Category | Op Ed

Double standard?

Published on March 24, 2009 by Justin Hayes

The tax cheat Tim Geithner really likes taxes – as long as they are on those “evil” rich people. Bloomberg reported that the treasury secretary said “the U.S. government will mount an ‘ambitious’ program to crack down on companies that use offshore locales to avoid paying taxes.” That’s a very ambitious program, but it is also hypocritical. Why is it okay for Geithner to get away with trying to avoid paying taxes, but suddenly it becomes critical the government begin “closing loopholes” and “hunting tax evaders”? Washington’s and the media double standard has emerged in the wake of the new Obama administration.

Rush Limbaugh recently came under fire for saying that he wanted President Barack Obama to fail. Chris Matthews has equated Rush’s statement to “calling for the brand-new president to die in his crib, basically, infanticide of a new president.” The noise from the left says that by wanting Obama to fail, Rush is calling for the failure of the country.

Although I don’t agree with 100% of Rush’s antics or his opinions, I stand behind him on this issue. If Obama’s policies succeed or appear to succeed, then sound conservative economic principles will be forgotten and seen as irrelevant. Capitalism has already gotten the blame for the financial crisis, and any indication that big government policies actually provide efficient economic outcomes would be fatal to the country.

Obama is implementing big government, Keynesian fiscal policies which call for a great increase in government spending as well as increased taxes. Unfortunately, George W. Bush implemented similar domestic policies under the blanket of conservatism. Liberals can harp on deregulation and the dangers of uncontrolled capitalism all day, but they did not cause the economic crisis. In fact, it was government policies aimed at ensuring increased homeownership that caused the artificial increase in housing prices that eventually busted and led to the current financial meltdown.

These policies could lead to short-run economic booms similar to the housing bubble and could appear to be solving the problem, but in the long run, the distortions caused by this increase in government spending will catch up with us. When the market attempts to flush the distortions, we could see an even worse economic crisis than the current one. Obama’s policies are harmful to our economy, and if they appear to succeed, then they will be legitimized in future election cycles. So yes, I would like Obama’s policies to fail.

Of course, you won’t hear that line of reasoning much from the mainstream media as they are so engrossed by the do-no-wrong Obama administration. The media and many liberals treated George W. Bush like dirt during his administration, but now that we have the “holy one,” we’re not allowed to criticize him without being accused of wanting the country to fail. In an August 2006 Fox Opinion Dynamics poll, 51% of democrats did not want President Bush to succeed. Where was the outrage then?

If George W. Bush treated the prime minister of Great Britain in the manner of President Obama, it would be all over the news. Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave Obama a penholder crafted from the wood of the HMS Resolute, the ship that provided the timber for the desk in the Oval office. Obama gave Brown a basket of American DVDs. To add insult to injury, the president was “too overwhelmed” to hold a joint press conference or hold a formal dinner. He even gave Brown back the bust of Winston Churchill given to President Bush after 9/11.

Had this incident been committed by President Bush, this story would have been everywhere, but there is a double standard with the media when it comes to the Obama administration. President Obama absolutely insulted our relationship with our closest ally, and it is hardly being reported. It seems that Washington and the media have lost all accountability, and hypocrisy has taken over. There are tax cheats calling for more taxes, criticism for dissent that was once seen as patriotic and a diplomatic goof getting little or no coverage. Yes we can…right?