Immelt, Daley, and Obama's antipathy to free markets

washington examinier ^ | 1/23/11 | Timothy P. Carney

[Nachum]

Since his party's November shellacking, President Obama has worked hard to show America that he is not anti-business, notably by picking General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt and Chicago banker Bill Daley for prominent posts in his administration. But their selection does not mean Obama is "pro-business," at least as the term is commonly understood. The president is no champion of open markets and free competition. His idea of being friendly to business means more government subsidies and corporate-government cooperation, both of which are mother's milk to Immelt and Daley.

Obama joined Immelt on Friday at a GE plant in Schenectady, N.Y., to announce his appointment as chairman of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Like Obama's pick of Daley as White House chief of staff, the selection of Immelt sparked applause from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and, in the eyes of the media, defused the Republican charge that Obama is anti-business.

But the anti-business charge against Obama was always off target. "Anti-free market" was -- and is still -- more accurate.

Immelt and Daley don't represent a new side of Barack Obama -- they represent the unhealthy collusion of Big Business and Big Government that has always been the essence of Obamanomics.

Check out Daley's resume. In the 1990s, he ran Amalgamated Bank, owned by a union and described by the Chicago Sun-Times as "one of the city's most politically connected financial institutions." Bill's brother, Mayor Richard Daley, kept the city's money on deposit at Amalgamated. Later, Bill held a seat on Fannie Mae's board, pocketing six-figure compensation from the government-sponsored enterprise that used a housing bubble and an implicit government guarantee to fill a slush fund for well-connected Democrats -- until taxpayers bailed it out in 2008.

[Nachum]

The list, ping

Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list

http://www.nachumlist.com/

[JLAGRAYFOX]

Obamaism, Nazism, Facism, etc., same thing. Jeffrey Immelt is the Albert Speer for the Obama regime and Daley is the lap dog to cover up appearing to be pro-business!!!

[Moonman62]

Immelt and Daley don't represent a new side of Barack Obama -- they represent the unhealthy collusion of Big Business and Big Government that has always been the essence of Obamanomics.

The collusion was a big part of W-nomics too. Immelt is yet another Harvard MBA who only knows how to cut jobs, not create them.

[section9]

And a rather incompetent Albert Speer, at that.

The Chinese just took him to the cleaners.

Best,

Chris

[steveab]

Obama believe in corporate welfare and control of business through rules and regulation. We have to kept a sharp eye on his czars.

[Matchett-PI]

bttt

Shooting at a Walmart -- should we blame the rhetoric?
By: David Freddoso 01/23/11 8:47 PM Online Opinion Editor

One person appears to have been killed in this incident. It's no laughing matter. So let me ask a serious question about the implications it has for our political discourse.

Should I expect a Paul Krugman column this week inveighing against the heated, anti-Walmart campaign that is being conducted nationwide by labor unions that haven't managed to organize WalMart workers? I hear they have the company in their cross-hairs. [See their poster above]

<>

Michael Barone:
Union membership down again in 2010
01/23/11 12:41 PM

[cricket]

Agree (of course, they may not have liked the idea that the food menu was going to change thanks to Michelle./sarc off...sort of.)

In truth, the Left HAS set up Wal Mart as 'Enemy #1'; and they so deserve being called on it.

Sickening what is happening, thanks to the Left - and that includes Arizona. Liberalism is the mental disease that is killing America.