OBAMA ON CAPITALISM: It’s Dandy in Africa! In America? Meh
Barack Obama’s Schizophrenic Approach to Capitalism and Affordable Energy, Great for Africa, Demonized in America-Clash Daily-8-6-14
In April 2009, at a NATO summit in Strasbourg, France,, Barack Obama explained that he believes in American exceptionalism the same way “the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.” That jaw-dropping statement might have taken some people aback, but it should have come as no surprise. What else would one expect from Frank Marshall Davis’ protégé, Rev. Wright’s parishioner of twenty years and Bill Ayers’ neighborhood pal?
A belief in American exceptionalism is at the heart of the patriotism despised by that troika, and other members of the 5th column American Left, at least as that phrase is traditionally understood. They believe in their own twisted form of American exceptionalism; specifically, that America is exceptional not because it is a beacon of liberty, but because of its hideous imperialism, its arrogance, its theft of the planet’s resources, and its racism. It’s time for America to be cut down to size, and King Barack I is just the man for the job.
The latest evidence of Barack Obama’s vision for a transformed America is hot off the presses. It’s not the enabling of the destruction of the southern border, or even the importation of the ebola virus into our country. (It’s hard to keep up with these assaults on the country we grew up in, isn’t it? Yes, Barack is a man in a hurry!) Rather, it’s his enthusiastic embrace of capitalism, but not here in America. He’s all for it in Africa, as he explained at the just concluded U.S-Africa Leaders Summit with officials from 51 African nations. (Note to Joe Biden: Africa is not a country.) He, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sec. of Commerce Penny Pritzker are all excited about U.S. companies committing to $33 billion in investments in the Dark Continent. This sort of excitement about entrepreneurship and free markets seems a little odd coming from Mr. “You Didn’t Build That,” that is until you connect some dots.
As you know, Barack Obama has decided that one of his “legacy accomplishments” will be a destruction of America’s coal fired power plants, which provide affordable, reliable electricity and thousands of jobs in this country. On June 2, 2014, Barack Obama’s EPA released rules that is says will cut CO2 emissions by 30 percent. These rules are another attempt to use an administration bureaucracy to do an end run around Congress, which refused to implement a cap-and-trade program back in 2009, even though the Democrats controlled both houses of Congress. Of course, the global impact of these regulations, assuming they can’t be stopped, which we hope and pray that they can, will be negligible. Australia bagged similar regulations after the people howled. Germany isn’t giving up coal fired electricity, and you well know that China and India would greet any efforts to stall their economies by shutting down coal-fired plants with a one-finger salute.
Then there’s Africa, which Barack Obama hopes will be the FORMERLY Dark Continent. From the Washington Post:
On Sunday, [June 29, 2014] Obama promised $7 billion in financial support over the next five years to bring “electricity access” to 20 million new households in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania, as well as help countries like Mozambique develop their oil and gas resources. … It’s unlikely that Africa can power itself through wind and solar power alone. Tanzania, for one, is eager to exploit its large offshore natural gas reserves. So how does all this square with Obama’s pledge to curtail greenhouse-gas emissions?
Tom Hart, the executive director of the ONE Campaign, an advocacy group, thinks that the two goals don’t necessarily need to conflict. “We think an exception can be made for poorest and least-emitting countries,” he says. “If you provided 580 million Africans with basic energy access, that would increase global carbon emissions by just 1 percent. In other words, if Obama wants to tackle global warming, Africa isn’t the place to start. [emphasis mine]
It’s possible, however, that some environmental rules could limit U.S. involvement. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which just pledged $1.5 billion in energy projects for sub-Saharan Africa, currently has an internal cap on greenhouse-gas emissions. Those rules would prevent OPIC from financing more than one medium-sized natural-gas plant, for example.
Todd Moss of the Center for Global Development has proposed lifting OPIC’s emissions cap slightly for the poorest, least-emitting countries in Africa. “More than half the people in low-income neighborhoods in Nairobi and Dakar have no access to electricity,” he told me earlier this year. “For reaching urban centers and powering industrial zones, you’ll likely need traditional large-scale power plants. And current U.S. rules are keeping businesses out of that area.”
I am sure that President Payback will be more than happy to enable another “waiver” to assist African economies grow, while hobbling America’s access to reliable energy.
Lights out, Bitter Clinger. Payback is a bitch, or at least that’s what Barack says.
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