Re: Bad Econmic News Hence, he is to blame. No signature = no Stimulus, no ObamaCare, no huge spending increases, etc. etc.
Obama certainly set the agenda. He's the commander in chief. Pelosi and Reid were his generals. He told them, "go take that hill (health care, whatever)," and they did.
Re: Bad Econmic News No, I'm not joking. Consumer spending is a huge driver of our economy. It doesn't matter how much disposable income you have. Dispose of it, and then dispose of some more. Buy a house you can't afford. Buy a new car. Heck, buy a couple new cars. Run up that debt. Max out your credit cards. If everyone does that, I guarantee the economy will instantly recover. Instead of sitting around going "oh, oh, the economy is bad" get out and do something about it. It's bad because you are sitting around going "oh, oh, the economy is bad". You are to blame. barfo
Except most peoples' cards are already maxed out, people foreclosed upon don't get more credit, and obama's gift to the banks killed peoples' ability to borrow against the home equity they no longer have.
Re: Bad Econmic News The good news is if you spend all you have and can borrow, you won't have anything when the govt. comes after you to pay off its huge debts. And the govt. debts haven't done much for the economy, so it's not particularly setting a good example of how to do things.
Re: Bad Econmic News I think things are getting better. Many people I talk to downtown have the same feeling. Slowly, but headed in the right direction as companies are loosening up the belts a tad.
Re: Bad Econmic News The real issue is that we've been putting off pain and sacrifice, both in the short term and the long term. In the short term, we amassed too much personal debt. Individually, we needed to de-leverage which means less consumer spending which would slow down the economy. That circumstance should have meant a recession of the 1981-82 variety. The longer term issue is that the first baby boomers are retiring. This condition was foreseen and predictable, and both parties blew off saving for this population bulge. So at the same time we're trying to pay off our personal debt, we're having to increase our public debt to pay our entitlement obligations. Furthermore, the slowing economy (due to less consumption) means that less revenue is going into government coffers while the demand for temporary safety net programs is increasing. It's a tough situation, but not an insurmountable one. However, what the Obama Administration has made a bad situation worse. The classic prescription is to help the private sector in tough times by temporarily lowering taxes, lessening regulations, accelerating government capital programs that can be bid to private companies and offering tax credits. What was done was almost exactly the opposite.
Re: Bad Econmic News Horseshit. There were tax credits given. There were government programs that were bid to private companies. Taxes were lowered. barfo
Re: Bad Econmic News Yeah, by way of stupid government programs: Cash-for-clunkers was such a great idea and really got the economy going. The government decided where people should spend their money instead of actually lowering taxes. It didn't work.
Re: Bad Econmic News Not really. For example, everyone is getting a tax holiday on payroll taxes this year. There's no requirement about what you spend that money on. barfo
Re: Bad Econmic News Which year do you mean by "this year"? I'm looking at my paycheck right now, seeing a lot of payroll taxes being paid.
Re: Bad Econmic News Did I say your payroll taxes had been reduced to zero? I don't think I did. And yes, I mean 2011. If you need education, you can read about the tax holiday here. barfo
Re: Bad Econmic News Barfo, I would like to award you 100 internets for the never-ending confidence on these subjects. They broke me and have given up trying to share my opinion with them. Keep up the good fight.
Re: Bad Econmic News Ah, yes. By "holiday" you actually meant a small reduction. Yeah, not misleading at all. If you need education, you can read about the definition of "holiday" here
Re: Bad Econmic News You are just whining to whine, I think. It's a 32% reduction in the social security tax. If that's a "small reduction", then I guess it wasn't a very big tax to begin with. barfo
Re: Bad Econmic News What good fight? This is now Obama's economy. He owns it. There's no one else to blame. Do things appear to be better than they were under the previous administration?
