I see the vast majority of the changes that the Obama administration is pursuing to be a good investment in our country. Health Care reform? We already know that the status quo is heading towards (and for many has already reached the point of) unaffordability. Energy, Transportation and Communication infrastructure? We already know that we are loosing competitive ground to Europe and Asia in these areas. Education? We already know that we are not doing well enough here. Also that many of our very brightest minds are finding the best return for them is on Wall St. where they focus on making money out of money rather than something real. Green Tech? We are ignoring a goose that wants to lay golden eggs in favor of a goose that lays regular eggs (ones that we know how to eat now, but that we don't really like)
I keep hearing people complain about how Wall St. doesn't like where the administration is headed. I care about what Wall St. thinks in a very narrow scope (how my 401K is doing right now). Wall St. really does not have the best of the country's interests in mind, just the short term bottom line. And they are running around like chicken little right now crying that the country is falling apart when really it is just the short term bottom line.
The rules of the game are going to change a little, but I believe that Americans are smart enough adapt and flourish (and as a result Main St. and Wall St. will do well too). We've favored industries in the past, we will favor different ones going forward. Hopefully the newly favored industries can bring us some new things.
I keep hearing people complain about how Wall St. doesn't like where the administration is headed. I care about what Wall St. thinks in a very narrow scope (how my 401K is doing right now). Wall St. really does not have the best of the country's interests in mind, just the short term bottom line. And they are running around like chicken little right now crying that the country is falling apart when really it is just the short term bottom line.
The rules of the game are going to change a little, but I believe that Americans are smart enough adapt and flourish (and as a result Main St. and Wall St. will do well too). We've favored industries in the past, we will favor different ones going forward. Hopefully the newly favored industries can bring us some new things.
I don't think trying to implement a UHC in a deep recession is in the country's best interest. The goal should be to keep the cost under control first before handing out more entitlements to people which will be really hard to take away later on.
Many of our brightest minds go into law and finance, professions that don't create anything tangible in our society, yet states/area that produce industrial stuff is for lack of a better word dying. We buy a lot of industrial/sensing stuff from Ohio/Midwest and I hate to see those states keep going down a downward spiral.
People here compare the US to Europe a lot. How many of you have lived there? I can tell you that in spite of the fact that they do some things better than us, they have their own share of problems.
I think that health care reform is in our country's best interest no matter when we do it. Perhaps more so when we are in a recession than otherwise. Reduced health care barriers make starting and joining small businesses more appealing.
ProfJohn
Lifer
- Jul 28, 2006
- 18,161
- 7
- 0
Let's look at education for a second...
Figures from the 2009 budget:
In 2000 the budget for the Department of Education was $33 billion.
In 2008 the budget for the Department of Education was $66 billion.
We have doubled the amount of Federal money spent on eduction and yet the results seem to be the same.
Why should we throw even MORE money at this problem when the past clearly shows that more money does not provide us with better results.
Figures from the 2009 budget:
In 2000 the budget for the Department of Education was $33 billion.
In 2008 the budget for the Department of Education was $66 billion.
We have doubled the amount of Federal money spent on eduction and yet the results seem to be the same.
Why should we throw even MORE money at this problem when the past clearly shows that more money does not provide us with better results.
JEDIYoda
Lifer
- Jul 13, 2005
- 33,986
- 3,321
- 126
Originally posted by: sportage
Bush mess to Obama mess???
Don?t think so... Not even close.
So you expect a new president to clean up 8 years of mis-direction
in what... 100 days???
WHat planet are you from???
And... if Bush had not made the mess in the first place, we wouldn?t be in panic mode in the second place.
So Obama is doing everything wrong? What are the options here???
Another 4 years of republican rule.
You need to realize, it took republicans and GW just 8 years to nearly bring
the entire American way of life to a complete halt. To its knees.
If ones mother were nearly beaten to death. Kicked, punched and
just clinging to life, would you expect old mom to fix dinner, drive the kids to school,
return to everything as normal the very next day???
It "could" just be Obama is capable of envisioning the big picture. Short and long term.
And just maybe he is doing now what he needs to do in order meet our goals down the road.
Hey... God created the earth in seven days, it is said. If one walked in on day two or three of the big bang, they might have asked "what the hell are you doing with all this mess"?
Clouds, smoke, and all this fire...!
While that analogy may sound a bit nutty, it does appear most of Obama's criticizers expect
God-like creations from Obama. And in the same seven day time span.
Lets first have a little faith he will repair the economy. Get us headed back in the right direction.
And then? you can ask to see his walking on water trick.
very well put!!
I think the point OrByte is making that you can't get is that criticizing Obama for the reasons given compared to the last 8 years is like having an incompetent doctor who shows up drunk and nearly kills the patient with the wrong medicine, and when the good doctor whos up and is doing the right things, saying he sucks because his tie isn't in fashion.
I see nothing in the quoted text above but baseless, vague attacks, nothing substantive.
JFK was a fresh (albeit 8 years) young Senator who the same comments could be made about, who just happened to be IMO our greates president in several decades.
Obama is getting a hell of a lot right, but how can that be debated with the criticisms lack any points to debate, they're just about 'worrying for our nation'?
I can't even make sense of some of the comments like how they're the 'ends justify the means' crew. What ends and what means? That's help when making the attack.
Expanding the national debt even further to satisfy liberal constituencies on unproven, ill thought out policies without public scrutiny and discussion is anything but right. I'm personally happy to see some changes in the foreign policy arena but Obama's budget and economic policies will doom this nation.
What I meant to say is:
Some conservatives in the GWB presidency believed what they did was right, and the end justify the means (doing anything to deceit the public to build support for the Iraq war, for instance)
Liberals in power do the same thing: You believe that UHC is the way to go, so your reps try to push it through without public input/consultation. You think the government can fix anything so your president increases funding for most departments, even though the problem lies in inefficiency of government agencies. Your "stimulus package" involves mostly long term spending and not much short term relieve to the economy, which could be debated by itself (if the economy can really be "propped up") but your president still lied to the public about America being screwed if we don't pass his "stimulus package".
What happened to being truthful to the American people when your messiah's budget is based on unrealistic numbers on economic growth (basically lying to people who had hopium)? To push forward an agenda when we have record deficit and debt while foreigners will less likely buy our debt? Even some democrats are starting to question Obama's competency.
Lay off on the hopium and give the Obama administration the scrutiny it deserves, instead of just taking anything his administration says as truth.
- Aug 23, 2003
- 25,375
- 142
- 116
Absolutely 100% wrong.
The economy was in the shitter last year during the election. We were losing jobs and 401ks before Obama was elected. Knowing that, people STILL elected Obama into office because he intends to deliver UHC, energy reform, and education reform, even if we're in a down cycle.
Waiting for the "perfect" moment to enact these policies is overrated. Enact them now, and let our society move forward with them in place.
This doesn't excuse Obama from doing stupid things, you know. Obama is *still* more focused on campaigning for the next election cycle than he is dealing with the actual problems.
Take away that bumblin' man's teleprompter and nobody would have ever voted for him.
He won election by 53% to fix the economy and nothing else, he was not given a mandate to tax and spend us into government collapse. We had the tech bubble, replaced by the housing bubble, and now replaced by this government bubble. When this bursts, we are screwed beyond repair.
Originally posted by: cubby1223
This doesn't excuse Obama from doing stupid things, you know. Obama is *still* more focused on campaigning for the next election cycle than he is dealing with the actual problems.
Take away that bumblin' man's teleprompter and nobody would have ever voted for him.
He won election by 53% to fix the economy and nothing else, he was not given a mandate to tax and spend us into government collapse. We had the tech bubble, replaced by the housing bubble, and now replaced by this government bubble. When this bursts, we are screwed beyond repair.
Partisan democrats are too high on hopium to be able to think critically.
Fern
Elite Member
- Sep 30, 2003
- 26,907
- 174
- 106
It's been said often that the President only really has one year to push his agends through - the first year.
So, on one level this is expected.
On another it's frightening.
I think Obama's lack of experience is showing, big time. All he's done is punted the ball to Congress, and create unnecessary outrage over things $165 million in employee bonuses while ignoring the trillions we're blowing elsewhere.
As to those who continue to insist the economic mess brought about by CDO's credit swaps and the like is Bush's fault, please read up on it. It stems from a bill Congress passed during the Clinton Admin.
It's Congresses' fault.
And just who is Obama relying on to write the legislation for the Dem's beloved policies?
That's right Congress. Our chronically incompetent branch of government.
And nobody even gets a chance to read their hurridly written disasters.
We're in for a butt-load of hurt from these idiots (Congress).
Please slow down and get things right. You've got a whole year (at least) President Obama. And I'm pretty sure voters were counting on your judgement, not that of Pelosi and Reid (or Dodd or Barney Frank etc). So please start involving yourself and rise above the whole 'front man' thing by actually getting involved in a substantial way. Maybe then you can live up to your 'no pork' thingy instead of having to sign bills originating out of Congress with thousands of pork projects in them etc.
So, last time we had (for a few years) a Congress rubber-stamping everything the President wanted, now it looks like we may be stuck with the reverse - a President who rubber-stamps everything Congress wants. Which will turn out worse?
Fern
So, on one level this is expected.
On another it's frightening.
I think Obama's lack of experience is showing, big time. All he's done is punted the ball to Congress, and create unnecessary outrage over things $165 million in employee bonuses while ignoring the trillions we're blowing elsewhere.
As to those who continue to insist the economic mess brought about by CDO's credit swaps and the like is Bush's fault, please read up on it. It stems from a bill Congress passed during the Clinton Admin.
It's Congresses' fault.
And just who is Obama relying on to write the legislation for the Dem's beloved policies?
That's right Congress. Our chronically incompetent branch of government.
And nobody even gets a chance to read their hurridly written disasters.
We're in for a butt-load of hurt from these idiots (Congress).
Please slow down and get things right. You've got a whole year (at least) President Obama. And I'm pretty sure voters were counting on your judgement, not that of Pelosi and Reid (or Dodd or Barney Frank etc). So please start involving yourself and rise above the whole 'front man' thing by actually getting involved in a substantial way. Maybe then you can live up to your 'no pork' thingy instead of having to sign bills originating out of Congress with thousands of pork projects in them etc.
So, last time we had (for a few years) a Congress rubber-stamping everything the President wanted, now it looks like we may be stuck with the reverse - a President who rubber-stamps everything Congress wants. Which will turn out worse?
Fern
Congress is not incompetent in any way, shape, or form. Furthermore the opposite party is in charge of Congress as when Clinton was in office. I do find it funny however that our government working the way it's supposed to, without having a tyrannical executive dominating every part of it, is now somehow viewed as the president being weak and rubber stamping everything. You guys need to pick up a book and learn how our government is supposed to function, and then go read some newspapers and see that the executive has had a lot of input into what has been going on. Stop with the fucking extreme paranoia already.
The two branches are working together as equals, the way it's supposed to be. If you guys wanted a de facto dictatorship of the executive like we used to have, we should have just given Bush a third term.
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