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Subscribe to RSSA wave of tax increases and billions of dollars in automatic spending cuts would cause "a lot of damage" to the fragile economy, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday.
Tax breaks for all Americans are set to expire at the end of the year, and $100 billion in cuts to domestic and military programs are set to take effect in January if Congress does not agree on a new deficit-cutting deal.
"Many people who look at this say that, yes, you'd at least get a recession out of this," Geithner said on PBS' Charlie Rose television show. "The cumulative size of those cuts - tax increases and spending cuts - are very, very large relative to the economy," he said.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office forecasts that the mix of spending cuts and tax hikes would cause the U.S. economy to contract at an annual rate of 1.3 percent for the first half of 2013 if lawmakers do not act.
The White House is pushing Congress to extend for one year tax cuts for families earning less than $250,000 a year. Taxes for those earning more than that would increase in 2013 if Congress passes legislation the Obama administration wants.
Republicans argue that all tax cuts should be extended to avoid hurting the tepid economy.
Geithner warned lawmakers that investors could not stomach a repeat of last year's debt ceiling battle that increased the U.S. Treasury's borrowing costs and stripped the United States of its top credit rating.
"You saw huge damage to consumer confidence, to business confidence, and to confidence around the world in the United States because you had people in public office threatening to default on our nation's obligations," Geithner said.
President Barack Obama said on Monday that Congress "ought to be able to come together and agree on a plan, a balanced approach" to avoid the steep automatic spending cuts.
Euro Zone will stay intact - Geithner
Geithner reiterated that the domestic fiscal problems and the European Union's economic crisis were still the biggest threats to the U.S. economy.
But he said he thought the 17-nation common currency euro zone would stay intact. "They've said, 'We will do everything it takes to hold the European Union together.' And you could say that's what they're trying to do," Geithner said.
His comments came as Moody's Investors Service cited an increased chance that Greece could leave the euro zone, which would set off a chain of financial sector shocks.
Although Geithner said European leaders had committed to do what it takes to hold their financial system together, he added they had to make that commitment credible to markets and investors.
"If you leave Europe on the edge of the abyss, if you leave it just teetering on the edge of financial disaster, it'll be much harder for this strategy to work," he said.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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I agree with Geithner's assessment but not the cause. The cause is Obama's policies and the cure is to vote him out of office.
I agree, Obama either does not have a clue about how the economy works or he is just playing politics. This President has not done anything to bring together the people like he promised and he has not been able to fix the economy because he insists on demonizing those persons that are truely capable of helping the economy recover. If he would just ask people to pull together and accept some sacrafices instead of calling all wealthy people and corporations greedy and uncaring and try to force is warped sense of "fairness" on us then perhaps we could move forward. He talks about a balance approach, but that is really not what he wants, his idea of a balance approach is what he proposes with no compromise. How much compromise did we get with Obamacare? Uh, none. He is perfectly happy to let us all suffer if he does not get his way because he knows if he does not so something that he has little chance of being elected, and getting his way now, even if what he does will not help in the long run, will earn him political points at election time.
Just another lying, cheating politician.
Mark, "...How much compromise did we get with Obamacare?" Well, President Obama compromised by NOT pushing through a public option, which a lot of democrats wanted and most economists agreed was a way to reduce health care costs. He compromised by mandating health insurance, which he was against, but again, went along with Republicans (since it was their idea to begin with) in the hopes they came on board. Obama's main problem: pandering to the right in the hope for some kind of agreement.
I hope he learned his lesson for his second term.
jimsepa,
Obama didn't push through a public option because he didn't have enough Democratic support for Obamacare to pass with a public option. He never expected to have any support from Republicans. That is why the Senate passed the House bill with no changes that were promised in the famous meeting between Republicans and the President.
Harry Reid is the reason we are in the mess we are in right now. He shelves everything that Congress puts on his desk instead of negotiating terms of a Balanced Budget Amendment with Congress he just throws it in the trash and the U.S. credit rating gets downgraded for the first time in history. The President could have helped get a Balanced Budget Amendment through but he doesn't have the skill of a Bill Clinton to work with the other party.
Harry Reid has not brought anything to the floor why?? He is scared spit less to, either his dems will pass it or they will vote it down and be held accountable by the voters So Harry does what Harry does best NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!
armurray, believe it or not, i agree with some of what you wrote. I chose my words very carefully by saying "a lot of democrats" (I never said "all" or even "most" democrats).
Since not all democrats were on board, he most definitely needed Republican support and actively courted Republicans by adding numerous Republican initiatives. Fortunately, one Republican was brave enough to buck the establishment (Olympia Snowe).
Unfortunately for Snowe, the retaliation was swift and complete.
Jim in Houston-1509351
And who is responsible for spending in this country? Go read Article 1 of the US Consitiuion and then tell me its President Obama who is responsible.
LettyLane-1334471
Why should Reid bring anything to the Senate floor? We already followed the GOP Mantra of Tax Cuts. The very tax cuts they said would stimulate job growth. Where are those jobs? Oh wait, that's right.. Corporations outsourced their jobs and got a tax cut for doing it as well. The GOP's war on the middle class is destroying this country.
jimsepa,
Olympia Snowe only voted to allow the Senate version of the ACA to come up for a vote. She did not vote in favor of the ACA. The ACA that was later passed was not the one which was promised by the president, but rather the version the House passed with no changes since it could not go to conference.
....yes, I stand corrected...
ItsAboutTime-3704531,
What tax cuts for corporations? The only ones that have been passed were those by the Democratic House/Senate to "encourage" hiring, but very few corporations meet the requirements or bother to fill out the massive amount of paperwork to get the credits...
jimsepa
Obama wasn't compromising with the GOP on Obamacare at all... what was included/excluded was done strictly to coax his own party to go along... and he had to bribe some of them.... his exact words were "back of the bus" when he referred to the GOP... and he ignored every single GOP suggestion...
armurray
Here are a few articles that talk about outsourcing:
http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2011/08/truth-about-tax-cuts-and-outsourcing-corporations-dont-want-you-know
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/28/AR2010092806143.html
http://www.hillmanfoundation.org/blog/corporations-seeking-job-creation-tax-breaks-hide-outsourcing-stats-with-government-help
No.. the Tax cuts were passed and sponsored by the GOP, not the democrats. Obama proposes tax cuts ONLY for corporations that move or keep jobs in America.
Amazing isn't how many jobs were "LOST" during the Bush Administration. NO corporation (despite the amount of paperwork required) should get a tax cut when they outsource an American Job. That's (my opinion) a COMPLETE disgrace.
Fed Up-2683606
The GOP has had more than one chance to submit their own healthcare plan. Where is it? Bush didn't do it during his terms and the GOP controlled HOUSE has not come up with their own either. Course, just change the name to Romneycare and the GOP would be all in support of it.
Obama, Reid,Pelosi,Frank, have all but destroyed the Democratic party; we have total grid-lock in Washington, no budget for three years, out of control spending, war after war; the good of the Republic has taken a back seat to ideology, both sides; a very rude awaking is right down the road.
President Obama knows precisely how the economy should work. Toward that, Geithner is indeed correct. The gwaddamn republicans have to learn some sense and get off their partisan asses. The sons-a-bitches have come way too close to ruining the country. I'd like to see every "dickhead" with an R connected to His/Her name in hell with a broken back. No gwaddamn sense in such craziness.
Yes, we will take a hit from the immediate cutting of Government jobs. If we are suffering and are forced to cut back, then the government needs to respond in kind. More taxes will only make business expansion even harder. I am concerned that too much is being cut from the military, afterall, we are already experiencing more incidents where rogue groups are testing us again.
Similar cuts were made in 1921. The difference between now and then is that with the cuts of government spending and government jobs was a corresponding cut in taxes. Because businesses felt things were getting more favorable, they began to hire by mid 1921, those loses were absorbed. By 1923, everyone who had become unemployed in 1920 was back to work.
Geither for PONTUS -- last opinion; as Obama won't listen to him or his own advisers, and thinks he knows more than anyone else based upon his "extensive" experience as a community organizer.
Mac
If Obama really understood how business works, we would be back to 5 or 6% unemployment right now.
Yes, Obama offers tax cuts, but they are so narrowly targeted and so specific, that most businesses cannot use them.
Yes, Obama offers lower interest rates for business loans, but at the same time, raised the downpayment required and income requirements. Not only that, most small businesses use a loan as a last resort because if they cannot raise the cash in the first place, then they are unlikely to be able to pay a business loan. They have less cash available because accounts receivable are growing again (people not paying their bills) and many have additional regulations that cost them daily in cash flow to feed.
Meanwhile they are expecting another 30 - 50% boost in health Insurance rates they are trying to save money for due in 2014. They would like to keep their employer plans, but 60% are looking for alternate ways to help their employees to have health insurance without bankrupting the company.
Then, Obama keeps demanding the Bush Tax cuts on income earners over $250,000 not be extended.
Only the uninformed or politically blind would say
ItsAboutTime-3704531,
I don't understand your comment. So are you complaining about the Bush tax cuts for individuals that expired and were replaced by the Obama tax cuts?
I still don't know what you are referring to regarding corporate tax rate cuts - they have been fixed at the current level since they were increased to 35% in 1993 by President Clinton.
Actually not complaining at all. Simply pointing out that the GOP/Bush sponsored tax cuts for corporations that move jobs to other countries combined with other countries was a significant contributor to the economic climate today. The US could 'afford' the tax cuts during the bush years based upon the revenue. Obama has no choice but to keep those tax cuts now because we cannot afford to 'pinch' the American people with higher taxes right now. Bush and all of Congress (not just the GOP) passed this along to us all and it will NOT be solved in 4 years with Obama or anyone else, it will take awhile to climb out of this hole.
Source for the increase by Clinton???
DB Akron
Read above... and then since you criticize Obama so much.. why don't you tell us exactly what changes need to be made to improve the economy. I am sure with your vast experience, it will be turned around over night and the damage done by every president/congress prior to Obama's administration can be erased in 1 day :-).
@ItsAbout Time #1.20: Poor DB. A true mangler of logic and facts. Spouts more BS than a Steer with the Scours.
itsabouttime,
Your right it is about time one of you Libs realizes who does the spending. That being said, you can see that once the Dem Libs are in control spending has almost doubled as of 2007-2012 the Dem Lib Congress has spent over $7 trillion dollars compared to $4 trillion from Rep Congress from 2001-2006.
Harry Reid has shelved all of the bills he is the obstructionist. Obama though has not made good on any of his promises, heath care 57% of Americans did not want his form of health care TAX. He said if we passed all the bailouts unemployment would not go above 8%, then it went to 10.1%. Obama said if the economy had not turned around he did not deserve to be re-elected. Since coming into office Obama's unemployment avg. is 8.96% it has not dropped below 8.1% since it climbed above 8.1%. Bush's unemployment rate was 5.22% for all 8 years. The Bush tax cuts did work until the housing bubble that Clinton got us into burst.
http://www.multpl.com/unemployment/table?f=m
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/02/06/the-true-origins-of-this-finan
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774721.html
So say what you will about Bush and the Rep spending is down when they are in charge and people are working. That is far more then I can say about Obama.
Plus Bush was a leader he did not care what people thought he made the tough decisions that needed to be made unlike Obama that is trying to use class warfare to get his incompetent a88 re-elected. You can continue to live in a bubble if you want but it is clear where Obama has put us with his failed policies and his lies.
http://realetybytes.com/?tag=unemployment
Obama did the same excite thing you are saying that the Rep do, he bought and paid for his presidency with trillions of dollars from tax payers to all the green companies that where his top contributors in 2008.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/06/green-scam-80-of-green-energy-loans-went-to-obama-donors-19-companies-went-bust-video/
Evergreen Solar
SpectraWatt
Solyndra (received $535 million)
Beacon Power (received $43 million)
AES’ subsidiary Eastern Energy
Nevada Geothermal (received $98.5 million)
SunPower (received $1.5 billion)
First Solar (received $1.46 billion)
Babcock & Brown (an Australian company which received $178 million)
Ener1 (subsidiary EnerDel received $118.5 million)
Amonix (received 5.9 million)
The National Renewable Energy Lab
Fisker Automotive
Abound Solar (received $400 million)
Chevy Volt (taxpayers basically own GM)
Solar Trust of America
A123 Systems (received $279 million)
Willard & Kelsey Solar Group (received $6 million)
Johnson Controls (received $299 million)
Schneider Electric (received $86 million)
So as always you see things very onside. The problem is the career politicians we keep re-electing. Once they get to Washington and then keep getting re-elected they are no longer looking out for the people they represent; instead it becomes about what they do, say and promise to get re-elected. Why because being in Washington, DC allows you to make money above and beyond what you are paid, like you were allowed up until recently to be involved in insider trading if you were in Congress without it being a criminal offence.
Look at Scott Walker he campaigned on certain promises got into office made the tough cuts. Now the state has a balanced budget and a surplus but once again those bad Rep for balancing the budget. What did he get for his hard work you Lib Dem that say you are for a balanced budget tried to have him recalled. The funniest thing is that he won again by an even larger margin. So all you Libs that say you are for balancing the budgets are only saying that if we leave you program that suck us dry alone.
Yes, we did! Last year, S&P downgraded the US for this. In their official statement they said:
The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America’s governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy.
This was totally a Republican responsibility. Particularly given that the prime movers behind the showdown voted no less than 7X to increase the national debt ceiling under Bush with nary a whimper.
See, to Republicans, it is far more important that their party succeed than that America succeeds. There is no better reason to vote a straight Democratic ticket this Fall!
Like Bush?
Yeah, Bush had a 5 to 6% unemployment rate. But he started with 4%!!! Let us also recall that when Bush left office, unemployment was 7.8% and rising faster than Halliburton''s profits! Let us also recall tat we have still not recovered from Bush's recession! Why in the hell do you want to return to that?
great advice from a man who doesn't even pay his own taxes on time ! what a joke !
If they want to raise taxes look no further than obama's buddies @ GE and george soros and the like who didn't pay any taxes. close the loop holes in the tax code and MR. PRESIDENT HAVE YOUR DONORS AND WHITEHOUSE STAFF PAY THERE TAXES !!! AND STOP PASSING ON YOUR B.S. HEALTHCARE ON TO THE REAL CITIZENS THE TAX PAYERS !
Fed Up-2683606
Thats complete and utter lies and nonsense....Obama tried FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS to get some GOP cooperation and they threw it back in his face. There were NO "GOP suggestions" at all... The GOP members started from the position that "Our health care system is the best in the world and it needs no changes at all" which was complete and total lying BS, the American health insurance system is the worst of any country in the industrialized world which is exactly why no other country on the planet wants to copy or imitate it. .. If it were the best in the world, other countries would be rushing to imitate it but instead they want to stay as far away from it as possible..
What part of "NO, IT'S REALLY NOT ACCEPTABLE TO HAVE 45 MILLION PEOPLE WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE, NOT ACCEPTABLE AT ALL, and NO, IT'S NOT just a matter of 'tell them to go buy health insurance' GOVERNMENT IS NEEDED TO FIX THIS PROBLEM" are you NOT UNDERSTANDING?
Is this the same Geithner that was part of the Clinton administration that totally ignored the warnings by Brooksley Borne of the impending derivatives market crash?
And he's actually saying that Washington must do something? Who does he think he is, Brooksley Borne?
Engineer,
Let’s get the facts straight it was president Clinton that relaxed the banking industry and pushed for no money down home loans that people could not afford the 20% required by most banks back then, it was to help the poor. I helped the alright take out loans that they had no business to take out. Bush tried to real this in when he was in office and was opposed by the Democratic Congress. This is all standard common knowledge. As I am an Independent I voted for Clinton and for Bush Clinton did a lot of good for this country like putting a cap on how long you could be on welfare but giving those people training needed to get them working again we need to go back there. This administration is a joke. There was a lot of good Bush also did he was a very strong leader like it or not those are the fact when something needed to be done he did it and even if that meant low ratings, a president is first supposed to look after his people well how do you do that by taking care of our country and being strong about it right wrong or indifferent Bush will be judge though out history. What I hated about Bush was the damn war and the spending he was the worst spender in our history of our country.
Then comes along Obama that has no idea how to get this country on the right path; the only two things I see Obama caring about is whether he is right or whether he is wrong. If he is not right then he will try and shift the blame to someone else anyone else. Also all he cares about are his ratings and if he will be elected again. He is not putting up a good fight to put this country back on the right path. Quit the opposite really he is out of control with spending fixated on things that will not make this country better or our situation better. A good president like a good employee will make mistakes, what makes a difference between the good and the bad is that the bad one never wants to say he has made a mistake I have learned from it now let’s move on Obama is the bad employee it is never his fault but he never moves on. With that being said it is kind of funny because he says it is not his fault but he keeps doing the same reckless things to make it even harder on us like all of his spending. He has spent more in his first term then Bush did in 8 years. He has kept the divide even greater between the Democrats and Republicans in Congress when he said if he was elected he would work with both sides. That was a lie because he makes numeracies news appearances about how the Republicans are obstructing that is not a president trying to bring them together that is a president trying to divide. He does the same thing with the people of this country pitting those that are successful against those that are not. He wants the rich to carry the burdens of his spending just look at what was said on the Senate floor just yesterday. We expect the rich to pay and get this country back on the right path. Well I have a news flash that isn’t there job that is the president’s job to make it a good environment where it is favorable to do business here in the USA but he does not. He makes everything political he is the great divider.
Just like with all the money trillions of tax dollars that went to the green companies. These companies had no business getting the money, the funny thing all of those companies where top contributors of Obama’s campaign in 2008 that is more likely why they received the money as many that hand out those loans said “no they are not viable companies we will likely not see the return of our investment”. If green is the way the country wants to go then there are many steps in between before that can be accomplished instead of realizing this making a plan Obama just dumps a ton of money, wastefully I might add, to say this is the way America is going now. Well that is just not the reality of how it happens or how it is done. In the meantime he should allow for the exploration of fossil fuels in our own back yard. He could have also Okayed the TransCanada pipeline that would have put thousands of people back to work for at least two years, and then we might be in a better place than we are now. However, it seems that Obama since he is so arrogant and reaches he knows more than anyone else and that BAM it will be just because he said it would be. To make GREEN energy, GREEN technologies and GREEN products it first has to be a sustainable source of energy and without the infrastructure that needs to be in place, before it is sustainable. There is not too much we can do with green energy green out that infrastructure. If Obama would have come out and said look we are going to invest some upfront money in America’s future in GREEN products by building green infrastructure. Then I would have been all for it we would have gotten our money back thru some sort of vehicle tax that everyone and every company with a vehicles would have to pay no matter the state. So that we can use GREEN technologies, drive one of these $60,000 GREEN CARS that can only go 70 before it needs to be recharges. Now how many of us are going to by a green vehicle if it only goes 70 miles before it needs to be recharge if there are no recharging stations. It just does not make economic sense to do pay $60,000 dollars for a car if you will never see the savings returned by not using gas. As of now, no we cannot just abandon fossil fuels as our main source of fuel. Oil is in 90% of the product we use every day. Obama showed us that he thought okay we could just stop using oil. This is like a junky saying, I am not going shoot heroin anymore, it sounds good to say, but it cannot happen without hard work. Instead of doing, all of that with the green infrastructure that could of also put thousands back to work he spent our tax dollars on companies that he was warned about. Obama is not a good president, he is not even an ok president he is the worst president in 40 years that we have seen.
Here are the links to all of the stuff I talked about to back up my claims.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57358484/tax-dollars-backing-some-risky-energy-projects/
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_public_debt
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/obamas-magic-number-150000-jobs-per-month/
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/02/06/the-true-origins-of-this-finan
http://realetybytes.com/?tag=unemployment
Vote the divider and chief out of the White House in 2012
Support your local business, farms and local credit unions.
People are so polarize that they would rather their side win the battle than trying to win the war for all citizens.
The GOP led House had a deal with 90% of what they wanted and turned it down. This is the result.
Wakehead,
What deal would that be? ACA or the debt limit deal?
Wakehead,
Assuming you are referring to the "grand bargain", there was an agreement that was agreeable to the GOP until Obama changed it after meeting with Reid and Pelosi.
Personally, I blame both parties in general for the partisanship in DC today, but I put most of the blame on Obama since he sets the tone as the president. When I voted for him I thought he would be another Clinton or Reagan - that could work with others to get things done - but that doesn't appear to be the case.
Ron
If you actually look at the data, it is onot Obama who is intransigent, it is the GOP plain and simple. But it looks like they've fooled you and a bunch of others into your flawed conclusion.
It's just that the republicans are better liars. Probably becasue their constituancy is easier to lie to.
Rush, the real leader of the Republican Party, laid out the Republican marching orders in early 2009 --- "we want Obama to fail". That's been the Republican objective ever since --- to hell with the nation, let's get Obama. There's a difference between being in the opposition and being an enemy. Republicans have always viewed President Obama as their enemy and in their fanatical desire to destroy President Obama at any cost, they have lost all focus on what’s best for America. The 21st century Republican Party doesn't care if the US crashes and burns as long as they can destroy the President. Bottom line, you cannot be a 21st century Republican and be a good American at the same time. The two positions are polar opposite
CONGRESS sets the tone with the Senate and our DINO friends sealing the deals with them. Mitch said it, "Making Obama a one-term President, is our primary goal", not the US fiscal recovery.
Blame the Guy who is trying to fix the mess left by the GOP has been a nice plan by the GOP people already forgot how we got here!!
So Obama has made things better while he's been in office? I can't think of any...
Now now. Both parties have been equally destructive when it comes to the state of the economy.
Republicans: Bush era add to the national debt- $4 Trillion(8 years)
Democrats: Obama era add to the national debt- $5 Trillion and counting(3 years)
During both administrations the opposing party controlled Congress- the purse. At no time did either "fix" the spending problem when they had control. They BOTH happily spent along on their pet projects, maintaining their voting group's interests, and pushing the problem along. No Pissedoffperson, this didn't just start nor is it one party's issue. That's a cute election bulletpoint of blame but it's not the truth.
Add to that Geitner's comment that government needs to act so as to not harm the economy (that's already really harmed), that's a good one. I do, however, agree with some of what he said. I do think that letting many of the Bush tax cuts expire will only exacerbate the problem- it takes more out of each of our take home pay that props up spending in the economy. The problem as I see it is that the government has already acted a lot lately to harm the economy. They implemented several additional, many punitive, regulations that harm businesses (small and large). They passed Obamacare, which continues to have ripple effects within the ecomony eventhough it's not really implemeneted yet. Everybody's healthcare costs are going up right now because everyone from hosipitals, insurance companies, businesses, etc. don't "know really what's in the bill yet"- they are reacting as the poop flys. Because their costs are not known it makes it harder for a business to decide to grow, sit, cut, etc. They are slowing down business decisions.
I have an idea!! Instead of making the people "pay" for their mistakes (which we already have!), why don't they dip into their $21 trillion savings???
armurray
Dow is better!
My 401k is great!
4.3 million Jobs created!
Iraq over!
Afghan closing!
Bin Laden Dead!
ACA!
Consumer Protection!
GM is #1!
American Manufacturing is growing!
and Im way better off then I was when President Obama took over!!
So there is no other conclusion. Obama/Biden 2012!!
Thats why President Obama has a 67% chance to win and Mittens only a 33%!! Good Luck in 2016!!
Bullseye Pissed!!!
Has the growth been what America wanted? No, but today's economys are all linked to some degree. While Europe and Asia are getting crushed right now, America is still churning forward slowly. Not backwards.
I know you hate the guy in office more than improving your own lives but just know that has never been a recipe for success. Keep up the birther and gay rights issues, goes to show that the GOP really doesn't care about the economy until one of their own runs the show. What they forget, is no matter who wins the presidency, they are one of our own.
Why do we judge each other on who we vote for rather than the person's actions? This started in 2000 and has only been getting worse.
Pissedoffperson
What mess? The "Liberals giving houses to deadbeats who couldn't pay the mortgages" wealth redistribution scam??? Legislation under Carter forced banks to give loans to bad risks... then Dodd and Frank protected Fannie and Freddie while they bought up those loans... then legislation under Clinton deregged banks and allowed F&F to package them as securities and sell them to our 401Ks. Fannie and Freddie have sucked $200 Billion so far, and we lost 1/3 of our 401Ks. All so that Liberals could buy votes.. That's what took down the economy... so blame Carter, Dodd, Frank, and Clinton... do some research before you open your ignorant head....
Fed Up
"Blah blah blah blah Fox Talking point Blah Blah Blah Fox talking point. "
can you say anything relevant ?
PO'D person.
Can you say anything relevant?
I just love how the left throws Fox News into the argument when they can't win.
It's like a deus ex machina.
Or a hand grenade that's a dud.
Either way it makes whoever said it look like a twit.
Redhead
No it's not that we can't win the argument, we actually win every time when truth and logic are used. It's just that Fox lies and distorts and invents new logic and the right swallows it.
What argument has the left lost?
That austerity in a depression is stupid?
That tax breaks for the rich while the middle class gets screwed is a bad idea?
That universal health care is a good thing?
What argument was lost?
BS! Bush started with $5.7T in debt. His last budget left us with $11.9T in debt.
Obama started with $11.9T in debt, currently we are looking at $15.5T in debt.. And, Obama has been dealing with decreased revenues due to Bush's Recession!
Even Romney admits that that it wasn't Obama's fault but you still hold onto this.
No matter what you say, Bush caused this @!$%#! And Republicans are responsible for it! Why in the hell should we re-elect Republicans to fix it?
You need to study history. Start with George W. Bush's "American Dream Downpayment Act".
American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI) - signed into law on Dec 16, 2003.
Sponsor: Sen. Wayne Allard [R-CO]
Co-sponsors: Samuel Brownback [R-KS]; Conrad Burns [R-MT]; Ben Campbell [R-CO]; Michael Crapo [R-ID]; Michael Enzi [R-WY]; Charles Hagel [R-NE]; Lisa Murkowski [R-AK]; Richard Santorum [R-PA]; Jefferson Sessions [R-AL]
Note that there was not one Democrat co-sponsoring this bill. The bill was sponsored by a Republican, co-sponsored only by other Republicans, passed by a Republican majority in the House and Senate and signed into law by a Republican president.
Ironmaker..."It's just that Fox lies and distorts and invents new logic and the right swallows it."
Well thank goodness we have the liberal media that only reports the facts and never, ever distorts, twists or lies about anything. Otherwise, we would all be totally ignorant.
Please elaborate on the lies. Not the mistakes, that happens, I mean the lies. Lies like 'Obama is a muslim" or lies like "Obama is not an American" or lies like "Obama is a socialist".
Show me a direct outright lie like the ones I just mentioned.
Fox is banned in Canada because they lie, plan and simple!!! Banned!!
Ferro....first off, I'm an independent and am well aware that both sides are bias. Anyone who believes both sides don't twist and distort is clueless. Period. I read from all sides of the aisle, from MSNBC, CNN, Townhall and the HuffPo. I know several commentators on Fox said Obama was a Muslim, but I'm not aware of any NEWS REPORT that came out on Fox and blatantly stated as outright fact that Obama is a Muslim. And personally, I don't care any more if they did than I do some commentator or editoralist on the HuffPo calling Bush a war criminal.
For the outright lie by the liberal media, I suggest you research Dan Rather's lie about Bush's military service. It was a blatant, pre-meditated, calculated LIE.
Regarding bias in the media, I suggest you read this on wikipedia that gives a somewhat balanced view of the bias on both sides.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_bias_in_the_United_States
You will read info like this:
According to Reporters Without Borders the media in the United States lost a great deal of freedom between the 2004 and 2006 indices, citing the Judith Miller case and similar cases and laws restricting the confidentiality of sources as the main factors.[109] They also cite the fact that reporters who question the American "war on terror" are sometimes regarded as suspicious.[110] They rank the United States as 53rd out of 168 countries in freedom of the press, comparable to Japan and Uruguay, but below all but one European Union country (Poland) and below most OECD countries (countries that accept democracy and free markets). In the 2008 ranking, the United States moved up to 36, between Taiwan and Macedonia, but still far below its ranking in the late 20th Century as a world leader in having a free and unbiased press.
POP...
Dow is better!...Yep, all those elitist rich are raking it in on the market swings, but it's not doing me any good.
My 401k is great! Lucky you! Mine has recovered somewhat, but I'm still behind where I need to be. Many people have moved their retirement date years away because of their losses and many came out of retirement to try and make up for their losses.
4.3 million Jobs created! And millions lost. Still millions officially unemployed and millions more have dropped off the official list. Neither of the two unemployed people living with me have any intention of voting for Obama.
Iraq over! Great! Ended during Obama's administration or because of Obama? (Don't bother, we know your answer.)
Afghan closing! Good....
Bin Laden Dead! I'm glad. But the reality is he was already marginalized to mascot status. Let's not go in to some being pissed at the intel lost by the early release of info.
ACA! Indeed!...Medicare has over $20 TRILLION in unfunded liabilities and PPACA is already over budget. Future generations will be buried by a mountain of debt.
......
and Im way better off then I was when President Obama took over!! More attributional bias.
hs
Dan Rather did not lie, he got it wrong. He believed what he said was true, but he was duped. It was poor journalism, not an outright lie.
Limbaugh knows he's lying and so does Hannity and company. There's a big differnece.
At least Geitner disagrees with the President on allowing the military cuts to proceed. But as usual, Obama won't listen to reason...
Obama is pandering to the base he cut out anything to do with work for welfare He gives back door amnesty to illegals He snubs Jews He does not like Christians but wishes all Muslims Happy Ramadan. He screams for a "Millionaire Tax" so now if you make 200K you are now a millionaire!! Holder is now trying to stop Pa for passing the photo ID to vote funny Pa is a swing state and he knows we flipped in 2010 and his lies will not fly here...yeah he is a piece of work all right. He must of been a lousy Community Organizer I know he sucks at being a leader thats for sure!
Where in the blue hell do you get that he doesn't like christians? Or are you just making that assumption because you felt like letting it fall off your tongue. I'm not going to say he's great but you people that just make @!$%# up about him are ludicrous and an essential part of what's killing this country. But go ahead, continue to spread your lies and hatred. I'm sure it's helping our society. Doesn't like christians...what a stupid thing to say. Show me evidence...you cannot, just as you cannot show me proof of anything else you say.
oh, the "clinging to their Bibles and their guns" is pretty indicative that he has contempt for Christians and gun owners....
Its just a game. Obama is very pro military. He's afraid he will lose votes from those of us who realise our Military is already as big as all the other countries combined! They require more than 1/2 our taxes collected. We use them to open countries to Multinational Corporation Rape to hook them into the Market. They become just more fuel for the fire that burns 99% of the Globes people to feed the the elite. Democracy only means Capitalism to them and as long as they keep us fooled with Media hype and back either Obama or Romney, we can pretend to be Democratic and back the system thats killing us. Neither plans to put America back to work...you can bank on that. Its all about Corporate, big profits, outsourcing, offshoring.....layoffs, tax cuts, public service cuts, stealing realestate, and gambling with our taxes on Wall Street.
armurry
it's the teabaggers who are insisiting on sequestration that will cut the military budget, not Obama.
Sheessh. Unbelievable!
When you have people in Congress who say "We are NOT going to compromise" then you wind up in the situation we were in over the debt ceiling. The President and the Democrats offered SEVERAL compromises and the Republicans said "It's ALL OR NOTHING - if we don't get our way then we'll let the country DEFAULT -WE DON'T CARE as long as we're not forced to compromise." How is that Obama's fault? He was willing to compromise on cuts to social programs, IF there was an increase in taxes. For those people who have no idea how the government works ... a governments's income is TAXES. Let me repeat that in case you skipped it:
A Government's income is TAXES.
If you are in debt in your personal life, you don't just "decrease spending" ... you also have to INCREASE your INCOME. By just decreasing spending, you are not touching the outstanding debt. Just like paying only the minimum amount on a credit card leaves you paying for 10 times longer than if you paid in large chunks. In order for the government to decrease the debt we have to INCREASE INCOME. Because the government's income is TAXES, this means that taxes need to be increased.
In addition ... Obama is the SMALLEST Government spender since EISENHOWER according to FORBES. Forbes is not a "liberal" magazine ...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/05/24/who-is-the-smallest-government-spender-since-eisenhower-would-you-believe-its-barack-obama/
So we need to look to who really is damaging the economy - and that would be which side has refused to compromise, who have put their own pledge to a private citizen (Grover Norquist) over their OATHS OF OFFICE to the country. Who has decided that the country needs to take a back seat to the strident voices of people who don't understand how government WORKS (the Tea Party)?
Cat-1200657,
If you remember, the Grand Compromise was reached between the President and Speaker of the House, until the President changed the offer.
To ask for a raise in the debt ceiling is proof of POOR LEADERSHIP>>>Senator B H Obama....A lot of what Senator Obama said is coming back and biting him on the arse!! He cried for a Millionaire Tax Good news voters if you make 200K you are now a Millionaire!! IF not for lies and the brain dead dems believing them what else does Obama have...
There cannot be a debt ceiling unless there is a price ceiling. When the Govenment is forced to spend more to get the same products and services every year the time comes when one has to accept that its either unlimited price increase (especially with Meds, drones, space satillites, spyware etc.) and unlimited debt ceiling OR limited ceiling with limited price increase.
Debt ceiling with unlimited price increase cannot ever work. So which is it to be?
No, it's proof of a sucky congress who keeps spending more and more and more, and a ongoing policy of "deficits don't matter" the republican party used to push. Debt ceilings are increased because the money has already been spent, not because you want to spend more. It's not like a credit card.
People who have NOT a clue about economics, which is a very difficult subject to begin with, should stay out of the fray unless they actually study the subject. Fox NonsenseNews does not educate anyone with facts, just political rhetoric.
It is an embarrassment reading some people's posts here. Too much DISINFORMATION, so little time.
We need to get rid of all in congress who are slaves to Grover Norquist. They are slaves to an ideology, blinded by right wing beliefs, and therefore unable and unwilling to make choices based on what will make things better in the REAL world. The solution to the deficit includes taxes and spending cuts, not ridiculous trickle down theory.
I can't wait for Nov. I want to vote against Obama again and Senator CASEY I was stupid enough to waste a vote on Casey last time but never ever again...
joe mota
And we're just as eager to rid the Senate of the Soro-bots.... Harry the Obstacle and co.
I want what is BEST for Americans, not Republicans, not Democrats. We need REALLY SMART people making these decisions, not Senators or House Members who can't vote for what is best for all, just votes for what is good for their own "party".
A little history...Under both Reagan and Bush 1, taxes were increased with promises that spending cuts would follow suit. Both times, spending cuts not only didn't happen, spending increased. Oh, ye who insist on tax increases, how about offering some spending cuts first, as a sign of good faith?
When you vote ask yourself this question: Who do I love more my party or my country?
I'm an Independent...I march to my own drum...
Letty, you need an education beyond the talking points. You are full of disinformation, from what I gather here on your stated posts. I am not trying to insult you, but think you may have been misled.
It is THIS administration that is stifling growth. Then there will soon be the added cost of Mr. Obama's healthcare plan that is yet to hit US. One term and out for this administration of misfits.
This is coming from Timothy Geithner, isn't he the one that failed to pay social security and medicare taxes, for four years? Didn't he get special treatment? The IRS waived the penalties for this special citizen. He also used the IRS's statute of limitations to avoid further back-tax payments. If I'm not mistaken, he also had an illegal immigrant housekeeper who also lacked proper papers. The Politicians love cheap labor, thats why they fail to address the illegal immigrant problem, we face in this country.
Raising the taxes on the wealthy will not work, they have so many tax havens at their disposal, and get mucho, special treatment as, Timothy Geithner received from the IRS. Not much more the FED can do. We Need to bring out butts back to reality, and quit spending money we don't have this includes our, too big to fail GOVT. Trillions of dollars sit in off shore bank accounts, with some very big names attached to those accounts, all the way up to Washington. Timothy, I know you've spent years managing government crises, why don't you get your little friends at the IRS, to go get our money sitting in these tax havens.
The wealthy do not need tax breaks, tax baby tax.
Taxes for all. Tax, Paul, tax!
LettyLane: You definately need to go get your drum fixed. Any vote against Obama would be a wasted vote. I say this because if RobUS Romney were to win. It would mean that the 99% of people would lose more than just their money to big business in wage lowering by the right wingnuts and big business, and WE will lose many of OUR rights, such as our rights to choose, vote, health care and everything that RobUS and the right wingnuts have threatened to take away from all of the 99%ers. The only ones that will and can gain from RobUS, are the filthy rich. If you can't see that, then not only does your drum need fixed, then your brain needs fixed also. I can't make this sh!t up, the truth are the facts and the facts are just what I said right after what the right and RobUS have already said. You and the other republican voters need to wake up and smell the SH!T that the right is throwing at you. When you wake up on election day, reflect back on what RobUS and the right keep preaching, then go vote for the person who will make our country a better one FOR ALL, not just the RICH.
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
A vote for Romney mouse is a vote to elect Koch Brother cats for President of the "Private Corporation of the US". This will be a place for Boss and his favorite employees and a few voluntary slaves. All the rest of us will be laid-off forever. Our long term future will look like Syria.
Isn't it strange how we are definitely in at least a Recession (I think Depression) BUT Corporate brags they have made bigger profits than ever in History! Does that sound strange to anyone else? They are doing better and We are doing worse. They are doing better BECAUSE we are doing worse. Any sensable person would advocate to balance things....tax them more, penalize for outsoucing and offshoring, regulate and if they won't comply voluntarily then jail the crooks, break up the Too Big, and if all else fails confiscate the way our houses, jobs and lives were confiscated.
What is Obama doing for us besides raising the welfare numbers? Where are the jobs he promised? I know he's been really busy pandering to the gays, illegals, and his healthcare bill. He could've spent his first four years in office creating jobs, going after those that hide money in offshore accounts, but how could he when he's one of them. Didn't he promise change? How many lobbyists does he have visiting the White House?
Republicans don't want the Government to contract as they should ,like in the last Great Depression, for Highways, bridges, natural disater help to rebuild, forest service, levee and dam repair, teachers, firemen, snow plows, first responders everything we could easily have with real beneficial service to This country!! No, private corporations have you fooled into cutting an outsourcing. Did you know they have gimmicked things so they don't have to report how many jobs they made outside the US. Tracking shows Pfizer and Apple continue big profit and offshore much of it to avoid taxes, and are laying off more than twice what they hire "over there".They will not create jobs in America, ever, unless forced.
wow we are a bankrupt nation and they want to print more fake money.. amazing.. they are just prolonging the fall and the longer they do so the harder we will fall.. we will look back at these times and think how good they were..
They have to print it because the elite have 32 Trillion of it in hidden offshore accounts. They refuse to put it back in our country and just keep taking it out. They refuse to circulate. They refuse to keep it in America.
They refuse to hire Americans because countries with low, low standards of living need less wage and no benefits. They will never ever change unless they are penalized. They are too too happy with things as they are. The worse we do the better they do. Thats what we call unbalanced.
I for one say bring on the fiscal cliff!
The government has been outspending its means for decades, and it has to stop! Unfortunately, Gary Johnson appears to be the only presidential candidate who understands the direness of our situation. Both Obama and Romney are content kicking the can down the road; neither are remotely ready to address this government's spending addiction.
Its more than spending.....its the rising cost of services especially in Medicines for Vets and Medicare, and the costs of drones and hightech weapons and spyware. The Military costs are higher and more luxurious than Medicine! Our Military is larger than all the other countries COMBINED and they want to be bigger.
Depend on them to conjure up more terrorists and war reasons to get your sympathy.
Prices must have a ceiling. An aspirin cannot keep costing five times whats it worth. Theyre profits are higher than ever before in history. Bring them Down! If you want a budget ceiling you gotta have a price ceiling.
Congress, what a complete bunch of jackasses! And we elect these jerks and listen to their garbage mouth speeches, stupid committee hearings, and any other crap they can shovel out. We are the dumb ones and every politician knows it. We've lost control of OUR government and these hacks will do/say anything to keep it that way.
Totally agree with you Cliff. And even now we have the lemmings scurrying over the cliff for their team, as though there is a good team out there. As far as the economy is concerned, the politicos could really care less either way, as long as the propaganda they spew keeps them in office. They have succeeded in creating a near total disconnect between the economy and their Wall Street. The market is flying high while our economy is in crisis. The plutocracy has arrived folks and it is here to stay. The perfect phrase for destroying our economy while simultaneously creating thousands of billionaires...Free Trade!!
Romney wants the tax cuts extended PLUS ANOTHER 25% for the wealthy. What a phucking joke.
I hope they do nothing and the public will be mad enough to kick them all out if not more. That doesn't help Romney any. Anyone running for office from either one of these parties represents more of the same problems rather than the solution.
What Geithner, Obama, and for that matter all of Congress don't understand is that it's the policies they have put in place over the years, and are currently pursuing that have already damaged the economy. Congress is now going back and trying to repeal some of the tax breaks they voted in years ago encouraging companies to outsource production overseas. but it's to little, to late. The governments push to get "into" the global economy removed a large amount of domestic production. Computers, TVs, DVD players, cell phones, almost all electronics are made somewhere other than here in the US. And, in moving their production facilities to these foreign countries, the corporations became more profitable because of the slave labor pay rates they have. In China, there were regions where people only averaged about $350.00 a year income. A 50 cent an hour job is a boon to people like that. 10 hour days, 6 days a week, and maybe 4 or 5 paid holidays a year (some of these people never heard of a paid holiday before), and a week of paid vacation (also never heard of). A whopping $1,560.00 a year. It is 5 times what they were making. But now YOU have to compete with that person for a job here, if you can find one. These factories can't come back in a years time. And I doubt that any CEO, or board of Directors will cut their bottom line and loose their bonuses for you because you want a job, a good paying job at that.
Of course, it's a viscous cycle that has been started. We have been the largest consumers on the planet. These corporations may be profitable now, but wait 10 years. People who don't have good paying jobs can't buy new TVs, computers, or the expensive cell phones, much less new cars and homes. When the profits disappear, I wonder what the boards will do then? Of course, when the corporations aren't profitable, they don't pay taxes on profits. Guess who the government is going to raise taxes on to make up the difference? Get ready to reduce your standard of living folks. It's coming, maybe not tomorrow for everyone, and probably a few years down line, but it's coming. And nobody in Washington is doing anything to stop it.
When the corporations die in ten years, the fat cats will have already got theirs, and that is all that they care about. And they want to reduce the standard of living. That will create a cheap labor force to build products for the rich countries of the future, like China and India. Why does the Federal Government not do anything about illegal immigration? Because it establishes an enormous supply of cheap workers raising several cheap workers who will raise several cheap workers. We no longer have to consume to keep those major corporations afloat, they now have millions of consumers across the globe to sell to. Free trade is treason when it causes the economic consequences we now see in our country.
I can't believe (Yes, I can) how stupid people are in regards to this issue. The president is forcing congress to get off their lazy !^#!'s or suffer the consequences of their inability to work together on a solution. And all you political ideologs want to do is keep blaming an administration. I say crack the whip! The government has been broken for a looooooong time and it takes more than just a president to make anything happen...gee imagine that. Go watch more bill oreally and have a coke and a smile. If bush had the nuts to do such a thing, then you'd build him an alter in your living rooms.
Former President of the U.S., Bill Clinton was intelligent enough to get compromise between both parties in Congress and Senate during his presidency. The current President hasn't figured out how to make the two compromise but he certainly has caused as lot of bickering between party lines and now we have gridlock. Not a good quality in a leader!
The so called compromises that were offered by the Democrats where 1 dollar in cuts for ever one dollar in revenue increases? Was that a joke? The reason the GOP has been reluctant to deal with Dems on revenue is because they want to see that the Dems are really serious about spending cuts and a dollar for every dollar is a joke and secondly if you just increase revenue, then your only making the problem worse by showing your not serious. In the short term they need steep spending cuts across the board with revenue increases over time. Tax cuts for those making over 250k many of which are small businesses will not even make a dent in our deficit or debt so it is ridiculous to think that getting that revenue will help us out of this mess. What is needed is steep spending cuts and then to increase everyones taxes in the next couple of years that is really our only way out of this mess. Continuing to spend then raising a few hundred billion from the small business owners and the wealthy doesn't even get us close.
We have a huge economic problem and liberals pretending it doesn't exist isn't helping the situation! The GOP learned their lesson from being voted out of Congress the majority of the public is concerned about the debt and overall economic health of our government because it has a detrimental effect on our economy when we get a downgrade, or pump tons of money into the economy and lower the value of the dollar etc.
Harry Reid is showing zero compromise by refusing to bring bills to the floor that have passed the House because he wants it his way or no way! The Dems are bigger obstructionists than anyone since they control the Senate!
You are contradicting yourself.
And then:
The problem is that both sides are protecting their own special interests instead of making policy that benefits the country as a whole in the long term. Democrats defend social programs, and republicans defend defense spending and subsidies. SSDP.
If anybody expects our dysfunctional, corrupt, lobby influenced crooked congress crooks to do the right thing in this case, they are sadly mistaken.
If you think one stinking member of the house of corruption gives a crap about the american people, they are very, very wrong.
Congress and the entire corrupt ruling government in washington are so bought and paid for it stinks.
They could care less about what happens to the american people.
It is way past time for the american people to rise up and do exactly what the people of france did to their corrupt leaders in the french revolution.
"Compromise" with Democrats means let them raise taxes, and maybe they'll cut something ten yrs out.... but the cuts never happen... so we're $15 Trillion in debt.... time to dig in our heels, and stop the squanderers...
Over $16 trillion in debt
And the total the elite have tucked away in offshore banks is 32 Tillion$.
They really need to pay taxes, if they are going to live here. Their taxes should at least be as high as during Clinton times.
So what part of the 16 trillion was generated by the fail Republican wars and fiscal policies. Non enforcement of regulations? Tax give aways to the job creators and still no jobs? Duh, and Romney is offering another four year extension of Bush world. Another war to provide our oil companies with global expansion on our credit card? More loop holes for wall street and banks to steal your pensions. He is not paying any taxes now what more do they want? We had 8 years of job creation under Bush ending in the great depression. Republicans fighting back against their failure by creating an impossible situation to improve our economy. Wanting to rewrite history and make this failure Obama's and not Bush. Will we never learn. Republican managing this campaign think we are stupid and to date you have proved them right.
Fed-up, respectfully President Obama and the Democrats have made measurable tax cuts to the contrary of many democrats. You could check deeper as to the details of cuts, purposes, and consequences of those decisions. You can go to FactCheck.org a highly endorsed website that is unbiased to check the reliability of your information. Recently Americans polled overwhelming support tax increases paid by all not just most. The results reflect the highest support for raising taxes on all despite much of the congressional members rhetoric. Americans who pay the most in taxes unlike some expect those tax dollars to be there for them in the form of programs they demand, need or require. Our nation is not about the few it's about the many who pay a considerably higher tax rate on their income opposed to a few. People also expect congress to keep their greedy hands out of the cookie jars established from their tax dollars for specified purposes. Example, Fed's owe a whole lot of money back to Social Security and have made absolutely no effort to put it back. Recall Social Security had a surplus when Clinton left office and now may very well will go broke in the near future. Go figure!
All of them, on both sides of the aisle
Do you really believe anyone or anything can damage the economy more than Obama's policies and anti business administration? More government in size and scope, more printed money and more spending will lead to more debt and real financial collapse.
The reality is he would have to force the elite to bring their 32T$ out of hiding in offshore Banks so he wouldn't need to print money here, put Price Control on Medicines and Military special weapons so our spending would not be so high, make more Government jobs or Force Corporations to hire IN America again, and tax without loopholes the elite and Corporations since they brag they have made made such large profits in history. How in this system could he ever do this??
Let's see how Congress can kick this can farther down the road this time.
As for Geithner thinking that the EU will hold together, I think he's praying that it will more than he knows it will. Right know they are in shock over finding out that corrupt bankers manipulated the exchange rates for their own personal gain and greedy businessmen are doing everything they can to cash in on the crisis.