Eastwood's empty chair became an empty suit at the debate.
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Of course, underlying all of the emptiness are the empty promises that have defined the Presidency of Barack Obama. This was not just one bad performance by the President. It simply shows that when you really look closely at the last four years, there is not much to see. The well is empty on results and so is our leadership.
Matt Welch of Reason.com shows how empty Barack Obama's rhetoric is by pointing out how closely President Obama's 2012 debate talk eerily sounded just like his first debate of 2008. As Welch puts it, Obama plagiarized his own debate promises from 2008.
A couple examples.
Shipping Jobs Overseas
2012: I also want to close those loopholes that are giving incentives for companies that are shipping jobs overseas. I want to provide tax breaks for companies that are investing here in the United States. Right now, you can actually take a deduction for moving a plant overseas.
2008: Let's just be clear. What I do is I close corporate loopholes, stop providing tax cuts to corporations that are shipping jobs overseas so that we're giving tax breaks to companies that are investing here in the United States.
Oil Company Depletion Allowance
2012: Now, I've identified areas where we can, right away, make a change that I believe would actually help the economy. The -- the oil industry gets $4 billion a year in corporate welfare. Basically, they get deductions that those small businesses that Governor Romney refers to, they don't get. Now, does anybody think that ExxonMobil needs some extra money when they're making money every time you go to the pump? Why wouldn't we want to eliminate that?2008: And if we want to talk about oil company profits, under your tax plan, John -- this is undeniable -- oil companies would get an additional $4 billion in tax breaks. Now, look, we all would love to lower taxes on everybody. But here's the problem: If we are giving them to oil companies, then that means that there are those who are not going to be getting them.
The truth of the matter is that both of these issues are bogus and the President must know it. However, he continues to talk about them to score political points. Let's look at the facts.
There is no loophole or tax break to send jobs overseas. U.S. companies, unlike almost every other country in the world, taxes a U.S. corporation on income that is earned anywhere in the world. They also do not get a deduction for moving jobs overseas as President Obama suggested in the debate and to which Governor Romney famously responded "You said you get a deduction for taking a plant overseas. Look, I've been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you're talking about. I maybe need to get a new accountant."
The oil depletion allowance (the "$4 billion tax break" that President Obama referenced in both debates) is no different than the depreciation allowance for other businesses. If you buy a machine for your business both accounting and tax rules do not generally allow you to deduct that cost in the year of purchase. However, just as it not proper to deduct the cost of the machine in one year, it also would not be fair to not allow it to be deducted over time as the machine will wear out and be worthless at some point. Therefore, machinery, equipment, furniture and fixtures are generally required to be depreciated (deducted) over a period of years.
The same is true for oil, gas and mineral interests. When an owner buys a piece of property with oil and gas reserves that property will gradually lose value during the time that the oil and gas is pumped out of the ground. The same is true for mining. At some point the oil and gas (or minerals) will be depleted and the property will have lost most of its value. Similar to a machine, the asset will wear out. The depletion allowance recognizes this and allows a deduction for this over time. What is even more disingenuous in the President's debate language is that the integrated oil companies like Exxon Mobil are not entitled to the most generous depletion allowance calculation (percentage depletion) under the law in any event. That method has not been allowed for the integrated oil companies since 1975. Mitt Romney clearly knew that pointed that out in the debate. President Obama is either clueless or doesn't care about the truth.
Malcolm Gladwell wrote an excellent book a few years ago called The Tipping Point. The basic thesis of the book is that ideas, behavior, messages and products often behave just like outbreaks of infectious diseases. One moment everything is seemingly fine and the next it is not. A tipping point is reached in which isolated single events reach critical mass much like water reaching a boiling point. In effect, ideas and perceptions behave much like a virus in the way it runs through a population. At first the virus is isolated and spread very widely over the population. However, it can spread quickly and quietly until it reaches critical mass. All of a sudden, everything is then different. Therefore, big changes can suddenly become apparent to us from what would seem the most minor of inputs. That is the point at which "The Tipping Point" is reached.
An empty chair at a convention or a bad debate performance may seem like minor events but they could very well be evidence of the emergence of a social epidemic with respect to how Barack Obama is viewed by the public.
In 2008 the Obamamania social epidemic carried Barack Obama to The White House. That fever has broken but are we seeing the beginnings of something else? Barack Obama can still recover from the sick bed and contain the emerging EmptyVirus from further spreading within the general population. However, there is little question that it is spreading right now.
My opinion is that EmptyVirus is out of the bottle and it is inevitable that it will totally infect Barack Obama at some point. For the good of the country I only hope the tipping point is reached with the public in the next four weeks. Putting the entire country at risk from the effects of EmptyVirus over the next four years is very dangerous and will greatly increase the potential risk for everyone. It doesn't have to be this way. However, it is going to take a majority of people to open their eyes and see that they are looking at a President running on empty in the next few weeks.
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