I can feel it slippin away!

[Guest]

I have been on this site for a couple years but have been to TV and known about it for years. I do not live there, I am a "Wannabe" or Gonnabe".
I am planning on retiring in about 3 years.
I mention this just to say that this is the reason I feel we need to get rid of Obama.
Since he has taken office my retirement saving has come to a halt and I can see my dream of living in TV slipping away or at least moving away from me faster than I can save for it.

So I guess much of what I say on this site is from a selfish stand point but that is how I see it.
I know that I can't be the only one in this boat. We have to get this country going so people can attain their dreams.
One of mine is living in TV. It is not my only one but it is a big one.
Obama may be a nice guy but not what America needs if not the world. America does best when we lead not when we are just one of the pack.

Just venting and thinking.

[Guest]

If it were ONLY Obama standing in your path to TV, that would be relatively easy to work around.

The fact is, there's another 535 standing in your path!

Just saying . . .

[Guest]

That is true.

The president sets the tone for what "we the people" put pressure on them though.
But I will agree that the people that run our country, from top to bottom, are a sad bunch of people. When will we learn we need to send our "Best" to Washington not just our willing!

[Guest]

Notlongnow, can you specify exactly how your retirement savings have come to a screeching halt since President Obama has taken office? Exactly how much more money has it cost you and in what program was your money taken away?

[Guest]

That is true.

The president sets the tone for what "we the people" put pressure on them though.
But I will agree that the people that run our country, from top to bottom, are a sad bunch of people. When will we learn we need to send our "Best" to Washington not just our willing!

Don't they have to be "willing" so we can send them ???

The irony is that I don't know why our "best" would even be "willing" to take the job.

[Guest]

Notlongnow, can you specify exactly how your retirement savings have come to a screeching halt since President Obama has taken office? Exactly how much more money has it cost you and in what program was your money taken away?

It is very simple. I own my business and because the economy is down for so long so is income. I still have payroll to make, property taxes to pay (business) and business loan payments to make along with the normal day to day cost of doing business that continues to climb.
My cost have not gone down because the economy is down if anything they have gone up.
The cost of anything shipped has gone through the roof.

That being said, I have to decide to keep employees or add to my retirement accounts. I have not let anybody go.
If I do add to my retirement accounts, where?

By the way, I am in the housing industry. I design homes and even though Texas has missed the huge downturn it still has come to a crawl as far as building goes.
Obama has done nothing to make sure the money we have given to the banks to help fix this goes to fixing it. It has just been given and they kept it. Very weak policy!

That,s how I see it. I am sure that it is Bush's fault and Obama is just a poor by stander in all of this, NOT!

Both of them screwed it up and and it is Obama's job to fix it, not point out who is at fault.

Don't they have to be "willing" so we can send them ???

The irony is that I don't know why our "best" would even be "willing" to take the job.

Yes, but why not willing and our best not just willing! Hell I'm willing but I am not our best I am sure. I don't know enough about politics to even start to know what to do. There has to be some out there that do.

As for our best being willing, I would say because they would want to serve our country and preserve it for our children and grandchildren. Is that not why most would want to do it instead of lining their pockets as it appears they do now.

[Guest]

Well, the housing industry and, I am sure, the housing design businesses are hard hit. I notice you do not blame Pres. Obama 100% for this situation - as it was Pres. Bush that began the TARP program. It has not been handled perfectly by any means.

I am sure that selling your business at this time or even in the next 3 years will be very tough to do.

Hopefully, the economy will turn around enough that you can sell in the next 3 years and make your dream of moving to The Villages a reality. Best of luck to you. Have a Merry Christmas.

[Guest]

Well, the housing industry and, I am sure, the housing design businesses are hard hit. I notice you do not blame Pres. Obama 100% for this situation - as it was Pres. Bush that began the TARP program. It has not been handled perfectly by any means.

I am sure that selling your business at this time or even in the next 3 years will be very tough to do.

Hopefully, the economy will turn around enough that you can sell in the next 3 years and make your dream of moving to The Villages a reality. Best of luck to you. Have a Merry Christmas.

Buggyone: In all due respect you give much too much credit to W. Beside Obama, do the names of Chris Dodd and Barney Frank ring a bell. Pleaseee the 2% cut in social Security taxes is a ploy for re-election and will hurt much more than it will help. Dollar for dollar the Dems have wasted more money than Rep. Keep in mind the Dems had control of congress from January 2007 and still have control o the Senate.

Finally the Dems attempts at controlling the economy has made bonds about worthless. Most retirees have or had a good portion of their savings in either bonds, cd, money markets. so they have been hurt. Add to that the de-value of the dollar and the inflation factors not factored into the CPI unimportnat items such as gas/oil and food and people on fixed incomes are taking a bath. Don't you wish you could commit insider trading legally like the 535?

[Guest]

Notlongnow, since you are a Texan, what do you think about Rick Perry? What do you see about him from living/working under him as governor, that we don't see in other parts of the country?

He has improved in the debates lately.

[Guest]

Yeah, not a real rosy outlook for the next few years. I also believe this started way before Bush, don't know when but it was passed from president to president because it looked good on paper to us and on there watch to have the economy to appear to be chugging along. That was our mistake for not minding the store.
I believe it will take luck to get it done and reach my goals in my time frame and I will take the luck if it comes my way.
Also I have never blamed Obama for the mess we are in but I do blame him for what has not been done and that he might have over stated his ability to get us out of this. I also believe he does not have what it takes to do it another four years. I also don't know who does in the current pack, still watching and listening.

[Guest]

Notlongnow, since you are a Texan, what do you think about Rick Perry? What do you see about him from living/working under him as governor, that we don't see in other parts of the country?

He has improved in the debates lately.

Well here in Texas he is surrounded by a majority of conservatives and repubs. I am a independent, Social moderate and fiscal conservative.
He has been good for business and small business in the past and continues to do what he can to make it easy for businesses to start up.
He seems like someone else in the debates. He has a funny way of holding his body and a weird look on his face. I don't think he is comfortable in the BIG spot light.
He seems much more at ease when you see him one on one and in Texas on the tv.
He has been a good gov. here and except for the mandated vaccine he tried to get through you don't hear much about him on the news before he ran for pres.
Also he never really talked about illegals much until he started his campaign. You need to carry the Hispanic vote in Texas. That is why he is taking the stance he has IMHO.

I don't think he will be or should be our next president, plus I am not sure the American people are are ready to elect another president from Texas right now.

I think he has got better at the debates but too late to get the nomination. The press was able to knock him out early because that is what they think their job is.

[Guest]

Just releasing the energy industry would do marvelous things for our economy and the one and only person stifling that upsurge in our economy is the "The One".

I think a serious uptick in energy production would do wonders for your Texas economy, notlongnow.

[Guest]

You should see this place! There are wind generators everywhere and most if not all would not be there if it was not for the government putting up Billions to subsidize them.
As far as the energy industry, they are doing great because of the price that we all are paying. They are building mansions down in Midland and Odessa.
Still if we would just drill our own, get rid of foreign oil I think we could solve may of our problems. But no, that would make the planet blow up and die!!
But somehow it is fine to let everybody else drill all over the world and buy it from them. That make everything fine then.
It is just stupid how we have decided we will fall on our sword to prove to a world that does not care, how good we are. Just makes me sick!

[Guest]

:BigApplause:You should see this place! There are wind generators everywhere and most if not all would not be there if it was not for the government putting up Billions to subsidize them.
As far as the energy industry, they are doing great because of the price that we all are paying. They are building mansions down in Midland and Odessa.
Still if we would just drill our own, get rid of foreign oil I think we could solve may of our problems. But no, that would make the planet blow up and die!!
But somehow it is fine to let everybody else drill all over the world and buy it from them. That make everything fine then.
It is just stupid how we have decided we will fall on our sword to prove to a world that does not care, how good we are. Just makes me sick!

WOW!!! GREAT POINTS! Well said! :BigApplause:

[Guest]

Notlongnow: Can you point to a reference for the billions you say are being used to subsidize wind power in your area?

Most of the commercial-scale turbines installed today are 2 MW in size and cost roughly $3.5 Million installed. So this means that at least 250 of them must have been installed at no cost to your local electric company (full subsidy). That would be quite a story in itself.

(I got the numbers from http://www.windustry.org/how-much-do-wind-turbines-cost)

[Guest]

So true:

"Still if we would just drill our own, get rid of foreign oil I think we could solve may of our problems.

But no, that would make the planet blow up and die!! But somehow it is fine to let everybody else drill all over the world and buy it from them."......

......and be at their "mercy".

We're being turned into a nation of indentured servants.

[Guest]

Notlongnow: Can you point to a reference for the billions you say are being used to subsidize wind power in your area?

Background
On October 3, 2008 the US Congress passed The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (TARP), otherwise known as the banking bailout package. The bill also included $150 billion in renewable energy subsidies that trade associations and industry lobbyists had labored over for years.

The subsidies were, for the most part, in the form of tax credits on the capital invested, that is, an Investment Tax Credit (ITC) based on the cost of the system. For the first time in at least two decades, small wind turbines were included in the technologies that qualified for the ITC. The ITC will be available for eight years.

Complicating matters for small wind turbines, the amount of the ITC is limited by the kW rating of the turbine. Up to a point, a higher rating, qualifies for greater subsidies. Turbines with lower ratings, or what Congress logically thought were smaller wind turbines, receive fewer subsidies. That's understandable, but Congress, consumers, and even many small wind turbine advocates often don't understand how wind turbines turn the wind into electricity.



This is not the one I want but it will do until I find it again. We got 13 billion here in this area. There are 400 turbines in one area about one hour south of me.