If Government Is The Problem…..

Well shucks, Reverend, if I had known that libertarians and conservatives didn't want any police, roads, schools, and teachers, I definitely wouldn't support them. Why didn't you tell me before ?

This is known as building the straw man, folks. It's what desperation looks like.

Absurdity, come on Rev. You and I both know better than this. Read Kings column today.

You're right King…desperation. They are spinning like tops. LOL Now that there's funny, isnt' it?

If you can't see that govt…especially the inexperienced govt of the day, isn't the problem then you need too take a deeper look. (I am also including Bush and Clinton) Our major problems started when the hippies took over. Seriously…add air to your tires? Spending is good/Fiscal responsibility is bad? Let's build high speed trains…that will travel as fast as 45 miles per hour? That's a friggin' laugh! Maybe it has to do with LSD and to much Coke and ganga. Reefer Madness!
As far as roads..we are taxed to death to maintain them through state and fuel taxes. Where is that money and why do we have to continue to dump more into it. This money should be used for helping the smal self-employed business people that are creating their own jobs choosing not to be victims of these circumstances. Our govt is full of idiots. Most have never created jobs, or run a business. Where do they think the "Obama money" comes from.

yep the government if full of idiots- and 1/2 of them are republicans
and soon to be tea partiers- with no governing experience-
but they are ok cause they say the majic words- Tax Cuts !!!
that fixes everything -well except it dont-
and joe i did'nt think Reagan was a hippy-but what the hell ,if you say so

Wiseman I didn't say Reagan. Read the post again. And the experieince I am talking about has to do with actually being in charge of something instead of being a career politician or a community organizer who is a puppet for whoever his master is. Bush did well until the dems took over. Tax cuts were the right thing then, they brought us right out of the Clinton recession, didn't they?

You are right about the idiots and I do include the republicans but hey—what the hell, right?

If you look at many of the TEA candidates, they do hve real world experience.

Thanks Rev. for another edition of the "Theater of the Absurd". Suggesting that Reagan's "Government is the problem not the solution" means eliminating all government is absurd. That is like saying that because of the negative effects of the overpopulation of deer on the ecosystem on the Guyahoga National Park and the health of the herd all deer should be exterminated.
I hve always been a proponent of the written word and libraries but I feel as though I have walked into Blockbuster when visiting the Highland Square library.

Republican libertarian / tea party plan to starve the beast – so now it is starving and they have no good ideas to fix it . What they are doing is what kids used to do in high school when they ran for office – promise you anything , things all kids wanted to hear" No more homework " vote for me and you wont get any more homework – sure – and after he was elected you still had homework . Republicans don't want to talk about it – cause then they have to come up with solutions on how to fix the deficet . So they just yell no more taxes vote for us – hey what are you going to cut then is it social security …? . If they get back in office they will be doing the same thing they did under bush SPEND and give out tax cuts and bring the deficit up higher. Their deficet talk is crap.

Good point Andrea, I listened to Obama's speech to the AFL-CIO on c-span and he promised good jobs, good health care, good education and a good secure reitrement.

Andrea….that is exactly what Obama did. Good call! He gave us little kid answers to big boy problems and this is the result so far, inexperience has prevented him from getting the job done. A president whose only major triumph is that he got elected and has decided to continue running for office until 2012. Now is this all Obama's fault? No. It is congress fault also, the reason being they are all out of touch with the common folk and want to take the easy way out and just throw money at the problem.
Not to be a conspiracy theorist or to sound crazy but I was wasn't feeling well today so I put on my favorite channel, the history channel. Today must have been hitler day. Did you know that Obama's story is alot like his. Interesting.

averagejoe5 – Obama said he do health care reform – he did
he said he end the war – he did
he said he secure the border – he added more troops and its more protected now than was under Bush
he said he send troops to Afganistan – he did
Promised new financial regulations – did it
said get all children health care – did it and I can go on …
now some promises he yet to do – But heck no President been perfect.
And if wasnt for his helping the auto industy we see a lot of auto workers unemployed.

added more troops–what a joke. How many have actually been sent to the Ariz. border? Pick a number between 30 and 50. Clue go low. Perhaps it is more secure now that the Feds. have posted signs along Interstate 8 from San Diego to Tuscon that it is unsafe for travel. In some of the areas that are unsafe the road is more than 100 miles from the border. Keep sippingthat Kool-aid.
Surely the NY Times was in error when they reported the % of New Yorkers opposed to the mosque. I know your poll indicated strong suppport.

Bush had already negotiated the pull out before he left

Healthcare is no where near what was first promised and is nothing more than a gift to the healthcare companies. A horrible bill that no one really knows what it contains, just like the Finreg bill. Mostly paybacks

He sent troops to the border only after a threat of not being re-elected and a uproar by the people. He also sued a state that was trying to protect it's own border. He has also put first and foremost the rights of illegal immigrants over his own citizens.

Promised new Finregs but left out Freddie and Fannie and actually hardly did anything to benefit the middle class except throw them a few bomes having to do with credit card debt. This is a weak bill with many benefits to big Banks and his cronies.

Auto industry? He put in his own guy. Injected more money into them than we will ever get out of it. He cut their pay, got rid of many of the GM dealerships and actually caused about 60000 jobs losses in these dealerships.

Wants to rebuild our rail system? For what?

Only reacts and responds according to the polls and when the public outrage gets too high.

Sounds pretty successful to me. Just like Gov Strickland. Both suck. ANd I could go on and on…… Keep sipping the Kool-aid

"Our major problems started when the hippies took over."

From a consumer of liberal blogs, you have no idea how funny that sentence is.

Did Reagan say what I said he said…or not? And if he said it….did he mean it, or not? And if he meant what he said…..then what would be absurd about me saying it?

"Desperation?" About freakin' what?

I'm bloggin' here….not running for office, or even cheerleading for Democrats.

I was trying to reason with Republicans and/or conservatives out there who really detest government….like you, King.

For years, you have been touting that government is the problem and that the solution is that it needs to be cut to the quick. One of my in-laws agreed with your position….I thought you would be pleased.

You will support candidates this fall who want to do exactly as I wrote in the post. So, what's your complaint again?

Crime on the American side of the border is at a 10 year low….and county sheriffs in border states say security has never been so tight.

So, what are you talking about angry?

Oh, so everything went to hell AFTER Reagan?

And who in the hell is going to make this country better? A Tea Party slob with an EBT card?

Desperation over the fact that the Dems are about to get crushed in november. That's why you're trying to scare people with your ludicrous straw man arguments about conservatives wanting to get rid of police, roads, teachers, and whatnot.

joe,
As absurd as the Rev's arguments are, I actually heard Strickland, who is running ten points behind Kasich, making similiar arguments yesterday. These guys are coming apart at the seams.

What's absurd is you pretending that Reagan wanted to completely eliminate the government.

Andrea,
You must REALLY hate Obama/Democrats if you thought the Bush/Republican deficits were bad.

Right ?

No presidential candidate in history made as many promises as Obama did on the campaign trail. It was actually embarassing, though many lemmings chose to swallow it hook, line, and sinker.

Joe,
You're forgetting ObamaCare, stimulus, and financial regulation reform. Obama got those done….and the American people hate them all.

That must be why they have those signs up warning people to stay away from entire areas…….because crime is so low.

You haven't figured out where the drugs come from yet, have you ?

I don't think many of those are running for office. There is that Democrat running for the Senate in South Carolina, however….

For every dollar our government spends, it has to borrow 60 cents. Yet some think that we can balance the budget by simply cutting spending. Since our military budget seems sacrosanct, that means that the budget cutters would have to pretty much cut out the rest of government.

You nailed it Frank !!!
And thats what most of the GOP/TEA partiers have no idea
of what there party means….-it's easy to say tax cuts for all,
and cut wastful spending (hell i'm all for that myself, in principle)
the problem is when you have to actually do the cutting-
and how that effects all americans-

Conservatives running for office are SAYING they would have not passed the stimulus, won't allow government to spend another dime if they are elected, blood-oath pledged to no new taxes….ever, will repeal what Obama has already passed and are promising to privatize SS, Medicare and Medicaid.

Those are truths…..and I kinda, sorta, think, that those facts should scare people.

What did Reagan mean then? What the hell did he mean when he said, very clearly, "government is not the solution, government is the problem"?

Quite a few GOP'ers are interpreting Reagan's words the same way I do. You interpret them that way when it's convenient.

Reagan helped to turn our nation into a full fledged oligarchy…..we've never recovered.

Sorry, I didn't think you had any first hand experience down on the border, you know, like those sheriffs down there have. My mistake.

Seriously frank…..that is probably what Boehner's Boyz have in mind.

The nation is ignorant and addicted to the Fox tube.

Two years ago if asked whether an even more extremist GOP could take Congress back this soon……I would have said no.

Not me, fellas. I think military spending can be cut just like everything else. Almost everything the government does is wasteful. The military is no exception. Didn't we have a trillion dollars go missing from the government ? Did the government leave it's wallet in it's other pants, or what ? Who besides the government could frickin' lose track of a trillion dollars ?

I also think that once the recession is over, we probably will have to raise taxes to close part of the gap. The problem is, Obama is jacking spending through the roof right now, making the gap closure much more difficult. If you care about deficits/debt, you can't support Obama at the same time. That's a non-starter.

I think that this problem is so large that this country must rethink our role in the world. It is time to look inward and spend our resources wisely and recognize that for most people, the existential threats they face aren't in far off lands, but here within our nation.
Yeah, Obama is spending through the roof, but that's because the roof has collapsed. And just like a homeowner whose roof has collapsed, it will cost to repair the problem. And, just like the homeowner, it's smarter to go into further debt to repair the problem than saving up the money to do so. There is a time and a place to incur debt. Just like the collapsed roof, this is such a time and place.
But the point I would like to make is that solving our dilemna will take a multifaceted approach. The underlying causes are deeper than just spending and taxes. The future has truly and genuinely been pissed away in a grand stream of hubris.

Unfortunately, politicians ALWAYS find a time and a place to incur debt. What they never seem to find is a way to reduce it. Enough is enough already. The debt itself is what will cause the roof to collapse. The rest is transitory.

Mr. King,
The roof has already collapsed. The question is whether we save the rest of the belongings or not.
The reason that politicians incur debt is that they've discovered that tax cuts are as popular with voters as heroin is to addicts. As wages in this country continue to fall behind the cost of living, it's not surprising.

If the roof has collapsed, then the roof has collapsed many other times through our history. It's called cycles. The difference this time compared to so many others is that instead of looking to American business we are pushing business out, replacing it with government. The inexperienced leaders currently in power believe they can do it better.

Personally, I'd like to see us quit being world policemen for so many countries that no longer stand up for themselves while at the same time badmouthing America. Just as I'd like to see the insiders in our expanding crony capitalist system no longer be protected by their insider friends. It would make us all stronger and America would be far more respected than it now is under weak, feckless leadership. We don't need to force our power. Walk softly but carry a big stick.

I'm not sure it is hubris but whatever it is results in dependency and predictable upside down results.

barrackem…."instead of looking to American business we are pushing business out, replacing it with government"

This meme, though false, won't die.

This collapse started when business came begging to the government. Did you forget that part already? Then…because bankster business guys effed everything up….sh*t running downhill and all……working people bought less stuff because they, you know, lost their jobs. Bankster business guys had no incentive to expand or create because, hey….there's no customers.

What's a country to do? Trust in the bankster business guys who effed everything up to bring us all back to economic health……or permit the government to fill the hole in demand left because of the reckless greediness of the business bankster guys?

The choice seems clear.

Some businesses come begging to the government just as some people come begging to the government. The more they are rewarded for begging, the more beggars there will be.

I wouldn't trust the ones who effed it up. That would be the big government/treasury/fed/ insider wall street crowd. I'd trust the honest bankers and other businesses who didn't take the bait. The ones who win customers by competing in the marketplace rather than competing in the back rooms of Washington politicians. Somehow you believe that more back room deals will eliminate business cycles. Just the opposite is true as is now playing out in this nation. The insiders are getting record profits and billion dollar bonuses. The real job creators are left on the outside trying to survive the new skewed playing field.

You keep repeating the mantra that there is no demand. There is no demand at the end of any business cycle. The difference is that business usually starts investing in anticipation of the rebound. Anticipation is the key term here. Right now business anticipates years of headaches ahead. We didn't just have an overbuilt market that needed to catch up. We had a business community that saw what was coming and threw the furniture overboard to batten down the hatches. It isn't that unusual historically to have 5-10% drop in GDP during a business cycle. Usually, those cycles inversely rebound with strong demand. This government takeover and the uncertainty shaded by the demonization of business is what has deepened it.

It's not that hard, Rev. Just try to imagine yourself as a business owner in this climate. Thousands of new pages of regulations that haven't even been rolled out yet. The same for new health care rules. In each case it will be up to the adminstration to decide. A president that keeps talking about how business and profit is the heart of the nation's problems. A president that tells graduates not to go into business. Over 90% in this administration who have never run a business. New taxes on business income, possibly huge new taxes right around the corner. Extremely high federal debt that could totally collapse the system within the decade. A president who has promised that energy rates will necessarily explode, strong pressure to buy into the cap and trade system, ….

Honestly, Rev. we could go on and on about the uncertainty and downward business pressure this administration has created. I'm not even sure Obama knows what he is trying to do. He seems to still hold half baked, intellectually inbred notions or romanticized Marxism that would correspond with the black liberation theology he sought out in Chicago. On the other hand, he seems totally out of touch with the unemployed and downtrodden that at least made Castro a long lasting ideologue. For someone who wants to make energy unaffordable to save the planet, he seemed oddly removed from the Gulf oil spill. I can't imagine Hillary doing all the vacations and golf outings and concerts while the oil spilled into the gulf for months. Whatever it is, it's weird, and people are rightfully fatigued by this new approach to fundamentally change the nation. We are starting to figure out what he meant. If we wanted a non profit, no wealth nation we would move to Cuba.

frank,
I fail to see how tax cuts can be viewed as the major problem when federal spending has gone up by a trillion dollars per year since 2007, three years ago. Federal spending has doubled in nine short years. We will never be able to achieve fiscal responsibility with spending spiraling out of control like that.

Reversing the Bush tax cuts for the rich is estimated to bring in $70 billion per year, a drop in the bucket when compared to our trillion+ dollar deficits. Obama announced plans for nearly $200 billion more in spending LAST WEEK.

If not the tax cutters that are the heroin addicts. It's the spenders.

I know what Obama is trying to do – he's trying to get Democrats elected to office. Beyond that, he has no clue. His statements about the economy are laughable and riddled with contradictions. I don't know how anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of business and economics can take him seriously. Those who are supporting him on the economic front are doing it solely for partisan reasons. They all know deep down that he's not making sense. Obama is like an entry-level McDonald's burger flipper who is suddenly made CEO of the company after a couple months on the job. He's waaaay out of his depth.