Krosya
Konicaze
I dont know why people blame Obama. Guy is only in the office for less than a year, following and trying to recover from the worst president EVER and its Obama's fault? Wow. I'm sure you would do better, right? Its so easy to blame Obama. Try being in his shoes.
raid
Dad Photographer
The economy stinks right now. Almost every political group is making sure that this situation will remain this way. It is a bad situation.
kknox
kknox
Not blaming Obama, just don't know what we are all going to do for work & how we are going to pay for all the programs that they are pushing thru on us.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
Krosya,
I agree on Obama getting blame for things he didn't cause, but there is a lot of anger too from those of us who are upset that the split second he took the oath of office, he began saying he wasn't going to keep any of his promises from the campaign.
Guantanomo? Still open!
Iraq War? Still fighting, our boys still dying for nothing.
Afghanistan? More troops sent there!
Reining in corporate greed? Hell, he's given the SOBs more money!
Health Care? He rolled over and played dead on that almost instantly.
How exactly is Obama any different than Bush, except that he talks nicer to foreigners?
I agree on Obama getting blame for things he didn't cause, but there is a lot of anger too from those of us who are upset that the split second he took the oath of office, he began saying he wasn't going to keep any of his promises from the campaign.
Guantanomo? Still open!
Iraq War? Still fighting, our boys still dying for nothing.
Afghanistan? More troops sent there!
Reining in corporate greed? Hell, he's given the SOBs more money!
Health Care? He rolled over and played dead on that almost instantly.
How exactly is Obama any different than Bush, except that he talks nicer to foreigners?
BillBingham2
Registered User
Have to agree with pakeha on this one Chris, it's everyone's problem. Countries are so intertwined it's one big Mucken Fess. The TARP money was looked on a lost, most of it is long gone and the banks that can are paying it back as quickly as possible to keep government out of their offices.
I do have to agree that both sides are at fault. The system of funding election is broken. I've seen way too much of it first hand here in Chicago. I can not wait to move out of the state so I can make some calls to news people. We have a 2000 page set of legislation that is going to make thing worse before it makes it better.
I've sold almost all of my cameras for money to keep the house afloat till we can find a buyer. I have a time share I've been trying to sell for over a year, $17,000 in Orlando, Christmas week every year, 2 bed room less than 10 years back, now no one wants it for $3,500. The only good part is that these are just things. When life gets better in seven years or so I can get a few of them back.
The most important part is my family and my friends, here and all around the world. Everyone is hurting, a lot are much worse than I. I hope that 2010 will be better for all of us.
B2 (;->
I do have to agree that both sides are at fault. The system of funding election is broken. I've seen way too much of it first hand here in Chicago. I can not wait to move out of the state so I can make some calls to news people. We have a 2000 page set of legislation that is going to make thing worse before it makes it better.
I've sold almost all of my cameras for money to keep the house afloat till we can find a buyer. I have a time share I've been trying to sell for over a year, $17,000 in Orlando, Christmas week every year, 2 bed room less than 10 years back, now no one wants it for $3,500. The only good part is that these are just things. When life gets better in seven years or so I can get a few of them back.
The most important part is my family and my friends, here and all around the world. Everyone is hurting, a lot are much worse than I. I hope that 2010 will be better for all of us.
B2 (;->
pakeha
Well-known
quote
Buy Chinese at Walmart, over-borrow on your home, speculate on real estate, kill unions, spend more money than you earn, it's the American way?
May hurt some but now we are finally getting to the root cause of the problem, see it was not ALL politicians and banks, some folks gotta take a bit of responsibilitie here also.
Likewise I saw all this on the horizon somewhere, really it was obvious what was gonna happen.
Buy Chinese at Walmart, over-borrow on your home, speculate on real estate, kill unions, spend more money than you earn, it's the American way?
May hurt some but now we are finally getting to the root cause of the problem, see it was not ALL politicians and banks, some folks gotta take a bit of responsibilitie here also.
Likewise I saw all this on the horizon somewhere, really it was obvious what was gonna happen.
pakeha
Well-known
BillBingham2
Mucken fess !!!!
exellent, now i now how its done
Mucken fess !!!!
exellent, now i now how its done
larmarv916
Well-known
My only wish for Christmas is that "all" us who up against the wall...and everyone has some major source of stress. Personal or family in hard times is able to find a crack and slip into a upward path. That will not come from any of our so called friends from either party in "DC"! Rather I see many people making business-social relationships. In an effort to side step the damage the political system is creating in an effort to preserve it's own culture.
2010 is really where the hard rubber hits the road..as lack of GDP becomes a reality....70% of which is created by consumer sales inside the USA.
2010 is really where the hard rubber hits the road..as lack of GDP becomes a reality....70% of which is created by consumer sales inside the USA.
pakeha
Well-known
quote
The most important part is my family and my friends, here and all around the world. Everyone is hurting, a lot are much worse than I. I hope that 2010 will be better for all of us.
With this attitude all will work out for sure, regards
The most important part is my family and my friends, here and all around the world. Everyone is hurting, a lot are much worse than I. I hope that 2010 will be better for all of us.
With this attitude all will work out for sure, regards
BillBingham2
Registered User
Ronald M
Veteran
The economy is not better, in fact worse. There are no more jobs than before. There will be a down tick in unemployment just before the 2010 election, but it will have to do with the extended unenployment benefits running out, hence fewer on the rolls. However they will not be employed, so don`t listen to the politicians when they spout it.
Now if you consider bankers and the like making a lot of money manipulating the cash and derivitives etc an improved economy. then yes it is better.
My defininition is when everyone who wants a job has one and it pays decently. That will be years away, if ever depending on how things get screwed up. Remember the first rule, if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. The government does not understand this . Tax and spend, tax and spend more. Then print some money.
The next trick will be to start a bigger war. Don`t laugh. It`s been done many times.
Employment by the federal government is up by 30% and they got LARGE pay increases too. What did you get besides the bill for it? This is not improvement.
Now if you consider bankers and the like making a lot of money manipulating the cash and derivitives etc an improved economy. then yes it is better.
My defininition is when everyone who wants a job has one and it pays decently. That will be years away, if ever depending on how things get screwed up. Remember the first rule, if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. The government does not understand this . Tax and spend, tax and spend more. Then print some money.
The next trick will be to start a bigger war. Don`t laugh. It`s been done many times.
Employment by the federal government is up by 30% and they got LARGE pay increases too. What did you get besides the bill for it? This is not improvement.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
Ronald mentions printing money, but no one has yet answered my question about why printing more is bad when all of it we have, every cent, is "printed" currency with no inherent value.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Dear Chris,
Why is it a bad thing? Inflation, and a decline in the value of the currency vs. other currencies.
More money chasing the same quantity of goods and services = inflation as prices rise to fit the amount of money available. The same is true of much more money chasing slightly more goods and services.
And if the US is 'worth' $1 trillion today, but prints more money, the 'worth' of the country does not go up but the value of $1 trillion goes down, so you need (say) $1.5 trillion to buy a trillion euros instead of $1.25 trillion.
This means imports cost more, and although it gives you a competitive advantage when exporting goods, that doesn't help much if you've outsourced the greater part of your manufacturing, principally to China.
Globalized capitalism can only work in the long term in an oligarchy where the fate of 95-98% of the population is a matter of indifference to the 2-5% who control the money. The trouble is that the bourgeois started to see themselves as capitalists, i.e. as being part of the 2-5%.
Cheers,
R.
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Frontman
Well-known
To the contrary, lower taxes have always stimulated growth. The problem is that the time between cause and effect averages about 6 years. Normally by the time the effect begins to be felt, a new administration comes in and changes the rules. Those new rules run the same 6 year course before their effects begin to be felt.
How much of every dollar earned in America is absorbed in taxation? Federal income tax, state income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, taxes on earned interest, gasoline tax, heating oil tax, electricity and phone taxes and surcharges, and these are just the ones that individuals most pay, and are chicken feed compared to what businesses must pay. Add to that the various kinds of insurance which we are in many cases required by law or necessity. How much do individuals have left to spend on themselves? How much do businesses have left to spend on growth, payroll, or benefits?
If the government were responsible stewards of our money, using it sensibly, I wouldn't grudge them their tax money. But, it seems for every dollar the government collects in taxes, it spends 5.
The basis of our current problem lies with our tax system, and it's manipulation by our elected officials. Have you ever wondered by the US tax code is as large as it is? It is so large that few people can even hazard a guess at how many pages or regulations in contains. The number varies between 60,000 and 80,000, depending on which politician you ask.
Do you know why the tax code is so long and so complicated? It is because it is the tool used by elected officials to exercise their power. It is through tax breaks that politicians reward large donors. Countless loopholes exist in the tax code for this purpose, and parties on both sides are equally responsible. It is by manipulating the tax code that our "leaders" keep themselves in office.
The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates artificially low for decades, in order to make credit more affordable, and thereby increase growth. As a result of this cheap credit, companies (and consumers) got into the habit of borrowing as a regular habit.
The Federal Government also introduced an Equal Lending Practices act, which made it easier for people with marginal or poor credit history to receive credit. I was amazed to see people who couldn't qualify for a Target store credit card getting approved for 6 figure mortgages.
Large mortgage lenders spent lots of money supporting the campaigns of politicians, and changes in banking rules allowed for the selling of mortgages (regardless of their relative amounts of risk) as securities on the open market. With real estate values appreciating at many times the rate of inflation, it was a recipe for disaster.
Who is to blame for all this mess? People deserve some of the blame, if you are earning only $2000 a month, you shouldn't be buying a house with an ARM which will increase your payment to $1500-a-month after 4 years, and carrying $10k or more in credit card debt is no one's definition of wise. The banks deserve some of the blame, they were the ones who were handing out the money, with few questions asked. But the ones who deserve the most blame are the politicians in Washington, the ones who manipulated the rules enough to make this disaster possible.
The sad thing is that people in America don't really seem to see past their own noses. They don't care about which direction their country is heading until their own noses hit the wall. They keep electing the same politicians every 4 or 6 years without bothering to actually see what these prostitutes are actually doing with the power given to them. Doesn't anyone wonder why a politician will spend millions of dollars on a political campaign for a job which pays $200k per year? Come on people! This isn't rocket science!
Has anyone here bothered to look and see who in government is responsible for what? We are all upset about the problems with our banking system, but can anyone here name the chairs of the house and senate banking committees? Anyone?
Can anyone here name both their state senators and the various congressmen from the districts where they live? Let alone read what legislation these "lawmakers" have passed? Anyone?
If you don't know the complete answers to these questions, then you, personally, are partially responsible for the problems which you and America are experiencing right now.
The midterm elections are less than a year away. If you want to do something about where the country is going instead of complaining about it here, then register to vote, if you haven't already. And then exercise your vote. It is the only voice you really have.
TWoK
Well-known
Is there another country called "Japan" ?
Graduate students not able to find any job, some of them submitting over 100 applications ? Thousands of employees lost their jobs and they were former employees of the big companies. Additionally, the new government just has drastically cut the expenditures for science and education in Japan, many projects meaning new jobs, investments into new equipment have been canceled.
And Japan already subsidizes more needless and busybody jobs in places like Okinawa than any other country I've ever been too. We have so many constructions projects building roads to nowhere. The bases here are a huge source of fraudulent expenditure/income for Japan as well. They pay 5 union workers to do the job of 1 and all they do is sleep in the car while the junior guy does the work. I've been living in Japan off and on since 2001. I don't have the best grasp on the economy here, but things are bad. I've never seen so many homeless. The thing is, it's common for people to be foreclosed on, but still living in a house they've not made a payment on in years. I get paid in dollars so my purchasing power is gone.
TWoK
Well-known
Right, I chose to live elsewhere supporting YOUR military. I'm American and just because I live overseas doesn't mean I don't get a say in what goes on. I last lived less than 1 hour south of you...
Taxes have always been repressively high in Europe when compared with the US, but corporate taxes here are debilitating. I guess you just don't comprehend how the government having less of our money is a bad thing. The more money I take home the more I will spend. Generally also the more I will save. One of many reasons for me living where I do is because I get out of the oppressive US taxes by making my money elsewhere. I still have to pay 7% for FICA, but if I were back in Indiana I'd easily be paying triple that.
TWoK
Well-known
Wow, you are out there.
I was going to answer this, but I see that Roger Hicks has already beat me to it.
But of course, if you don't have any money to start with, more money being "printed" (more like extra zeros on a PC somewhere) won't make the slightest difference.
_mark__
Well-known
I graduated as a part 2 architect last year into the worst slump the industry has known, out of the 55 graduates 5 have jobs, the rest have the massive debts accumulated by putting yourself through university, some even offer to work for nothing taking second jobs to gain the 3 years industry training you have to have after the 6 years education. Hair stylists make more per hour, no offence intended to those that cut hair. Difficult not to feel sorry for yourself in the current financial climate.
Paul T.
Veteran
Bill, sorry to hear this, best of luck - and as said, family and friends are priceless.
I'm freelance and am owed a big payment in the spring that shoudl get me through the next year; I got close to an argument with my wife about buying the nipper a Nintendo Wii for Christmas; she said she'd feel guilty if I didn't have one.... maybe I'm a skinflint, but I don't. Our children (and all of us) need to get real and not expect happiness from glossy, black, "limited edition" consumer items. WHether we'll ever learn that as a society is open to question - we've had 60s years of being conditioned to learn that happiness comes from more possessions.
Chris, yes you can print more money, then you get ZImbabwe or Weimar Germany.
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