I watched Obama as well. From beginning to end. There is no question in my mind that he was very confident in what he was saying - that doesn't make it the right solution. As Chuck noted, the most obvious issue Obama danced around was the middle class tax relief and the cap and trade issue which was a part of the same question. Obama indicated that the top 5% of this nation should pay more in taxes. Sorry Obama but these people already pay 95% of the federal taxes in this nation. He indicated that his plan would cut the deficit in half during his first term but then recognized a 9.5 trillion dollar spike in debt after that when challenged by one of the reporters. This is a much higher debt than what he was handed. And yes Joe I'm criticizing him and I have other thoughts as to what would bring this economy back to life while cutting our debt. If I were the President, I would:
First make a firm commitment to downsize the Federal Government. Every program or agency that duplicates the services each individual state provides would be cut to the bone and eventually eliminated to bring us more in line with the constitution and less of a burden on the taxpayer. I know this would put some federal government employees out of work but with all of their training they shouldn't have much of a problem finding work with the individual states since this wouldn't be an overnight transition and the agency heads would be directed to organize placement assistance.
Second, the amount of money spent on other countries MUST be cut to the lowest amount possible. This country taxes it's citizens and sends money abroad (billions upon billions) and most of that money never makes it to the masses. We have people here going to bed hungry. Stop the madness. Charity starts at home. I would encourage churches and other non-profits to set up programs that funnels VOLUNTEER money to address issues in other countries. Incidentally, you would still be able to deduct those charitable contributions from your taxes.
Third, I would take HALF of the money saved through these substantial spending cuts and return it to those who pay taxes through tax cuts - across the board. The remaining half would be used to buy down the national debt. This would put much more money in the pockets of the citizens. After the debt is paid down, the money used to service the debt liability would also be returned to the taxpayers via a reduction in federal taxes.
Fourth, I would substantially cut or eliminate altogether, estate taxes and capital gains taxes, which would encourage people to invest and grow, creating jobs.
Fifth, I would initiate actions that do what the federal government was intended to do - defend our homeland. Move troops to our southern border to stop the unfettered flow of illegal aliens that put ENORMOUS stress on our healthcare, education, and criminal justice systems. I'm frankly tired of hearing about the high costs of healthcare and education from our government when they develop plans to tax the citizens to address symptoms rather than problems. Amend the constitution to stop the children of ILLEGAL immigrants from being considered American citizens just because they were born on American soil. Stop all illegals from receiving assistance from social programs. Take them into custody and deport them immediately. Take the financial burden off of the backs of the law abiding, hard working American.
There are too many deficiencies in our government to address them all in a comment but this is where I'd start.
Yes Joe, I am much more confident after watching Obama last night - confident that we're heading down the road to soacialism faster than any of us ever deamed possible. I'm also confident that we're about to embark upon a budgetary journey that will create a mountain of debt that will be absolutely, 100% unserviceable. You and I have talked many times about business and the like. Frankly I can't understand how you can get behind such a strategy. Everyone has the right to their own opinion and I respect that. I will never agree to a compromise of the fundamental freedoms on which this nation is based because some politician who speaks well publically says I should. Remember, Hitler was a powerful speaker as well.
Think about your second to last paragraph Joe, he will bring EXACTLY what the mayor of Salisbury brought her citizens. Increasingly higher taxes to fund programs that don't work.
25 comments:
Spot on!! Rolling Stone had an article recently that explained how we this whole financial mess evolved, it started in the 90's with deregulation of banks, and yes BOTH parties are to blame. Most important is the role of the FED and how trillions are missing, and the fact that the Fed cannot be audited or regulated by ANYONE. Bernanke is one of the most evil.Obama is a willing pawn of a few wealthy elite (Bilderberg group) bankers/politicians that are methodically bankrupting the taxpayer and small banks.As long as he can preen for the crowds and pad his own personal wealth he will continue to look the other way as the taxpaying people of this country are looted.
HEY Stop making sense!!!!!
AMEN!!!
who was that masked poster?
He or she has my vote for President!!
Hmmm, protectionism, isolationism, and nationaliam? Why don't you just come out and say it? You obviously want to turn America into a facist state. Yeah, that's a great idea.
Two Sentz you have your "isms" confused. What IS at state is American Sovereignty and the Constitution. Do you truly want one World Government and currency?
I hate to wake up people from their 1950s slumber, but there is no such thing as an "American economy" anymore, and that is not due to some giant socialist plot, it has to do with changing technology and demographics. You all complain about a "one world economy," and then go shop at WalMart, driving there in your Toyota which was manufactured in Tennessee. We have a global economy, we need a global economy, and the only question left is will we stick our heads in the sand and be left out of the new economy, or will we lead it? Obama says we should lead it, and I agree.
Well Anon 923, maybe we can have our Gold and Silver siezed by the government just like FDR did in the depression (that his tax and spend programs prolonged) World government means an end to any representation of the taxpayer or common man. It will be rule by an elite few. Is that what you want?
He/She states what seems to be interesting ideas. Then he/she follows it up with a Hitler reference.
Two Sentz is correct. This person is just spouting protectionism, isolationism, and nationaliam. You just simply can't do these things in this global market.
Why do you always have to bring Hitler into it? Very telling. Put down the Glenn Beck kool-aid.
You know... You start with that as your basic blueprint, and give it to a Republican congress to enact, and then let your VP run your foreign policy... you have the disaster that was the Bush years.
No thanks. Been there... and it really really stinks.
I'm posting here because I didn't want this message to get lost in the negative comments posted on Joe's early thread:
President Obama Comforted This Republican
Seriously? We aren't Americans here...we're nothing but a bunch of whiners and complainers. Pride is gone! Every single person on that post had an opinion about what Obama is doing, but ABSOLUTELY NOBODY, offered up an alternative solution despite Joe asking several times.
I have a an enormous amout of respect for ANYBODY and EVERYBODY who attempted to lead this Country during this toilet bowl economy! Who would want to take on this task at all? We are at war, we have the worst economy ever, we have the greatest national debt ever, we are plagued with pollution, we have an energy crisis, we have a mortgage/lending crisis, we have a plummetting stock market, we have failing health care, we have a failing automobile industry, we have higher crime, we have immigration problems...if it's bad, we have it!
So I ask all of you folks out there complaining about what Obama is doing to help solve these problems ALL AT THE SAME TIME: What would you do? You sit at home in complain, but you provide no insight. Anybody can take the coward way out and just complain, but offer up a solution instead. Use your mind and quit being ignorant. I respect this post tremendously because Joe offered up his opinion and solutions; he didn't simply criticize.
There are very few people, if any, who post on this blog that are truly effected by any of Obama's tax hikes to the upper class. The majority of us are middle class citizens. We, the middle class citizens, unfortunately carry the most burdens. We carry the burden of the lower class needing government assistances and we now also carry the burden of some of the poor CEO decisions that helped drive our economy into the sh!t hole. So let me ask you, who do you try to help out with your policies? Do you help out the upper class who have money to spare but help drive the economy? or do you help out the hard working middle class (the majority) so they don't slip into poverty? or do you help the lower class so that they can get back into the productive working class of America? How would you solve ALL of these problems? Its not so easy-I certainly wouldn't want the man's job!
In addition, WE ARE IN DEBT!! We are in debt as a nation! There's not such thing as free money. If you have bills that you need to pay off, what do you do? You take a little bit of money out of each pay check and pay them down. We CAN NOT pay off our national debt without a little bit of taxes from EVERYBODY! I by no means have alot of money, but I have enough to get me by with some extra to spare. I would certainly be willing to give some up to HELP MY NATION AND MY FELLOW AMERICANS! Sure, government spending needs to be cut back, but the less taxes that we pay in, the longer this is going to last! The longer it is going to take to get back to the "good times". Have you ever paid off a car payment early? Remember that good feeling you had when you could take that money that you would have normally spent on your car payment and bought something that otherwise wouldn't have had? We got ourselves in this debt, whether directly or indirectly, we have to get ourselves out now.
Nothing is a guarantee. It's like the stock market-a big old casino, everything is fine when you're winning, but when your cards stop coming everybody wants to blame the dealer! If it was a guarantee they would call it "winning" not "investing". Obama's plan might not work, but you got to give the man a chance. He's only been in office for 2 months. Give the guy a chance! I'm not going to say that I agree with everything he has implemented thus far, but I step back and look at the big picture and begin to see how it could work. His policies might not make sense yet, but it's going to take time to get them to work. Although Obama has a great chance of failing because of the cards he was dealt, he also has a chance to be great. Let's get some national pride and see where we go in the next 4 years.
I think the poster is off the mark. Every "solution" is a decrease in government involvement. And, as the first commenter, who talked about the Bilderberg Group (conspiracy theory much?), Rolling Stone DOES have a great article about how LESS government involvement is what led to this mess. The solution isn't to ramp up what started this.
Protectionism and Isolationism isn't going to bring us out of this.
Obama will NOT advocate any action that would improve the economy. Sadly, our president's goal is the destruction of capitalism and expansion of government control.
Obama seeks desparate economic times so that there will be a clammoring for the government "to do something" and thereby impose greater government control and total destruction of our liberties.
Obama wants worsening conditions and totalitarian control.
Sadly, this is the bleak future America faces unless people wake up.
"Obama will NOT advocate any action that would improve the economy."
Yeah, he's not working on the problem is he? The markets aren't up, factory orders aren't up, signs of progress aren't being seen.
"Sadly, our president's goal is the destruction of capitalism and expansion of government control."
LOL! OK, sure.
"Obama seeks desparate economic times so that there will be a clammoring for the government "to do something" and thereby impose greater government control and total destruction of our liberties."
So I guess Bush must have been in on this since he allowed it to start on his watch?
"Sadly, this is the bleak future America faces unless people wake up."
As long as you are talking...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Very well said!
Thankyou!
Two Sentz, your 1:36 post says a lot about you. You need to check the facts. The decline actually started long before Bush's watch began in office but please don't forget that America saw it's highest economic points during the Bush administration as well.
2:51,
Explain how the economic decline started before 2001
Anon 3:03 pm
One way it started was the Clinton Administration wanted everyone in a house whether they could afford it or not and so it was ordered to lower the standard requirement for people to buy a house even if their income level would not support it. This has lead to toxic mortgages where people are defaulting on their home loans and it has had a ripple effect on the economy.
Yeah and the Great Obama has gone soft on terrorism. Now the term for Global War on Terror has been changed to Overseas Contingency Operation...wtf? Closing Gitmo and probably will bring terrorists onto American soil. Trying to make it politically correct... some President he is.
This was my comment Joe used to create a post. T/S I find it interesting that when someone voices their opinion that you have no way to rebut with an effective response, you immediately resort to insults and sarcasm (not to my comment this time but rather to one from another commenter). It reveals an underlying frustration and speaks volumes about you. Just thought you should be aware. ;)
Chuck, I never said I wanted to eliminate government involvement - just FEDERAL government involvement. The duplication of sevices by the Federal Government is unconstitutional and is a tremendous waste of taxpayers dollars.
10:31, you're talking about the CRA, which was passed under Carter, and less than 14% of the defaulted mortgages were due to CRA loans. That leaves 86% of the loans through non-CRA loans. Not to mention the fact that CRA loans were backed by the government, so that, when they DID go under, they were insured.
This problem was not started by those loans. It was started by the Credit Swap market, and the MBS markets. Please stop trying to blame this on the homeowners. There aren't enough properties in the United States to cause this kind of credit meltdown. Look at the derivatives market if you want to see what caused this.
11:27,
The Bush administration changed the name of this "war" on at least 3 occasions. Did you fault them when they did it?
Here is a link to at least one of the times they tried to change the name: (Link is from Heritage, a notoriously Conservative organization)
http://www.heritage.org/research/homelandsecurity/wm805.cfm
Are you going to now, retroactively, attack Bush for doing the same thing? I just want to see how intellectually honest you are.
Chuck have you ever heard of Franklin Raines or the names Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac ?
Of course I have, and they are irrelevant to the discussion of the credit market crash. They are right-wing talking points used to try to blame minority homeowners and Barack Obama for this crisis. You guys have been banging that drum since September of last year, but, unfortunately for you, it's simply not true.
I can't be bothered to discuss this issue any further if you're so willing to buy whatever you are told by Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. I would merely suggest that you read up on the actual crisis through sources that don't have a vested interest in watching our President (and country) fail so they can re-obtain political power. Make sure you focus on the MBS and Credit Default Swap markets, specifically. You'll receive an eye-opening experience.
Obama seems to think we as a nation can spend our way out of debt. He has added 1.6 trillion dollars onto the existing debt of 5.9 billion dollars. He definitely is holding on to democratic party principles.
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