Understanding our low voltage economy.

If you’re having trouble understanding why the economy is flatlining, why unemployment is persistently high, why consumer confidence is persistently low and why the country’s credit report just got dinged, consider the following.

At a campaign stop that was thinly disguised as a town hall meeting in Cannon Falls, Minnesota Monday President Obama delivered this stern lecture to automakers.

“You can’t just make money on SUVs and trucks. There is a place for SUVs and trucks, but as gas prices keep going up, you have got to understand the market. People are going to try to save money.”

Professor Obama’s faculty lounge dissertation on the market would be laughable were it not for the fact that he holds enormous power over the auto industry. The president, as you will recall, used taxpayer funds to intervene in the bankruptcy proceedings of GM and Chrysler — largely for the benefit of the United Auto Workers union.

GM and Chrysler sold their souls to the Obama administration and he’s calling the shots. Obama went on to say that, “…ultimately the private sector is going to be creating jobs, but understanding that government can be an effective partner in that process.”

Really. Well consider this “partnership.”

At the insistence of the administration, and using taxpayer funds, GM developed the Chevy Volt, an electric “green car” touted by the administration as the future of transportation. Even with a $7,500 per vehicle government-funded cash rebate to the consumer, GM has yet to sell as many as 250 Chevy Volts in a single month.

Some understanding of the market, Mr. President. Some partnership.