How to Get Back to Growth

The Conflict of Mind, Heart, Politics and Obama

When looking at someone in need, many questions arise. ...Committed people are the key to this kind of change. So what happens when the government and politicians get involved? ...So why do we have so much effort and desire being put forth to get the federal government involved in areas that it is ill-suited? ...All decent politicians, of all parties, go through the same questions the individual asks when they see people in need; they have the same desire to help, and compassion. The conflict of mind and heart is fully present. But laid upon this conflict is a bigger conflict, the conflict that arises by courting voters....
Consider: http://zachjonesishome.wordpress.com/the-conflict-of-mind-heart-politics-and-obama/

The Conflict of Mind, Heart, Politics and Obama

When looking at someone in need, many questions arise.
Consider: http://zachjonesishome.wordpress.com/the-conflict-of-mind-heart-politics-and-obama/

Interesting Fareed mentions the growth run of the past 15 YEARS. Talk about selective statistics. For the average worker the ones that mattered were Clinton's, because under Bush the median income actually DROPPED over the course of a supposed expansion. Some three-fourths of the added benefit went to the top 1% on income and, despite working record hours and keeping their end of the bargain on productivity, most people actually LOST GROUND during an expansion. Oh, and we added $4 trillion to the debt. Those were the "good" times with Bush and now we're in the bad times.

Someone trying to look objectively at all those stats might just conclude the system is broken and has gotten badly off track. Does Fareed expect more than 90% of Americans to go along with another deficit-financed boom that doesn't benefit them? I think it's quite logical to use your vote for change under circumstances like that.

As for entitlements, it's ridiculous to suggest they have to be cut when Europe and Canada have much more generous benefits and are weathering this storm better than the U.S. Their currencies are stronger and, of late, their economies are doing better WITHOUT compromising the safety nets. They stand as always as a strong rebuke to the conservative think-tanks, and countries like Norway routinely beat the U.S. on U.N. quality of life indices. Yet Fareed won't learn from them and mentions only negatives.

Social Security and even Medicare are still salvageable. Social Security needs another deal like the Reagan-O'Neill one that'd probably have a raise in the income cap, some limited means testing (though no one cut off totally) and, as a last resort, a raise in the retirement age or a higher tax rate (the two least-popular things).

Medicare depends on forcing health-care costs down. Private insurance is simply NOT going to give people over 65 a decent deal, and often gouges and rips off those under 65.

Given the increases in numbers of senior citizens and their voting participation, it's unlikely that these programs are going to either go away or take significant cuts. McSame wants to extend the Bush tax cuts but, like Bush, won't say how he'd pay for them, which means more deficits.

The Problem is the Federal Reserve is lending money to banks at 2% who are not lending money to consumers or businesses but to speculators who have been trading gold, oil and other comodities. This is driving the US dollar further down and strangling the US economy while not solving the "liquidity crisis" in the housing market. Banks will take record writedowns at the expense of the taxpayers and foreclose on many properties before driving prices up high and making record profits again.

These people should be taken out to the center of town and executed for treason.

Tax all income the same.

Defend our borders and develop a controlled immigration policy. We do need some immigration for farming and seasonal work. Plus our declining national birth rate will make Social Security, Medicare and goverment more costly, not less, the only way to mitigate is to have more legal workers paying taxes for their legally earned income regardless of their status. Penalize all who hire workers who are not here legally.

Cut back foreign aid until we no longer have a deficit. Do we really need thousands of troops in Germany and Japan 60+ years after WW2 is over? There are many threats in the world, why can't these prosperous economies pay for their own defense? If the Saudis can't help us out for defending them with lower prices then let's pull our troops out and stop paying to defend people who can afford their own army.

Let's not borrow money from China, India, Europe etc to pay for tax rebates that the taxpayer will repay with interest down the road.

Whatever happened to sacrifice?

Presidents used to ask Americans to sacrifice for the greater good. In past generations we gladly sacrificed to defeat our enemies. Now we are exhorted to shop and use oil from those who teach their children that the USA is their enemy..

The "skilled" immigrants that are coming to the U.S. are not the best and brightest, but instead are just average. The flooding of the tech job market by immigrants is discouraging our best and brightest from majoring in the sciences. New college students can see how the tech infrastructure is being run into the ground as a result of H-1Bs and outsourcing. We will see the U.S. lose its high tech lead to other countries. Ironically, it is the ever increasing number of H-1Bs that will finish us as a technological leader.

Good piece Fareed. Keep it coming...

Fareed, keep it coming. A very good piece indeed.

More immigrants, Fareed? We are already at record levels of immigration. High tech workers like me can't find a job..so open the floodgates for more? Yes, that's exactly what we need. Push down wages further. The author is an elitist think-tanker and perennial apologist for cheap labor disguised as a semi-compassionate academic. I want his job.

How 'bout we rescue our currency by stopping the printing money to feed an endless war and tax cuts for the rich? How about an aggressive program of renewable energy? How about reinvesting in eduation to improve the lives an abilities of the masses of unskilled immigrants we have already taken in to feed the Bush cheap labor agenda?

Only Obama seems capable intellectually of thinking of the big picture and etching out the details with a brilliant cadre of economic advisors. I don't see McCain "getting it" - thanks for an excellent article, you're one of my very favorite writers for Newsweek!