14 facts about the Obama presidency

[Vic]

On the deficit issue, with long bonds yielding negative real interest rates, why would we want a budget surplus at this time?

 

[zinfamous]

Every american should run their household like that and see how it turns out, i mean if the president does it why can't anyone else?

Well, it's a good thing, then, that household debt is incomparable to national debt.

I know these frivolous comparisons work for the drooling simple people out there, but come on....

 

[Sonikku]

More Obama Facts:

15:Obama Ran for president in 08; the Economy imploded soon after.
16:Obama signed the Patriot Act which is lame, because he did it half a world away with a special electronic pen which is cool and I totally wish I had one.
17.Gas prices have steadily crept up under the Obama Administration for years, which signal more economic woes.
18.Gas prices are now starting to trend downards under the Obama Administration, which now signal the start of more economic woes.
19.Obama is leaving several gaps in many key government positions.
20.Obama made Hillary Clinton Secretary of State, who is wrinkly and ugly as fuck.
21.Obama is black, but is merely a fact to be stated and is in no way a reason for which any southerners or Republicans hate or oppose him either personally or politically.

 

[Matt1970]

Well, it's a good thing, then, that household debt is incomparable to national debt.

I know these frivolous comparisons work for the drooling simple people out there, but come on....

Sure it is. It's just you need a never ending credit line and an increase in income every year. The increase in income has to be not high enough to pay your own bills so you still need to put stuff on credit, but just enough to pay the minimum payments/interest each month.

 

[ivwshane]

Of course I dont. I have voted for several republican candidates, and before I went to school and learned about political science I supported third party candidates. I don't even vote anymore, as voting is pointless.

You might not like what I'm telling you but it doesn't make it any less true. A viable national third party will never, ever, ever happen given our current system of electing people. A viable third party depends on voters acting irrationally.

This is the single most depressing post I've read all year. You are one of the smartest posters on P&N and this is about the dumbest thing I've ever seen you post.

Not that it matters to you but you've definitely lost some respect points from me.

If anyone should be voting it should be people like you who are knowledgable of the issues.


I think I read that cubby doesn't vote either and while I disagree with pretty much every political position he has it's still really a shame that people aren't voting.

Both of your government complaint cards should be revoked.

 

[Vic]

Sure it is. It's just you need a never ending credit line and an increase in income every year. The increase in income has to be not high enough to pay your own bills so you still need to put stuff on credit, but just enough to pay the minimum payments/interest each month.

You understand that the interest rate on government debt is effectively negative at this time, yes? And has been for the past few years?

 

[dmcowen674]

SlowSpyder
Diamond Member



Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 8,886


I'm voting 3rd party for the first time in my life today for that reason. I'm tired of both groups doing the same things while pointing the finger at the other party. Both the Democrats and Republicans at this point don't care about you or me, they just want to stay in power so they can continue to be elected royalty.

You must be happy with Walker then.

Now that he was voted in by you and your Badger buds for the third time will you vote for him for President too?

 

[Matt1970]

You understand that the interest rate on government debt is effectively negative at this time, yes? And has been for the past few years?

You do realize we pay $269,000,000,000 a year towards that negative interest rate?

 

[fskimospy]

This is the single most depressing post I've read all year. You are one of the smartest posters on P&N and this is about the dumbest thing I've ever seen you post.

Not that it matters to you but you've definitely lost some respect points from me.

If anyone should be voting it should be people like you who are knowledgable of the issues.


I think I read that cubby doesn't vote either and while I disagree with pretty much every political position he has it's still really a shame that people aren't voting.

Both of your government complaint cards should be revoked.

Well I'm sorry if I disappoint you, but I'm just following the math. If you vote because your goal is to place your preferred candidate in office you are wasting your time.

To be clear there are other reasons to vote, it makes people feel good, for one. So if you find value in voting then I encourage you to do it, but we should all do it with clear eyes as to what it accomplishes.

 

[fskimospy]

You do realize we pay $269,000,000,000 a year towards that negative interest rate?

If someone offered to loan you $10,000 now and have you pay them back $9,000 later you're arguing that you wouldn't do it because of debt payments?

 

[Matt1970]

If someone offered to loan you $10,000 now and have you pay them back $9,000 later you're arguing that you wouldn't do it because of debt payments?

Since when are we paying back the loan? Let me guess, this negative interest is only on a small portion of the debt?

 

[schmuckley]

Those are not facts,they are manipulated statistics.
i.e.: (I'll just pull one @ random)
"3. Unemployment has dropped from 10.1% in October of 2009 to 5.9% and projected to reach 5.4% by summer of 2015."

Well yeah,since the administration changed the definition of "not having a job" to "collecting unemployment" in order to skew the numbers
Here's the real "unemployment" number: 12.6%

http://www.forbes.com/sites/louisefron/2014/08/20/tackling-the-real-unemployment-rate-12-6/

http://rt.com/usa/156800-americans-economy-unemployed-work/

 

[fskimospy]

Since when are we paying back the loan? Let me guess, this negative interest is only on a small portion of the debt?

Of course it's only on the debt you take out at that interest rate. Why would that matter though?

The U.S. government has been able to borrow in recent years at rates that amount to people paying the government for the privilege of lending it money. For much (perhaps all) of this time the fiscal multiplier for government expenditures has been above 1.

If you are arguing against taking out debt in those circumstances you're basically saying you wouldn't accept someone giving you free money in exchange for you also accepting a raise.

You might be thinking: he must be misrepresenting this somehow because nobody would argue against something like that! That's the point at which you should realize just how batshit insane conservatives have been about fiscal issues in recent years.

 

[fskimospy]

Those are not facts,they are manipulated statistics.
i.e.: (I'll just pull one @ random)
"3. Unemployment has dropped from 10.1% in October of 2009 to 5.9% and projected to reach 5.4% by summer of 2015."

Well yeah,since the administration changed the definition of "not having a job" to "collecting unemployment" in order to skew the numbers
Here's the real "unemployment" number: 12.6%

http://www.forbes.com/sites/louisefron/2014/08/20/tackling-the-real-unemployment-rate-12-6/

http://rt.com/usa/156800-americans-economy-unemployed-work/

You have no idea what you're talking about. There have been no changes to how unemployment has been calculated. What you're referring to is the U-6 number which is publicly reported every month, just like it has been for many years before Obama.

You have been duped again.

 

[ivwshane]

Well I'm sorry if I disappoint you, but I'm just following the math. If you vote because your goal is to place your preferred candidate in office you are wasting your time.

To be clear there are other reasons to vote, it makes people feel good, for one. So if you find value in voting then I encourage you to do it, but we should all do it with clear eyes as to what it accomplishes.

Says the guy who thinks billionaires who think the rich should pay more in taxes shouldn't voluntarily pay more taxes because it's the aggregate of taxes from multiple tax payers that make the policy effective.

I vote, not because I think my vote is more important than others (it's not, it's equal), but rather to nullify someone else's vote whose policy views directly contradict mine with the hope that there are more peoples views like mine.

No disillusionment found, I just understand how the game is played...those who show up win.

 

[cubby1223]

I vote
<snip>
I just understand how the game is played...those who show up win.

You voted. I did not vote. Overall, Republicans won this election cycle.



It is the chaos that is elections, and the value of one singular vote.

 

[ivwshane]

You voted. I did not vote. Overall, Republicans won this election cycle.



It is the chaos that is elections, and the value of one singular vote.

Do you think people on the political extremes vote for other politically extreme people? Do you think politically extreme people make good decisions for this country as a whole? Are you one of those people who are on the far left or far right?

Now who do you think are voting?

Your attitude and Eskimos attitude are toxic and are the true cancer on our republic.

Oh and by the way, the people I voted for won and all but two propositions went the way I voted

 

[Newell Steamer]

Wikipedia, Huffington Post and the lesser known sites, I can understand the nu-uhing,... but, Forbes? Wallstreet Journal?

Really guys?

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

"The $1.4 trillion federal budget deficit that Obama inherited in 2009 was in a large part due to the high rate of unemployment. When millions of people were put out of work in 2008 and 2009, it resulted in far less income taxes and less economic activity to generate federal revenue."

Oh ya, revenue was down $419 Billion in 2009 but just ignore that $535 Billion increase in spending.

Ya, it is called a benfit of using fiat currency and it is exactly what is possible to happen under a recession.

I can not stand people that have no clue how economics work that complain about this. You don't know the subject matter so never talk about it. You'll do the world a favor.

 

[fskimospy]

Says the guy who thinks billionaires who think the rich should pay more in taxes shouldn't voluntarily pay more taxes because it's the aggregate of taxes from multiple tax payers that make the policy effective.

I vote, not because I think my vote is more important than others (it's not, it's equal), but rather to nullify someone else's vote whose policy views directly contradict mine with the hope that there are more peoples views like mine.

No disillusionment found, I just understand how the game is played...those who show up win.

Yes, the reason why voluntary taxation doesn't work and why voting is individually irrational are closely related. I'd be down for Australia style mandatory voting.

The game isn't played by individual voters. It's played by organizations who work to convince enough people to act irrationally and vote.

 

[Vic]

Those are not facts,they are manipulated statistics.
i.e.: (I'll just pull one @ random)
"3. Unemployment has dropped from 10.1% in October of 2009 to 5.9% and projected to reach 5.4% by summer of 2015."

Well yeah,since the administration changed the definition of "not having a job" to "collecting unemployment" in order to skew the numbers
Here's the real "unemployment" number: 12.6%

http://www.forbes.com/sites/louisefron/2014/08/20/tackling-the-real-unemployment-rate-12-6/

http://rt.com/usa/156800-americans-economy-unemployed-work/

The BOL has always used U3 as the official measurement.

 

[zinfamous]

Sure it is. It's just you need a never ending credit line and an increase in income every year. The increase in income has to be not high enough to pay your own bills so you still need to put stuff on credit, but just enough to pay the minimum payments/interest each month.

OK. I guess we aren't thinking again, so I'll try to make it simple.

Do you ever feel responsible for the welfare of your neighbors, or even those in the various neighborhoods in your town, or perhaps elsewhere? Do you find yourself engaging in protective, or even invasive, maneuvers of power in response to external or even internal threats?

Do you recruit and train your friends and establish a standing force of individuals to enact these protective maneuvers?

Do you actively encourage scientific research and education towards human advancement that you absolutely know will produce no direct yields today, but provide the foundation for advancement in years to come? Are you able to think in this way, and effectively fund the needs of the future that don't directly effect you and your spawn?

Do you open trade agreements with your neighbors, sometimes with no direct monetary benefit to yourself, and possibly even a loss, because you know that it will lead to greater partnerships in the future, with regards to knowledge and access?

DO you mint your own Mattbucks and trade them with your neighbors and their own bucks, effecting an economic value system based on the trust of your own Mattbucks?

 

[EZS]

Fact: If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, if you like your plan, you can keep it, period, end of story.

 

[zinfamous]

Fact: If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, if you like your plan, you can keep it, period, end of story.

well, it's pretty much a meaningless talking point in light of real numbers, BUT: yeah, that's certainly a terrible fuckup right there when it comes to verbiage.


I'm still more concerned about the growing power of the NSA and Obama's limp arm with regard to dealing with the climate, tapping in on Bush to keep sucking the dick of Wallstreet after 2009, tapping in on Bush to keep the Patriot Act alive and, well, frightening...than I am about his stumbling towards what is clearly becoming a much, much, much better healthcare system for this country.

you? :\