Are you worried about the economy?

[YMIHERE]

Re: Actually, no ...

I personally love how most Americans now have a 5th grader level understanding of "the rich."
Yes, I think the investment banking houses are slime, but remember the last time we "raised taxes on the rich."

It was any "income earning household" making over $20,000/year.

There is only so much you can raise taxes before it makes so little-to-no dent.
That's why the Clinton-Gore tax increase raised it on anyone making over $20K/year.

Prof could you document your belief that Clinton/Gore raised taxes on anyone making over $20,000. I can not find this on any IRS tax table during this time. I think that an urban myth at best.

 

[icerfan]

Re: Actually, no ...

Prof could you document your belief that Clinton/Gore raised taxes on anyone making over $20,000. I can not find this on any IRS tax table during this time. I think that an urban myth at best.

I can document that he raised taxes on every citizen that drives a car, no matter what their income was at the time .... even LOWER than $20K:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibus_Budget_Reconciliation_Act_of_1993

Transportation fuels taxes were hiked by 4.3 cents per gallon.

Forgot about that one, didn't you?

 

[YMIHERE]

Re: Actually, no ...

I can document that he raised taxes on every citizen that drives a car, no matter what their income was at the time .... even LOWER than $20K:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibus_Budget_Reconciliation_Act_of_1993
Forgot about that one, didn't you?

No I did not forget that Fuel Tax increase. But I said I can't find an increase in the Federal Income tax. If you want to include fuel taxes then Reagan and Bush Sr both raised your taxes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_Trust_Fund

 

[phunlee]

I'm very worried, but I think over the next few months it will get better. Probably take a year or two for some real growth.

 

[10000Days]

I always hear people say "The foundations of our economy are still sound".

Im taking an Economics 101 course and people said the exact same thing prior to the great depression.

Im still not worried.

 

[shayd]

For the longest time I wasn't worried about the economy, just the ability of stupid people to screw it up. Now, I guess you can say I am. :dunno:

 

[om3ga]

Ukraine, Hungary, and Serbia are all in emergency talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)...

More countries are being impacted by this crisis....

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to offer a $16.5bn (£10.4bn) loan to Ukraine to help it "maintain confidence and economic and financial stability".

The country has been badly shaken by the global credit crunch, with stock markets and the Ukrainian currency tumbling and banks needing propping up.

Internal political turmoil has also delayed economic development.

The loan depends on Ukraine being able to balance its budget and make reforms to its banking sector.

Last week the IMF said it was to give Iceland a £2.1bn loan as its banking system came close to collapse.

Hungary, Pakistan and Belarus are also in talks about accessing IMF funding.

Details:
Ukraine set for $16.5bn IMF loan

The thought of a nuclear-armed nation like Pakistan facing bankruptcy is deeply worring.....

 

[BlueBalls]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to offer a $16.5bn (£10.4bn) loan to Ukraine to help it "maintain confidence and economic and financial stability".

The country has been badly shaken by the global credit crunch, with stock markets and the Ukrainian currency tumbling and banks needing propping up.

Internal political turmoil has also delayed economic development.

The loan depends on Ukraine being able to balance its budget and make reforms to its banking sector.

Last week the IMF said it was to give Iceland a £2.1bn loan as its banking system came close to collapse.

Hungary, Pakistan and Belarus are also in talks about accessing IMF funding.

Details:
Ukraine set for $16.5bn IMF loan

The thought of a nuclear-armed nation like Pakistan facing bankruptcy is deeply worring.....

"Om3ga, Sssssssshhhhhhhh......your scaring the children"


Im sorry I have nothing more of substance to add :dunno:

 

[titsrock]

Re: Actually, no ...

I can document that he raised taxes on every citizen that drives a car, no matter what their income was at the time .... even LOWER than $20K:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibus_Budget_Reconciliation_Act_of_1993
Forgot about that one, didn't you?

This isn't really that nefarious. Given the "conditioning to pay higher prices at the pump" we've undergone under the Bush Admin., more gas taxes might be coming, assuming oil keeps retreating or stays around $55-$60 barrel for awhile. The problem with tax revenue, like gas taxes, is when it gets "diverted" to pay for other things. Our politicians don't solve problems when they do this...

Ending the Iraq Occupation will have a positive effect on our economy and budget.

 

[Funkwerkz]

USA and Wall Street seem to be back in town. Dow Jones is over 8,600 now. What do you think?

 

[Skyraider22]

No it is to late to worry now

 

[BaltimoreBullet]

Anyone who voted know is a fucking liar. I just saw three of my co workers get laid off today. A month before Christmas, that's pretty despicable if you ask me. Bush and his rich asshole friends have fucked up this country so bad, I don't know if we will ever recover.

 

[Member2019]

We had layoffs from Clinton too ... although not nearly as bad ...

Anyone who voted know is a fucking liar. I just saw three of my co workers get laid off today. A month before Christmas, that's pretty despicable if you ask me. Bush and his rich asshole friends have fucked up this country so bad, I don't know if we will ever recover.

A lot of people I know got laid off just before Clinton exited, and I also got laid off before Bush was even in a full quarter (and then again after 9/11).

I'm not saying W. is better than Clinton, I actually think the opposite. What I'm saying is that W. has only added to a major problem we've had for a couple of decades in this country.

We started outsourcing long before W., and companies like Enron were violating GAAP principles before he took office -- along with Detroit switching to gas guzzlers (people blaming W. for that are just ignoring history). Iraq and other things were just a "bonus" to how bad we've been fucked for quite awhile, although I full admit it accelerated a few things (especially all the Republican-Republican pork spending outside the war).

We got a false federal income boost with the stock marketing in the late '90s, an industry that wasn't producing crap. Now we've totally lost it with the housing market, as debt-backed securities are virtually worthless.

Some blame the de-regulation of the Republicans Congress and the Clinton administration in the mid-'90s, but even I agree with Clinton that it wasn't the root cause. There are many other factors. Many that started well before Clinton too.

If you're blaming one administration -- or one Congress + Administration for that matter -- you're missing the root cause that will only cause us to fuck up again and again. I don't like W., and I think he only made things worse, but people are still blaming Hoover for things that started before him as well.

And that's why history repeats itself.

 

[Member2019]

Re: Actually, no ...

Ending the Iraq Occupation will have a positive effect on our economy and budget.

Agreed, at least in many respects. I think people forget also that defense spending is one of the few areas that also employ domestic jobs. I'm not saying it's more positive to continue to war, far from it -- and that goes back to the Einseinhower warnings from decades ago. I'm just saying that not much of private industry still uses industrial production that is domestic.

That, in itself, is scary, as everything else is "short-sightedness." I wouldn't want to be Obama. Then again, if he's the President that gets us back in control of this country, starts leveraging free trade like it should be (not just one-way) and other things, he will go down in history as the President that "righted the ship" that has been faltering since the '70s.

While W.'s statements that "our economy is sound" is laughable, it's been the same problem with Clinton, his father, Reagan (who started a few things right, not so different than FDR, then it went out of control) and don't get me started on Carter (sometimes the truth doesn't solve the problem). I honestly hope Obama is going to keep his word on what he said he'd do. Unfortunately, he's sometimes too much of an idealist.

I.e., he's already "given up" on his lobbyist stance. People are making excuses about it, but it doesn't remove the fact that he "gave in." That doesn't mean he's "wrong," it just means that sometimes he gives up too quickly on his ideals.

 

[marquis2]

The trouble in the UK is that the people supposed to be getting us out of the mess had quite a lot to do with getting us into it.
The world economy has been so benign for the last 15 or so years that practically all countries have been steadily growing in prosperity year on year.Our Chancellor, Gordon Brown at the time, thought that having years of uninterrupted growth was his doing and that proved he was a great economist.So he thinks he can tell the world how to get back on its feet again.

 

[AndyHunter]

It has been widely reported that the current economical crisis is set to be a "short term" thing. By the middle of 2009 everything will be good again!
*I hope!*

 

[lovejoy]

Americans are trained to spend, not save, and be oblivous to it all when buying a $400,000 house with nothing down, a no interest mortgage and a joint income of about $60,000 with two new cars in the garage.

Many uneducated, irresponsible American are trained to spend, and be oblivous to it all when buying a $180,000.00 house with nothing down, a low
interest mortgage and a joint income of about $60,000-$80,000.00 with two new cars in the garage.

There is nothing wrong with this picture IF the economy is doing well and the husband is working overtime and making more money.

Spend and be happy. This allows the money to circulate faster, and boost economy but now the money does not circulate fast enough and we will go into a dark age of Great Recession ! (Depression)

 

[lovejoy]

It has been widely reported that the current economical crisis is set to be a "short term" thing. By the middle of 2009 everything will be good again!
*I hope!*

Are you willing to work and make $500.00 a month, poor working conditions, no pension, health care benefits, 401K and health safety? Welcome to China !

 

[Spleen]

Ignorance = Bliss

 

[lovejoy]

Re: Actually, no ...

Agreed, at least in many respects. I think people forget also that defense spending is one of the few areas that also employ domestic jobs. I'm not saying it's more positive to continue to war, far from it -- and that goes back to the Einseinhower warnings from decades ago. I'm just saying that not much of private industry still uses industrial production that is domestic.

That, in itself, is scary, as everything else is "short-sightedness." I wouldn't want to be Obama. Then again, if he's the President that gets us back in control of this country, starts leveraging free trade like it should be (not just one-way) and other things, he will go down in history as the President that "righted the ship" that has been faltering since the '70s.

While W.'s statements that "our economy is sound" is laughable, it's been the same problem with Clinton, his father, Reagan (who started a few things right, not so different than FDR, then it went out of control) and don't get me started on Carter (sometimes the truth doesn't solve the problem). I honestly hope Obama is going to keep his word on what he said he'd do. Unfortunately, he's sometimes too much of an idealist.

I.e., he's already "given up" on his lobbyist stance. People are making excuses about it, but it doesn't remove the fact that he "gave in." That doesn't mean he's "wrong," it just means that sometimes he gives up too quickly on his ideals.

Professor,

Obama has moved to the center, not center left. Obama has not even mentioned Universal Health Care, withdrawl from Iraq but concentrates on economy, economy and economy ! But I doubt we can get out without going into the Dark Age for many years. You just can not tell the American Businessmen to re-invest in America when Vietnamese makes $200.00 a month making American toys, clothes, shoes, Chinese makes $400-$500.00 a month for automobile assembly work but Detroit autoworkers makes $8,000.00 a month !