You guys are right: it is not the role of government to intervene in the auto industry.....the vast majority of the time. That said, we are not talking about an ordinary recession and every reasonable person knows it. As I have said before, there is enough blame to go around but the facts is that unprecendented measures were required to keep our economy from completely hemorraging millions of jobs more than it had already done. All politics aside, understanding that both sides share the blame, the month before Obama took office we lost 700,000 jobs, a staggering number by anyone's estimation. The economy didn't start adding jobs because Obama took office, no President has that kind of power plus the wheels to the bailouts had been put in motion by the GWB administration. It started adding jobs because some one DID take action, some one DID recognize that if something wasn't done then we were going to be in a darker place than at any point of the Great Depression and likely to take the rest of the world with us. No one likes bailouts, to bankers or auto companies, but some times what is likeable isn't the right course of action. Has the national debt ballooned during Obama's administration? You bet your ass it has and it was worth every penny in my estimation. As a percentage of GDP the national debt has been higher several times in our history. We definitely need a plan to reduce the debt and we also need a freaking budget. We also need a plan for reducing health care costs and keeping insurance companies from dropping, or refusing to accept, sick patients. Whether it turns out to be Obamacare, I don't know. I suppose the Supreme Court will tell us some time in June. Regardless I think most reasonable people agree that some thing needs to be done because health care represents almost 20% of the economy. Lastly, we need to set bench marks for GDP and agree to implement austerity measures as we hit certain bench marks so we don't go the route of Europe with too much belt tighening too fast. Just like there is enough blame for both parties when it comes to getting us into this mess, there is enough room in both parties respective budgets for belt-tightening. For the Republicans they are going to have to realize that our modern threats do not require a massive army and that reducing our military spending will be OK for a few years. The Dems are going to offer up their sacred cows of social security and medicare for reforms so that those programs can be preserved for future generations. We could also refine our laws about what constitutes a "disability." People are getting checks for a "disability" who are, in fact, just too fat so of course their back is going to go bad. Long story short, the ideological cloaks that have such a grip on the respective parties need to be shed in favor of a little common sense. Sorry about the long rant....
countries that dont like us can fuck themselves. it is very wrong headed to place value on this. why must you always defer to opinion polls?
i dont care who is to blame. and you are right, we need austerity. that means we dont bail out dumbass companies because they convince us they are too big to fail. nobody is too big to fail. fuck those corporations. if the auto industry wants to survive, it can learn to run itself properly. if GM goes out of business, so what. i will buy fords. hardworking americans dont work their asses of so we can bail out these stupid billion dollar corporations. how about we bail out taxpayers by letting them keep what they worked for. really, who do you think you are taking peoples money for this shit?
Red -- "Unemployment has dropped from 10% to 8.1% and is still dropping." "In fact, had the labor force participation rate stayed where it was in June 2009, the jobless rate would be around 11%." "As IBD reported recently, more than 5 million workers and their families have enrolled in the disability program since President Obama took office." http://news.investors.com/article/610306/201205040931/labor-force-shrinks-as-disability-grows.htm http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...g-labor-force/2012/05/04/gIQANXAy1T_blog.html
That is an idiots diplomacy. You have no future in foreign affairs. I defer to nothing. I simply post evidence that supports my contention. If it discredits yours and and that annoys you, it's just tough chit.
In fact, If my aunt had a dick, she'd be my uncle. That "prediction" has no basis in fact. The unemployment rate has been calculated the same way for Obama as it was for Bush and all previous presidents, and it is falling.
i especially care if they like us in taliban nations. we should always judge ourselves through the opinions of others. you havent noticed how often you reference opinion polls? you seem to have an idea that conseneus makes reality. its a miracle you are not religious.
