The “Object-in-Chief” Defends Spending to Nation’s CEOs

Obama doesn’t want anymore of that pesky, free market capitalist stuff. He won’t be happy until he smoothes out all the ups and downs and levels the wealth playing field. And then there’s the usual rant about universal healthcare, our dependence on oil – if he had his way, we’d all be driving smartcars on rationed gasoline instead of just drilling our own oil.

Awesome. I watched the full Q&A session, live.
For all of those doubters who think Obama is an empty-suit who can’t walk and talk and think without a teleprompter — WATCH THIS TAPE!
An intriguing aspect is how respectful and detailed the discussion truly was… non of this sound-bite-gotcha-misquoting stuff of the typical talking heads from the MSM.
Another intriguing takeaway was how much the leaders (Captain of Industry) seemed to agree with most of what Obama was advocating.
Good stuff and should be required viewing by everyone in the press and the public. So much more informative than the traditional 20-second tripe we’re subjected to.
If this is a crisis, an “economic war”, then someone like ABC should spend 5 minutes of tonight’s broadcast airing significant segments of this back and forth.
This is the real meat and potatoes of the economic and policy discussion.

Joanne600 – did you watch any of the Q&A?
If not, then how can you claim he’s not for the “free market”?
From the folks on the left, Obama hasn’t done ENOUGH… like nationalizing the banks because they’re broke and zombies.
To the folks on the right, Obama has nationalized the banks, eventhough he has tried everything under the sun to do anything other than outright ownership.
The truth, is he is in the middle… he’s “The Pragmatist-In-Chief”.
Watch the Q&A and then come back with your standard fare of “Socialist Obama”.

Obama: “…or you’ll have somebody else speaking to you in 2013″
We can only pray and hope for the change.

I read what he said, but no I didn’t listen. I’m interested in what he says, not how he says it. He shows no interest in free markets and continually slams evil business. I fear he is what he’s always been – a staunch anti capitalist with a far left social agenda. I’d like to believe he will govern from the center and I would be very happy to be wrong. It’s going to be a long four years.

Capitalism SEEMED like a good idea on paper and theory. But in practice, it does not work.

“”cannot go back to endless cycles of bubble and bust.”
Recessions every 5 years gets real old real fast.

Now that he has his stimuls package passed, Obama says the economy may not be that bad. He preached doom and gloom to get the stimulus, killed the stock market everytime he spoke. But now he wants to be looked on as the forward looking upbeat leader. Guess he has to make it look that the economy is fixed so he can hurry up and raise taxes. His corporate tax proposals is a big mistake. Swizterland has a corporate tax rate as low as 9.5% which is why so many companies have moved their operations there. Obama just looks like corporations as a piggy bank to pillage. They are the ones that create the job. But eventually Obama will have the government employ many more people and over 50% not paying taxes. That is the plan to keep the voters voting Democrat. Make the majority either get by not paying taxes or employee. Then you can keep hitting up the other 50% for higher and higher taxes to pay for the social programs. Real incentive to work hard isn;t it.

Another nominee bites the dust, as reported by NBC News:
“A senior White House official tells NBC News that the president’s choice to be the nation’s chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, has taken a leave from his position until further details become known of the FBI’s investigation into Kundra’s Washington, D.C. IT offices.”
Meantime, the various candidates for sub-cabinet level positions at Treasury are systematically being eliminated by the vetters at the staff of the Senate Finance Committee, who can’t seem to find anyone who doesn’t have a tax problem. Are we looking at an administration that will rival Clinton’s for corruption?

Thank God we finally have an intelligent, thought-provoking, level-headed, open-minded, long term visionary leader. I’m finally beginning to feel optimstic.

Finally an intelligent President with
a long term view instead of America’s favorite mode, instant gratification,
regardless of future consequences. An
astute student of history, who understands it’s lessons. Unregulated
free market capitalism is dead, by it’s own short sighted and greedy hand. Long live free market capitalism, held in
check by government regulations that
protect it and us, from what Mr. Greenspan somehow in his ‘great wisdom’
missed, the baser aspects of human nature. It’s why there are laws, to keep ‘honest’ men honest.

You may not like him because he is a Democrat or because he is black or because he is left-handed or because he has a funny-sounding name and protruding ears, but history will be the judge. The economy may turn around before the end of his first term because of or in spite of what he is doing as President, but no one will ever be able to say that he did nothing to attempt turning around the situation with which he was left. I say we owe him, at least, the benefit of doubt. I say he won the election and it’s his turn at bat; let him have his three swings.

Obama never wastes an opportunity to attack Wall Street, attack free markets and threaten to end the greatest engine of freedom ever known to man – capitalism. Three day Dow rally? I’ll take care of that!
The War on Prosperity continues …

Obama has the markets and the economic news back on his side after the three-day rally. It’s the Obama fix!

The only thing Obama has done, is he has been Present.

“Massive government spending that removes precious capital from the private sector, higher taxes–read the history of the Great Depression! Those are exactly the two factors that kept it going for a decade.”
No that’s the right wing historical revisionism that has become vogue roughly around Oct 2008.

Obama HAS THE HEART AND SOUL THAT THIS COUNRTY WAS BUILT ON.HARD WORK,HONESTY,TODAY IT HAS BECOME SPOILED.ROTTEN AND NO ONE HAS THE GUTS TO BE THE MAN THAT OUR CHEIF AND COMMANDOR IS. WE AS A PEOPLE HAS FORGOTTEN THE REAL FOUNDATION THIS COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED ON.BROTHER IN ARMS.THAT FOUGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS.THE LITTLE PEOPLE THAT SHED THEIR BLOOD OVER BUILDING THIS COUNTRY TO BE SOMETHING,NOW AS A PEOPLE WHERE DO WE STAND .WE ARE LOST, TO MANY CHEIFS NOT ENOUGH INDANS AS THE OLD SPIRITS SAY.ONLY WAY TO GET THIS COUNTRY BACK FROM THE HELL IT HAS FALLEN IN IS TO LOOK TO ONLY ONE CHEIF, ONE COMMANDOR OBAMA WE HAVE MEN SHEDDING BLOOD FOR OUR FREEDOM.THE BLOOD THEY HAVE SHEDED I GIVE MY SOUL TO.BUT THE PEOPLE HERE THAT DON’T CARE I PRAY FOR AND FOR ALL THOSES THAT WANT TO LEAD THE BLIND THEN I SAY TO YOU ..YOU SHALL FALL. UNLESS WE GET BACK TO THE FOUNDATION AND REBUILD WHAT OUR FATHERS STOOD FAST IN..THEN THIS COUNTRY SHALL FALL TO

The Government brought this bubble on us via freddie and fannie, add a few politicans in bed with crooks and thieves that should have been regulating them and others and olay! Bad thing about it is that the scoundrels responsible are now scoundrels in charge of fixing it.
With a 600 billion carbon tax anyone believe they won’t pay more taxes?
In the 5 decades I have been on earth education has been the rallying cry of many politicians yet we pump money in and don’t get the return we should. Anyone ever think about taking education to private institutions and ridding ourselves of Govco education?Hell in some cities you could send a kid off to some boarding school for the money spent.
More money, have we heard this before?

Kent, please don’t hurt yourself while you’re bending over backwards making excuses for your guy. To stand there and admonish Congress for loading up the ominbus bill with earmarks and then claim the days of earmarks are over is the very definition of hypocrisy.
Why didn’t he simply veto the bill and demand a clean one? As you mentioned, he has the political capital. He would have scored huge points with Joe sixpack. I’ll tell you why – Pelosi. She is far more powerful than most people realize. This really is looking like Jimmy Carter all over again – getting schooled by your own party’s Congressional veterans.

Woody, I sincerely respect your response and understand your concerns about our children’s future. But our right-of-center American capitalism has failed us again. For our children’s sake, it’s time to revisit the dogma that got us to this precipice of disaster and try something else.
Let’s not wish ourselves a self-fulfilling failure. Let’s get behind our leader or get out of the way.

Kent
Give Obama credit for what? The 3 million jobs he created? Transparency? then signs a bill behind closed doors. Changing Washington? and no earmarks? and signing a bill with 9000 earmarks. The guy has spent more than a trillion dollars. What do the American people get? $13 a week in tax credit and the bill for years to come.
Obama is a joke.!!

JPT. I thought it was journalistic standard to always refer to the president as President ___, not Mr. and just by last name. He deserves that much respect at least.

These CEO’s must think it odd or surreal that Obama, who has never even operated a lemonade stand, is lecturing them on business matters.

The only way to do this is to stop flooding the economy with borrowed money. Unfortunately, Obama is taking exactly the wrong course. He is unqualified for the job and in over his head. One termer for sure.

He says one thing and does exactly the opposite. He is the reckless spender, Socialist and destroyer of business. He is enslaving future generations to a mountain of debt which will ruin future economies. Enough of this fool.

the only thing Obama can do is read a teleprompter, the rest of the job is beyond his capabilities.

Top reasons for our current economy, thanks to wallstreetwatch dot org:
1. Repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act and the Rise of the Culture of Recklessness
2. Hiding Liabilities: Off-Balance Sheet Accounting
3. The Executive Branch Rejects Financial Derivative Regulation
4. Congress Blocks Financial Derivative Regulation
5. The SEC’s Voluntary Regulation Regime for Investment Banks
6. Bank Self-Regulation Goes Global: Preparing to Repeat the Meltdown?
7. Failure to Prevent Predatory Lending
8. Federal Preemption of State Consumer Protection Laws
9. Escaping Accountability: Assignee Liability
10. Fannie and Freddie Enter the Subprime Market
11. Merger Mania
12. Rampant Conflicts of Interest: Credit Ratings Firms’ Failure

kat, tro:Economists have the depression ending in 1939.
===========
Really? I wonder what Obama meant the other day when he said, “President Roosevelt didn’t have the luxury of choosing between ending a depression and fighting a war”

The unemployment rate in 1939 was 17.2%. The Depression was still alive and well.

“You know, under the cap proposal that we have, it wouldn’t even start until 2012, where we’re going to be out of this recession …
—————————————
We’ll need to not only be out of the recession, we’ll need to be in an extremely robust economy. Candidate Obama said in 2007 that cap and trade would cause energy prices to skyrocket.
Skyrocketing energy prices means skyrocketing prices on just about everything else.

mad,
/—–
Skyrocketing energy prices means skyrocketing prices on just about everything else.
—–/
That’s absurd! Skyrocketing energy prices will force our lawmakers to look into price manipulation of the gas companies. Haven’t you heard. That’s been done already. Once they got busted, gas prices came down to reasonable levels. The ploy was merely to exploit us and line Bush’s cronies’ pockets in Bush’s last year because they knew he was going out.
The other part of the ploy was to try to force biofuel companies out of business before they could take off. It will also make room for cleaner energy sources like biofuels.

He’s going to have to outlaw Beanie Babies and Pokemon cards.
—————————————-
There are a number of those lying around the house somewhere. Please say they’re in the boom cycle. I was like TOTALLY counting on them as an iinvestment.

No more bubble and bust? What about the Democratic pork fest that started after the election? Without a balance of power in Washington, the Dems are stuffing themselves with pork. Is the new administration going to put a stop to it? I seriously doubt it.

“Speaking to 67 of the top CEO’s in the country – President Obama defended the tax portion of his budget – fully well knowing that many of the wealthy CEO’s would not be in the range to benefit from his tax cut.”
—————————————-
Dude, I wouldn’t expect any of them to benefit from the tax plans.

One important item to note, Thinking, is that in 1942 the US was fully engaged in a world war. Another important item is that FDR had much more to work with than President Obama – namely a society which had a strong work ethic, understood the meaning of thrift and other “outdated values”, trusted the government far more, and was based far less on a services-heavy economy. There is no comparison between this generation and the greatest generation.

“cannot go back to endless cycles of bubble and bust. We can’t continue to base our economy on reckless speculation and spending beyond our means; on bad credit and inflated home prices and overleveraged banks. This crisis teaches us that such activity is not the creation of lasting wealth. It is the illusion of prosperity, and it hurts us all in the end.”
Wait…isn’t this the same garbage he’s selling? Not only will we be hurting in the end, so will our kids.

Common Sense, my apologies for being unc. Then Senator Obama said cap and trade would lead to skyrocketing energy prices.
Utilities, transportation, manufacturing, foundries, steel mills, concrete plants,etc, would all be affected. Many more sectors than just gasoline.

Economists give Obama a failing grade!
They check the facts not the way he parrots points or attempts to ooze phony schmooze!
He is just a used car salesman in a very expensive suit who flys around spending mega bucks from the pockets of Americans! :(
Obama lacks both wisdom and authenticity!

Sounds like this thread was written largely by the very butt kissers that think kissing a rich man’s butt will make them rich. Wake up folks, they didn’t get rich by giving their money away. They usually do it by exploiting others.

Reuters:
“Yet a wave of energy companies has in the last few months announced plans to move to Switzerland — mainly for its appeal as a low-tax corporate domicile that looks relatively likely to stay out of reach of Barack Obama’s tax-seeking administration.”
—————————————
The Swiss are booming.
Unfortunately, the article didn’t include estimates of lost tax revenue for the US.

Bammie:”No Lobbists” “No Earmarks” Ya think were deaf, or just stupid?! This greenhorn has NO CLUE what he is doing from one day to the next. He can’t even fill all of his posts because his friends he keeps trying to appoint get disqualified because they’re all scum bags. Apparently this guy knows only tax cheats and lobbyists with conflicts of interest. Kinda tells ya who his friends are!This greenhorn has NO CLUE what he is going to do from one day to the next. Look at all his gaffes…a basket of unplayable DVD’s to the Prime Minister!? A bunch of spoiled children trying to “play adult”. Barry, Rahm and company sure make funny entertainment tho!!

Obama’s speeches are innovative and have potential-IF they are implemented in real, specific ways. If he wants to stop the short-sighted bubble and bust economy,strict regulations have to be enforced to prevent it from happening again; as with the S&L, dot-com, etc. Wall street has a very short attention span (as many people do)and is basically interested in gambling for nirvana. Now the question is: why did he choose ex-bankers for his economic team, re-hire The FTC commissioner who is merger-happy etc.? And where is the personal responsibility for the CEO’s-they should be in jail, not rewarded. We’ll have to see if he “walks the talk”.

Why doesn’t Obama say something to Sen John Kerry who is trying give all US territorial waters to the UN. Under Kerry’s senate committee, The Senate is gearing up to ratify a Nixon-era U.N. treaty meant to create universal laws to govern the seas — a treaty critics say will create a massive U.N. bureaucracy that could even claim powers over American waterways.
LOST — the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, also called the Law of the Sea Treaty — regulates all things oceanic, from fishing rights, navigation lanes and environmental concerns to what lies beneath: the seabed’s oil and mineral wealth that companies hope to explore and exploit in coming years.
But critics say the treaty, which declares the sea and its bounty the “universal heritage of mankind,” would redistribute American profits and have a reach extending into rivers and streams all the way up the mighty Mississippi.
Kerry is still a traitor to American interest…someone please stop him on this.

TAXPAYER TO PREZ…. NO MORE FANNIE / FREDDIE PUSHING LENDERS TO LEND TO PEOPLE WHO CAN’T AFFORD HOMES!
IF THE POOR CAN’T AFFORD A HOUSE PAYMENT, THEY NEED TO RENT!!!

Like McCain, I don’t think Mr. Obama knows much about the economy. But Mr. Obama is smart for not admitting it, embelishing his knowledge as he goes along.

NO MORE BUBBLES, KIDS!
Market bubbles are just market bubbles. They would self-correct by themselves if the government didn’t think it was necessary to obliterate the entire economy every time that it perceives a bubble occurring somewhere.
Turn the clock back to 2005, when the government perceived the housing bubble, and began dumping treasuries, which popped it surely enough. Fast forward to today, and note all the treasuries being sold in the meantime, sucking money out of the economy, and look how now we have a liquidity crisis.
The government always needed to stay out of markets, never did, and that was always the problem. Greenspan began a tradition of interfering with markets, coined the word bubble to spin it as ok, and now everyone EXPECTS the government to interfere with markets, popping those bubbles. Sad, how the mighty US has fallen! Our President now seems to be for some sort of a prohibition on bubbles. And we blindly follow, because it sounds good, we do not pause to consider how far astray we have gone, and are going.

I find it amazing that Republicans who are so distrustful, if not downright paranoid, of government and poor people have no problem placing absolute faith in the mythology of the free market and trusting businesses to “do the right thing” so they don’t need to be regulated.
We do not have a free market economy. We have an economy shaped by an unholy alliance between the most powerful capitalists and politicians who shape the laws and rules (such as they are) to benefit their corporate masters.
In a free market economy, would one software company control what’s on 80% of all personal computers? Hell no! In a free market economy, there should be a dozen automakers, not three. Republican government throttles smaller firms by enabling the larger ones to swallow them whole.
A free market economy doesn’t mean a free-for-all, which is what we’ve had on Wall Street for the last 8 years.

Hmmm, by the looks of this thread, astroturfing seems to be making a comeback. Yoohoo, Mr. Axelrod?

someone has to say it…WHAT A GUY!
thank God or whatever you believe in for having him as president, start listening to and studying this model of what a civilised, intellectual, wonderful and quite a good human being should be!
If you cannot hear what he is saying and understand it, start questioning who and more importantly WHAT you are. Whatever you are, you are not at his level yet… unfortunately. Perhaps with some effort and desire above all, you too will see what this great individual wants and will accomplish.

To iman@ss
You said america is the envy of world.
For GOd’ sake our american families are on food stamps. That is Bush legacy. This should never happen. People who fight for our country should be looked after. Among other things, we cannot claim that we are the envy of the world when we go through cycles of booms and bus. OBAMA is the commander in chief for free enterprise and for compassionate capitalism. Our country has about 120 millions people who are living below the poverty line. Should we continue with this kind of capitalism ?

During his campaign, Barack sang the praises of Warren Buffet and BRAGGED that Warren was “in his camp”. Barack becomes President [by a wave of hysteria not intellect], proposes massive, irresponsible spending programs & Warren disagrees with his plans. So what does Barack do? He mocks him at his latest speaking engagement. This is one of those guys [you all know one] that never thinks he is wrong. The type that thinks he is the smartest guy in the room. Arrogance, not intellect will be Barack’s Achilles Heal as President.

To PhillyPaul.
Please watch or read again what Warren buffet says.
WARREN BUFFET, MCCAIN CHIEF ECONONOMIST
along with 90 percent of well respected economist in this country arcticulate that $787 billions were welcome, but not enough, WARREN BUFFET ACTUALLY WANTS MORE SPENDING (ANOTHER ROUND OF SPENDING STIMULUS) to correct this down turn. AS to Hilary, The majorities of people in obama administration (and mostly the stewards of our economy) were in HILARY camp during the elections. THINK ABOUT THAT

Debt buried us, more debt will dig us out.

I was wondering if anyone out there can tell me the theory of “Trickle Down” economics and the effect it would have if we were to try a “Trickle Up” stratagy. All those trillions of $$ being split up between every verifiable SSN in the country. We the people, I believe, can spend that money more ethically and wisely than our Government and Business leaders. What’s your opinion America?

windrider,
/—–
We do not have a free market economy. We have an economy shaped by an unholy alliance between the most powerful capitalists and politicians who shape the laws and rules (such as they are) to benefit their corporate masters.
—–/
If by powerful capitalists you mean the Indian H1B mafia, I agree. The H1B mafia is stealing contracts from U.S. small business owners by bribing their way into government contracts, big banks and healthcare-related companies. Once they get in, they steal money from the U.S. Government by falsifying invoices and bill for “ghost” employees.
Additionally, there is a national security component to having them work on sensitive data. You may recall that participants in the 9/11 terrorist attacks were issued drivers licenses in Virginia. The company the FBI busted yesterday is AITC, an H1B Indian owned company. See press release issued by AITC below and make of it what you will.
—
Washington, DC – October 3, 2008
Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) Awards IT Help Desk Support Contract to AITC
AITC announced today that the Department of Motor Vehicles, Government of the District of Columbia, awarded IT Help Desk Support Contract to AITC. This contract is a continuation of AITC’s services for this project. DMV operates a Motor Vehicle Information System (DESTINY) that was developed and implemented to support Driver License issuance, vehicle registration and titling, inspection, insurance, medical, parking permits and other DMV related functions. This contract provides support to the IT Help Desk and network administration of DESTINY application.

Finally the middle class has an advocate against greedy CEOs and unbridled capitalism. We gave unregulated capitalism a chance and look what it did to us. It destroyed $11 trillion in wealth. Bush’s SEC slept while Bernie Madoff made off with $65 billion in other people’s wealth. I really believe that the head of Bush’s SEC should be brought up on charges of outright and egregious negligence. All you die hard Republican/Conservatives can call what Obama is doing socialism if it makes you feel better. But at least he will be re-empowering the middle class and forcing the filthy rich to pay more to rebuild this country. They’ve gotten away with tax cut after tax cut at the expense of starving govt and investment in this country. Now the wheel turns back towards personal responsibility on the part of the well off.

“The president said he wasn’t “choosing to address these additional challenges just because I feel like it, or because I’m a glutton for punishment. I am doing so because they are fundamental to our economic growth, and to ensuring that we don’t have more crises like this in the future..”
This is exactly what makes Obama a colossal liar. Neither health care, energy costs nor greenhouse gases got this country into the financial mess in which it is mired.
And Obama has studiously avoided addressing the REAL problems- banking and real estate values.
And now he is going to fix the deficit problem by tripling it and then reducing it to mere half-trillion dollar levels forever?
This man is dangerous to the country.

Posted by: Bob | Mar 13, 2009 8:41:46 AM
I take it, Bob, that you don’t own and have never owned a business.
Why don’t you start your company and show us all how it’s done?
Of do you simply enjoy stealing the fruits of the work of others?

MILITARY FAMILIES ARE ON FOOD STAMPS, THAT IS REPULICAN/CONSERVATIVE LEGACY !
————————————-
doubsack,
+++
Under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2001, beginning in May 2001, qualifying servicemembers can receive up to $500 a month with the new family subsistence supplemental allowance (FSSA).
The program was designed to help families currently on food stamps. Although this allowance does target those families, all total force members may apply.
A survey conducted in 1999, showed that about 6,300 military families were on food stamps. That was a dramatic drop from the 12,000 who received aid in 1995 and represents less than 1 percent of the 1.4 million men and women in uniform. Eligibility is determined by household size and combined income.
+++
Lets see….WHO eas president from 1992-2000 ???????

You have to give the Object credit – he goes to this business roundtable and sticks with his spiel. Hutzpah to the maximum degree. I like someone who has some guts..even if I don’t think they are very well versed in the specific subject matter.

Mister X
“Capitalism SEEMED like a good idea on paper and theory. But in practice, it does not work.”
And you’re thinking Socialism does?

Some folks need to understand the difference between free capitalism, regulated capitalism, and government command economies. Only the third model is active government measures of market control.
Men smarter than me have said, “Wise men learn from the mistakes of others, the average man learns from his own mistakes, but ignorance are those who ignore the lessons of the wise man”.
Economic history is right there for all to see, but ignorance is to ignore it. Command economies do not work. The government is a 600lb gorilla trying to dance and move in the economic ballet. Economies react dynamically to a complex set of forces, and they always react based on the one true principle of humanity, human nature. The government cannot control human nature as much as it tries. Just as silly as that sounds, it also sounds silly that a government can control economy. It’s been tried time and time again, and time and time again human nature reacts to it with declining productivity and motivation. Yet, here we are trying it again, as if we can somehow do it better than all those who failed before us. Our arrogance has no equal.
To all the socialist/command economy proponents out there, you should read the history of the policies you support and if you still support it, then you think we can somehow do it better than all those examples of failure, making you arrogant and like the philosopher says, ignorant.

The policies of cap and trade, leading to higher taxes, and simply higher taxes, are carefully timed.
Obama wants to be sure cap and trade cost increases don’t kick in until after his election.
Same with other increases.
in fact in his budget, which as Judd Gregg said is based on lies, many costs kick in after he is no longer at risk during the election, or for the next administration to answer.
Increasing costs, but kicking the responsibility/accountablility ball down the road to someone else is just another example of his cowardice and self preservation instinct.

hope all have learned that capitalism without regulatory systems is DEAD.
Looks like the GOP still doesn’t get it.
Thank GOD that President OBAMA has understood the severity of the damage of the cowboy capitalism and is addressing them boldly.
His leadership style is just phenomenal.

“run out of business by the city claiming i didnt have proper training to use cleaning chemicals”
So government ran you out of business and now you place all your trust in them? Sounds logical.

kr— i dont man really i dont.. i dont know what to do where to turn big business is corrupt to the soul rich people are corrupt to the soul and our government is corrupt to the soul…and they didnt run me out they never let me get started..

“i dont know what to do where to turn big business is corrupt to the soul rich people are corrupt to the soul and our government is corrupt to the soul…and they didnt run me out they never let me get started..”
I feel for ya man, I do. Government regulations inflict so much cost on new business that it does become more and more difficult to get your business of the ground. My father in 1976 started out with a single crane. By 1982 he had over 40 cranes until the oil bust hit and he lost everything. Right after that, he restarted and took a huge risk using my mothers credit. He grew the business small and diversified, not being reliant on just one aspect of the business. Today he is doing well, opened up 2 other businesses that take advantage of different sectors of the economy. The point being he experiences failures and learns from it. Business is hard no matter where you are. Government getting involved in it just makes it worse. Rich people got rich not through greed but really through being smart about business. My father would be considered rich to some, but he has a high school education and grew up on a dirt floor on a farm. He made it on his own but he will be the first to tell you that government regulation and involvment in business always does more harm than good.
Our heart goes out to those who fail, but we should cheer those who succeed and want to be like them. Giving up and hoping the government will bring success to your life is a falsehood created by those who want power. Nothing, even under full government control, is going to enhance your life. You are the only one who can do that and you have to expect, even anticipate failure but when you do, learn from it and keep trying.

What a breathe of fresh air; a President who is candid, funny and thinks long term. Hopefully we can turn this economy around and do it while focusing on solving the deeper, systemic issues for why we’re in this situation. Obviously bad banking’s a good place to start, but there are other issues, like global poverty, that have huge economic and geopolitical ramifications.
The Borgen Project (www.borgenproject.org) has some interesting insight into addressing the issues of global poverty, something we can remedy easily and sustainably.
Some interesting figures to ponder:
$30 billion USD: The annual shortfall to end global poverty.
$550 billion USD: The annual US defense budget.

“Could it be that our government policies have somehow helped this widening between rich and poor? Or do you think these ex-Middle Class people were simply not working hard enough?”
You do realize that the government sets the poverty line? Have really seen poverty of other nations compared to ours? In my time in the military, I’ve seen real poverty. Sizable cities with no waste management or electricity or running water. No refigeration and the only fresh meat they get is tied to a stake in the yard clucking, where 4 families will share the meal cause they all pitched in for it.
Yet 80% of our poverty has DVD players and a car.
So when the government says this is the “poverty” line, it’s something that politicians deem as poverty, not to any real standard of what poverty is. I volunteered to do taxes one year and a couple who made 28k a year was below the poverty line, one was going to college on a grant and they had 2 kids, 2 cars, and a house. They paid 3k in taxes and got a 6k return check from the government. I’m still looking for the injustice they recieve.

Posted by: MNM | Mar 13 “That is the ‘American Dream”. I’m curious to understand how you believe your definition of the “American Dream” is sustainable.
We fell into the Great Depression not only due to rampant greed and financial manipulation – the buying power of the populace was basically not enough to sustain the productivity of a capitalist economy. So, after WWII, we became a consumer economy – you know, make things less durable and convince people to buy more things they don’t need – throw things away, buy something new, and we’ll all have jobs for the “American Dream”.
We were able to sustain this for awhile, but ultimately consumers had to start borrowing to continue buying things we didn’t need. For decades from Reagan to GWB, Americans borrowed and eventually embraced credit cards like candy. We borrowed against our future earnings, our home equity, and then our children’s future – to maintain the illusion of the “American Dream”.
Meanwhile, Alan Greenspan reduced interest rates and the Fed was printing more money each year than the economy grew in real terms. Couple that with our government implementing mechanisms for the rich to rake off ever more money, and the Middle Class fared worse and worse. While companies were rewarded for outsourcing, only 5 Million jobs were created over the past 8 years.
Since the mid-1970s the richest 1/10th of Americans have seen their wealth jump astronomically – and the top 10% has enjoyed income gains. But the rest of us, the remaining 90% have experienced a drop in “real income”. According to the US Census, the last best year was 1973 when the average income was $33K in today’s dollars. By 2005 that had fallen by $4,000.
In other words, after 3 decades of explosive growth, there’s a fundamental imbalance in our economy. The Middle Class is no longer the solid secure base of this economy.
So how do we re-build the “American Dream” in a sustainable economy? The less energy we use, the more the energy companies will have to charge. IMO, any attempt to return to buying stuff just to keep the economy turning moving ahead is doomed. So how do you believe we sustain the “American Dream”?

Joanne600 – you’ve been watching Fox fake news too long. You have a problem with people buying vehicles that get 50 mpg rather than 15 mpg? How absurd. Rather than drilling more and continueing our dependence on a dirty fossil fuel, we should come up with a cleaner, more plentiful substitute. The smog would lift over many cities and people could breathe again. I would much rather have my dollars going into research for a solution like this rather than giving Exxon yet another record-breaking profit!

KR posts: “I’m still looking for the injustice they receive.” Yes, I have seen real poverty in third world countries. I’ve also worked with poor kids in the United States – of course the poor here have a better life than in some African or Latin American nations. But that does not mean poverty is simply their fault for “not working hard enough” or government should ignore it.
You may be opposed to a moral stand against poverty, so perhaps an economic case would make more sense. When children grow up in what the US defines as poverty, studies show they are more likely than non-poor children to have low earnings as adults, which in turn reflects lower workforce productivity. They are also more likely to engage in crime and to have poor health later in life.
This reduced productive activity generates a direct loss of goods and services to the U.S. economy.
A 2007 report on the cost of poverty in the US presented to the House Ways and Means Committee suggests that the costs to the U.S. associated with childhood poverty total about $500B per year, or the equivalent of nearly 4 percent of GDP.

“A 2007 report on the cost of poverty in the US presented to the House Ways and Means Committee suggests that the costs to the U.S. associated with childhood poverty total about $500B per year, or the equivalent of nearly 4 percent of GDP.”
There will always be poverty. There is no such thing as a society without what someone deems as poverty. There is no doubt that poverty produces crime and all other kinds of social ills. But there is no way to rid ourselves of those who make less than others. 100 years ago, poverty in the US was like the rest of the world. Today, it was far and beyond better than the rest of the world, but they are still called poverty, even though their quality of life is 10x better than other countries. So when does it end? When all people make the same amount of money? Suggesting communism has the right idea cause that’s been tried and hopefully we have read about, and seen how that implosion took place and the damage it did to generations of people.
There are wealthy and there are poor in the world, there are smart and there are definately stupid people in the world, there are talented and there are lazy people in the world, you cannot equalize humanity, it is an impossibility. It is justice to have a system that allows people to succeed or fail on their own account and not dictated by government intervention.

Many of us might confuse these taxpayers (CEO’s) with middle class taxpapers. These guys hide behind tax attorneys and their businesses to avoid rampant taxation. They won’t realize much impact from the change in tax laws (IMHO ONLY).

Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | Mar 13, 2009 3:57:28 PM
You’d have to be an idiot not to hide from “rampant taxtion.”

“We can’t continue to base our economy on reckless speculation and spending beyond our means…”
I heard him say this on the news and thought, “My God, he really does get it!”.
So I anxiously await the abandonment of all the policies that fit the description above (TARP, Stimulus plan, etc.). And here haste is important — we need to move before the money is spent!

“for our society to find better solutions to poverty – solutions improving our country’s economic well being as a whole.”
I argue we have and through no government program. Compare poverty in the U.S. to poverty in Mexico, or Brazil, or Indonesia, or Philippines, or Russia, or India, or China. Poverty in the U.S. is quickly becoming defined as someone without a new car and an iphone. Poverty in most countries make about 2 dollars a day, compared to our 2,000 a month poverty line.
But because Americans are sheltered in American life and don’t see the rest of the world, they assume the “poverty” in this country so egregious, but compared to what? My grandmother lived poverty in the 40′s. They were always short on food. My mother ate bread and milk for dinner sometimes. Poverty today is nothing like that.
So point being, our nations poverty has been lifted over the years and its in no relation to government intervention, except possibly minimum wage restrictions which I am for, but it must be handled delicately.
So there is a role for government, don’t get me wrong. But there is also too much government, even WAY too much government.