OMB Director: Bush Put Nation On ‘An Unsustainable Fiscal Course’

I’m going to be lmao when all of us who work EXTREMELY hard to be successful say it isn’t worth it to work like this and drop out or leave. What will these morons do when there are no more “rich” people to tax??
This administration is dismantling the things that made this country great. We are creating a growing welfare state and entitlement class. Very sad.
As for the people that think “rich” people don’t pay taxes. I have news for you – most who make in the $250K range pay 40% of income in taxes. I know this because I am one of these people.
Educate yourself before it is too late!!

Romer later added that the administration is buying up lottery tickets, in hopes of paying off the deficit! Hey, it’s about as effective an idea as the ones this administration is already doing!

It is not Bush’s fault. It is Obama’s fault. It is the Democrats and Obama want to spend more and more money plus the bailout. The polls said 54% of the Americans are not favored the bailout.

Yup, our Dearest Greatest Smartest Clueless Leader has brought us back to the economic sustainability by increasing its expenditures and physical revenues. However, it is nothing compared to his achievement in bringing economic equality in our great nation. Since he was elected, the rich and the poor are 60% closer to being equal. As the Dow drops to his familiar territory of 0, they will be fully equalized.

I’m going with Ron Paul on this one in saying that our problems go back 3 decades to the Brenton-Woods agreement where the dollar became “as good as gold” and the inflationary monetary policy started. Blaming Bush policies is part of it no doubt, but this goes back decades.

The Bush posse plundered the treasury for their own greedy gains. Cheney couldn’t be happier; his only peeve is that Bush wouldn’t give Scooter a Get out of Jail Free card. Cheney got everything else he wanted.

I would just like to ask Kat, Barbara, Anonymous, and Citizen…what planet are you all living on?

It would be nice if Romer would point out the exact nature of her claims and hand out some facts to back this claim up.
I do not recall, even the dark days after 911, Bush or any of his cabinet trotting out and laying the blame at the previous administrations feet.
So Ms. Romer, we patiently await your proof and don’t try to hide the Governments role in it, you know the Fannie and Freddie cheerleaders.

Blame Bush – how much longer can he do that. When is he going to take some responsibility. The only thing I have ever heard from this so called Obama president is “it is all Bush’s fault.” Get off of Bush he is gone. Obama is culeless, idiot and has a pea brain. He certainly has not cut out his spending, just blame Bush. All you idiots that think Bush was so bad will get your chance to blame Bush.

Since Barack Obama was elected, 2.4 million Americans have lost their jobs.
I see that JW has now joined the ranks of those who use the term “neocon” without having the slightest idea what it means.

“Soros’ ties to Obama date back to 2004, when the multi-billionaire hosted a fundraiser for Obama during the latter’s 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate. In December of 2006, as Obama contemplated making a run for the presidency in 2008, Soros met in his New York office with the Illinois senator. Then, on January 16, 2007, Obama announced the creation of a presidential exploratory committee. Within hours, Soros sent the senator a contribution of $2,100, the maximum amount allowable under campaign finance laws.”

jane,
we still mention that this mess is bush’ fault because… it is.
the only people who made off really good during bush’ adm. were bush and his crew.
and lets not forge the lie he told to get 4k plus us soldiers killed.
bush for war crimes.
and to the person who said the congress should be horse whipped.
what should we do with bush? and his part in the mess.
we had a congress and we had bush.

Actually, horse whipping and tarring and feathering are good old American traditions used on hucksters and con-men
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But those traditions you express so much admiration for were done predominantly on African American slaves. Poison is poison, diluting it down a bit doesn’t change it to anything else.

I love the defense for reducing itemized deductions for charitable contributions; i.e., don’t you worry your pretty little heads – the government will now decide who’s deserving of your benevolent giving.

the real one?
What the heck, PB0 can screw up (or down) no wrongs. It’s all the first Clueless prez GWBush’s fault. PB0 told you he inherited the deficit and he doubled it in less than one month, but it is Bush’s problem the Smartest Clueless prez is solving. In the end it’s you the sucker of his cluelessness who are clueless and bought it.

“”although i agree Bush and his party which held majorities are partly to blame i thin that the blame lies more squarely with Reagan and his “Reagonomics”, the “vodoo economics” and “trickle down.” it is now plainly apparent that if you don’t tax wealthy people they will not “invest in America”, “create jobs” and won’t trickle down to us living in the middle class.”
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Are you old enough to actually remember those times….as an adult!
Remember the end of the Carter years…the creation of the “Misery Index”????

In the end it’s you the sucker of his cluelessness who are clueless and bought it.
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As usual, eloquently spoken, sir. Again, I do highly recommend you retrieve the Ajax.

Bush was a Cluless, Idiot Drunk,Whos Daddy did Everything for him.
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Yep. He tied one on in Bejing. They had the pictures of the secret service having to hold him up splattered all over the internet. I bet he was hammered too when was copping feels from the babes in the volleyball team.

kate:Why should charitable giving go down just because not all of it is tax deductible?
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Because people will be paying more in taxes, they will have less disposable income to give to charity.
They can’t change many of the other things that are itemized- mortgage interest, property taxes, car license fees, medical costs.
So they’ll cut back on discretionary spending to have the money they need to pay the IRS.

Kate:
“Why should charitable giving go down just because not all of it is tax deductible?”
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A higher tax burden results in less disposable income.
If a family must choose between college tuition, for example, and giving to charity, most families will choose to pay the tuition.

Ronals Reagan started a 19-year economic boom that saw the greatest productivity and prosperity in world history, and which did not end until after 9/11. Losers referred to his policies as “trickle-down economics,” whereas John Kennedy had called the same policies ones in which “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Talented people did very well; losers, as they always do, lost.
I myself did extremely well during the Bush presidency–so well that I can and will ride out the Obama presidency without working at all. My taxes will be minuscule; he’ll have to get them from someone else. I’ll just enjoy a carefree life, and hope that the swelling ranks of the unemployed don’t come anywhere near my high-end neighborhood. Too bad, suckers.

Today Mike Huckabee, in Criticzing Bush and then Majority Republican Senate-Congress, Forgot to mention the…
1. 2001 Bush Stimulus Package, at a Cost of…
[[1 Trillion Dollar !!]]
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2. Also George W. Bush’s…
20 Billion Dollar Debt to Communist-Socialist China, to Finance our 2 Middle Eastern Wars with Interest, as well as China Continuing to Buy More of our Debt !!
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3. In 8 Years, George Bush, Never, Ever [[Vetoing Any Spending Bills]] that came across his Desk.
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4. George W. Bush and his then Majority Republican Senate-Congress of [[6 Years]] never presenting a Tangible, National and Universally Affordable…
[[ Health Plan]] for All Americans.
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George W. Bush and the Republican Party in their [[8 Years]] never having any Pro-Active Solutions to the U.S. Dependency on Foreign Oil…
In [[8 Years !!]]
Only after Last Summer’s Gas Price Tsunami !!!
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An that was Rhetoric: Drill Baby, Drill..
Ha !!!
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Note: Huckabee, just like Jindal, has 2012 Presidential Aspirations, as well as Cable News Rating Concerns, but Huckabee is certainly Not, laying All The Truth on the Line, when it comes to the Dibacle of the Republican Party and it’s Down Fall !!

Foolish unrealistic notion – Citizen – but not surprising based on your political leanings. The Republicans under Clinton pushed through financial deregulation. Have you ever known an industry that was able to police itself when billions in profits were at stake? Then Bush took a surplus and turned those into catastrophic deficits while waging his pointless and extremely expensive war. Asleep at the wheel of our economy for eight years, it is truly no wonder that his administration and their incompetence have brought this country to its knees. We will take decades to recover from this awful Republican president. But he’ll never see accountability.

“An argument can be made that once it became apparent that Barack Obama was likely to win the election and that his advocating of wealth redistribution would likely come to fruition, that the wealthy stopped investing their money–resulting in the loss of more than one million jobs.”
And that would be a specious argument.

May 2, 2008 — DJIA closes at 13,058.20.
Jun 4, 2008 — Time Magazine reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton is shutting down her campaign.
Jun 4, 2008 — DJIA closes at 12,390.48.
Aug 28, 2008 — Sen. Barack Obama wins Democratic nomination.
Aug 28, 2008 — DJIA closes at 11,715.18
Oct 27, 2008 — DJIA closes at 8,175.77
Nov 4, 2008 — Sen. Barack Obama wins Presidential election.
Nov 4, 2008 — DJIA closes at 9,625.28
Nov 5, 2008 — DJIA closes at 9,139.27 (one day loss of 486.01)
Nov 20, 2008 — DJIA closes at 7,552.29
Nov 26, 2008 — DJIA closes at 8,726.61 (4-day cumulative gain of 1,174.32)
Jan 2, 2009 — DJIA closes at 9,034.69
Jan 16, 2009 — DJIA closes at 8,281.22
Jan 20, 2009 — Inauguration of President Obama.
Jan 20, 2009 — DJIA closes at 7,949.09 (one day loss of 332.13)
Feb 26, 2009 — DJIA closes at 7,182.08
Since Nov 4, 2008, when Time Magazine reported that Sen. Hillary Clinton was shutting down her campaign, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 5,208.40 points.
I believe that in addition to much of the wealthy pulling their money out of the stock market that they also drastically cutback traveling, stopped buying big ticket items, and changed their overall spending habits. The result was a loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs if not a million jobs.

“The wealthy changed their spending habits in anticipation of tax hikes. Not to intentionally tank the economy. That was just the consequences of their actions. Those making $200,000+ voted for Obama 52% to 46%. Certainly a good portion of the wealthy voted for change and against the war rather than their pocket books. ”
So the wealthy changed their spending habits in fear of an Obama Presidency only to vote for him by a good margin.
Your first argument was specious.
The voting stats make it nonsensical.

‘To the victory belong the spoils’; that pretty much sums up what is going on now, as during other times when one party controls everything. The current party in power has a definite agenda, that they wish to see through no matter what the cost (pun intended)…..In their minds, they’re correcting all the wrongs that they perceive have been inflicted upon America, and to do so they are willing to jeopardize the entire economic foundation of not only this generation, but future generations as well………I don’t subscribe to their ideology HOWEVER, if this mess creates the economic disaster it surely could, then ironically any longevity of their ideology would be serious trouble……which leads me to believe that this is about THEM, PERSONALLY, not the long term, down the road type of ideals. When people with enormous ego are elected, this is the result. Scary stuff, folks.

Ryan C: Excuse the error, I was referring to “Danley”‘s post. Sorry for the typo.

The economy shrank at a 6.2% pace in the 4Q of 2008. You still don’t believe the wealthy changed their spending habits? Their spending cuts resulted in layoffs. And these layoffs mean everyone is cutting their spending.
By the way, for those of you who don’t believe in trickdown economics the proof is in the pudding. If the economy can fall from the top down, then doesn’t it make sense that it can also rise from the top down?

Interested08 posted: “they’re correcting all the wrongs that they perceive have been inflicted upon America, and to do so they are willing to jeopardize the entire economic foundation.” A few questions….Do you seriously believe continuing Supply Side economics is the ONLY viable way to grow an economy and build future jobs? Do you seriously believe we should continue the existing pattern of opaque banking deregulation?
Don’t mean to sound flippant here, I’m curious to better understand a conservative’s mindset about how these Obama policy changes will “jeopardize the entire economic foundation”.
1) Allow tax cuts to expire at the end of 2010 for incomes over $250K
2) Extend tax credit for low and middle incomes beyond 2010
3) Limit tax deductions for higher income brackets
4) Remove tax breaks for private equity and hedge fund managers
5) Phase out direct Farm Bill payments to companies earning more than a $500K annually
6) Cut Medicare payments to private insurers
7) Spend $150 billion on developing clean energy
8) Move toward health insurance for all Americans

Ryan C, I never said that the wealthy “feared” that Obama would win. I said, “…once it became apparent that Barack Obama was likely to win the election and that his advocating of wealth redistribution would likely come to fruition…”

Idahogirl, “Hi!” to you as well!
I didn’t actually say or intend to imply that the layoffs were “soley” due to the wealthy changing their spending habits. However it is my contention that is was a major cause.
I was actually replying to another person who stated: “…it is now plainly apparent that if you don’t tax wealthy people they will not ‘invest in America’, ‘create jobs’ and won’t trickle down to us living in the middle class.” I pointed out that it was the wealthy investing in America (specifically the stock market)–because of the 2001 & 2003 Bush tax cuts–that created jobs. I cited the rise of the Dow Jones Industrial average from 7,591.93 on July 1, 2002 to 14,164.53 on Oct 9, 2007. I then mentioned that an argument can be made that the wealthy left the stock market and changed their spending habits “…once it became apparent that Barack Obama was likely to win the election and that his advocating of wealth redistribution would likely come to fruition…”
As for your comment that the US economy built only 5 million jobs in the previous 8 years, President Bush inherited the 2000-01 recession (the Dot.com bubble burst). Just as the 2001 tax cuts were beginning to take affect the terrorists hit us on 9/11. The economy took a major hit. The recession and the economic effects of 9/11 were greatly limited both in depth and length of time because of the 2001 & 2003 tax cuts. And once the 2003 tax cuts really kicked in GDP took off and so did the stock market. It was during the 52-consecutive month period of Sep 2003 through Dec 2007 that 5 million jobs were created.
NOW THEN, had the Republicans stayed true to their conservative convictions and restrained federal spending and contracted the size of the federal government, the economic boom of 2003-2007 would have been even greater.
NOTE: Because the Republicans compromised their principles, true Conservatives failed to rally behind the Republicans in 2006 resulting in the Democrats regaining control of both Houses of Congress.
While GDP continued to grow in the first two quarters of 2008 (0.9% in the 1st Q and 3.1% in the 2nd Q) we began losing jobs in January 2008. Again, it is my contention that once the wealthy began to sell off their stocks and changed their spending habits that even more jobs were lost. As these jobs were lost, then these individuals obviously had less money to spend. And then by the 4th Q of 2008 it all snowballed.
Here are the job losses by month in 2008:
January: -72,000
February: -144,000
March: -122,000
April: -160,000
May: -137,000
June: -161,000
July: -128,000
August: -175,000
September: -321,000
October: -380,000
November: -597,000
December: -577,000
AND January 2009: -598,000

O, you are nuts. Review the civil war and the casualties. Only a crazy loon would want a civil war. I guess the freedom of speech and ideas is too much for some right wing nuts.