Wild Walleye

Alas, NPR couldn't bring itself to report on the third and perhaps most significant impact of cash for clunkers: screwing the poor! The program sought out older cars, bought them from people who could have afforded newer ones on their own and destroyed them (all the cars turned into the programs that is) Ever wonder why there is a used auto parts market? Ever wonder who are most of the people purchasing used auto parts (as opposed to new auto parts for an older car) Ever wonder where used auto parts come from? This program raised the cost for every poor American just trying keep their old POS car on the road so that they can get by. What did they do to deserve this financial stick in the eye?

Wow, what a great magnanimous ruler we have. He screws the "rich" (e. G. The rightful owners of GM and Chrysler) and the poor (purchasers of used auto parts) and all the taxpayers just to bailout the unions. And to think, I thought he was a Marxist ideologue.

Doppelganger

Esten, can you explain Westy's very interesting chart without saying it was Bush's fault? FYI the really bad red numbers are CBO.

Esten, can you explain how going from 9.5 to 9.6 unemployment was a move in the "right direction" as per Obama?

Esten, can you explain "Recovery Summer" to me, I seem to have missed the point?

Punter 127

Exon this is an issue that hasn't really been discussed here. You refer to it as a "catastrophe" and speak of both legal and legal immigration. Legal immigration is controlled and illegal immigration is out of control.

I know you see some of this first hand, so what's your solution for the problem?

BTW the Google link doesn't work.

Miamipro

Doppelganger,

Actually just going over some past posts. I don't agree with any of the wars. The loss of American soldiers for these campaigns were un-necessary to say the least. And really isn't going to have any long term benefits. I was wondering if you even watched the video link of Cheney in 94 detailing why we didn't "Finish the job in Desert Storm" under the first Bush. The real kicker is what he says right at the end and I will quote.

"For the family's of the 146 lost in action, it wasn't a cheap war and the question for the President whether we went on to bagdad and take on more casualties and get Saddam. Was How many additional dead was Saddam worth? Our judgment was not very many. And I think we got it right." ~Cheney 1994

Why does the middle east hate us? Maybe because we support the Israelis? Who have different religious views in that part of the world compared to most of the middle east. Religions create wars. All religions have extremists. Even the ones in the good ol' USA. Our Politician's make policy based on their Religious views. Forgetting to separate Church and State.

Let me make a point with out getting into to much detail about Israelis. They aren't any better than The Palestine's or Hamas. They create so much of their own problems. Its no wonder the other guys want to kill them so badly. Religion is Poison and God is not great.

Esten

We could go on a long time about budget and spending issues. The bottom line is that most of the increased spending in the last two years has been to address the financial crisis and ensuing deep recession that Obama inherited. Obama is simply taking responsible steps advised by economists. It wouldn't be much different if Repubs were in power either. The line that Obama is an out-of-control spender is unfortunate politics. The right would like people to think Dems spend like this all the time, overlooking the context of the spending & events of the past two years.

Both TARP and Stimulus were responsible and effective actions, regardless of how you argue who approved it and spent the money. But we should be accurate about what was what. Fox News fan Doppelganger tried to spread mis-information by claiming Stimulus spending exceeded $1 Trillion. The real number as of today is $289 Billion, of an approved $499 Billion. The effect of that spending combined with tax benefits in the Stimulus has been significant:

Economists agree: Stimulus created nearly 3 million jobs
http://www.usatoday.com/money/econo...ulus30_CV_N.htm

Repubs claim the Stimulus was a failure, but this is just more unfortunate politics. The only grain of truth here is that it did not keep unemployment below 8% as projected back in January 2009. That projection was a mistake. But you needed a crystal ball then to see the huge layoffs to come in 2009. If anything, a more accurate projection would have warranted a larger stimulus. And without the Stimulus things would have been much worse; that's not just a talking point but a conclusion of respected economists. Contrast this with right wing talking points that Obama spent $1 Trillion on the Stimulus and it accomplished little.

Maybe you guys can try your spin on some other board, it ain't workin here.

I've also noted before, that despite the official party line many Republicans were praising Stimulus-funded projects in their districts. Schwarzenegger summed it up nicely:

“I find it interesting that you have a lot of the Republicans running around and pushing back on stimulus money and saying this doesn’t create any new jobs, and then they go out and do photo-ops and they’re posing with the big check and they say, ‘Isn’t this great! Look the kind of money I provide here for the state! And this is great money to create jobs, and this has created 10,000 new jobs, and this has created 20,000 new jobs,’” Schwarzenegger said on ABC’s "This Week." “It doesn’t match up.”

Schwarzenegger: GOP stimulus attacks, then praise of projects hypocritical
http://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...ts-hypocritical

Black Shirt

Right now, I am in the midst of watching on CNBC, a report on the financing of toxic loans & mortgages that led to the financial meltdown. Let me just say "greedy / unscrupulous financial institutions and greedy / naive homeowners", add Wall Street to the mix, and voila! Iceland was just one place where the cocktail ignited big time. Alot of people had to grow up and found they had been wrong about the Disney notion that "crime does not pay".

So how about Franks, Clinton, Bush, Greenspan, Obama. They are just mere players in the game. And so who are the enemies? Alas, don't look too far, just look in the mirror!