COLUMN: It really is the economy, stupid

Hart Beat

INLET BEACH — According to a Zogby survey (buried by the mainstream media as an irrelevant news item), self-identified Democrats and Progressives score badly on a simple test of economic understanding. This was according to the May issue of Econ Journal Watch (which I read only because it was the swimsuit issue). The news flash was no surprise to the cognitive few remaining among us.

The Econ Journal (for you liberals reading this, “Econ” is short for “economics”) concluded that the data is clear: “The left flunks Econ 101.”

Zogby asked 4,835 respondents simple economic questions and then asked them to identify their political leanings, ranging from progressive/very liberal, liberal, and moderate to conservative, very conservative, and libertarian. Not surprisingly, the libertarian/very conservative respondents scored much better overall — four times better than the progressive/very liberal group.

In fact, it was not even close. The libertarian/very conservative group missed an average of 1.34 of the eight questions, while the progressive/very liberals answered a whopping 5.26 questions incorrectly, getting only 35 percent right. My guess is that liberals will apply for and get an affirmative action curve on the issue so that everyone tested gets the same score — or reparations. It's only fair, right?

Economics, the “dismal science,” employs a cold, hard recognition of facts and of human nature.  And as liberals tell us, facts are, by their very nature, unfair. It is always easier for people to act on their emotions rather than on logic. This is why a picture of an oil-drenched pelican goes further in enraging people against BP — and drilling — than does the fact that, if we do not drill for oil off our coastline, Cuba, Vietnam or Venezuela (which have horrific safety records) will. These same people do not recognize that oil is a commodity we will always need.

In short, it is painful to think logically in most political situations.  When we do, we are painted as cold-hearted jerks. It was easier to sell John Low-IQ Public on the concept of “hope and change.” Never mind that no one has any idea what that meant.

Only 10 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Congress. I think it can also be concluded that 10 percent of us do not know what “favorable opinion” really means.

My guess is that about half of Americans will not care when U.S. Treasury bonds lose their AAA rating because they will wonder, “Why does it matter what the Auto Club thinks about our debt?”

Many Americans no longer know what this country stands for. Taught by liberal educators who omit facts that do not fit their narrative, Americans have become lazy thinkers. Way too many voters think that the Battle of the Alamo was a rental car dispute.

It is unfair to say Obama does not care about jobs. He does: his and Joe Biden’s in 2012. His job is tenuous; if he wants federal government employment for life, he needs to appoint himself to the Supreme Court or get a GM union job.

It always amuses me how Democrats have to paint spending money in emotional terms in order to justify it. Harry Reid made the case for his “jobs bill” and extending unemployment payments by saying that when men are out of work, they become abusive to women. The facts do not support this. O.J. Simpson drew a steady paycheck from the day he signed with USC until the day he was arrested for murder.

Even though they do not understand economics, Democrats understand politics. They saw polls saying the Tea Party movement and Americans have had it with spending, so Obama formed a “joint committee” (just as an observation, “joint committees” are never as fun as they sound) to look into our debt problems and report back to him. I think he has asked Neil Patrick Harris to be the chairman. So I guess the problem is solved.

Expect a full report from this committee by late November 2012 and the implementation of its recommendations by the fall of two thousand and never.

Democrats only understand money in that they know who has earned it so they can take it via their beloved government. It is an article of faith among liberals that they are justified in taking from others while remaining impervious to economic realities themselves. They are only about power.

It is frightening that Democrats are running our country through the most trying economic times in recent history.

Ron Hart is a syndicated libertarian op-ed humorist, author and TV/radio commentator.  E-mail Ron@RonaldHart.com or visit: RonaldHart.com