“Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.” - Senator Barack Obama, in a 2006 floor speech preceding a Senate vote to extend the federal debt limit.
Ah, how I liked THAT Barack Obama back in 2006, when he was railing against the irresponsible fiscal policies of President Bush and his GOP-led Congress. I even went out and bought Obama's book, The Audacity Of Hope. Obama seemed different. He was the post-partisan, responsible voice for change. Obama's book turned out to be pretty light on substance, but his rhetorical fluorishes promised a new kind of politics that could bring left and right together for the betterment of the country.
Too bad it was all rubbish. Obama's idea of bipartisanship is to have Democrats write all the bills, to ignore all Republican suggestions, and to have Republicans sit quietly in the corner and go along with whatever Obama and the Dems want. When Republicans refused to do that, an absolute certainty, Obama and company then demonized them as the "failed policies of the past," the "party of no," "racists," "dividers," "rightwing domestic terrorists (my personal fave)," and so on and so forth.
Speaking of the failed policies of the past, Democrats voted as a bloc against raising the federal debt limit back in 2006, when Obama was allegedly so concerned about shifting bad policy choices onto the backs of our children. Since then, after the Democrats took over Congress and eventually the White House, the debt limit has been raised three times. Now the Senate needs to raise it again, because we are going to exceed the current $12 trillion debt limit next month. We're going to have to keep on raising it too, because both the White House and Congressional Budget Office agree that Obama and the Democrats are going to add another $9 trillion to the debt (and the Dems have lots MORE groovy new spending plans they haven't implemented yet.) Apparently, Obama isn't quite so concerned about the burdens our children will have to bear anymore. Instead, he has declared open season on their futures. Ironically, it's the young people who seem to support Obama the most. Go figure. It's like falling in love with your executioner.
The rest of the world has taken notice of America's massive financial irresponsibility and is proposing changes. China wants to back away from buying U.S. debt, alarmed over massive American money printing (backed by nothing). China sees rampant U.S. inflation coming as soon as the recession ends. Can't argue with them there. The UN wants to move to a new world currency other than the dollar for similar reasons. The dollar just hit a new low for the year, and we're still hemorrhaging jobs at an alarming pace, with unemployment at a 26-year high. In addition, the FHA, which has taken over as the new securitized subprime mortgage lender of choice after the private lenders stopped making those boneheaded loans in the wake of the housing meltdown, is coming perilously close to not meeting it's 2% reserve requirements, as the economy continues to tank and foreclosures continue to rise. A new bailout for the FHA, perhaps ? Hey, why not ? What's another $100 billion these days ?
So naturally, with all this "good" news abounding, our Vice President, Joe Biden, recently declared, "The recovery act has played a significant role in changing the trajectory of our economy." Sure, Joe, whatever you say. Everything's going great. Keep creating your own reality. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
When all is said and done, the plans of the Democrats are the same as they always are, and as simple as the directions on a bottle of shampoo – Spend. Tax. Repeat.
The children be damned.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Just to keep things balanced a bit.
It is true that without Obama's stimulus, unemployment numbers would be higher right now.
It is true that without the stimulus, state's would not be able to handle unemployment checks on their own.
It is true that industrial production has risen recently.
It is true that housing sales have leveled off.
It is true that unemployment numbers are the lowest they've been in a year.
The stimulus is working because it is doing what it was intended to do….prevent a national economic disaster.
I already was balanced.
You didn't completely lose me until the part about unemployment numbers being the lowest in a year. They are actually the highest in 26 years. What's lowest in a year is the rate of job losses. Those are still job LOSSES, adding to the total unemployment level.
The stimulus isn't working because most of it isn't stimulus at all. It was primarily a government bailout, plus the implementation of the Obama/Dem agenda. I'm sure the stimulus saved a few government jobs.
If anything prevented national economic disaster, it was TARP, not the stimulus package. Everyone knows that, with the possible exceptions of you and Biden (and I don't even think Biden really believes his own words. He's just being Biden, a partisan politician spinning the truth for political ends).
Industrial production rose by 0.5% in July, but it's still over 13% behind where it was last year at this time. If I'm supposed to be excited, I'm not.
King,
We tend to make simple solutions seem so complex and divisive. We can all agreee that Bush is partially responsible for our sorry economic condition. He allowed out of control spending and ignored a rising deficit. The Dems wisely fought the situation and blamed Bush. Now that they are in power their answer to correcting the Bush deficit is to expand the deficit to $12 trillion dollars. Simple solution to complex problem—solve the deficit disaster by creating a bigger deficit. Yes sir," Change you can belief in".
I was hoping that you'd mention the projects that are nearly completed before the stimulus was created, that now pretend to be funded by the stimulus. Bridge replacement on I-271
angryc,
You know the Dems were never really concerned with Bush's spending, except on the war. Maybe some of the blue dogs were, but Obama ????? No way. He's the king of the spenders. What the Dems really hate is tax cuts, because that leaves less money for the Dems to spend to "fix" things.
Well many credible economists were worried that the stimulus package wasn't large enough to be successful . So you would have preferred a spending freeze, is that it . hello ? That would have been just about the worst thing to do when the private sector is slashing jobs. The stimulus plan is what helped us pull out . I can only imagine where we would have been if the republicans had gotten their way . I guess you didn't mind the enormous spending on the Iraq war and what did we get in return for it ? When you spend King and get results it is called wise spending , when you spend with no results it is unwise spending. Can you imagine what be like if we allowed Citibank, and the other big banks to all have gone under at once. Maybe we can handle one bank folding but to have had so many …
What if there was no cash for clunkers ?
The program, produced the best car sales since before the beginning of the recession..we would have had so many car companies go under at once.
And what about stimulus money for education , what if none was given…I know my school district is hurting., programs being cut .. for those of us who consider education an investment where would our education system be right now ? Worse than it is .
While the economy is still struggling the promising signs of early recovery has helped the stock market ..the benefits are there it could have been much worse.
And right now if you cancel the stimulus plan you will have just canceled many jobs . Nothing will help our economy recover more than keeping people working.
So ignore those talking head republicans they no not what they say.
Wow……
averagejoe5…"Wow", is right…imagine what could happen if there were about sixty million voters like Andrea out there, hopin' for change they don't understand. There's enough material in that post for my own blog, a Glenn Beck marathon, and "Top Ten" lists for a late- night jackass for weeks.
Good post Andrea……..you got a wow from joe(and no rebuttal) and you got a double wow from dave who would do a rebuttal but he's a little busy right now trying to get his head out of his ass but after he gets his orders from Glen Beck he will get back to you with a top 10 list.
sound about right?
OK, I wrote a comment, it posted, then vanished…I'll try again…………
averagejoe5…"Wow", is right. Can you imagine what could happen if roughly sixty million people like Andrea voted, hopin' change would happen when that they can't understand what it would be? That post is enough for me to start my own blog, or a Glenn Beck marathon, or "Top Ten" lists for a late-night jackass for weeks to come.
add me to the wow list—the stimulus program helped pull us out? sounds like J. Biden empty speak
Plus angryc, the stimulus package pulled us out of the recession even though only about 15% of the funds have been spent !! It's a miracle ! Maybe Obama deserves that halo, and the millions of jobs lost since the stimulus passed are just one of those GOP "distractions" I'm always hearing about.
I'm still trying to get my head to stop spinning in circles after Andrea said the stimulus should have been BIGGER. Hey, why not ? Let's make it $20 trillion. That would end the recession in a heartbeat. Never mind that it would destroy the country shortly thereafter.
But at least the stimulus saved the banks, lol.
If we printed up 20 trillion then distributed the money equally all Americans would be rich.
larry d. you should have included the rest of your statement because you may get the lefties very excited about being rich, for about 5 minutes. They really don't seem to understand that the more cash money we print the more painful paying our debt with such devalued dollars will be. After all they are from the left and they have such unreal methods of looking at wealth.
Good comment, sir, but it needed an easily seen disclaimer so they wouldn't think it was true.
King, you mentioned the Chinese starting to back off because we are printing totally unbacked paper money to keep up. I think that if any of our people would check up they just happen to be some of the best experienced people in the world concerning printing paper money in a totally uncontrollable fashion. I so well remember what happened when the ChiComs did exactly that in the early Fifties and had to suffer long and hard for doing it. I guess the only reason they got by with it was that the Soviets and the Americans were too busy with each other to take the Chinese to task. Also, they had their new dictatorship in power and managed to recover by using purely dictatorial diktats.
Our lefties just can't understand anything that doesn't tell their story and won't ever realize that it isn't usually very real. As an old man I know that the Chinese have been here and they know what our present government is doing and from experience they know it is wrong.
You're right, roy. I hope Fred and walt haven't gone out and signed mortgage papers or something.
too late, I signed mortgage papers for a Chinese Restaurant
the restaurants name is Fred's House of Hunan
larry,
We shouldn't give them any ideas. They'll probably think the free $20 trillion idea is "social justice."
Roysoldboy,
It's pretty sad that the Chinese understand capitalism better than we do these days.
It seems that both China and the US have learned from each other. Of course, we had to have the right kind of people in control to start the road to their form of governmental excesses.
I've never understood why the left wants to emulate systems that are proven to be inferior to our own. I guess they can't see the American forest for the trees. There's an awful lot they take for granted that shouldn't ever be taken for granted.
"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned – this is the sum of good government." – Thomas Jefferson
I don't think the hero of the Democrats is Jefferson any longer. The hero of the liberal wing of that party is Karl Marx. I don't say that lightly, but I can't reach any other conclusion.
The top five percent of the country has taken from the mouths of labor the bread it had earned…..and a radically conservative government helped them do it.
The income disparity in America has never been so great…..and the reason it is so great….is because of the efforts of corporations who bribe government to do their bidding. The same corporate heads who are in that top five percent.
Government has lowered taxes for the wealthiest, the lowest rates in at least 70 years, ….authentic American labor, on the other hand, has seen it's buying power go down.
It's like there is massive dyslexia within the conservative movement.
Ah, yes. The old class warfare argument, and in a classless society to boot. Like I said, Marx is your hero. Thanks for proving me correct.
Yet, you don't draw any parallels between the rate of government spending increases and the diminishment of people's buying power. You call for more and more government spending, which comes directly out of the pockets of that "authentic American labor" you say you care about. Then, like all liberals, you propose one anti-business solution after another (forced health insurance, cap and trade, no tort reform, EFCA, energy production bans, etc.), which hurts that "authentic American labor" even worse by eliminating their jobs. Some friends of labor you are. You are only friends of the welfare state.
That's what I call dyslexic.
Занятный пост, очень интересно было почитать