What happened to all of the doom and gloom economic threads?

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At time of crisis, Obama plays politics
By:Examiner Editorial | 08/08/11 8:05 PM.

President Obama finally made public remarks on Monday regarding Friday evening’s decision by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the U.S. credit rating.

When President Obama finally got around Monday to offering public remarks on Friday evening's decision by Standard & Poor's to downgrade the U.S. credit rating, his comments featured a little of everything. There was at the outset a snide retort that "we didn't need a rating agency" to tell us we have an economic problem, followed by shifting blame for the downgrade to Republicans for their "insistence on drawing lines in the sand" and willingness to use "the threat of a default" as "a bargaining chip." Obama then indulged in a crude denial of reality in saying "there's not much further we can cut" in defense or domestic spending. There was a promise, finally, "to present my own recommendations in coming weeks on how we should proceed," followed by yet more demands for additional federal spending on stimulus projects and unemployment.

It was, in short, vintage Obama: political double talk with a sprinkling of empty promises and baseless accusations of selfish intentions on the part of opponents. What it was not was presidential leadership. We have in recent days been highly critical on this page of mindless blame-shifting by leaders of both parties. Pointing fingers is counterproductive because the people who got us in this mess are in charge of getting us out of it.

But presidents are supposed to lead, and the S&P downgrade presented Obama with an historic "teachable moment" in which he could have, for the greater benefit of the country, shed all pretense of political posturing and simply told the truth about the situation we are in. For example, he could have asked leaders of both parties in Congress to stop blaming each other and acknowledge that for the past decade, under a Republican and a Democrat president and with controlling congressional majorities from both parties, the federal government has been on an unprecedented spending binge that in Obama's own word is "unsustainable."

Since 2003, tax revenues flowing into the U.S. Treasury increased 20 percent, but spending went up 60 percent. As a result, the national debt exploded to 40 percent of the Gross Domestic Product under President George W. Bush, has reached 72 percent under Obama, and by all counts is headed much higher. But instead of speaking honestly about these matters, Obama declared Monday that federal outlays cannot be cut further, thus aligning himself with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and others on the far left of his party who vow undying opposition to any further spending reductions.

Similarly, instead of taking his own advice about not putting ideological interests ahead of the nation's good, Obama couldn't resist repeating his clarion call to class warfare via "tax reform that will ask those that can afford it to pay their fair share." But what is fair about demanding more from those to whom Obama presumably refers (the top 5 percent of all income earners) when they already pay more than 60 percent of federal income taxes? This isn't leadership, it's politics at its most base.


Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2011/08/time-crisis-obama-plays-politics#ixzz1UYnCdXo4
 
At time of crisis, Obama plays politics

That's pretty fucking hilarious considering the political bullshit that went on with Republicans in the House regarding the Debt ceiling. You remember, the political bullshit that contributed directly to our nation's credit rating being downgraded for the first time in history.

Those aren't the President's words, those are the reasons given by S&P, the ones who issued the downgrade. But I don't expect the heavily conservative Washington Examiner to have anything but bad things to say about the President while ignoring the fact that what he said was absolutely true.

It's equally hilarious that they make the claim that revenues are up, which they are, as long as you don't adjust them for inflation. Adjusted to a constant (2005 dollars) tax revenue is down from $2,304 Billion in 2000 (20.6% of GDP) to $1,919 Billion (14.9% of GDP) in 2010 according to the Tax Policy Center. Meanwhile security discretionary spending has increased by 170% to over $815 Billion since 2001 while mandatory spending (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans benefits) are up just 130% when adjusted for population increases. And most of that is from the Prescription Drug plan that was instituted just a few years ago and have benefited those on a fixed income greatly.

All in all, another typical RightField C&P, long on bullshit and short on actual fact.
 
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The House passed Cut Cap and Balance, the Democrat Senate voted against it, if they would have passed it, we wouldn't have had a downgrade. It is the intransigence of Democrats that is to blame. Own it.

you seriously believe its possible to have a sane discussion with DOUGH NUT BOI?

he is in OBAMAS CUNT HEAD FIRST
 
Updated: 08/09/2011 04:38 ET

DOW 11,239.77 +429.92

Gold (-GC) futures hit a record Tuesday at $1,778 as the chaos continued in global markets, and analysts said the precious metal may be headed even higher. But gold settled back to $1,752 in midday trading as investors showed renewed interest in the stock market.

The new push for gold means that the world's biggest exchange-traded fund could soon be the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), which took in $1.3 billion in new assets in just one day Monday.

Waiting game, see which market runs.
 
Updated: 08/09/2011 04:38 ET

DOW 11,239.77 +429.92

Gold (-GC) futures hit a record Tuesday at $1,778 as the chaos continued in global markets, and analysts said the precious metal may be headed even higher. But gold settled back to $1,752 in midday trading as investors showed renewed interest in the stock market.

The new push for gold means that the world's biggest exchange-traded fund could soon be the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), which took in $1.3 billion in new assets in just one day Monday.

Waiting game, see which market runs.

That must have been an awful speech that had America's investors losing all faith in Obama. I mean just look at the plummet today.
 
That must have been an awful speech that had America's investors losing all faith in Obama. I mean just look at the plummet today.

I wonder how many wingnuts on here are currently buying gold... Anyone man enough to admit it?


Trick question, I know.

;)
 
Only Chihuahuas like you would be buying it now.

So are you a chihuahua, or do you think that we've reached the worst of it, and everything is going to get better from here?


Glen beck still indicates on his website that you should buy gold... Don't you trust glen beck?
 
So are you a chihuahua, or do you think that we've reached the worst of it, and everything is going to get better from here?


Glen beck still indicates on his website that you should buy gold... Don't you trust glen beck?

I bought all the gold I need back in 1974, Beck is a piker.
 
The House passed Cut Cap and Balance, the Democrat Senate voted against it, if they would have passed it, we wouldn't have had a downgrade. It is the intransigence of Democrats that is to blame. Own it.


Oh, so if the Democratic Senate and Democratic President just did everything Republicans wanted everything would be fine. Democrats should compromise but Republicans "stick to their values".

You do realize that Cut, Cap, and Balance didn't come with a balanced budget amendment, right? It merely said that one should be voted on, though not even that was legally binding. You can't pass a bill that forces the Senate to take up a bill it doesn't want to. Regardless that's 67 senate votes needed when most analysts think there are only about 35.
 
Oh, so if the Democratic Senate and Democratic President just did everything Republicans wanted everything would be fine. Democrats should compromise but Republicans "stick to their values".

You do realize that Cut, Cap, and Balance didn't come with a balanced budget amendment, right? It merely said that one should be voted on, though not even that was legally binding. You can't pass a bill that forces the Senate to take up a bill it doesn't want to. Regardless that's 67 senate votes needed when most analysts think there are only about 35.

MERCMORON ALERT! He's back.
 
I'd add more, but it looks like Right Field and Frisco, et al, have pretty much burnt toasted (pun, ha ha) Ulaven's, Sean's, Richard's and Merc's arguments. You know, if you were counting debate points.

Liberals are NOT famous for speedy adaption to rapidly changing circumstances, which must be why their numbers are dwindling. But our little lefty group here deserves at least a special mention in the Darwin Awards for suggesting some of the most suicidal national policy ideas imaginable.

I especially enjoyed Ulaven's deep ideas about nuclear deterrent. We don't need no stinkin' army, sez Captian Ulaven....

What keeps those countries who would like to see the end of ours by military means are held in check? It's not the might of our armed forces, troops, but by the threat of utter annihilation worse than Japan suffered at the end of WWII. We are, after all, the only country to ever actually use a nuclear weapon against anyone. Which makes it kind of ironic that we assume to tell other countries they can't have them because they might use them.. All the while maintaining enough nuclear firepower to end the world as we know it.

Pathetic!....I’m always amazed at how weak-kneed peacenik liberals think FUCK YEAH, WE CAN JUST NUKE ANYONE WHO FUCKS WITH US! As if. Naturally, the deaths of tens of millions of civilians never enters into their calculations. Reminds me of the Bay of Pigs non-plan. Stupid beyond belief.

Don’t get too trigger happy over our nuclear deterrent, Son, because we can’t morally justify its use in any but the most dire situations such as a direct nuclear attack on the continental US or an invasion, neither of which appear likely any time soon. Fact is, our nuclear deterrent is basically of ZERO value in almost any foreign conflict imaginable, short of a nuclear exchange between Israel and Iran, and even then, it’s unlikely we’ll ever use our nukes strategically. And the whole world knows that.

Btw, it’s a really Noam Chomsky moment to imagine it’s ironic we seek to deny other nations nuclear weapons capacity because we used the A-bomb to end the Pacific war and thus saved millions of Japanese and American lives. Truman did the right thing. Anyone who says he didn’t is simply an ahistorical anti-American propagandist.

Stopping nuclear proliferation should be a top priorty. Why? Because when crazy mullahs who believe in martyrdom get nuclear weapons we can’t be sure that mutual assured destruction (MAD) will deter them as it did with the Soviets and does with the Chinese. Some people are simply not rational.

As for limiting our strategic options by cutting back on our military...bad idea, because having a severely limit range of strategic options means we might have to use a sledgehammer when what was really called for was a tack hammer. It's the way to get lots of people killed fast.

Your plan seems to be: Unilaterally disarming and then count on everyone else to play nice. Because if anyone fucks with us, WE CAN JUST NUKE THEIR ASS! People like you should never be allowed any position of power, because you be fucking dangerous, dude.
 
Oh, so if the Democratic Senate and Democratic President just did everything Republicans wanted everything would be fine. Democrats should compromise but Republicans "stick to their values".

Wow, Merc, after 214 pages you finally are starting to get the fucking message? Whoa.

That's exactly right, dude. If the Republicans had gotten everything they wanted, the current market crash wouldn't have occurred. Only the dems shouldn't just compromise, they should fucking ACTIVELY COLLABORATE with the Republicans to save the country. It's not rocket science. The cure to our economic woes is well understood. It just takes grown ups to put aside their ideological teddy bears and safety blankets long enough to JUST DO IT.

Let's put it in a way you Union thugs can understand: Capital is on strike in America. The investors have fucking had it with fantasy-land debt levels. Investors are saying to Obama and his policies: GO FUCK YOURSELF AND THE PARTY YOU RODE IN ON.

Businesses aren't hiring. They're on strike. Consumer's aren't buying. They're on strike. Foreign money is leaving. They're on strike.

Until the fucking Obama management team ponies up to the table with a REAL plan to return this country to prosperity. WE'RE ALL ON STRIKE.
 
Wow, Merc, after 214 pages you finally are starting to get the fucking message? Whoa.

That's exactly right, dude. If the Republicans had gotten everything they wanted, the current market crash wouldn't have occurred. Only the dems shouldn't just compromise, they should fucking ACTIVELY COLLABORATE with the Republicans to save the country. It's not rocket science. The cure to our economic woes is well understood. It just takes grown ups to put aside their ideological teddy bears and safety blankets long enough to JUST DO IT.

Let's put it in a way you Union thugs can understand: Capital is on strike in America. The investors have fucking had it with fantasy-land debt levels. Investors are saying to Obama and his policies: GO FUCK YOURSELF AND THE PARTY YOU RODE IN ON.

Businesses aren't hiring. They're on strike. Consumer's aren't buying. They're on strike. Foreign money is leaving. They're on strike.

Until the fucking Obama management team ponies up to the table with a REAL plan to return this country to prosperity. WE'RE ALL ON STRIKE.

The Democrats DID actively collaborate with the Republicans, to the point of absolute surrender. You can callt he deal nothing else but a complete surrender of every single ideal they had. There is nothing more to give.

Businesses aren't hiring because there is no demand. If they are as you claim on strike it's time to seriously redistribute the wealth in this country.

Consumers aren't buying cus their broke. There not on strike. Who gives a shit about Foriegn money which unless you've got a link I haven't heard anything about them majorly pulling out. Is China not buying our debt anymore?

Obama has been at the table since day one. Republicans have simply refused to do anything and have actively chosen to block EVERYTHING. Even if republicans were 150% right about everything and had Obama been able to do what he wanted for the last two and a half years that it would have wrecked the country that's what we voted for. We didn't vote for broken government that refuses to budge. Besides wouldn't you rather be able to point out exactly what Obama did and where in 2012 to prove him a poor president (not a poor dictactor/leader) instead of your current stance which you're going to have to run on "Obama couldn't make us do anything so he's a failure" which honestly might work with independents like me. I'm actually considering voting for a Republican because Democrats don't have the spines to do to this country what Republicans are willing to and I'm not sure we can last another four years of a minority party running the system.
 
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