Hardball - Chris Mathews

On Hardball tonight: Democrats remain unhappy with Obama

Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:37 PM EDT

Chris talks to former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson what President Obama needs to to tackle unemployment.

Watch Hardball at 7 p.m. ET.

Jimmy Carter - Hope and Change

Good Cartoon. Thanks to Ken Zalga for Sharing.

The Economy - Blame Game

It has been a couple of bad weeks for the US Economy. We have been downgraded from AAA to AA by S and P.  We are lectured by the Chinese and Russians. We look like inept fools.


The Democrats blame the Republicans and the Republicans blame the Democrats.


Who is right?  They both are.


Throw the rascals out. Let us try to elect competent honest people who under stand that we must keep our government solvent. That is going to require Both program cuts and tax increases.


The big question is whether we voters are bright enough to pick better people. And that is a very big question.

Fooling the People

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.

Abraham Lincoln, (attributed)

Quite a few people are still fooled by Congress.  But more and more of us have decided they are inept and incompetent.

Now, the big question is can we get any better people?

And are we as voters smart enough to elect honest competent people, or are we going to keep electing people who promise you things that are not possible?

We must cut program expenses and we must increase taxes.  Unfortunately the majority of the electorate cannot figure that out, so we elect Democrats who promise no program cuts and Republicans who promise no new taxes.

Man Hurls Himself Over White House Fence

There was drama at the White House this week when a man tried to hurl himself over the fence. 


But the Secret Service intervened and talked the President into going back inside and finishing his term.


Conan Obrien

John King and crew were there and documented it.

Tea Fragger Party

Kathleen Parker




"Take names. Remember them. The behavior of certain Republicans who call themselves Tea Party conservatives makes them the most destructive posse of misguided “patriots” we’ve seen in recent memory."


Click to Read More:

Fareed Zakaria - Budget Deficit

On Thursday's The Situation Room, Fareed Zakaria said the tactics used by Tea Party congressmen in the debt ceiling debate were akin to holding the country hostage and threatening to "blow up" the economy.


"So nobody has ever held a country hostage and say [sic] if you don't pass our policies, we'll blow up the economy, we'll blow up the credibility of the United States," Zakaria remarked on CNN Thursday. He called the recent debt ceiling fight "unprecedented" and slammed the Tea Party for its refusal to compromise."

"This is why the Tea Party's insistence on holding the debt ceiling hostage in order to force its policies on the country – the first time the debt ceiling has been used this way – was so deeply un-American," Zakaria ranted in his newest Time cover story.

Read more: 

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matt-hadro/2011/08/04/fareed-zakaria-compares-tea-party-terrorists-un-american#ixzz1UMfSQMII

Job Losses in Recessions

"We have spent six months in an invented political crisis about the nightmare "emergency" of the federal deficit."

"The federal deficit is a serious challenge in the long run. The real emergency is how many people are still out of work. That's the deficit that matters. Almost nothing can do more harm to a nation's cultural, social, political, and of course economic fabric than sustained high joblessness."

Click to Read the Article

Shrinking Tea Party

The Incredible Shrinking Tea Party

By Greg Sargent

If there’s one thing the debt ceiling battle revealed, it’s that the Tea Party continues to enjoy outsized influence in Washington in general and over the GOP in particular.

So it’s interesting to note that according to the internals of today’s New York Times poll, the Tea Party is rapidly shrinking before our very eyes, and is hemorraging supporters at a surprising rate:

Do you consider yourself to be a supporter of the Tea Party movement, or not?

Yes 18

No 73

Click to read the article 

Throw the Rascals Out !!!

I am pretty disgusted with the "leadership" of our Nation. Both Congress and the President have mismanaged our economy.


The Democrats refuse to even consider trimming Social Security and Medicare. The Republicans refuse to even consider a tax increase. Both are needed.


I am of the opinion that we need new folks in both the White House and Congress.  I predict the next election will be bad for incumbents, and it should be.


When we elect people we need pragmatic problem solvers who will not just pander to their base. We need quality ethical people who will not just say and do what they think will get them reelected.


Ultimately we deserve the government we elect. And we as voters have not been doing a very good job. Let us try to do better in the next election.


Throw the rascals out!!!

39% Approve Debt Deal

Gallup: 39% Approve Debt Deal; 46% Oppose

POSTED IN LIBERALAND BY ALAN • AUGUST 4, 2011, 10:16 AM ET • LEAVE A COMMENT »

http://www.alan.com/

My opinion is that we do need to get our budget balanced 
or closer to balance with a combination of program cuts 
and tax increases. 

Unfortunately the country and our elected officials do 
not seem to understand that. 

But before we start making those cuts and tax increases 
we need to get the economy working again.


But apparently we are not going to do that either.


Democracy is great. Gotta love it.

Throw the Clowns Out

70,000 more people out of work because Congress did not pass simple legislation to keep the FAA working. This in the middle of this deep recession.


What a bunch of inept clowns.


The poll last week said that only 6% of the people approve the performance of Congress.


They must not have been paying attention.


Throw them all out and start over.

Jobs Jobs Jobs!!

Our country and world need jobs. Where are we going to get them?

Here is one idea.

The US should open up immigration to the business people of the world who have $250,000 to invest in a business. We currently allow people in who have $1,000,000. 

We could direct them to inner cities of communities that really need help - Detroit, Gary, etc.

This is a slight revision on the famous poem on the Statue of Liberty.

 "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free". 

provided they have $250,000 to invest in a job producing business.

The Sky is Falling !! We are Doomed!!

The 2010 debt-to-GDP ratio:


US                     53.5% 


Germany           78.8% 


Japan              225.8%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt-to-GDP_ratio

The data above is from the ever popular Wikapedia taken from the ever popular CIA estimates.


Our growing debt is worrisome and needs to be brought down with a combination of economic growth, program cuts and tax increases. But as the data above shows, we are better off then our two leading advanced economy competitors. 


Yet the hysterics of Tea Party folks has reached the levels of the Global Warming crowd - WE ARE DOOMED !! THE SKY IS FALLING!!


So why the hysterics?  Well talk radio and pundits, for one.  It is good for ratings and the bottom line to talk as if we are in big trouble. People pay far more attention to hysterical screams then they do to rational discourse.  And of course the true believers exaggerate the problem to get peoples attention and galvanize action.

Social Security Info

The U.S. Social Security program is the largest government program in the world and the single greatest expenditure in the federal budget, with 20.8% for social security, compared to 20.5% for discretionary defense and 20.1% for Medicare/Medicaid.^[6] 

Social Security is currently the largest social insurance program in the U.S. where combined spending for all social insurance programs constitutes 37% of government expenditure and 7% of the gross domestic product.^[7] 

Social Security is currently estimated to keep roughly 40% of all Americans age 65 or older out of poverty.^[8] 

In 2010, 54 million people were receiving Social Security benefits, while 157 million people were paying into the fund; of those receiving benefits, 44 million were receiving retirement benefits and 10 million disability benefits. 

Assets in 2010 were $2.6 trillion, an amount that is expected to be adequate to cover the next 10 years. 

In 2023, total income and interest earned on assets are projected to no longer cover expenditures for Social Security, as demographic shifts burden the system. 

By 2035, the ratio of potential retirees to working age persons will be 37% — there will be less than three potential income earners for every retiree in the population. The trust fund would then be exhausted by 2036 without legislative action.^[9]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_(United_States)

A Deal At Last

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — President Barack Obama and Senate leaders announced Sunday night that they have reached agreement on a “framework” debt deal that will cut spending and increase the federal debt ceiling.

Click to Read

Nothing like having a deadline to get something done. Of course we don't know what is in the  bill yet.

But as Nancy Pelosi famously said, Congress will have to pass the bill so that the American people can see what is in it.

But our leadership has not covered itself in glory. I think it is time to throw the current rascals out and get some fresh new rascals. And when we vote we should be mature and intelligent enough to vote for capable pragmatic experienced people with a good track record. Lets try to avoid one issue candidates and those who promise you the world.

They’ll Stone Ya

Well, they’ll stone ya when you’re trying to be so good

They’ll stone ya just a-like they said they would

They’ll stone ya when you’re tryin’ to go home

Then they’ll stone ya when you’re there all alone

But I would not feel so all alone

Everybody must get stoned



Well, they’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ ’long the street

They’ll stone ya when you’re tryin’ to keep your seat

They’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ on the floor

They’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ to the door

But I would not feel so all alone

Everybody must get stoned

http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/rainy-day-women-12-35



Proposed Theme Song for Congress and the President

Annual G.D.P. Growth Rate During Presidency

Barack Obama, 1.2% 
George W. Bush, 1.6%
George H.W. Bush, 2.1%
Gerald Ford, 2.2%
Dwight Eisenhower, 2.5%
Richard Nixon, 3.0%
Jimmy Carter, 3.2%
Ronald Reagan, 3.5%
Bill Clinton, 3.8%
Lyndon B. Johnson, 5.0%
John F. Kennedy, 5.4%

Click for the Article

http://currencythoughts.com/2008/09/26/us-gdp-growth-under-different-presidencies/

Liberaland by Alan Colmes

From "Liberaland"  by Alan Colmes.  As our economy 

and elected officials struggle we grow more tired 

of all of them. 

Obama Approval Rating 40%, 

Down 10 Points Since June 7

POSTED IN LIBERALAND BY ALAN • JULY 29, 2011, 3:18 PMET • 57 COMMENTS »

Previous low was 41%

http://www.alan.com/

Congress in the Lead

"

"Obama’s Friday appearance had a gigantic unintended consequence. It brought members of Congress together. They decided to take control. The White House is now on the sidelines. Democratic and Republican Congressional leaders are negotiating directly with one another."

David Brooks writes cogently about the budget talks 

Click to read the column

Moderates - The Cult?

I enjoy reading and listening to Paul Krugman. He is a leading liberal economist. But this column is not one of his finest efforts. He blames conservatives, which he always does, but now he also blames balance and centrism.

We have two major competing interests fighting for control of our government and economy. The Conservatives believe we are going broke because we spend too much, while the Liberals believe we are going broke because we tax too little. They are both right.

The voice of reason and moderation calls for both sides to give a little and come up with a deal. That is not a moral failure - that is pragmatic common sense. And that view had better prevail

Not one of your better efforts, Paul. 

July 26, 2011, 5:09 pm

The Cult That Is Destroying America

Watching our system deal with the debt ceiling crisis — a wholly self-inflicted crisis, which may nonetheless have disastrous consequences — it’s increasingly obvious that what we’re looking at is the destructive influence of a cult that has really poisoned our political system.


And no, I don’t mean the fanaticism of the right. Well, OK, that too. But my feeling about those people is that they are what they are; you might as well denounce wolves for being carnivores. Crazy is what they do and what they are.


No, the cult that I see as reflecting a true moral failure is the cult of balance, of centrism.

Click to Read the Column

Thanks to Ken Zalga for Sharing

Deficits Made Clear

Great article in the Atlantic Monthly by  on the deficit. The author divides Federal Government expenditures into Social Security, Medicare, and everything else. 


Against conventional wisdom the everything else portion of the Federal Government is now a smaller portion of GDP then it was during Eisenhower. It is Social Security and Medicare that create our financial problems.


Click to Read the Article

Thanks to Anne Hullinger for Sharing

6% Rate Congress Performance as Good

"Just six percent (6%) of Likely U.S. Voters now rate Congress' performance as good or excellent, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey."


I think those 6% must just not be paying attention. 


Click to Read More

Federal Debt - Causes

Some good scoop on the Federal Debt from Wikapedia. The main drivers of deficit increase are Medicare and Medicaid, Defense, income security and food stamps, and Social Security.

The only way to get our country back on track is cut backs in these programs and tax increases. Unfortunately the left refuses any cutbacks and the right refuses and tax increases.

We are clearly on an unsustainable path. If something is unsustainable it will not be sustained. We will eventually do the right thing but it won't make many people happy.

Causes of change in debt

[edit]2001 vs. 2009

Causes of Change in Federal Spending as % GDP 2001–2009 from CBO Data

Causes for Changes in CBO Forecasts.

According to the CBO, the U.S. last had a surplus during fiscal year (FY) 2001. From FY2001 to FY2009, spending increased by 6.5% of GDP (from 18.2% of GDP to 24.7%) while taxes declined by 4.7% of GDP (from 19.5% of GDP to 14.8%). The drivers of the expense increases (expressed as % of GDP) are Medicare & Medicaid (1.7%), Defense (1.6%), Income Security such as unemployment benefits and food stamps (1.4%), Social Security (0.6%) and all other categories (1.2%). The drivers of tax reductions are individual income taxes (−3.3%), payroll taxes (−0.5%), corporate income taxes (−0.5%) and other (−0.4%). The 2009 spending level is the highest relative to GDP in 40 years, while the tax receipts are the lowest relative to GDP in 40 years. The next highest spending year was 1985 (22.8%) while the next lowest tax year was 2004 (16.1%).^[62]

[edit]2001 vs. 2012

The U.S. budget situation has deteriorated significantly since 2001, when the Congressional Budget Office(CBO) forecast average annual surpluses of approximately $850 billion from 2009–2012. The average deficitforecast in each of those years as of June 2009 was approximately $1,215 billion. The New York Times analyzed this roughly $2 trillion "swing," separating the causes into four major categories along with their share:

• Recessions or the business cycle (37%);
• Policies enacted by President Bush (33%);
• Policies enacted by President Bush and supported or extended by President Obama (20%); and
• New policies from President Obama (10%).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_deficit

New Pragmatic Centrist Party?

"Thanks to a quiet political start-up that is now ready to show its hand, a viable, centrist, third presidential ticket, elected by an Internet convention, is going to emerge in 2012. I know it sounds gimmicky — an Internet convention — but an impressive group of frustrated Democrats, Republicans and independents, called Americans Elect, is really serious, and they have thought out this process well. In a few days, Americans Elect will formally submit the 1.6 million signatures it has gathered to get on the presidential ballot in California as part of its unfolding national effort to get on the ballots of all 50 states for 2012."


Steve Friedman writes an interesting column saying that a political party will emerge to nominate and elect centrist candidates.  I don't know if that is correct or not, but I hope it is. Our current political process elects wing nuts on the left and right. They appeal to their base which demands no compromise and no deals.


We need more elected officials in the pragmatic center. We have let the far left and the far right high jack our country.  So I am all for this movement and hope it will go forward.


We elect the government we want and deserve, and we get what we want. How is that working for you so far? Let us hope we can get some competent ethical people in Congress. We must do a better job of picking candidates and elected officials.


Click to read the article