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Another New Beginning

A few weeks ago I expressed my excitement for the opening of the NBA season...that does not even compare with how excited I am for College Basketball. Today marks the day that teams can start playing real games, although many will play an exhibition game early in the week then start the regular season this weekend. If I had to choose one sport to watch and that was it, NCAA basketball would be my choice. The middle of November each year is when I really appreciate satellite TV, since there is usually a game every night and that only increases once football ends. In the next day or two, I am going to do a UNLV and NCAA season preview. In the mean time, USA Today said this Saturday's UNLV-USD game is the best game of opening week. Hopefully that means that after the Rebs win, they will jump into the top 25!


This pic is not a dig at Mike, but when I googled Wink Adams, it came up 3 times on the first page so I had to put it on here!

Suggestions

This article is in todays New York Times, written by Greg Mankiw, a Harvard Economist who was an adviser to President Bush and in charge of economic policy to Mitt Romney during his campaign. He updates his blog very often and provides a level-headed view of politics from a very well respected economist.

Congratulations, Senator Obama. You ran a good campaign, and you racked up an historic victory. As you get ready for your new responsibilities, let me suggest four ways for you to become a reliable steward of the economy:

Listen to your economists. During the campaign you assembled an impressive team of economic advisers from the nation’s top universities, including Austan Goolsbee from University of Chicago and David Cutler and Jeff Liebman from Harvard. Your campaign’s director of economic policy, Jason Furman, is a smart, sensible, and well-trained policy economist. I know: He is a former student of mine.

Pay close attention to what they have to say. They will often give you advice quite different from what you will hear from congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. To make sure you hear the views of your economists, put them in offices close to yours. Tell your chief of staff to invite them to all the relevant meetings.

Embrace some Republican ideas. No party has a monopoly on truth. Be ready to take the best Republican policy proposals and make them your own, as Bill Clinton did with welfare reform in 1996.

Health policy is a case in point. Over the past several months, you lambasted McCain’s proposal to reform the tax code to include a refundable health insurance tax credit. Did you know that long before McCain ever proposed this idea, it was advanced by Mr. Furman, your campaign’s policy director? He can explain to you why the Furman-McCain plan makes a lot of sense.

Now you may decide that this plan does not go far enough. You may want a more generously funded social safety net to help the less fortunate get health care. Fair enough, but in pursuing that goal, you run into the next issue.

Pay attention to the government’s budget constraint. The nation faces a long-term imbalance between government spending and tax revenue. The fundamental problem is that the federal government has promised the elderly more benefits than the tax system can support. This fiscal imbalance will become acute as more baby boomers retire and start collecting Social Security and Medicare.

Yet during the campaign, you promised that you would cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans, that you would vastly expand health insurance coverage, and that you would never cut Social Security benefits or raise the retirement age. You will almost surely have to renege on some of these promises. As your economic team will often remind you, even if the laws of arithmetic are ignored during campaigns, they provide a real constraint when making actual policy.

Recognize your past mistakes. As a new senator, you voted along predictable left-wing lines. As president, you will need a more eclectic, nuanced approach.

Take trade policy, for example. In the senate, you voted against the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement. You opposed free trade agreements with Colombia and South Korea. You supported Senators Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham in their quest to put tariffs on Chinese goods if China failed to revalue its exchange rate. You supported the Byrd Amendment, which encouraged domestic companies to file anti-dumping suits against foreign competitors. You supported subsidies for domestic producers of corn-based ethanol and tariffs on imports of more efficient sugar-based ethanol.

Your economists can explain to you why these positions were wrong-headed. Economic isolationism is not in the national interest. A high point of the Clinton presidency was the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which passed both the House and Senate with a majority of Republicans and a minority of Democrats.

This past Tuesday, many people voted for you hoping you would achieve the kind of economic success that Bill Clinton enjoyed in the 1990s. Your best chance of delivering what they want requires that you abandon some of your past positions and pursue a more moderate, bipartisan course.

"To those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight, we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope."
-- Barack Obama, Nov. 4, 2008

Picturing the future

I thought this was a cool picture.

Acceptance Letter

Dear President Obama,

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that I accept you as the next President of the United States. Even though I did not vote for you, I understand that by casting a vote, I am expressing my willingness to support my elected leaders, whether or not I choose them. Your leadership and oratorical skills are very impressive, skills which I hope you use to strengthen this beautiful country. I would like to offer some advice; keep exercising, eating right and quit smoking...this should keep Joe Biden in the Naval Conservatory as Vice President.

The next four years will be interesting for this whole nation, especially for you. I am ready to support you 100% and I am sure I will be willing to offer constructive criticism whenever you need it. You have already made history, dont let that be the last time it happens. If I can ask one favor, it would be to create a College Football Playoff. I know that may seem trivial compared to the problems facing the economy, or our foreign relations, but it would really make me happy. Think about it, no President in the history of our nation has been able to accomplish that, while many have been able to win wars, or create new jobs. I think that is the way you can leave your true legacy on Main Street!

President, good luck and God speed.

Sincerely,

Dixon Leavitt

election day

As I drove to school this morning I was filled with emotion over how blessed I am to live in this country. There has been so much negativity surronding the elections but how lucky am I to not have to worry about a coup by the democrats if Obama loses? I have the choice of whether or not I want to vote, then if I do choose to vote, I can support those who I feel best represent my way of life. Even in a time of economic hardship, I have a job which allows me to provide for my family and fill my car with gas. Not only that but I can watch people make fun of our leaders on tv, without them fearing for their lives for being so outspoken! Even those being made fun of want to participate in the joke!
Around 10 or 11 tonight when I am finding out who will be the leader of my country for the next four years, I will remember all of the many blessings that I enjoy now and will continue to enjoy through his presidency, although I may have to share more of those blessings if the "quasi-socialist" is elected! Life can't get much better than it is now and a 40 year old black man or a 72 year old angry white man can't change that.

College

Where if the homework is too hard, the answer in the back of the book must be wrong!