Riots in the streets 2008-2013 style.

[Researcher]

There def was a recovery, at least in the realm of finance and economics and with people who run money.

   Recovery or bailout and propping up?

     Researcher

[fathertime]

480K why did he choose to dig such a big hole?? what are the payments on that size loan ?3k a month ?? better him than me  .
 
 
pig

hey pig,
yeah the payments are 3k a month actually...in S. California, his mortgage is pretty typical and his house is pretty normal.  the family WAS making 200K+ just a few years ago.


Fathertime!

[Alabamaboy!]

There was no recovery.  Only a brief lull in the wind speed of hurricane Obama that has parked itself over the continent.

I have seen no recovery. I have family and friends in CA, AZ, TX, ATL, SoFL, PA, OH.....so that is a pretty good sample of this country's population. And nobody has much good to report. Most everyone says they are in increasingly worse, more desperate condition than the year before.

I guarantee you there is a huge exodus of Mexicans, illegal and legal, going back to Mexico from AZ. The roadside taco stands that used to be packed are empty or closed altogether. The hospitals are not packed anymore. The roads are empty. There are big surpluses in rental properties. I have a lot of Mexican employees and most have family members who have returned to Mexico.

My brother who lives in PA told me that there were a bunch of Mexicans working in a large scale plant nursery there. The place closed down and sent them all back to Mex. My brother in law is a builder in ATL. Most of his workers were Mexican. Now when he gets a job, he can hardly find anyone to work. They all left back to Mexico.

[Jeff S]

hey pig,
yeah the payments are 3k a month actually...in S. California, his mortgage is pretty typical and his house is pretty normal.  the family WAS making 200K+ just a few years ago.


Fathertime!

Ah - those evil greedy rich people that we need to tax a lot more languishing in their private jets. Time they spread their wealth around.

[Researcher]

The Stock Market has been a roller coaster this week.I don't know why I keep thinking about this line from CaddyShack.


                                               


 It's easy to grin / When your ship comes in / And you've got the stock market beat. / But the man worthwhile, / Is the man who can smile, / When his shorts are too tight in the seat.


  Researcher

[fathertime]

The Stock Market has been a roller coaster this week.I don't know why I keep thinking about this line from CaddyShack.


                                               


 It's easy to grin / When your ship comes in / And you've got the stock market beat. / But the man worthwhile, / Is the man who can smile, / When his shorts are too tight in the seat.


  Researcher

heheh! that is one of my favorites parts of the movie....also when he says 'Well, we're waiting!" on the putting green. Knight and Dangerfield were hilarious in that movie!


Fathertime!

[Ray]

Ah - those evil greedy rich people that we need to tax a lot more languishing in their private jets. Time they spread their wealth around.

 
I see that Obozo is STILL harping on his "tax the rich" mantra.
 
I think these phony little leftist millionaires like Obama should set the example by donating ALL of their millions to the Federal Government. But don't hold your breath.  LOL!
 
Ray
 
 
 

[piglett]

hey pig,
yeah the payments are 3k a month actually...in S. California, his mortgage is pretty typical and his house is pretty normal.  the family WAS making 200K  just a few years ago.


Fathertime!

Ah - those evil greedy rich people that we need to tax a lot more languishing in their private jets. Time they spread their wealth around.

 
I see that Obozo is STILL harping on his "tax the rich" mantra.
 
I think these phony little leftist millionaires like Obama should set the example by donating ALL of thier millions to the Federal Government. But don't hold your breath.  LOL!
 
Ray

I myself don't have any beef with a guy who busts his @ss & gets paid well for his work/skills he has. it's just a shame that he didn't take a more conservative approach & maybe live off 100k & apply the other 100k towards paying down his mortgage.
 
now as far as those evil rich people the info i have says there only 8,000 +/- tax returns filed last year from people who made 10 million or more.
that's not many people.....is it ?
how about people who made over 1 million
there were only 237,000 of those so out of 140 million tax returns last year i just don't see where all the rich are hiding out
 
so if Ohbummer wants more tax money i guess he will have to go after the middle class.
 
 
pig

[Alabamaboy!]

I read two good ideas...at least to me.

1. Cut corporate taxes to 0% to promote businesses to relocate in the US. That way at least people will have a job! Even people who make a little cash, but are far from rich can be happy. There are lots of free things to do such as hiking, beaches, playing ball with your kids, taking a nap, etc. So it is not like everyone needs to make $75K to live a decent life. The government can make the tax money from payroll taxes. Even if it is not as much as taxing a bunch of folks making $200K plus, it will add up. And is a hell of a lot cheaper than just handing over cash every month to folks who are not working, contributing to society, and who are a net drain on the entire country.

2. A VAT tax. It does not need to be much. Maybe 1% and see what happens. I don't think anyone would bitch too much about it was specifically tagged to pay down the debt and could not be used for anything else. I would make it on everything sold in this country. If you buy a house for $100K, you end up paying $101K. If you buy a car for $20K, you pay $20,200. That way if you are a big time spender you pay a little more. If you like to grow your tomatoes in the family garden, you don't pay the tax.

Couple those things with a balanced budget amendment, and I think you got it.

The balanced budget could also be helped along with raising the SS retirement age a few years higher (for people who are children at this time), reducing military expenses, and reducing Medicare benefits for routine, preventable things such as operations for joint replacements due to obesity, inactivity.

I am in the health care industry and it is amazing that as soon as a person has to pay a bit for treatment, they start to take the bull by the horn and be pro-active about health issues and do not utilize the healthcare system nearly as much.

[euforia51]

I read two good ideas...at least to me.

1. Cut corporate taxes to 0% to promote businesses to relocate in the US. That way at least people will have a job! Even people who make a little cash, but are far from rich can be happy. There are lots of free things to do such as hiking, beaches, playing ball with your kids, taking a nap, etc. So it is not like everyone needs to make $75K to live a decent life. The government can make the tax money from payroll taxes. Even if it is not as much as taxing a bunch of folks making $200K plus, it will add up. And is a hell of a lot cheaper than just handing over cash every month to folks who are not working, contributing to society, and who are a net drain on the entire country.

2. A VAT tax. It does not need to be much. Maybe 1% and see what happens. I don't think anyone would bitch too much about it was specifically tagged to pay down the debt and could not be used for anything else. I would make it on everything sold in this country. If you buy a house for $100K, you end up paying $101K. If you buy a car for $20K, you pay $20,200. That way if you are a big time spender you pay a little more. If you like to grow your tomatoes in the family garden, you don't pay the tax.

Couple those things with a balanced budget amendment, and I think you got it.

...

I am in the health care industry and it is amazing that as soon as a person has to pay a bit for treatment, they start to take the bull by the horn and be pro-active about health issues and do not utilize the healthcare system nearly as much.

Bama these are good ideas to consider but do not address a few critical things which I believe would be necessary:

1. The government is spending too much to start with. So until there is serious reform that goes beyond public smear campaigns and finger pointing by our elected officials, any additional (and dedicated) funds is just giving a drunk another drink. Give me yet another 1% for them to waste on top of being raped, pillaged, and burned by Social Security, state and local taxes, fees, and other crap they shovel onto us like manure ... and yes, I will bitch!

2. What is the percentage of the population who do not want to get a job and go to work? What kind of education campaign would be needed to create a cultural shift to convince the lazy and entitled to get off their asses, get off the food stamps, get off the credit cards or whatever their vice or poison is, and make an effort and a contribution? You're fighting an engrained thought process that says: well my (parents) did it that way.

3. What about the 47% of the population who did not pay taxes ... at all? How about the GEs who made boat loads of money but did not pay taxes ... at all? While I am not in favor of making the rich pay more and the poor pay less, I do believe everyone including the corporations should pay their fair share. And this needs to be addressed before they go and levy more taxes onto the rest of the population.

Actually, your observation with having to pay at least a portion of your treatment sums up what needs to happen first. There has to be some pain involved in order to make real change and take a step forward.
 
I think it was Warren Buffet who stated once that he could solve the who debt crisis in 5 minutes (paraphrasing):

Let any and every sitting member of Congress become ineligible for re-election if/when the debt exceeds 3% of the GDP.
 
Let's start with those things before we start talking about additional taxes.
 

[Alabamaboy!]

Euf, the price we will all pay if the debt is not paid down will cost more than 1% of our purchase prices if we keep going the way we are. I like the VAT because it taxes gluttons more than modest spenders. But it still taxes everyone, which is not happening right now (as you pointed out). I will bitch a lot more when my kids and grandkids are still living with me when they are 40 because the economy and government are completely destroyed.

In regards to GE, as much as I would like to complain, I cannot very much because at least they are providing some jobs. If we bitch too much about GE maybe they will take allll of their operations overseas and we will have even more people on the government handouts. I would rather everyone get knocked down about 10% on the overall compensation and get millions of other people working, rather than a few of us rowing will the rest are just chilling out with a mojito on the sun deck.

[Alabamaboy!]

Oh [snip], get ready for "The Return of the Bush". It is a cross between a comedy, a Western, and a horror film. It stars Rick Perry. Probably co-starring Sara Palin. Jesus Cristo. So that is going to be the choice? Obama and Rip Van Winkle or these two hillbillies?

At least Rick Perry seems to be able to generate jobs. I hate to say that, but I will have to vote for him over Obama because we are headed down the toilet without massive job creation. And this guy seems to have the balls to do it. Obama is a big talker but has proven to be incompetent and impotent when dealing with any real crisis. He has show really bad judgment, with only his predecessor trumping him in that department.

The thing with Perry though his is an evangelical nut job and because he is a Texan I am sure he has some kind of inferiority complex that will manifest itself in unnecessary military actions, increased military spending, and shooting off his big mouth John Wayne style, which will set us back about 3 years when most of the world hated us because Bush was the same way. Making more potential enemies than friends abroad when we need them the most. Even if we do not need them at this moment, it is looking like we will very soon.

Things are not looking good.

[euforia51]

Euf, the price we will all pay if the debt is not paid down will cost more than 1% of our purchase prices if we keep going the way we are. I like the VAT because it taxes gluttons more than modest spenders. But it still taxes everyone, which is not happening right now (as you pointed out). I will bitch a lot more when my kids and grandkids are still living with me when they are 40 because the economy and government are completely destroyed.

In regards to GE, as much as I would like to complain, I cannot very much because at least they are providing some jobs. If we bitch too much about GE maybe they will take allll of their operations overseas and we will have even more people on the government handouts. I would rather everyone get knocked down about 10% on the overall compensation and get millions of other people working, rather than a few of us rowing will the rest are just chilling out with a mojito on the sun deck.

Hey Bama. I empathize with your points but, I still believe our government needs to grow a backbone and just say no to this crap. So what if GE leaves? They are already manufacturing overseas anyway. I don't know the figures on how many people the company employs here but if it were in the millions or tens of millions to make such an impact, there is something really, really wrong. A revamping of the tax code(s) needs to be mandatory. And everyone from the prosperous all the way down to the floor sweeper earning minimum wage should pay something. Period.
 
Then, we take a look at spending. How is the government wasting our money and why? Is this not similar to what you have to do when you do a budget for your own household? Are there not certain things that you have to make sacrifices for? What do I do if I'm falling short at the end of the month and I have a hefty cable or cell phone bill to pay? Do I borrow money on a credit card? Or do I cut it to make ends meet? Do I really need a $100 / month cell phone bill?
 
Cut the spending, make everyone pay their fair share, and if we're still short, then I'll consider a tax increase. But unfortunately, we're not even close to step 1.
 
As for your kids and grandkids living with you ... isn't that what they typically do in Colombia anyway? Sorry ... couldn't resist. Oddly enough, it seems to be working out well for Glory and her family.

[euforia51]

Oh [snip], get ready for "The Return of the Bush". It is a cross between a comedy, a Western, and a horror film. It stars Rick Perry. Probably co-starring Sara Palin. Jesus Cristo. So that is going to be the choice? Obama and Rip Van Winkle or these two hillbillies?

At least Rick Perry seems to be able to generate jobs. I hate to say that, but I will have to vote for him over Obama because we are headed down the toilet without massive job creation. And this guy seems to have the balls to do it. Obama is a big talker but has proven to be incompetent and impotent when dealing with any real crisis. He has show really bad judgment, with only his predecessor trumping him in that department.

The thing with Perry though his is an evangelical nut job and because he is a Texan I am sure he has some kind of inferiority complex that will manifest itself in unnecessary military actions, increased military spending, and shooting off his big mouth John Wayne style, which will set us back about 3 years when most of the world hated us because Bush was the same way. Making more potential enemies than friends abroad when we need them the most. Even if we do not need them at this moment, it is looking like we will very soon.

Things are not looking good.

It does not matter one iota to me anymore. No president has made or broken my life for the better or for the worse. I have taken responsibility to do that all by myself. Just as well how it should be in a free country. This is the misconception of the population these days; that it is the government who will come and save us all. BS! And if you're buying into this notion, you need some therapy; and you may also very well need a job.
 
I was interested in Rick Perry and the credit he's been given for making Texas a great place to prosper despite the economic downturn ... that is until we had the prayer meeting of 30,000 last weekend. If we really do need to turn to Jesus as our last resort because there are no more solutions and our country is that far gone, then we really do need to hang it up and we deserve what we get. And Sarah Palin? I'm defecting if either her or Michele Bachman, or Hillary Clinton for that matter gets a hold of the reigns of the country. You think it's bad now? "You ain't seen nothin' yet" if there's a woman at the helm.

Personally, I have no beef against Obama and can only give him credit for the courage he has to face day in and day out the resistance and other BS like being accused of not being a citizen, for being black, for being a socialist, and every other sarcastic, cancerous, and untrue remark that is haphazardly made about the man. I hear this crap everyday at work from the haters. I didn't vote for him; but I wouldn't vote against him either, oddly enough at this point. And isn't it under his watch that we finally got our number 1 boogie man with Bin Laden, for example? Was anyone else not just as sick and tired of hearing about that sh&thead for the last 10 years as I was?

I am euforia and yes, I just said that. 

[fathertime]

. And Sarah Palin? I'm defecting if either her or Michele Bachman, or Hillary Clinton for that matter gets a hold of the reigns of the country. You think it's bad now? "You ain't seen nothin' yet" if there's a woman at the helm.

 

I don't mind if a woman runs the country for a while...that is if she represents most of my interests...Palin I don't think would be a good leader....Hilliary would be OK....Bachman seems like she would represent more of my interests though.


Fathertime! 

[Jeff S]

It does not matter one iota to me anymore. No president has made or broken my life for the better or for the worse. I have taken responsibility to do that all by myself. Just as well how it should be in a free country. This is the misconception of the population these days; that it is the government who will come and save us all. BS! And if you're buying into this notion, you need some therapy; and you may also very well need a job.
 
I was interested in Rick Perry and the credit he's been given for making Texas a great place to prosper despite the economic downturn ... that is until we had the prayer meeting of 30,000 last weekend. If we really do need to turn to Jesus as our last resort because there are no more solutions and our country is that far gone, then we really do need to hang it up and we deserve what we get. And Sarah Palin? I'm defecting if either her or Michele Bachman, or Hillary Clinton for that matter gets a hold of the reigns of the country. You think it's bad now? "You ain't seen nothin' yet" if there's a woman at the helm.

Personally, I have no beef against Obama and can only give him credit for the courage he has to face day in and day out the resistance and other BS like being accused of not being a citizen, for being black, for being a socialist, and every other sarcastic, cancerous, and untrue remark that is haphazardly made about the man. I hear this crap everyday at work from the haters. I didn't vote for him; but I wouldn't vote against him either, oddly enough at this point. And isn't it under his watch that we finally got our number 1 boogie man with Bin Laden, for example? Was anyone else not just as sick and tired of hearing about that sh&thead for the last 10 years as I was?

I am euforia and yes, I just said that. 

So let me get this straight - you liked Perry because he was able to manage Texas into a job producer in spite of a down economy but you won't vote for him because he prayed publicly?

[euforia51]

So let me get this straight - you liked were interested in Perry because he was able to manage Texas into a job producer in spite of a down economy but you won't vote for him are questioning his thought process (for lack of a better label) because he prayed publicly?

Yeah, you almost nailed that, Mr. Jeff; until you misunderstood my post. You see, while I do support the freedom of having a sense of spirituality regardless of what that spirituality may be, and I also do happen to support the morals that come from being and acting as true Christians by following the lessons and interpretations that are taught in the bible, I disagree with the notion of a political figure publicly calling on "the lord" to come save us from ourselves, Barack Obama, and the myriad of other out of context "evils" that are plaguing our country.

[Alabamaboy!]

One of the most idiotic things I have ever heard in my life was when George Bush was saying that God was speaking to him and telling him to wage war against the Islamic extremists! So George, it is OK for you to be a religious nut and kill a lot of innocent people, but when they do it, somehow it is terrorism??? What a hypocrite!!!

The same kind of BS when we have tons of nuclear weapons, yet we try to dictate to the rest of the world who can have them and not have them. And outwardly threaten (or invade) any country that tries to get them if we do not agree with their policies. That is simply outrageous.

In my mind religious nuts = war. Many, many wars have been waged, and people killed in the name of religion. Religion has a very bad track record for that kind of thing.

[Alabamaboy!]

Personally, I have no beef against Obama

 I have a huge beef against him, as do most people who voted for him. He ran on the idea of "Change" and he has not changed [snip]. He is politics as usual, but only worse. He has accomplished nothing other than get Bin Laden. He has been a poor leader in pretty much every category you could track. He messed up thing such as the oil spill in the Gulf, the debt ceiling debacle, and pretty much everything else he has gotten his hands into. He spends more time doing fund raisers than taking care of the Presidency. Wouldn't it have been a lot better if he deferred all fund raiser BS and took care of business and actually accomplished something??? Wouldn't that have looked a hell of a lot better than taking cross country ass kissing tours? Hell he is the sitting President of the US. He just needs to do a good job and he will be re-elected. But he is Washington as usual.

I feel that his whole presidency was a bait and switch job and he let a whole bunch of people down.

I still rank George Bush as the all time worst President in history. He is the one who got this whole mess started. But Obama made it worse. Maybe if Obama was given an even playing field to begin with he could have used his "run out the clock" strategy better. But when he was elected in a time of crisis, it does not seem like he was cut out for that kind of situation.

We need someone who not only talks about change, but actually does it with actions.

[Jeff S]

Yeah, you almost nailed that, Mr. Jeff; until you misunderstood my post. You see, while I do support the freedom of having a sense of spirituality regardless of what that spirituality may be, and I also do happen to support the morals that come from being and acting as true Christians by following the lessons and interpretations that are taught in the bible, I disagree with the notion of a political figure publicly calling on "the lord" to come save us from ourselves, Barack Obama, and the myriad of other out of context "evils" that are plaguing our country.

OK - I get it now. You thought Perry had merit because of how he has been leading Texas, and you think that following Christianity is worthy of support, but you don't think he words his prayers correctly.

[euforia51]

OK - I get it now. You thought Perry had merit because of how he has been leading Texas, and you think that following Christianity is worthy of support, but you don't think he words his prayers correctly.

Wrong again. Put into more simple terms, it is my belief that Jesus is not going to come and save us from ourselves, Barack Obama, or the other evils that are plaguing the country. And it is also my belief that a gathering of the sheep, I mean the masses, by a significant political figure, such as Rick Perry, to pray for the recovery of America is either an act of desperation or is (more likely) an ulterior motive to drum up support to launch his campaign. Either reason is fine with me. But if the man is going to (or even wants to) win my vote, he's going to need to come up with more tangible solutions to our problems other than publicly calling on Jesus to save us and promising jobs; both of which I happen to believe said events are fallacies.

[euforia51]

He ran on the idea of "Change" and he has not changed [snip]. He is politics as usual, but only worse. He has accomplished nothing other than get Bin Laden.
...

I feel that his whole presidency was a bait and switch job and he let a whole bunch of people down.

...

We need someone who not only talks about change, but actually does it with actions.

Bin Laden is no more under Obama's watch ... what more should he do? This one event alone is makes up for the last 10  years of screwing around and spending serious money in two wars in wastelands that we cannot (or will not) win. (I'm being facetious ... sort of).
 
At this point, I believe any candidate who is elected will be a bait and switch. As election season approaches, we are beginning to see the candidates all lining up to join the circus to show us their new fingerprinting tricks, smear phrases, and other silly rhetoric that seems hell bent on only one common denominator: Take down Obama at all costs and create jobs. The first of which is unethical and desperate and the second of which is BS. And this is change? No ... it's more of the same. It's just coming from the mouth of a different horse.

[Jeff S]

Wrong again. Put into more simple terms, it is my belief that Jesus is not going to come and save us from ourselves, Barack Obama, or the other evils that are plaguing the country. And it is also my belief that a gathering of the sheep, I mean the masses, by a significant political figure, such as Rick Perry, to pray for the recovery of America is either an act of desperation or is (more likely) an ulterior motive to drum up support to launch his campaign. Either reason is fine with me. But if the man is going to (or even wants to) win my vote, he's going to need to come up with more tangible solutions to our problems other than publicly calling on Jesus to save us and promising jobs; both of which I happen to believe said events are fallacies.

First of all, I'm no Christian so have little direct knowledge, but I have read the bible in depth, and have had some serious conversations with intelligent, successful people that have describe themselves as Christians. Very few that I have talked to have ever thought Jesus would come down from on high and initiate great changes in our society just because they asked. It's called free will. On the other hand, all have prayed that a force from on high would guide their decisions to just, moral and serve the greater good. That doesn't should like an act of desperation nor an attempt to drum up phony support. If you think he's a desperate phony, then just come out and say it. To use his faith as an attempt to discredit him says more about you than him.

[Alabamaboy!]

There should only be two issues in this election: cut spending and create jobs. That is it. No abortion, religion, where were you born, are you black, white, beige. Nothing like that. These people need to know they are civil servants. They need to do what the people want. Like when you go to the post office. You just want your stuff taken care of, not a lot of screwing around.

If they do those two things: cut spending and create jobs, we will be out of this mess very quickly. If not, the downward spiral will continue and very soon we will be no better than a second rate behemoth.

I and most people I know have vowed to vote for whoever appears to have the best capability to do those two things the best.

[Jeff S]

Add me to that list as well.