A Darker Future For Us

I have to take issue with your assessment of Social Security. Benefits shouldn't be scaled back for wealthy retirees, or any other retirees that have contributed their hard earned money into the system. Secondly, there isn't any reverse Robin Hood effect taking place. The government spent the "relaxed old" peoples hard earned money that was supposed to be there once they retired. This concept is no different then the people placing their money in an S&L for later use. In the case of Social Security, it???s the government that is the keeper of the people???s hard earned money. As you must remember, Social Security was setup for people that didn't save for their retirement. Since the government spent the "relaxed old" peoples money, now you expect the young working people to cover the misuse and mismanagement of the governments roll in administering Social Security.

Also eligibility age should not be raised gradually. Retirees should only be allowed to get out of the system up to the amount of money they put into the system while they were working (no more - but could be must less). Many will not even be able to get out what they put in - since their life span may be shorter than other retirees. No retiree that has put money into the system is entitled to an unlimited amount of money, or money that they didn't put into the system - no exceptions.

In the exchange with "Joe the plumber" Obama unintentionally revealed that he really is as radical as his early political mentors and acquaintances, Davis, Ayers, Wright, Khalidi etc., (gee, there sure seem to be a lot of them) and that he is into the failed economic policy of wealth redistribution. Now there is absolute proof. In 2001, Obama, the "community organizer" turned legislator, said in an interview:

"And I think one of the tragedies of the civil rights movement was that the civil rights movement became so court-focused, I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and organizing activities on the ground that are able to bring about the coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change, and in some ways we still suffer from that,"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iivL4c_3pck

2001 Chicago Public Radio Interview.

Obama's tax and spending plans alone would be bad enough, but add Reid and Pelosi to the mix, with the three of them controlling both houses of Congress and the executive branch without any effective restraint, and you have something that should causes concern even among moderate Democrats.
See Wall Street Journal: A Liberal Supermajority:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122420205889842989.html

Indeed, some democrats are publically saying as much. See Barney Franks comments on the news, including face the nation last week, stating essentially that Democrats in Congress intend to greatly raise taxes and go on a spending spree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1Mazjm_A5k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJGnSAlqjoU

See http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/show/23617.html

Obama's ill-conceived programs will require him to tax, and his health care plan alone is a substantial hidden tax on all business, large an small. In reality, it does not really matter who he taxes, those taxes are going to be passed through the economy. He has to tax, because it is they only way he can pay for his massive social engineering experiments. Any first year economics student knows that taxation is a tool used to contract an economy experiencing inflation, because it reduces demand by reducing the amount of money individuals and businesses have to spend. It is contractionary, which is exactly what you do not want to do when the problem is that the economy is contracting already into recession. Like Hoover and FDR, Obama's plans will only make it worse for longer.

See e.g. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/03/opinion/main4499465.shtml
And
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/FDR-s-Policies-Prolonged-Depression-5409.aspx


The democrats failed social engineering policies in the housing market are what brought us to ruin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr1M1T2Y314&feature=related
Even Bill Clinton says so. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsynspIqAoE
Obama and a supermajority of Democrats simply is not the change we need, nor is it change we can afford.

After thinking about this article overnight, it strikes me that many of the points made are false, such as the statement on healthcare, "Spending controls???for government and private insurance???haven't worked, because Americans don't want them to work." This is nonsense. I suspect that much of this article is right-wing rhetoric dressed up as facts. This bizarre comment makes me think the author did little research. People who study healthcare say that one of the major factors leading to a broken healthcare system are the layers upon layers of profit built into our healthcare system. This, combined with the high rate of uninsured people and families resorting to higher-cost emergency room care because they simply can't afford regular preventative care and ultimately can't pay for the ER care either. These sorts of things contribute to the problem. They bloat our healthcare costs,
These issues would be dealt with in Obama's plan, and ultimately lead to a healthier population. What's bad about that? Too much power is in the hands of corporations at this time, while people and families with children suffer.

The fear of "socialism" is unfounded and foolish. We're letting the Republicans control us with an emotionally charged, loaded word for some who don't stop to think. Socialism isn't communism. If they really thought about it instead of letting this rhetoric control them, they would realize that many of the services and infrastructure we all use every day are "socialistic" in the truest sense of the word. They serve all of us. Consider police services, 911 emergency services, utilities, customs agents at border crossings, highway systems, libraries, etc.

Hey marley07, Kill This country? W did that, he's trying to resurrect it. Freedom of speech? How about W's NO Habeas Corpus?Bankrupting the Nation, I guess Obama did that too? You really need to come out of your FOX hole and see the real world. I suppose that you concurred with the decision to create the housing mess and the 850 Billion bailout also.

It is time to end the rouge version of special interest free trade and replace it with real free trade. The way free-trade is supposed to work is if you have a current account imbalance, your currency should depreciate making imports more expensive and less desirable which shrinks the trade deficit. A self balancing process. With the corrupt, special interest version that we now have, mercantilist Asian countries rig their currencies and multinationals provide domestic political cover in order to protect their labor arbitrage schemes. Wall Street and the worlds banks make their money off the excess money flows created by the imbalance.

The unholy trinity of special interests (multinationals, Wall Street and Asian governments) have rigged a game under the disguise of free trade. If currencies rebalanced every few years, it would wipe out the profit margin of companies that have gone all-in, moving their production overseas. If free trade worked the way it is supposed to work, companies would balance their production domestically and overseas. It is time to end this corrupt perversion of free trade and replace it with real free trade.

We become what we are around. Our values, attitude and beliefs are formed by the people we associate with. We take on the drives and goals of those who teach us and those who aspire to specific aims that we are allied with.
Ayres is a documented terrorist. Wright wants God to Damn America. Rezko cheated the American Public. Fleger has abhorrence for America. Franklin Rains cheated America.
Acorn tries to bribe you and intimidate you to vote with and for all the above. And, the list of shady characters goes on and on and on.
While McCain may not be your number one choice for President he will and has defended America. He is offering his life for America and has proven he would/will die for America. None of Osama???s associates would do that and they trained Obama.
Don???t be duped by the pretty and empty talk. Obama allows his brother to live in a slum and his Dear Auntie to live in a slum. What makes you think he has any compassion for you when he ignores his own family???s basic needs?
Think about that! Than vote from you heart as well as your mind

We become what we are around. Our values, attitude and beliefs are formed by the people we associate with. We take on the drives and goals of those who teach us and those who aspire to specific aims that we are allied with.
Ayres is a documented terrorist. Wright wants God to Damn America. Rezko cheated the American Public. Fleger has abhorrence for America. Franklin Rains cheated America.
Acorn tries to bribe you and intimidate you to vote with and for all the above. And, the list of shady characters goes on and on and on.
While McCain may not be your number one choice for President he will and has defended America. He is offering his life for America and has proven he would/will die for America. None of Osama???s associates would do that and they trained Obama.
Don???t be duped by the pretty and empty talk. Obama allows his brother to live in a slum and his Dear Auntie to live in a slum. What makes you think he has any compassion for you when he ignores his own family???s basic needs?
Think about that! Than vote from you heart as well as your mind

It is time to end the rouge version of special interest free trade and replace it with real free trade. The way free-trade is supposed to work is if you have a current account imbalance, your currency should depreciate making imports more expensive and less desirable which shrinks the trade deficit. A self balancing process. With the corrupt, special interest version that we now have, mercantilist Asian countries rig their currencies and multinationals provide domestic political cover in order to protect their labor arbitrage schemes. Wall Street and the worlds banks make their money off the excess money flows created by the imbalance.

The unholy trinity of special interests (multinationals, Wall Street and Asian governments) have rigged a game under the disguise of free trade. If currencies rebalanced every few years, it would wipe out the profit margin of companies that have gone all-in, moving their production overseas. If free trade worked the way it is supposed to work, companies would balance their production domestically and overseas. It is time to end this corrupt perversion of free trade and replace it with real free trade.

We become what we are around. Our values, attitude and beliefs are formed by the people we associate with. We take on the drives and goals of those who teach us and those who aspire to specific aims that we are allied with.
Ayres is a documented terrorist. Wright wants God to Damn America. Rezko cheated the American Public. Fleger has abhorrence for America. Franklin Rains cheated America.
Acorn tries to bribe you and intimidate you to vote with and for all the above. And, the list of shady characters goes on and on and on.
While McCain may not be your number one choice for President he will and has defended America. He is offering his life for America and has proven he would/will die for America. None of Osama???s associates would do that and they trained Obama.
Don???t be duped by the pretty and empty talk. Obama allows his brother to live in a slum and his Dear Auntie to live in a slum. What makes you think he has any compassion for you when he ignores his own family???s basic needs?
Think about that! Than vote from you heart as well as your mind

Good grief, "The Decline of the West" again? At every crisis we hear the pronunciamentoes of the "experts" predicting the end of the world as we know it. Then people sit down and negotiate, shake hands, have a cigar, and things run again as usual. Only their money may be in other hands.

The Great Bush Depression I think you had something relevent to say until you decided to show your bias as to your belief that this can be fixed by Obama. I assume you are hoping that he can change this. This will be an interesting experiment if he wins. Watch how fast money leaves the U.S as capital dries up due to over taxation. This will destroy and developing industries in our country for years to come. Enjoy your hope!!

Comment: THE GREAT BUSH DEPRESSION
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
He perfectly predicted the current meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen next
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide ,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch , Fanny and Freddy Mae ,AIG
The government took them over because they are bankrupt. Even with the goverment nationalizing hundreds of billions of dollars in debt the stock market is crashing
the credit markets are frozen and all of us may suffer beyond anything seen in generations
McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand how its been broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use quantum mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.
Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He was the last to know somthing was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime. Check out this link to the truth http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a budget surplus like Bush did but a crashing economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?
Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time talking about obama
which means running the biggest smear campaign in history.
They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it
Let's teach him we are smarter than that
Stand up and hold them accountable
Bush isn't on the ballot this year but his policies are
Elect Obama Biden 2008






Check out this video of sarah palins interview and ask your self if she understands what she is talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ

Comment: THE GREAT BUSH DEPRESSION
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
He perfectly predicted the current meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen next
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide ,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch , Fanny and Freddy Mae ,AIG
The government took them over because they are bankrupt. Even with the goverment nationalizing hundreds of billions of dollars in debt the stock market is crashing
the credit markets are frozen and all of us may suffer beyond anything seen in generations
McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand how its been broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use quantum mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.
Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He was the last to know somthing was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime. Check out this link to the truth http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a budget surplus like Bush did but a crashing economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?
Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time talking about obama
which means running the biggest smear campaign in history.
They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it
Let's teach him we are smarter than that
Stand up and hold them accountable
Bush isn't on the ballot this year but his policies are
Elect Obama Biden 2008






Check out this video of sarah palins interview and ask your self if she understands what she is talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ

Western culture is built upon exploitation of the environment. A wise people would seek to achieve harmony with theirs. The gluttonous American Dream is on the verge of crushing itself under the weight of its own excess. The pursuit of happiness has become the pursuit of instant gratification. There will be no saving grace for us until our characteristic American hubris is transformed into a shared sense of humility. Our children's children's children will inherit this planet from us - What will be their legacy? Will we have earned their curses or their reverence?

My hero of the 20th century is Ghandi. He was not rich in possessions. However, he had education and wisdom. He was a wealthy being!

'And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.' Matthew 19:24

Many points made by the author are good, and the discussion about affluence in our lives (past and future) is definitely worth having. Still, there are some points in this article tick me off. Why are the only components of the budget suggested to be too high social services, which actually benefit people? What about our far, far out-of-line spending on military? http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=10476 This is Real Money -- and it's value is questionable, versus Barack Obama's novel approach of actually talking with our enemies.

I mean REALLY, folks. According to some sources, such as http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm military spending is as high as 54% of our national budget. Are we so stuck and war-like as a nation that we can't question that?

Many points made by the author are good, and the discussion about affluence in our lives (past and future) is definitely worth having. Still, there are some points in this article tick me off. Why are the only components of the budget suggested to be too high social services, which actually benefit people? What about our far, far out-of-line spending on military? http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=10476 This is Real Money -- and it's value is questionable, versus Barack Obama's novel approach of actually talking with our enemies.

I mean REALLY, folks. According to some sources, such as http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm military spending is as high as 54% of our national budget. Are we so stuck and war-like as a nation that we can't question that?