Are the "green shoots" really weeds?

I kinda think so, but I'm biased. This article is good, though, and I agree with just about all of it.

Here's M. Cianfracca's three step plan to recovery:

• Commit to a zero interest rate policy for at least 2-3 years.
• Enact a 100% tax holiday on business income and capital gains. That’s not a deferral, it’s a full abatement.
• Commit credibly to eliminate new regulations on business.

I'm with it, especially on the 2nd and 3rd points. I'm not quite sold on the zero interest rate part, mainly because the Greenspan cheap money policy is part of what got us into this mess. But, generally, a great deal of uncertainty in the marketplace is due to the fact that businesses and investors really don't know what is going to happen with interest rates over the coming years. Some level of consistency there is definitely called for.

I always tell people that if I was King, businesses would never pay taxes. Repeat after me: "businesses don't pay taxes, their customers do!"

And finally, much of the trepidation companies big and small are feeling about hiring is directly related to the fact that they have no idea what the new Obamacare plan will look like. How much will it cost your average small business? How much will taxes go up to pay for the plan? Is the health care insurance deductibility going away?

You can hardly blame business for being hesitant to hire in this uncertain environment.

Broken Records R Us: Stimulus Not Very Stimulating

More jobs lost; fewer mortgages written; National debt explodes.

Yes, I repeat myself. In this day and age, do people even get the "broken record" metaphor?

But seriously, this country needs to come to the realization that this stimulus ain't happenin'. We are witness to the 1930s redux. The American Left is as enamoured of FDR as the Right is of Reagan, and so today's Left is making all the same mistakes that FDR made. The scary part is that we've barely broken the seal on the Great Recession, but FDR's Great Depression ran nearly an entire decade. It's clear from history that FDR's actions during the 1930s did little to cure the Depression, and in many cases, made things worse.

And, yet, Obama is following the same path. And paving it!!