumble along with out any relief in sight?  Maybe it's because our economic freedom is declining.  Th Heritage Foundation just released their annual Index of Economic Freedom and it's no surprise that the United States has fallen in the rankings during 2009.  The United States had one of the largest declines while countries like Poland and Mexico (Mexico?) had the largest increases.  Why the decline for the US?  Here's part of the executive summary; "The U.S. government’s interventionist responses to the financial and economic crisis that began in 2008 have significantly undermined economic freedom and long-term prospects for economic growth. Economic freedom has declined in seven of the 10 categories measured in the Index.

Uncertainties caused by ongoing regulatory changes and politically influenced stimulus spending have discouraged entrepreneurship and job creation, slowing recovery. Leadership in free trade has been undercut by “Buy American” provisions in stimulus legislation and failure to pursue previously agreed free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Tax rates are increasingly uncompetitive, and massive stimulus spending is creating unprecedented deficits. Bailouts of financial and automotive firms have generated concerns about property rights."

So what has Mexico done?  The Index summarizes their tax policy; "The top income and corporate tax rates are 28 percent. A 17 percent flat-rate business tax (known as the IETU) operates as an alternative to the corporate income tax for some companies. Other taxes include a value-added tax (VAT) and a real estate transfer tax. In the most recent year, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 9.0 percent."  Compare that to our top income and corporate tax rates at 35 percent.

President Obama has been under fire for the botched arrest and subsequent mirandizing of the underwear bomber.  It now appears he may be giving up state secrets to show the world he was right in his approach to treating this attack as a legal matter.  Foxnews.com reports here on the assertions by Senator Kit Bond (R) that "administration officials defied an FBI request for secrecy when it held a briefing with reporters Tuesday about Christmas bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's cooperation with authorities."  Bond goes on to say "FBI officials stressed the importance of not disclosing the fact of his cooperation in order to protect ongoing and follow-on operations to neutralize additional threats to the American public,"  Yet less than one day later, the White House trumpeted to the media about "...Abdulmutallab's cooperation and to laud the vents that led to his decision to cooperate with law enforcement personnel. This information immediately hit the air waves globally and, no doubt, reached the ears of our enemies abroad."  When challenged if the White House was defending it's behavior at the risk of national security, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs conceded "that the briefing to reporters on Tuesday was called in order to "contextualize" information released during the Senate hearing that Abdulmutallab was talking again to interrogators. For those of you who participated in the background briefing you know that was something that was not timed purposefully. Soon after that, media reported. We felt it important to contextualize because many of you were e-mailing us what this testimony meant."

Congressman Pete Hoekstra (R) of Michigan said it best, ""I do find it an interesting strategy that we hastily call a briefing to let America and our friends and our enemies in the Middle East know that he's now singing like a canary,"  The Forgotten Man just can't believe the President would jeopardize national security to vindicate his position.  After all, he seems to take criticism pretty well.....

The Forgotten Man is on the final round of college visits with my 18 year old son.  I wrote here about a visit to a private catholic university and the disavowal of religious expectations by the tour guide.  This weekend we are on the campus of another midwestern school, though not a religiously affiliated one and got another reminder of how much the culture of college campuses has changed over the years.

After the typical morning tours and interviews at this university, we went to the student union to buy some college gear and have lunch.  I thought it would be a good idea to have my son get a feel for the common student area and a taste of the dorm food.  As we walked up to the building, I noticed a Starbucks which wasn't around back in my college days.  Seemed like a nice addition to a campus, though not sure how a college kid can afford a venti-no-whip-cappucino.  But at least it's there for the kids and seemed like an improvement over my old campus.  As we walked by the barrista, we nearly collided with a table laden with red, pink and white frosted cookies for sale.  Now that seemed more like the old school that I was used to and I assumed it was a Valentines Day bake sale, probably some sorority raising money for a good cause.  But as I walked around the corner of the table, the sign on the front of the table screamed, "Buy Vagina Cookies Here".  It was a fundraiser for the Vagina Monologues appearing on campus later in February!  Not only did the cookies look disgusting, but the two girls sitting at the table collecting money glared at me as I glanced at the disgusting cookies and walked by without buying.  Not sure if my son noticed it, he either ignored it, was oblivious or just squirmed and hoped I didn't bring it up. 

If you haven't been to campus lately, you're in for more surprises.  We send our kids off at our own peril.

In another sign of the apocalypse, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wants to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic stand-in.  As reported in CNS News, "PETA says it's unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights that accompany tens of thousands of revelers each Feb. 2 in Punxsutawney, a tiny borough about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh".  For those who have seen the movie 'Groundhog Day', it does seem like this complete lack of common sense from PETA  just goes on and on.  What's next, a robotic duck for the AFLAC commercials?

There has been alot of whining about the need to have at least 60 senators to pass a law in the senate and some even arguing the rules should be changed.  As reported at the The Patriot Post , Adam Graham of Pajamas Media commented on the genius of the system.  Graham writes here, "[Those on] the left complain about the bind in which they find themselves. They can spare 40 votes on any House vote, and they have a Senate majority, but they can't get anything done. It's as if a genius schemed against them to thwart their efforts and require impossibly large majorities to accomplish something. ... But our founders didn't set out to frustrate any specific people. They were concerned with one big question: how does one prevent a republic from degenerating into tyranny, as all historical republics had? ... In Federalist 51 [James Madison] writes: 'It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. ... If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure.' ... Our constitutional system of government works -- but it works to protect liberty, not allow those who want to get their agenda passed and get it passed yesterday to run roughshod over the minority. Madison warned of such a system, writing, 'In a society under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the weaker, anarchy may as truly be said to reign as in a state of nature.' ... More often than not, divided government has been the rule. Thus left and right are both stymied by the Constitution, which was designed to frustrate change in favor of freedom. America is ungovernable because the founders never intended the lives of Americans to be governed from the federal capitol."   Italics added by The Forgotten Man as this phrase captures the essence of William Graham Sumner's great essay.

A President has many responsibilities, but the most important commitment they is to protect the citizens of the United States.  Once again, this administration is falling down on it's top priority.  As reported at CNSNews.com by Eileen Sullivan of the Associated Press, the United States is not prepared for a bioterrorist attack. "according to a congressionally mandated panel...The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation gave the Obama administration a failing grade for its efforts to prepare for and respond to a biological attack, such as the release of deadly viruses or bacteria."
 
"Nearly a decade after Sept. 11, 2001 ... and one month after the Christmas Day bombing attempt, the United States is failing to address several urgent threats, especially bioterrorism," said former Sen. Bob Graham, chairman of the commission. "Each of the last three administrations has been slow to recognize and respond to the biothreat. But we no longer have the luxury of a slow learning curve, when we know al-Qaida is interested in bioweapons."

Looks like the President's B+ grade is once again a overinflated.  Will he ever put the security of the country at the top of his priority list? It took him 40 minutes to get to it in his State of the Union address earlier this week.

The Forgotten Man was forced to join a union when I got my first job working weekends at a drug store in my teens.  I remember looking at my paystub and wondering what I was getting for those dues I was paying.  Now I think I know; it was a way to avoid paying taxes later in life!  As Armstrong Williams describes here, unions just negotiated their way out of paying any new taxes in the new health care bill that is currently being negotiated between the senate and the house of representatives.  Williams writes, "Under the terms of the compromise, Cadillac health insurance plans for unionized and government employees will be exempt from a 40% tax on these rich plans. However, the 40% tax will be paid on identical plans provided to non unionized private sector employees."  So there you have it; join a union and avoid paying new taxes.  Oh yeah, you may want to contribute to President Obama's next campaign since that seems to carry alot of weight in this White House.

Many senators dedicated health care reform to Senator Ted Kennedy after he died last August, yet the election to replace him produced a senator who will cast the vote to kill health care reform.

In his latest move to be perceived as the populist warrior, President Obama has decided once again to bash the banks.  As Larry Kudlow writes, Obama rewards losers, punishes winners with his policies.  Socking the banks with this new tax will not affect them one bit because they will just pass it on to all of us.  Once again, President Obama shows that he just doesn't get it when it comes to the economy. 

Growing up The Forgotten Man always thought he was part of the 'Educated Class', those who were smarter than all the rest and could understand the nuances of the world better than the average man.  As I gained wisdom (some) through life experiences I came to realize that the 'Educated Class' was out of touch with the real substance of our country and maybe the 'Educated Class' was to smug.  I began to read a lot of history and appreciated how our country grew due to the wisdom and hard work of average people like Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson and Ronald Reagan.  So it was stunning for me to see someone like Barack Obama, a charter member of the 'Educated Class', mesmerize so many Americans and become President.  How did he fool so many people and would he really deliver on the hope and change he campaigned on?  Michael Barone captures some of these thoughts here as he analyzes this typically condescending opinion column from one of the kings of the 'Educated Class', David Brooks.  Barone writes, "But when you look back over the surges of enthusiasm in the politics of the last two years, you see something like this: The Obama enthusiasts who dominated so much of the 2008 campaign cycle were motivated by style. The tea party protesters who dominated so much of 2009 were motivated by substance."  I think this explains why President Obama is falling in the polls and drawing such opposition from the tea party movement.  We are tired of the style and want substance, even if David Brooks isn't a fan of the movement.