It’s Just a Flesh Wound

I'm one of the 10%, and the reason i;m satisfied is because I feel that the failed policies of G.W. are being unwound and we are starting the slow climb back to a sound a future. Health care reform, while far from perfect, must be enacted. The fact is its chocking our prosperity by sucking dollars out of the real economy since a large percent of the health care cost is in administrative costs. Oil is another issue that is also sucking dollars out of our economy, although this time its shipping them to Iran and Venezuela, and its not just the oil we buy, if we were to get off of oil and make alternatives profitable we could then work on creating trade policies and diplomatic pushes to export the technology that we create so that other nations (Western Europe, China, India) can obtain energy indepencen. Under the current administraation, i feel these goals are slowly beeing moved forward through increased R&D investment and tax incentives geared toward energy independence. I also believe that we have a coherent policy now in foreign policy in which we will attempt to secure American interests while antagonizing our friends as little as possible.

I'm one of the 10%, and the reason i;m satisfied is because I feel that the failed policies of G.W. are being unwound and we are starting the slow climb back to a sound a future. Health care reform, while far from perfect, must be enacted. The fact is its chocking our prosperity by sucking dollars out of the real economy since a large percent of the health care cost is in administrative costs. Oil is another issue that is also sucking dollars out of our economy, although this time its shipping them to Iran and Venezuela, and its not just the oil we buy, if we were to get off of oil and make alternatives profitable we could then work on creating trade policies and diplomatic pushes to export the technology that we create so that other nations (Western Europe, China, India) can obtain energy indepencen. Under the current administraation, i feel these goals are slowly beeing moved forward through increased R&D investment and tax incentives geared toward energy independence. I also believe that we have a coherent policy now in foreign policy in which we will attempt to secure American interests while antagonizing our friends as little as possible.

Apparently "being satisfied" is mostly about feeling increasingly prosperous. Are even 10% in that category?

Do these 10 percenters live in caves without TV, magazines, newspapers....

...no, they work for companies like newsweek.

Steve,

I think you missed an important group of Bush supporters - as follows:

In 1999 - when Bush was being selected by the 'powers that be' to run for president, oil was trading for ~$10 / bbl. It costs about $7
to pump it out of the ground and transport it to a refinery here in the US. So profits were thin in the oil patch.

Bush's financial backers said "We'll finance your run for the Whitehouse, but you've GOT TO GET THE PRICE OF OIL UP!"

On that account, Bush has been the best in history at inflating that asset class. Just think in your life if you had an investment
that increased by a factor of 10-15 times in 8 years - would you be happy? YOU BETCHA !

Further, people of relatively modest means can own oil wells. There are many small drilling companies where you can put up $50,000 or more
and own a share of a $3-5 million syndication of a small group of wells - usually 5 - 10.

I have participated in these investments, and while i'm not a Bush supporter, I do think he has done a masterful job of increasing the
price of crude oil.

ReefBreak




In

Why not to be satisfied?
I was very diissatisfied few years ago, when foolish people like crazy chased extremely overpriced houses and hired pens assured us that it is because US experiences shortage of houses. Why should I be unhappy now, when all those morons are out of business and foreclosed properties are more than affordable now?
I was very dissatisfied when oil price was sky high, all those terrorists and leftist dictators got ptofit from it, and our liberals prevented from drilling our own oil. Now oil price is much lower and keeps going down, and even Obama made some drilling concessions.
I was very dissatisfied that 4 and even 8 years ago americans new that Bush Jr was an idiot and still kepr nominating and electing him, because it was american traditions (envy to smarts?) to elect regular morons except desperate times. Now I an satisfied that at least in 4 years we will have smart President.

Despite the lowest public approval in history the US Congress has a small percent who do approve of the em!
They approve of the Fanny/Freddy monster (the Frank N Schumer monster), and the DNC leaders ongoing Americans Suck First campaign! They approve of ACORN in voter fraud and the Frank N Schumer Monster , too!

That 10% are happy! And Bitterly Clinging to the DNC and socialists, and 60's radicals bomb makers who'ved moved up to massive voter fraud and high finance scandals!
They probably got large posters on their walls of Charles Manson, and Karl Marx!

With three quarters of the world cooking over an open fire, it's easy to lose perspective about life in America. My stucco McMansion was seized by the bank, I can't afford to lease that new BMW right now, I miss going out to eat at Outback, etc. How on earth did an entire generation survive the Great Depression? Have we all become professional victims, blaming the President for our meaningless lives? Get off your fat ass and start helping yourself instead of worrying about how satisfied you should be.

You see them everyday on tv, thier the ones that Sara Palin brings to the table. These are people who vote against thier own interest,buy into fear tactics,and blame everyone else for poor shape of the country. They fail to face the facts, it was thier party that ran up the debt, let the jobs go overseas, was not prepared for katrina, forced gas prices up by way of a war that interupted supply, and told people just go shopping while the economy collasped.Thier political believes are based on one liners from the profits,Rush,Sean,and Bill..They think every question has only a yes or no answer and every issue is black or white. I do just have one question for them ,if thier politians were the best then why didn t they bring us to the highest point in the history of our country instead of leaving us at the lowest.

Ok lets make a list:
halliburton employees.
ceo's of failed companies.
all the soldiers in iraq and their families.
the prisioners in guantanamo bay.
news people.
fox channel ceo.
repo men (of course)
reo workers
vandals on empty houses
drug traffickers
doctors and psychologists
homeless, the ones that had been for more than 10 years.
taxi drivers (at least in NY)
pawn shop owners.
auction house owners
collection agencies
99 cents store owners
there you go, I am sure there must be more out there, but that accounts for a good percentage. just count the numbers and you are going to hit at least four million in the list above.
Oh, I forgot:
the deaf, the blind, the mentally impaired (there are many out there unaccounted for), and of course the plain ignorant that do not even watch the news.
what about the Amish? that could be too!
great article by the way, I love the tone and the analysis.

The 10% are hiding in a cave in Alabama. They are hiding so that the truth will not be encountered , and they can keep the view "pure" from outside influences. They also are hiding because a huge crowd of people keep throwing stones at them, and it's not safe to venture outside.

I have been an educator for 17 years. I have always believed that all children can learn to read and function in today's changing world. The same problems that I have seen with struggling readers in K-12 have only manifested themselves with comments from both sides quoting one or two articles or repeating what was told to them without actually taking the time to do independent research. We need to make informed decisions. Not decisions that have been formed for us. Take advantage of the Internet. Read some peer reviewed journals of passed historical events. Educate yourselves to the point that your decisions are driven by your own kowledge. That way you have only yourself to blame. We are becoming a country of sheep. Data (and two many articles to quote) has shown that exchange students no longer flock to our University systems as in the past. I won't tell you where they are going. Research it for yourselves. I will say that where they are being educated probably defines "foreign countries" as more than those you see from your front yard.

But of course there are people very satisfied with Bush. I know a few of them. They are totally impervious to the suffering and problems that Bush brought upon them and our nation and there is a reason for that. At least 2000 families became rich at Bush's expenses and politics. So, if I made some four millions dollars in the eight years, how can I be unhappy with Bush. There are plenty of Americans who, thank to Bush, became super rich, and that is all that matters to them. Let me give you just one example. The Black Water owner. Do I need to say more?