Posted by Guest (Post 203846)

"Half the respondents said that fiscal and monetary stimulus has provided the basis for a sustainable recovery."

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-bud...ad-to-Recovery

Posted by Guest (Post 203746)

Since we're so deeply in the "I told you so" mode, I saw this coming 6 years ago when we invaded Iraq.

Wars are expensive. Viet Nam was followed by years of high interest, high inflation, while we paid that one off.

We embarked on this one, without raising taxes to pay for it. Probably because those who desired this war knew resistance would be much higher if we actually had to pay for it.

A trillion dollars later, and not one of those dollars going for the aching needs of our domestic situation like education, healthcare, a more efficient energy plan....

Basically we're screwed. But the screwing didn't start with Obama. It started with you know who.

so, yeah, open your wallets.

Posted by Guest (Post 203836)

Education, health care, immigration, government social spending - these issues have been going on in high gear since FDR. And the result despite a herd of presidents from both parties, and Congresses of all cloth, are:

1. Public education has been on a downward spiral since 1960.
2. Health care costs have gone up higher than anything else (but we ar living longer than ever)
3. Immigration (legal and illegal) has been handled in apathy and funded by pittance since 1946 by both parties, all administrations, and every Congress.
4. Government social spending has continued to rise despite WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf I, Panama, Grenada, Haiti, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and a couple of other incursions which haven't received press.

And by the way, the quality of life and standard of living has increased in this country despite all of the above, mainly at the expense of the family unit in the quest to have more money to buy extras that greed and good marketing have make desirous..

It's easy to blame "war" for all of the financial problems of the nations. Unfortunately, the "wars" are what keep us free and able to seek greater and greater opportunity to care for others. That's a nasty truism which almost everyone wishes wasn't true.

I used to drive by areas inhabited by Amish. Their anti-war position is legendary, but the only way they can live the way they want is because others have provided them the protection to do so despite their reluctance to participate in their own defense. Again, an ugly truth, but a truth nevertheless.

I am no fan of any war, having participated in the experience firsthand. However, I accept that species homo sapiens is not the logical, sane, and agreeable critter we wish it was. That's why there are about two dozen wars ongoing around the globe today.

There is a fine line separating living in peace and living in tyranny. That line has diplomacy at one end and war at the other. If only diplomacy worked all the time.......

Posted by Guest (Post 203819)

So you are anti-war, we get that. We are however fighting a global war on terror like it or not. Obama and the liberals in congress like to ignore that fact as do others. Wars cost money, always have and always will. Don’t think for one minute we are safe. .

Posted by Guest (Post 203889)

I’m sure some of you will disagree as you look at big government as the answer to everything but..

Here's my fix to the conditions, just to name a few.

Freeze all new government spending.
Balanced budget amendment.
No bailouts.
Capital gains tax cut.
Abolish the death tax.
Make the Bush tax cuts permanent.
Then revamp tax code to a flat tax.
Congressional term limits.
Reform Freddie and Fannie. (Return to loaning money to people who can actually pay it back)
Reform SS and Medicare (make it a real lock box, not the lock box they lie to us about)
TORT Reform.
Then look at health care when the books are back in order.
Cut funds to the UN.
Expand nuclear, clean coal and natural gas.
Oil - Drill here drill now
Cut all funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and any other totally useless social programs funded by the tax payers.
Further welfare reforms.
Secure our borders including deporting the one’s we can find who entered illegally.
No free health care for illegal’s.
No more citizenship for babies born here if you entered the US illegally.

Then watch the economy and consumer confidence rebound... and stay there.

Posted by Guest (Post 204140)

I generally agree with most everything you post. I would like you to explain how our efforts in Viet Nam helped to keep us free from tyranny.

Posted by Guest (Post 204179)

Please see: http://www.geocities.com/matlock.cvma/why-vietnam.htm

Posted by Guest (Post 204198)

With all due respect, these "gains" he describes are very very questionable.

I hope I am allowed to make a distinction between my support for those who served in Vietnam, for whom I have nothing but respect and admiration, and my loathing for the policy that was the war.

I don't want to hijack this thread to start a point by point dialogue between you and me on purported gains of that war.

Let me just say I don't agree with him.