Batchelor: Hostile Coach POTUS Disdains Profits

John Batchelor writes on his blog:

WSJ’s Mary Anastasia O’Grady welcomes the jobs additions of 244k for April, but laments that the recovery remains fragile and sluggish; and O’Grady points to POTUS establishing a theme that is “hostile toward profits” with his excessive talk of regulation, taxes, prohibitions and moratoriums, and keen emphasis on government-directed social programs such as the behemoth Affordable Care Act, the ungainly and presumptuous Dodd-Frank bill, the loony and so-far unrealized Green-R-Us energy agenda that disdains fossil fuels and rewards wishing upon wind and solar.

POTUS has established a tone of suspiciousness toward American profiteering. POTUS does regard energy as the bad vs the worse vs the holy few. POTUS does treat the Treasury as an enforcer and nationalizer. POTUS has 18 months to convince the taxpayer and the job-seeker that he favors growth. For now, “hostile toward profits” is an earned demerit.

POTUS remarks toward the jobs figures is an oddly passive aggressive blend of coaching a team on a losing streak after a small success mixed with anticipation of losses ahead: President Obama, speaking in Indianapolis, said the report showed that the economy “can take a hit and still keep on going.”

NOTE: Peter Koelliker, a frequent RBO commenter, adds the following to JB’s post:

Regarding the following, PK writes: “Many inside jokes. You cannot read the nametags of the bartenders serving booze to Lord Keynes and metaphorically the economy, but the nametags say ‘Tim’ and ‘Ben’, the tax cheat and the Bernanke, respectively. Little was it known when this first video was made that we would be force fed “the hair of the dog,” i.e., QE2.”