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Dec. 31, 2009 - Rush Limbaugh Program
36:34
December 31, 2009, Thursday, Hour #1
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Welcome to today's edition of the Rush 24-7 podcast.
That is absolutely right, Johnny Donovan.
Well, first of all, folks, I should say that Rush continues to rest very comfortably in the hospital in Honolulu this afternoon.
Actually, it's morning out there.
And he had a comfortable night, and he's getting good medical attention.
Let me go back a little bit.
Yesterday, Wednesday, he was taken to the hospital in Honolulu after complaining of chest pains.
Those pains were the kind of pains that makes one feel like he has a heart attack coming on, but it has not been confirmed that it is a heart attack.
Today, Thursday, he'll have a complete examination, and we'll know more.
And we'll keep everyone informed when there's information to share.
We just don't have a lot of information to share right now.
Know this, though Rush is in good and stable condition, comfortable, as comfortable as one can be in a hospital while on vacation, and he's in good hands.
And you are in good hands today with Walter E. Williams sitting in a Till of the Hun chair.
And also, you can get updates on Rush just by going to rushlimball.com.
Okay, there's a lot of business for us to talk about today.
And the number, if you want to be on the show with us, is 800-282-2882.
Well, the first thing is a relatively minor thing.
But if you look at news reports, if you look at newspapers, they'll say things like, well, we're starting a new decade.
We're ending this decade, the worst decade.
Well, first of all, we're not starting a new decade.
It's not a new decade.
The new decade or the second decade of the second millennium does not start until 365 days from today.
Now, let's do the mathematics of it, okay, so that you understand.
And I bet these idiots on the news tonight, they'll keep on saying, I know they're listening to the show.
They're going to get this lesson, but they're still going to call it a new decade.
Okay, let's do it by the numbers.
At the end of 2001, that was the first year of the first decade.
At the end of 2002, that was the second year.
At the end of 2009, that's the ninth year.
At the end of 2010, that will be the 10th year.
And January 1st, one minute after 12 in 2011 will begin the new decade.
Now, I know that there are many talking heads who are listening to me right now because they tune into the show just to kind of stay up, try to be more intelligent.
Now, my question is, what is the most suitable characterization we can give them?
I think it's the same characterization that we'd make if you tell a person, this is white, and they insist on calling it black.
We call that stupid.
Or for some people, say, look, look, I know 2010 doesn't begin the new decade, but I want it to begin anyway.
Well, that person who thinks that he thinks that reality is optional.
It all depends how you feel about reality.
Okay.
Well, let's, okay, here's your assignment.
Just watch the news tonight and see how many people call tomorrow the beginning of the new decade.
I bet you'll find a whole lot.
Oh, there's another bit of news from the wire, and it says that the government, that Congress pledged unlimited financial aid to the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
And it's aimed in making sure the housing market does not take another turn for the worse.
Well, folks, Congress is trying to correct an error that government created.
Matter of fact, let's talk about interest rates, for example.
Interest rates were kept artificially low during the green span years and the follow through to the Bernanke years.
And what's the effect of artificially keeping interest rates low?
Well, it makes people, it encourages people to make long-term investments.
That's what you do when the interest rate is low.
And so people made long-term investments that they should not have made.
Now, what is the cure for this era?
Well, the cure, ladies and gentlemen, are bankruptcies and people losing their homes.
That's the cure.
When you create a bubble, then the cure for the bubble is for the bubble to burst.
And one of the ways for a bubble to burst is just for people to go bankrupt, for companies to go bankrupt, and for people to lose their homes.
Now, see, a lot of people believe, here's what a lot of people believe.
They believe that if Chrysler goes bankrupt, or let's say American, let's say United Airlines were to go bankrupt, people almost believe that if, let's go to,
let's say like United Airlines, they almost believe, or they talk as if they believe, that bankruptcy would mean that all of the airplanes that United Airlines owns would go poof and just disappear into thin air.
Or the assembly lines in Detroit, if Chrysler or General Motors were to go bankrupt, the assembly lines and all that capital that they have to make cars, it would just go poof and disappear into thin air and we would be lost.
We would lose all this capital equipment.
No, bankruptcy does not mean that.
Even if you go all the way past the bankruptcy courts to actual bankruptcy, what bankruptcy means, ladies and gentlemen, is that there's a change in the title to these assets.
That is, someone else will own the assets.
Someone else will purchase the assets who thinks that he can do a better job with the assets.
So bankruptcy and people losing their homes are corrections.
Now, here's what the government does.
When the government steps in to bail out a company, it says, let's say to Chrysler or General Motors, it says, keep on making mistakes like that.
Keep on producing cars that nobody wants.
Keep on producing them at a high price.
We will save you and we will allow you to continue to do the kind of things that are causing you problems.
See, the thing is, in a free economy, a company that makes profits in a free economy, the message of profits is that you're producing things that people value and you're producing them in a way that economizes on the scarce resources of the planet.
What losses do they tell you the message of losses is that you're not producing things that your fellow man wants and or you're producing them in ways that waste resources of the planet.
And so when the government steps in to bail out a company that's making losses, it's in a sense saying, keep on producing things that nobody wants, keep on producing them in ways that waste the resources of the planet.
We will give you the taxpayers' money to keep you in business.
I don't think that we Americans want that.
Okay, anyway.
Okay, by the way, folks, stay tuned for the second hour because I'm going to have my good friend and colleague on who writes with both hands.
He used both hands when he's writing books because this is his 44th book, I believe.
And he's going to come on and talk about it.
Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell.
To whet your appetite for it.
Here's how he starts on the second page of the book.
A little quote.
He gives a quote.
He says, distinguished professors, gifted poets, and influential journalists summoned their talents to convince all who would listen that modern tyrants are liberators and that their unconscionable crimes were noble when seen in the proper
way.
perspective.
Now, let me give you a couple examples of this because I wrote about it in a column several months ago.
Representative Diane Watson, she said, she praised Castro.
W.E.B. Du Bois, writing in the National Guardian in 1953, said that Joseph Stalin was a great man.
He was one of the greatest men of the 20th century.
George Bernard Shaw expressed admiration for Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin.
Matter of fact, Mussolini and Hitler praised Franklin Delano Roosevelt for his New Deal programs.
Anita Dunn, President Obama's communication director, I believe, she said that Mao Sedung and Mother Teresa were her favorite people.
And so Tom Sowell is going to come on in the second hour and he's going to talk about his new book, Intellectuals and Society.
And we'll be back with your calls after this.
We're back, Walter Williams sitting in for Rush and for those of you tuned in late.
Rush is in good stable condition in Honolulu Hospital and he appreciates your prayers and well wishes and we'll keep you informed by checking in on rushlimball.com.
Okay, there's another thing I want to talk about today and it serves for you know there's a lot of political demagoguery about this issue.
We have politicians, businessmen and labor unions.
They're whining about the decline in U.S. manufacturing.
But before I'm going to talk about that, but before that, before looking into what they're calling the sad decline in U.S. manufacturing, let's look at what happened to agriculture.
In 1790, farmers were about 70% of the U.S. labor force.
Everybody had a farm job.
By 1900, only 41% of our labor force was employed in agriculture.
By 2008, less than 3% of Americans are employed in agriculture.
Now, what should Congress do in the face of this precipitous loss of agricultural jobs?
Well, one thing Congress could do is to outlaw all of the technological advances and machinery that made America's farmers the most productive farmers in the world.
And to give you an idea of the productivity of American farmers, our farmers are so productive that if needed, our farmers could feed the entire world.
They're that productive.
Okay, now let's look at agriculture.
According to Dr. Mark Perry, and he uses Department of Labor employment data in his article, in his article called Manufacturing Deaths Greatly Exaggerated.
Now here's what he points out.
In 1979, manufacturing employment peaked at 19.5 million jobs.
Since 1979, manufacturing employment has shrunk by 40%.
And there's every indication that manufacturing employment will continue to shrink.
But before you buy into the call for Congress to do something, there's some other matters we might want to consider.
According to the Federal Reserve, they do studies.
The dollar value of U.S. manufacturing output in November was $2.72 trillion in $2,000.
Today's manufacturing worker is so productive that the value of his output, the annual average value of his output, is $234,000.
That is, the output of one manufacturing worker is $234,000.
And it's twice as high, it's three times as high as in 1980 and twice as high as in 1990.
For 2008, I'm just going to give you a couple more statistics.
For 2008, the Federal Reserve estimates that U.S. manufacturing output was $3.7 trillion in $2008.
So what does that mean?
It means that if United States manufacturing sector was a separate economy with its own GDP, it would rank fourth in the world.
It would be the fourth richest economy tied with Germany.
For example, here's the GDPs.
U.S. GDP, gross domestic product, is $14 trillion this year.
Japan is $4.9 trillion.
China, $4.3 trillion.
U.S. manufacturing, $3.7 trillion.
And Germany, $3.7 trillion.
And don't these facts put a lie to the claims that we hear that our country doesn't produce anything anymore?
How we outsource our production to China.
That is just plain nonsense.
That is, the U.S. manufacturing employment has gone down precipitously.
But manufacturing output has gone up dramatically.
That is, workers are so productive that you don't need the kind of labor in manufacturing that we used to need, and we get so much more.
Okay, now, so here's the question.
What should Congress do about it?
To save jobs in manufacturing.
Should Congress discard innovation in the name of saving jobs?
Should we get rid of robots?
Should Congress outlaw robots that are making cars or making many things?
I want to hear somebody call up and tell me Congress should get rid of these job-destroying robots.
Because one of these robots, I've seen, I was watching a show, one of these robots painting a car, that robot destroyed five or ten different jobs.
So should we get Congress to save these jobs by saying, okay, as part of the health care bill, robots are outlawed.
Of course, that's nonsense.
I don't want you, I don't think any American wants to do that.
But you should keep in mind that many of these things that you hear just plain aren't true, and you have to come to this show to find out what is true.
We'll be back.
We are back.
And it's Walter Williams sitting in for Rush.
And by the way, Rush continues to rest very comfortably in a hospital in Honolulu this afternoon.
Morning time for him.
At the start of our show, at 12 noon, keep in mind it is 7 a.m.
I bet Rush is probably still sleeping, kind of relaxing.
He had a comfortable night and very good night's rest and is getting the very best of medical attention.
He's aware and thankful for all the prayers and concerns and best wishes that have poured in to him.
Yesterday, Wednesday, he was taken to hospital in Honolulu after experiencing chest pains.
While those pains can be an indicator of cardiac event, of a cardiac event, the cause of his discomfort cannot be confirmed at this time, but he's going to take a lot of tests.
Okay, so Rush will have a complete examination today, and we'll know more, and we'll keep everyone informed when there's information to share.
Know this, though.
Rush is in good, stable condition, comfortable, as comfortable as one can be on vacation, particularly in Hawaii, and he's in very good hands.
And he wants me to continue to push back the frontiers of ignorance in America.
Okay, and so to that point, we're going to go to telephone and welcome Ron from Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.
Welcome to the show.
Mr. Williams, in such respect of being able to speak on this program with you, having talked to Mr. Snerdley and in saying Happy New Year to America and in resounding those prayerful regards for our doctor of democracy, Rush.
We want him back.
And I appreciate Mr. Williams, you're speaking about free trade, free enterprise, which ultimately is part of the greatness as we end this year and look to a new year in America of human freedom that we represent.
And I mainly wanted to say that.
Are you sure?
Are you welcoming me to the new decade?
There's the point, Sarah.
And here's the thing of those of us on the right, and that our doctor of democracy always preaches we practice virtue, which includes humility, and to know when we're right and we're wrong.
Okay, okay.
And so, yes, I do want to make a correction, and it's the host in contact with his or her audience that makes for greatness.
It's not that.
Okay, no, come on, come on.
But anyway, the point is that we are in a new decade.
The number line begins with zero, that the first decade of the 21st century began with January 1st, 2000, and we are beginning a new decade.
Okay, let me just go through this little exercise with you.
Okay.
Now, let's suppose I owe you $10.
Okay, I owe you $10.
Thanks.
Okay.
Now, when I give you $1, have I paid you?
No.
What about $5?
Nope.
What about $9?
Nope.
When do I pay you?
When am I completely finished with this decade of obligation?
You start when you move from zero to 10.
I didn't borrow zero from you.
I did not borrow zero from you.
I'm saying there's a beginning and end.
No, no, no.
Well, wait a minute.
Let's stop here.
Let's stop here.
Wait a minute.
Let's stop.
Did I borrow zero from you?
No, you borrowed $10.
Absolutely right.
I never borrowed zero.
Correct.
Okay, so I'm finished paying you.
Now, when do I begin my next $10?
I begin my next $10 with $11.
Well, you're going to money, which is the same number.
Which is a concern about contact.
Let's go to the number line.
It's the same principle.
Look, we can start with minus 20.
Now, where does the number line begin?
Anywhere, minus 20, if you want it.
No, the number line begins at 0.
Oh, no, it does not begin at 0.
The number line begins at minus infinity.
All right, what be all right?
To use your, well, to use your analysis.
And he goes to plus infinity.
What comes first, a penny or a dollar?
The penny.
All right, so I can pay you if I pay you a penny.
Right.
So if the dollar represents the first month in the year, the first penny represents, let's say, the first completed.
Mark, Mark, why don't you quit while you're ahead?
Because you're losing the argument.
Well, thanks for calling.
In your mind, God bless you.
Rethink it.
The number line begins.
We are in a new decade.
Thank you very much.
That's exactly what I told you.
Now, he would be good on the news.
That's exactly what I told you, ladies and gentlemen.
Let's try to get, let's go to Victor in Boca Raton, Florida.
Welcome to the show.
Mr. Williams.
Yes.
Yes.
Happy New Year.
Are you going to welcome me to the new decade?
No, first of all, it's nice to talk to you.
And before anything, I'd like to wish Rush Limbaugh a speedy recovery.
Okay.
Of course, on my behalf and also on behalf of all his fans at the Free Republic.
Mr. Limbo, I hope you're listening.
Please get well soon.
Now, I think the topic of discussion that you just had with the previous caller, to me, sort of indicates like an ocean being reflected in a drop of water, the total ignorance of mass media, or as Mr. Limbaugh calls it appropriately, state-controlled media.
I'm so glad, Mr. Williams, you brought up this issue.
It's been bugging me like a splinter in my finger.
You're absolutely 100% right.
We're not finished with this decade, and you don't need a PhD in mathematics to realize that.
And it's a minor thing.
And would you agree with me, Victor, that the number line doesn't necessarily have to start at zero?
Absolutely.
No, you're absolutely right.
I think it's just another one of those throwaway sound bites that is used to attract attention of people who get easily confused and attracted by little shiny things that sort of keep them away and gives them an excuse to compile a whole bunch of useless lists.
That's right.
Absolutely right.
I am really glad that you are there to give me support.
And I thank you very much for calling in.
Let's go to Dan in Strasbourg, Pennsylvania.
Welcome to the show, Dan.
Yes, Dr. Williams, thank you for having me.
And again, my best to rush.
My question is, in your opinion, why do you think that Representative Frank from Massachusetts believes it's so vital to our economy to keep home prices high?
Well, I think it helps his election.
Oh, well, it doesn't help my kids that are trying to electricity.
Well, that's not his point.
I mean, anyone who believes that the primary concern of politicians is to help the American people, I think they're wrong.
I think the primary goal of politicians is to become elected.
Well, I agree.
And I think these home prices, these high home prices have literally enslaved our population.
And to have a politician try to continue these policies is just, you know, it defies economic logic, in my opinion, and it hurts our country terribly.
Yeah, and many times the home problem, the high home prices are a result of political activity, such as the environmental wackos being able to get congressmen and senators and state legislatures to keep land off the water, off the market in terms of open space, to prohibit the importation of certain goods that go into housing.
All this drives up the price of housing.
And so it makes everyone worse off when the prices rise.
That is a good sign of our improvement in standard of living is prices coming down.
Prices coming down is the measure of a rising standard of living.
Well, would you agree then that this bubble, this housing bubble, was really just a transfer of wealth from the working class population or middle class population of this country to the bankers and politicians.
And in my opinion, it was the greatest bank robbery in history.
Well, it's a redistribution of wealth one way or another.
And just how the, what is precisely redistribution of wealth, I don't have my finger on at this point.
But the next time, I'm going to write something about that so that everybody will know.
And you can check it out on my website.
It's walterewilliams.com.
And we'll be back with more of your calls after this.
Okay, we're back.
And this is Walter Williams sitting in for Rush.
And once again, Rush is in the hospital, and he's doing very well, and he appreciates your prayers and concern.
And we don't want to make this show about how Rush is doing.
So when you call in and you want to express a hope or prayer for Rush, just say dittos and then get to your question.
Let's go to the phone and let's talk to Debbie in Orangeburg, Tennessee.
Welcome to the show, Debbie.
Hi, Walter.
It's a great honor to speak with you.
I just want to say dittos for Rush, but my question is this, or actually a comment.
I can see socialism taking hold on a country that maybe has not been as great as this, but I don't feel that this country is going to sit down and let this happen because we have been so great and freedom is in our heart and in our soul, and I just don't see this being done without a tremendous fight.
Well, I hope you're right, but it does not seem as though you're right.
Now, here's how Americans should think about these issues of government.
And that is, and I think you'll, let's have a little dialogue, you and me.
Now, would you agree that I own Walter Williams, that I am my private property, and you are your private property?
Yes.
Okay.
Now, if you start with that initial premise, then there are certain things that are clearly immoral and there are certain things that are moral.
For example, why is murder immoral?
Well, murder is immoral because it violates private property.
Or rape is immoral.
Again, it violates private property.
Theft is immoral because it violates private property.
Now, most Americans would agree, yes, Walter, it's immoral to murder somebody.
Yes, Walter, it's immoral to rape somebody.
But what about theft?
The average American believes that government or Congress has the right to take the property of one American and give it to another American to whom it does not belong.
Whether it's food stamps, whether it's bailouts, whether it's prescription drugs, whether it's Social Security.
Now, see, here's the problem, Debbie.
Let me ask you a question.
Suppose I see an elderly lady sleeping on a grate in downtown New York City.
The lady's cold.
She's hungry.
She needs some medical attention.
Suppose I could walk, suppose I walk up to James Golden, aka aka Bo, Bo Snerdley, he's a call screening for me.
Suppose I walk up to him and say, James, give me your $200.
I have a gun in my hand.
Give me your $200.
And then having gotten his $200, I go downtown and buy the lady some medical attention, some food, and some shelter.
Would you consider me guilty of a crime?
Yes, I would.
Okay, now, suppose 10 other people agreed with me that I should take James' money.
Would you consider that a crime?
Yes.
What about 300 million people agreed?
Still a crime.
It's still a crime.
But see, this is what Americans believe in.
They believe that is, if I said, look, if I were a congressman and I say, well, we're going, I'm going to try to end Medicare.
I'm going to try to end prescription drugs, farm subsidies, food stamps.
Do you think the American people in any state would elect me to the Senate with that campaign promise?
Well, sadly, they probably wouldn't.
Yeah.
See, that's what I'm talking about.
See, that is the problem.
See, too many Americans want to blame politicians for our problems.
Yeah, and we can blame them some.
But Debbie, the bulk of the blame lies with you and me.
Now, keep in mind, I'm not for, I don't have anything against helping one's fellow man in need.
And I think that reaching into one's own pockets to help his fellow man in need is praiseworthy and laudable.
Reaching into somebody else's pockets to help your fellow man in need is despicable and worthy of condemnation.
And for those of us who are Christians, when we should recognize when God gave Moses the commandment, thou shalt not steal, he did not mean that thou shalt not steal unless you got a majority vote in Congress.
We'll be back with your calls after this.
We're back, and it's Walter Williams sitting in for Rush, who is recuperating in the hospital, and we'll keep you up to date.
Just check at rushlimbaugh.com and for any update on Russia's situation.
And Russia is very thankful for your prayers and concerns.
But right now, back to the show, and let's welcome Rita from Pine Mountain.
Welcome to the show, Rita.
How are you?
Okay.
Dittos to Rush.
About this time of year, we all worry or are concerned for the homeless and the people that are unemployed.
And my question is, with this new health care, these people can't afford insurance now, and they're not going to be able to, so they're not going to be able to pay the fine or anything.
So what's going to happen to these people?
I do not.
Well, look, first of all, I think one of the things Americans are not asking, we don't have a major health care problem to begin with.
I'm asking people, for example, for example, how many times, what city do you live in?
Oh, Pine Mountain.
Okay.
Do you have trouble walking along the street, stepping over people who are dying because they don't have health care?
No.
No.
Everybody in the United States gets some of the world's best health care, even if they have to go to a waiting room and maybe spend five hours waiting for a doctor.
I mean, so I think that one of the big problems in our country is that the health care crisis was caused by government.
That is, we don't have a free market system in health care.
Over 51% of all health care expenditures are made by the federal, state, or local governments.
And so one of the things that we can do to help health care is to get government out of our lives.
Right.
But if this passes and people can't afford the health care or the fines, what happens?
Well, I guess they go to jail to receive good health care in jail.
But thank you for calling in.
Now, by the way, one of the reasons I stay in good health.
I exercise four days a week, and I am in wonderful shape.
And as a matter of fact, I'm in such good shape that the lady at the gym where I exercise, she's given me a tank top with a cutoff.
And I asked her, why are you doing that?
She says, for eye candy.
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