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Sunday, July 8, 2012 | 2:01 a.m.
Candidates for president ask, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Today it’s more appropriate to ask, “Are you better off than you were 32 years ago?” We have had Republican administrations, starting with Ronald Reagan, 20 of the past 32 years. We started with his trickle-down economics, which didn’t work, but Mitt Romney wants to give it another try. What does it take to convince Republicans to give up on failed policies? Please do not suggest the erosion of the middle class began with President Barack Obama; it did accelerate under George W. Bush.
The past 32 years have been dedicated to the wealthy and corporations. The middle class has been neglected. Did the middle class destroy itself? For the middle class, it’s been stagnant wages, longer hours, and watching plants close and jobs shipped overseas. People in the middle class have learned how to survive, if they have a job, in an environment where employers have all the advantages and keep employees worried about keeping a job. The result is employees are working harder for less wages and employers are getting wealthier and more demanding of their employees. This work environment appears to have become the norm.
The middle class has been swindled by their employers and by the Republican politicians. The Republicans are counting on the middle class again to be uninformed and vote for them in 2012, only to continue the middle class’ 32-year downward spiral.
Dave,
Yes, I'm doing better than 32 years ago, I hope that answers your question.
Face the facts Dave, Obama hasn't turned around the economy like Reagan did. there are fewer Americans working as a percent of our population now compared to when Obama entered the white house. 60.9% of our population were working back in 2009 when Obama took office, now only 58.5% are working. The pace of job creation during the last three years has not kept pace with new entrants in the job market. Average GDP growth under Obama is 2.2% and it needs to be 3.2% just to keep pace with new job entrants. Compare that with Reagan. Reagan at the end of the 1982 recession had 57.3% of the population employed then had 60.9% employed four years later, an increase of 3.6% for Reagan compared to Obama's decrease of -0.9%. Dave, we need economic growth and job creation. Americans would love to see a Reagan economic recovery.
Without a doubt Reagan turned things around and we are better off then under Carter.
We lost during the Clinton Dot.com recession and the stock market has never returned to those highs.
We were at our peak December 2006
When Obama, Reid and Pelosi took control of Congress in January of 2007 it has been a down hill slide
A lame duck Bush could do nothing against the powerful Democrat Congress his last two years and all forward moment was stopped.
This has nothing to due with the private sector we have alway had recessions every 10 years since WWII
Reagan pulled us out of the Carter recession
Bush pulled us out of the Clinton recession
But Obama's policies can not pull us out of this recession
Am I better off than 32 years ago? Yes, 55 years old, house paid for, cars paid off, money in savings and investment accounts. Worked hard to get here. Is it because of government policies? I think it is in spite of them.
I opine that the real question is are we doing better than we were 236 years.
No. Our Founding Fathers and Framers are turning over in their graves. And that's hard for dust to do.
CarmineD
Even with the economic disaster that devastated much of our financial wealth from 2007-2010, I am better off today than I was 32 years ago. I am not convinced this is a relevant question in all realism. The question that one might ask is whether you have more optimism for the future today than you did 32 years ago. My answer to that is NO. Obama is systematically degrading the nation's wealth and prosperity by his anti business policies including heavy handed environmental regulations, an uncertain tax future, Obamacare, government intrusion and an entirlement culture of record proportions.
The 32 year ago comparison seems meaningless at this moment. If you were to ask whether everyone was better off today than they were in 2006, the answer would in most cases be NO. The economy started to unhinge under George W Bush and has been a record failure under Obama.
Dippy think the current Obama number are HILARIOUS
Dippy nobody is laughing about the tailspin we are in. Obama campaigns everyday say how great things are.
Obama policies are wrong for American and we do not need 4 more years of failure
-----
January of 2007 Democrats took over Congress; the House with Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank; the Senate with Obama, Biden, Harry Reid, and Chris Dodd. This was followed by the elevation of Obama to president in 2009.
This is a singular turning point in American history with the social and economic morass that followed. Obama, Reid and Pelosi have been on a path to implement the Liberals Entitlement Manifesto. One where a powerful Central Government control all activities and directs people's lives.
Look at the baseline number to decide if you and the country is better off with Democrat control years later.
BLS A-1 table 2002 employment 136.5 million. 2003 the tax rates were lowered
2007 Baseline numbers:
2007 Total employment - 146,273,000 up 10 million jobs since Clinton
2007 Unemployment Rate - 4.6%
2007 Initial Jobless claims - 300k per week
2007 Food Stamps. - 28 million at a cost of $38 billion
2007 GDP - $13,715 trillion
FY-2007 Total Debt - $9.0 trillion
FY-2007 Revenue - $2,568.2 trillion up $576.8 billion from Clinton
FY-2007 Spending - $2,728.9 trillion
FY-2007 Fed gov employment 1.8 million people
FY-2007 Deficit - $160.7 billion
Estimated 2012 Baseline numbers after four years of vulture socialism
2012 Total employment - 143,202 million jobs down 3 million
2012 Unemployment Rate - 8.2%
2012 Initial Jobless claims - 370k per week
2012 Food Stamps - 46 million people at a cost of $75 billion
2012 GDP - $ 15.0 trillion
2012 Total Debt - $16.3 trillion up $7.3 trillion (and Obama has requested another $1.2 trillion)
FY-2012 Revenue - $2.5 trillion
FY-2012 Spending - $3.7 trillion
FY-2012 Fed gov employment 2.1 million people
FY-2012 Deficit - $1.3trillion
Starr is just one more who practices the "politics of envy." Jealous of what others have, those fellow travelers want to take away as much as possible from the productive and "redistribute" it to the lazy, the indolent, the slothful (Yeah, I know, redundencies). If guys like Starr would have put as much sweat, blood & tears (effort) into working to better their lives while climbing up the ladder, they wouldn't have had so much idle time on their hands to complain about others who did and be as green-eyed jealous.
One thing is certain -- privileged vulture capitalist Willard Romney is better off today than 99.99% of his fellow Americans.
Article and pictures as Willard's clan vacation at his summer mansion in the Hamptons.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/201...
Thank you Dave. Excellent letter. It is obvious by some of the comments here that they really do not understand Reaganomics and the negative impacts Reagan's policies had on the middle class. We will continue to suffer because of Reagan's policies and his trickle-up economic policy. People who are reading this, you can spin, twist, and turn any statement to make it fit your agenda; even easier is to spin numbers. Check out the facts yourself.
Let's be very careful when selecting the next President.
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
Are we better off...For the Middle Class, the answer is Hell No. For the Rich, the answer is Hell Yes!! President Barack Obama supports the middle class and always has!!! Willard Romneey supports the uber-wealthy and the large corporations.
Many people responding to this letter may be too young to even answer the question; interesting. To everyone who may be reading the comments regarding the above-mentioned article; please be aware that some of the comments may be written by people who are receiving compensation for posting their comments, which are posted every day! You may read some outrageous and even shocking comments posted here; again, almost every day, but please ignore those comments and find out the truth on your own. It is so easy to do so with access to the internet. This just may be the most important election of our lifetime. It is very important that we really understand the impact of our decision to our children and our grandchildren. I hope everyone takes their right to vote seriously and learns everything they can about the candidate they intend to support. I hope everyone makes their own decision; based on their own fact finding mission, not their better half, relatives, friends, church members, bloggers, news outlets, but what they have learned from their own research. We all have an opinion and I believe that we can learn from others, but we must research and vote for the candidate that we believe represents our best interest.
I have done my research for several years now. I voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and I will vote for President Barack Obama in 2012.
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
Dipstick
I am as curious, you said: future; you're using the same insipid numbers that refnv uses.
Is it the same format? Interesting. HUM.
Forget better off after 4 years or 34. This lucky lottery winner, er, I mean CEO-for-a-day at Duke Energy, he only needed 24 hours to 'earn' a $44 million paycheck.
Want to know what's wrong with America? Read about Bill Johnson who was paid $5.5 million an hour for his hard labor.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/07...
Mr. Starr, et al.
Please consider this economic truth without consideration for political correctness:
The workforce since 1980 has grown substantially with the addition of millions-upon-millions of mostly unskilled women and immigrants. Additionally, technology has made it ever easier to utilize inexpensive labor in other countries. The only expected result is that the wages and wealth of the working class will stagnate or be lowered. It is an unfortunate fact.
Now, with that new knowledge, please construct a solution.
Regards,
Purgatory
Jerry Fink: 5:59 we do agree some times. I am better off than I was 32 years ago but that's not the real issue. The question should be more in line with "Where would you be without the last 32 years of government intervention?" Much government could be beneficial--like defense from enemies foreign and domestic, law enforcement, schools that work, CDC disease intervention.... Much government has been harmful: excessive spending and human tolls for "wars" that don't protect any one's interest, excessive military support and foreign aid, feeding indigent populations that are still unable to support any economy, sending American money overseas via government programs, Federal Reserve mismanagement of the money supply, failure to pay for deficit costs, enacting handouts for tuition, low interest rates, grants....
"Compare that with Reagan."
Reagan raised taxes 11 times --- you good with that?
and you are spot on, dip --- the guy's predictable as the sun coming up.
Reagan added nearly 18 million jobs during his 8 years in office after a severe recession.
http://bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea01.htm
Reagan also tamed double digit inflation that started in the Carter administration.
http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inf...
---you good with that?
"Whoa...we're in deep doo-doo - let's give gobs of money to the richest of the rich and maybe they'll figure out how to help us!" -- common brainwave that elected ronnie what's his name
"Whoa...we're in deep doo-doo - let's give gobs of money to the richest of the rich and maybe they'll figure out how to help us!" --GWBush and rinky-dink Cheney
"Whoa...we're in deep doo-doo - let's give gobs of money to the richest of the rich and maybe they'll figure out how to help us!" Mitten and Condi or whatever skirt seems to fit the mitt
Because of 16 years of eradicating middle class enterprise, our country will suffer for generations from the losses of infrastructure in the form of education, jobs, expertise and successful endeavors that brought us growth.
And many of us in our 60s, 70s and 80s will have very little left of our life savings now we're a bit long-in-the-tooth, essentially beyond-employment and nobody really wants us around anyway.
We have subjected ourselves to rule by reactionary swine bejeweled in pearls and slathered in lipstick.
Contrast for a moment the pioneering approach to a shared problem in a southern American country where practical policy may eliminate what has cost Mexico 55,000 deaths in 5 years, has created cultural upheaval here in the US, and has forfeited trillions lost in human potential...
http://www.examiner.com/article/uruguay-...
Well, speaking for myself, as a middle class guy, yes I am better off then I was 32 yrs ago. Democrats are ridiculous, they always brag about how great the economy did while Bill Clinton was in office. But, when the economy is good under a Republican like Ronald Reagan it all starts to get characterized as "greed" and only the corporations benefit.
Here is a very good link that I am sure you will all enjoy:
http://www.politicususa.com/watch-romney...
Run the numbers and the typical American is worse off. But we do not live in a World run by sane people. We live in a World run by people operating with cow manure as their facts.
What most people do not understand is this, business as they know it has nothing to do with business. What we have seen for going on 4 decades now is criminal activity. The crooks can package it as legit but the facts speak otherwise.
Here is an exhaustive article chronicling the mess http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudAmer...
Until you understand what drives things you will assume most of what you see as commerce is legitimate, it isn't. The name of the game is to steal productive value from the masses and transfer that value to criminals.
Part of this transfer includes things like calling a pound of coffee 13 ounces. Selling cars with plastic doors where there was once chrome and fine hardwoods. Most Americans are so blind to the absolute fleecing one can only marvel at the level of brainwashing present.
I enjoyed this link and wanted to share with everyone. It is very helpful to know the Lingo when communicating with the Republican/TEAbaggers. So to assist you in your efforts to be PC; here you go:
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/06/...
Dave Starr asks a valid question. Some of you might feel you are better off, but imagine how much better things could be if we as a nation weren't subjected to the whims of the Wall St. casino and banks. Some at this point are suggesting hundreds of trillions are involved in recent scams. Investigators are only scratching the surface.
"Losses on JPMorgan Chase's bungled trade could total as much as $9 billion, far exceeding earlier public estimates, according to people who have been briefed on the situation."
"THE unfolding story of how Barclays -- and, in all likelihood, other big banks -- rigged interest rates is full of telling tidbits about the way Wall Street works. It also represents yet another teachable moment."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/busine...
The traditional Democrats and the traditional Republicans reduced the National Debt in 27 out of 35 years.
Reagan and the Bushies increased the National Debt every year of their 20 years in office.
Yes, they took tare of their Kitchen Cabinets and their corrupt corporate cronies by awarding no-bid and inflated contracts. Many of these contractors still got paid even though they failed to fulfill their contractual obligations.
America would have been better off if they had contracted with the Mafia to run the Government for a 10% fee than to let the fiscally irresponsible so-called republican criminals put us in the poor house.
In addition, go to "Weimar America"
http://www.salon.com/2012/07/06/weimar_a......
Since Mitt's father released 12 years of tax returns, why won't Mitt release at least 10 years of tax returns?
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/10...
The brain-dead Reagan lovers just refuse to see what a failure the "Gipper" really was...
The Dixon flash NEVER produced a balance budget in his 8 years. He borrowed from Social Security to increase the military budget and he raised taxes numerous times...
He took this country from being the world's largest lending nation to the world's largest borrowing nation.
He allow the size of the federal government to grow on his watch despite the fact that he said that he would cut back the size of government and eliminate such things as the Department of Education..
He also promised to sell TVA to private industry but that became only a promise....a promise never delivered on....
He greatly increased the national debt and allow more business consolidations (mergers...) to take place during his 8 years than had taken place in the previous 50 years....
In other words, he created hundreds of "too big to fail" business models that virtually eliminated competition while increasing the power and political influence of the corporations...
He was often "out of the loop," not knowing or caring about what was going on....
He took naps during Cabinet meetings and led all previous presidents when it came to taking vacation days.
He allowed his wife to tweak his daily schedule but only after she first checked with her personal astrologer .
Yep, that Eureka College cheer leader was really something.......
"He(Reagan) greatly increased the national debt"
Below is a link showing national debt contribution by President. Reagan's was 4.3% as a percent of GDP and the liberal Obama's is 8.3%, nearly double Reagan.
http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/bu...
El_Lobo I never was much of a Reagan fan. I thought he was an actor playing he role of president. Now we have a president that has increased the debt much more than Reagan but it is someone elses fault. How can you justify that? I am sorry but to me this is the liberal mantra, "It is someone elses fault that we are not successful."
Fellow commenters,
It seems it is time to remind you all once again of the obvious. One of the last great statesmen of our Country, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan said
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."
Many of you could benefit by heeding his sage advice.
Regards,
Purgatory
John Boehner took valuable vacation time away from smoking, drinking and tanning to set the record straight about devout Mormon Willard Romney. When a woman asked during a question-and-answer session: "Can you make me love Romney?", Boehner said, "No. The American people probably aren't going to fall in love with Mitt Romney."
Personally, I doubt that Ann Romney really cares much for her vulture capitalist husband. But the privileged rich guy does have loads of cash stashed away in offshore bank accounts in Switzerland, Bermuda and the Caymans and Ann's hobby of raising and training those prancing dressage horses is very expensive. Definitely out of the budget for 99 percent of us.
WHOA..I am so angry I am burning up the phones lines and planning to work night and day to get Democrats tossed out..OUT
I have never worked for any campaign..I am sort of a..apathetic voter..Like to discuss issues but..don't contribute but now..
Iam going to actively work to get every dem tossed out..OUT OUT!
Am I better off than 32 years ago..I am not better off sicne last week..just can't keep up with these donkey j*ck*sss's.
The Heritage Foundation is not an objective source of information. They are a hatchetmen foundation that serves those corporations that are Fascist--Koch Brothers, Coors, and many more.
Heritage Foundation; "If people have appliances, they are not poor."
Read Cato Institute's "Achieving a Leninist strategy" by Stuart Butler, and Peter Germanis of the Heritage Foundation.
Un-American organizations: Heartland Institute, Castle Rock Foundation, Coors Foundation, Bradley Foundation, Club for Growth, American Majority, Sam Adams Alliance, SPN--Public Interest Institute that has 59 Freedom Centers or affiliated think tanks in 50 states. NPRI?
Who are the really, really big spenders?
U.S. Federal Debt as a percent of GDP
http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/dawn...
Reagan policies gave green light to red ink.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn...
The republican debt orgy in pictures.
http://www.perrspectives.com/blog/archiv...
Economic downturn and bush policies continue to drive large projected deficits.
http://cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&am...
Running in the red: How the U.S. on the road to surplus, detoured to massive debt.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/e...
U.S. budget deficit: Borrowing and spending the GOP way.
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/26/......
Bruce Bartlett destroys every republican fiscal talking point in 5 minutes.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/28...
Obama's and Bush's effects on the deficit in one graph.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra......
GOP Representative Tom McClintock; "The American people are about to give Republicans a second chance that we know that we haven't earned... The American people have every right, and every reason, to blame a Republican president and a Republican Congress for the mess that confronted the Obama administration on January 20, 2009..let us be honest about this.
When Reagan took office, the National Debt was about $1.03 trillion. When Bush left office, it was $10.7 trillion. The Debt increased $9.67 trillion during those years.
During Clinton's tenure, the Debt went from $4.5 trillion to $5.7 trillion, or 12.4% of the total.
Therefore, 87.4% of the National Debt accumulated since Reagan came from Republican Presidents. Are you better now than 32 years ago?
Personally because time is so precious, I would not waste my time on reviewing any data from the Heritage Foundation. There are so many other sources of information, I would simply ignore the Heritage Foundation and move on to a site that I believe is objective, but that is just my opinion.
Thank you Vidi for your post at 4:20 p.m.! And thank you for the excellent information.
Seek the truth
Aren't these beautiful?
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-5...
http://www.zillow.com/blog/2012-01-24/mi...
Kepi:
AND? Do you have a picture of the Kennedy Compound? Do you have a picture of John Kerry's house or how about Nancy Pelosi..?
Enquiring minds would like to know
Sun Jon:
Two house were foreclosed on this last month in my neighborhood. The smoke shop up the road is laying off workers.
No, I am not better off..and neither are you..and it should have stopped by now..Four years of this is long enough..and who gives a crap about Raygun or.."Bush did it." Time to man up and admit..it ain't getting any better and it is getting worse again..
The smoke shop was closed down by a bill signed by Obama last Friday..Thanks OB..don't expect any votes in this neighborohood..
Baccus DEM Montana..slipped that little tobacco bit into a farm bill..but..the Dems will claim "Bush did it." Yeah, right!
Oooo..Bush didn't do it..It was "big tobacco" who victimized poor iddle Baucus..and made him do it..AHhhhh...Yunno..Bloomberg was really influenced by Big Coffee who just wanted to put sugary soft drinks out of business..so people would drink coffee..BS!
Why can't the dam dems just take responsibility? Why is it always "Bush did it" or "Big Business made me do it."
How about the Dam Dems did it..??
extra......
Thank God we don't need your votes.
Old man Romney needs to stay retired, we don't
need another greedy republican.
PRESIDENT OBAMA is fixing the HUGE MESS that
greedy republicans created.
You republicans fool no one.
We're keeping PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!
AND YES, bush did it.
When republicans destroy an economy, it takes
years to fix.
Just keep republicans OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE.
Hello Teamster
What do you think about Navistar (International Harvester) going bankrupt? Think Cummins is next?
Is that better than 32 years ago?
xtra: Are you a middle school drop-out?
Vidi:
Teddy Roosevelt was a Republican..and Nixon signed the Paris Peace Accord in 1973.
32 years ago I was a renter with no kids and a 1969 VW beetle. Now I have 4 grown children, two homes, 3 cars and a nice comfortable retirement egg. So of course I'm better off, because I worked my butt off, including 25 years for the Fed. Am I grateful to the 5 presidents I worked under? No, not really, I worked hard for what I have. Thanks taxpayers.
DarthFrodo
You're welcome..
And Thank You..
M. Malone,
Please get help.
extra....
Dave Starr is correct.
Anti-union, Ronald Reagan started the trickle-
down stupidity and bush/ cheney finished it off
and destroyed our middle class.
That's what republican idiots did.
And Richard Nixon was the biggest republican
crook of all time.
bush/cheney/rice lied us into the Iraq war that
cost us trillions.
And now you bach another greedy, anti-union
republican, who won't answer questions or show
more than one tax return?
Are you kidding?
I'm much better off since JC left the white house in 1981, thank you.
And, when if I have trouble finding a job, there is always SSDI in the current Obumma economy.
mschaffer:
Are you following me around..and addressing me personally rather than the topic at hand?
It appears you need help
"you good with that?"
lol at RefNV and a few others who hold Reagan out as the answer. You can point to all his good, of which there was much, but he kept things in check by increasing taxes 11 times. What is wrong with y'all that you cherry pick his record. Hell, most of you wouldn't vote for him now because he's too liberal.
Even Norquist makes excuses for him so don't feel alone.
Xtra; July 8, 2012 @ 5:51 p.m. stated""..The smoke shop up the road is laying off workers. The smoke shop was closed down by a bill signed by Obama last Friday.
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Pardon the intrusion, is the smoke shop closed or just laying off workers? Maybe they are laying off workers because sales are down due to people kicking the habit? What do you think? It is a good habit to kick. Or maybe it is their water bill that is so high? http://www.8newsnow.com/story/18709119/s...
HUM; Don't know.
kepi
I don't need the smoke shop..or the jobs/tax revenue derived fromm audlts making choices about their own health and lives..(Highway Bill)
I don't need an engine in my car or semitruck. I don't need the goods and products delivered by those trucks..when they no longer will be able to get engines. (EPA)
I don't need electricity from the generating plants on the navajo nation..(EPA)
As I explained to Mcshaeffer on the "GOP not very Christian" thread, I am self reliant..
Are You?
All those things are going to become very expensive and scarce..You can be snide about smoking but very soon what is not mandatory will be illegal..
The smoke shop information was in an letter in yesterdays LVRJ. I don't see it today. Several people read it and were unable to determine whether the smoke shops will close.
It is coming and if Obama gets reelected the list will expand.Sugary soft drinks is just the start of what will be illegal and the health care or else just start of what will be mandated.. by the "we know what'sgood for you"...tax and spend democrats.
I can survive..I can trade lessons in survival skills for the useless gadgets that won't run on "wind power." I always knew that hobby would come in handy
The Reagan era was arguably the beginning of the "global economy", which pushed American products and labor into competition with every country and worker in the world.
On paper, economics would indicate that such a move results in lower prices and higher standard of living for everyone...This, of course, comes directly from the words of Adam Smith and "The Wealth of Nations". In practice, however, it has resulted in the referenced wage stagnation and the wholesale exportation of jobs to countries with labor forces that earn substantially below what American labor would need for a living wage. In economics, this is called an externality.
In sum, the "global economy" did make products and services cheaper for everyone, as promised, and things were good...for a while. But the resulting competition with Chinese and Indian labor, which makes a wage below the poverty level, even for their standards of living, has devastated American labor.
Global wage Equilibrium will be reached, however, we must first sink to meet their rising standards for this to occur; hence, the aforementioned wage stagnation.
This was Reagan's legacy. We have ostensibly added to this legacy with the Bush-era tax cuts, which have done nothing to stimulate our economy, and have helped to push us into our current deficit condition.
In short, we have given away everything that had made this country great, prior to joining the global economy, including our manufacturing capabilities (which any economist would tell you is the key to any country's average standard of living). We have, therefore, sold ourselves to the highest bidder...Apparently, China.
This era is coming to a close now, however, as the people who have lost their jobs and higher wages can no longer afford to buy from those who have more. 70% of the American economy is based upon consumer spending, and now there are fewer consumers. This is leading to chronic economic stagnation and left us perpetually susceptible to another downward spiral. Our recession of three years ago is now replicating itself around Europe, and is spreading around the world, causing another global slowdown, starting with China.
Lastly, governments in those countries who have attempted to renege on economic safety nets, the hallmark of European socialism which has thus far insulated the average European worker from the ravages of cheap global labor, have seen the beginnings of social disorder (i.e. Greece).
To summarize, those of us who work for the wealth machine can no longer even afford to buy cheap Chinese junk. The global wealthy are about to learn that you need regular folks with money (the middle class) to buy your wares, and to be able to retain wealth...Unless you can market to less than 1% of the population.
Don Evans:
Good Post..I didn't like Reagan and I voted Democrat until 1994..
Clinton NAFTA..and no matter who you elect, everyone of them "globalizes"
NOW..In the highway bill, supposedly, there is an "infrastructures bank" where private investors can invest to fund our infrastructure. Please explain to me how an investor can make a profit off public roads..and how will those investors impact what gets fixed where?
Public Roads..are being sold to the highest *international* bidder?
Xtra: July 9, 2012 8:55 a.m.: stated: The smoke shop information was in an letter in yesterdays LVRJ. I don't see it today. Several people read it and were unable to determine whether the smoke shops will close.
It is coming and if Obama gets reelected the list will expand.Sugary soft drinks is just the start of what will be illegal and the health care or else just start of what will be mandated.. by the "we know what'sgood for you"...tax and spend democrats.
I can survive..I can trade lessons in survival skills for the useless gadgets that won't run on "wind power." I always knew that hobby would come in handy
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I get it; so you are going to blame President Obama on the smoke shop closing; what's next. How about the neighborhood bar? T ax and spend Democrats? That term has been use for sooooooo long. Shucks, I used to use it myself. So, is that the best you have? I am not a Democrat. So you don't think it had anything to do with the increase in the water bill.
You just dismissed that as if it did not exist, which is a typical Republican/TEAbagger response; ignore what you refuse to believe as if it does not exist. That is a typical Republican/TEAbagger response when it comes to the needy and elderly; just dismiss them as if they do not exist. You are fighting for a party that does not care about you! Or me!! You are fighting for a party that REALLY ONLY cares about the top 1-2%. I know you are not in that income bracket; so why do you fight so hard for a party that will dismiss YOU after the election is over?
Does that mean that only the self-reliant should survive? That is priceless. Will I survive, of course I will survive.
Sir, why don't you opt out of Medicare and social security, if you are of age? If you are not, why don't you opt out of your health insurance and reapply as a self-insured. Please do not tell me you paid for your Medicare and Social Security because we both know you will get much more then you ever paid into the system. Perhaps you just want to cherry pick what you like and don't like. Why not look at the whole? Then you can see just how expensive healthcare is today.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...
"Please do not tell me you paid for your Medicare and Social Security because we both know you will get much more then you ever paid into the system."
Unless you work at the smoke shop. But then maybe the government told you no smoking there. Which explains why...oh nevermind. Let's all just join the entitlement class.
Non smokers are considered the entitlement class. Priceless.
Perhaps, non smokers either:
1) Choose not to smoke because they don't like it; or
2) Choose not to smoke because they cannot afford to.
But now, according to the Republican/TEAbaggers non smokers are considered the entitlement class? Interesting, but weird observation.
Come on TEA; you know you like me :) Come on....
I make you laugh! :) If you didn't like me you wouldn't give me such cute pet names like: treehugger, Mary Poppins, Snow White, and Julia...
Come on Admit it ~ you like me :)
kepi
The smoke shop issue and the water issue are wto separate issus.
Why Don't I Vote Democrat?
1) Open Borders..OverPopulation..That is the Water Issue..It may be a drought but if Lake Mead was brimming and you all flush your toilet at once...it would be a mudhole. I am an old time democrat who believed in zero population growth..but that just means abortion for a selected targeted group and unlimited baby welfare for a different special interest group
2) NAFTA, CAFTA, RAFTA trade agreements..
3) UN Smally Arms Treaty
4) The run amok EPA
5) And the alphabet soup kettle goes on and on..
Add in regulation..fees/fines/penalties/taxes and tell me why I should vote for a bunch of politically correct bozos that are now the neodemocratic party..
As for Medicare and Social Security..I don't need either although I paid more in taxes, fees, fines and penalties than I will ever collect
Kepi:
Senator Baucus, D, Montana inserted that into the highway bill and Obama signed it AFTER the smoke shops won a lawsuit saying the smoke shops were a service..not a manufacturer..
The Fact is..that is one more reason why I don't vote democrat..taxes, regulations were showing up and no one ever heard where they were debated or made public..I thought the Republicans were doing it..but I found out it is sneaky snake democrats who slip their agenda into spending bills..
Democrats are creepy..sneaky snakes..and I no longer wanted to be associated with them after 1994
Xtra,
And I was Republican. My family are all Republicans. Oh, I was also a very proud Republican. I voted the Republican ticket until 2008.
There are many things that we may agree on, but for now we will agree to disagree.
Oh, and I am not a creepy sneaky snake. I know, or at least I hope, you were not referring to me.
Have a good day
I miss Reagan's GDP growth rates after "inheriting" the Carter recession thang. Oh, and don't remember Reagan ever saying that either.
I have never understood why anyone would accept a trickle and be happy.
I have never understood why we are expected to be happy with a trickle.
On a linear basis, a trickle gets less and less as each one takes their trickle until there is not enough, or none, down the line.
A trickle will not keep a boat from sinking eventually. Over 32 years, or 20, the boat floods and disappears.
All but the trickle has been dammed up by a small group of profit makers. That dam has grown bigger and bigger to hold all those growing profits over the same period.
It seems a form of a parched earth policy.
Don Evans for Secretary of State, New World Order...
Perceptive post, clarity and brevity, facts and focus!
Thank you, Don Evans, for the excellent comment!