Economic Politics

"Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government. Public servants at such a distance, and from under the eye of their constituents, must, from the circumstance of distance, be unable to administer and overlook all the details necessary for the good government of the citizens; and the same circumstance, by rendering detection impossible to their constituents, will invite public agents to corruption, plunder and waste." --Thomas Jefferson to Gideon Granger, 1800. ME 10:167
"I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That "all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people." [X Amendment] To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specifically drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition." --Thomas Jefferson: National Bank Opinion, 1791. ME 3:146

We have been fooled by our own government and there is no way any Republican is going to win this election. THE Middle class has had it with all this Bin LADEN terrorist crap. WE are now scared of our own government more than we are of the terrorist because the decisions this government is making on our behalf is not in our best interests and it is killing us. The government is now dominating our civil liberties. They are giving the states millions for Real ID Cards. This is just the start of government intrusion. Combine this with the misuse of the Patriot Act and the future Plans of insurance comPanies and corporations to have full access to our personal records and we have a real crisis.
Credit Card companies have already started selling and sharing our personal information with the private sector. We really have to wake up and protect our constitution it is all we have to defend ourselves against interests that become too rich and powerful in this country. The government keeps expanding and is being predominantly controlled by special interest and lobbyist. The middle class is being weakened and our civil liberties are being threatened. Real ID Cards will not make "us safer" infacat terrorists can obtain fake ones and move about freely. The American people did not vote on Real ID Cards, we need a vote. Our constitution would have to be ammended in order for Real ID's to become legal. I do not know what has happened in Washington but it is getting out of hand. They know what they are doing is unconstitutional so they are trying to bribe the states by offering them money. I hope every state agrees with me and Prevents the federal govenment from imPosing and unconstitutional law. If the states allow the government to do this then they would have set a bad Precedent that could lead to further government violations.

Listen to Bush's upcoming state of the union address. Look and listen carefully. Is he avoiding detail, is he camaflouging his real agenda. Can he really make you believe that he will leave no child behind again, How many times can one nation be foolded. Think about all the bankrupt people sitting at home, those in debt, those without healthcare, and unable to afford education watching his speech. Their probably wondering how they could have been suckered into voting for this guy.They did not listen and we all know many of them voted for Bush in two thoudand four. OBAMA/.Hillary for president.
WHY CAN'T WE SEE THAT THE PeoPle Profiting from the war are haPPy with the status quo. WHo are these PeoPle,
Private Contrators who lobbied the RePublican adminstration
Cheney/ Halliburton who Provided billion dollar contracts to selected firms.
These caPitalists decided to unite and Profit in Iraq, Build a new economy in Iraq where the oil comPainies, caPitalists that suPPort the Bush Administration, War Profiteers and other Private comPanies could all make Billions at the tax Payers exPense. HERE"S THE proof, keep in mind this is just the tip ot the ice berg

Cheney's stock options which were worth $241,498 a year ago, are now valued at more than $8 million-- for an increase of 3,281% . Cheney has pledged to give the proceeds to charity. Cheney continues to receive a deferred salary from the Halliburton. He was paid $205,298 in 2001; $162,392 in 2002; $178,437 in 2003; and $194,852 in 2004.

Halliburton, has already raked in more than $10 billion for work in Iraq, and was handed some of the first Katrina contracts. The company has been criticized by auditors for its handling of no-bid contacts in Iraq, and there have been numerous allegations of over charging for services. Auditors found the firm marked up meal prices for troops and inflated gas prices in a deal with a Kuwaiti supplier. The company also built the American prison at Guantanamo Bay. "It is unseemly for the Vice President to continue to benefit from this company at the same time his Administration funnels billions of dollars to it. Lautenberg???
They even "pimped" our troops. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
Do you think Bush and Cheney care that we are spending billions in IRAQ, NO. THis is why they hated the CLINTONS. THE CLINTON"S ACTUALLY USED TAX payer money to help the middle class and all AMERICANS.

SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORTERS OF THIS WAR, WHAT ELSE DID OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES VOTED FOR? YOU GUYS OUT THERE MAY WANT TO DO SOME RESEARCH AND SEE WHAT THEY SUPPORT BEFORE YOU COMMIT YOUR VOTE TO ANY OF THESE GUYS. ASK YOURSELVES: WHAT KIND OF AMERICA WE WANT IN THE NEAR FUTURE? AS FOR MYSELF IT DEFINETLY HAS BE FOR SOMEONE THAT IS AGAINST ALL WARS.

OH BOY ONE MONTHS MORT! YUP THAT WILL STIMULATE THE LENDERS! OH BOY A MONTHS [MAYBE ]WORTH OF FOOD, SO NOW I ONLY HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING ELSE! ANYONE WHO BELIEVE THIS WAR PROFITS AMERICA IS CLUELESS! AS ONLY ONE COMPANY INSIDE US BORDERS HAS A CONTRACT IN IRAQ! SPENDING 2 BILLION A DAY WHILE 2 BILLION A DAY DOES NOT COME BACK TO USA SOIL, ONLY PROFITS STOCK HOLDERS! LIKE THIS PACKAGE TO RAISE THE LOSE IN THE [ MARKET ] NOT YOUR LIFE! REMEMBER NOT EVEN HALLIBURTON IS INSIDE US BORDERS ANY LONGER, NOR IS 98% OF THE SPARE PARTS WE USE, OR BODY ARMOR, IS ALL BOUGHT FROM OUR COALITION PARTNERS! SO WE CAN KEEP THEM, OR BUY, THERE PRESENTS IN IRAQ! THIS ECONOMY SUCKS! WE REBUILD IRAQ, AND REBUILD NOTHING HERE, GREAT TRADE-NOT FOR AMERICANS IN AMERICA.

Stimulus packages may in fact give the economy a short term bump but it will not solve any ongoing economic problems, Trying to insist that laissez faire capitalism is in the best interests of all and falling back on solutions that would have seemed simplistic and shortsighted even to the most ardent keyensians. Capital infusions by government are meant to smooth out road bumps not to address structural issues, Supply side economics is designed to find cheap investments and to drive down labor costs, Coupling lower wages while extending unsecured and excessive credit to those whose wages are being suppressed so that they can buy the goods of those who hold your debt is a formula for disaster,

I guess we all know how Obama would vote on a package like this: present!

guess we all now how Obama will vote on this: present!!

Neither party is talking about how we're going to pay for this. I think the housing problem is just the convenient excuse; the real drain on the economy is the hugely expensive war, and now Bush wants to stack on even more expenditures that we can't afford. Obviously you can't pay for a rebate by raising taxes, so the only other options are cutting programs, thus hurting the poor this cut was supposed to help, or borrowing from the Chinese yet again with money our kids will have to pay back. They're really going to hate us for all this.

THE BETTER OF THE TWO OPTIONS BUT D.C. CAN'T AGREE ON THIS AS IT WOULD EMPLOY AMERICANS!

Vietnam and prior
If we spent 2 Billion dollars-A DAY, 2 Billion dollars CAME BACK into the American economy-A DAY, and 100 MILLION recouped in taxes-A DAY

Iraq
We spend 2 Billion+ dollars-A DAY, 300,000, COMES BACK to the American economy-A DAY, and 100,000- recouped in taxes-A DAY

Vietnam and Iraq are the same? Bring back the great American war machine, to American soil, use the gas tax, as it was told to us, why, its there, ie: the roads
Hey
WE JUST EMPLOYED 12 MILLION, REBUILDING EVERYTHING, WITH ALT ENERGY, MAKING FAR MORE INCOME THAN MIN WAGE!

DEMOCRATIC CORE- RUNTHE COUNTRY, NOT RULE THE WORLD THAT'S GOP CORE VALUES!

TO BAD IN IRAQ WE OUTSOURCE EVERYTHING, INCLUDING INTELLIGENCE, FOR ANOTHER BILLION-THIS, IS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIETNAM AND IRAQ, MR PRESIDENT, HIDING UNDER THE TABLE

MY MATH IS OFF! WE WOULD EMPLOY MORE LIKE 35 MILLION! REBUILDING FACTORIES, STAFFING THEM, BUILDING WIND FARMS, STAFFING THEM, REBUILDING ALL ROADS IN OUR COUNTRY, STAFFING THAT, AND RECOUPING 100 MILLION A DAY IN TAXES, EQUATES, COUNTING THE 2 BILLION SPENT INSIDE OUR BORDERS, A DAY! YA 35 MILLION EMPLOYED AT BETTER THAN MIN WAGE IS FAR CLOSER THAN JUST 12 MILLION EMPLOYED-SORRY FOLKS MY MATH WAS OFF

Does not matter to me Those who make 700 a month on SSDI don't make enough to call taxable income, so no taxes, no rebate, and just cause this year i did not pay does not mean i have not been paying for what feels like a hundred years, but no rebate for me. Make 20,000 a year [which i raised a family of 4 on for 21 years] just cause my wife and i made a pact, no child left behind, one income one for the kids to be there! Suffer we did, more than anyone can say, but no rebate, or Romneys healthcare either, unless 180 bucks out of 700 is livable. Stimulate the economy, why not try to bring the Great American War Machine Home to US soil and gimmi a job, and rebuild our country! oh plenty better ideas, but for instint gratifiction. I fought many died, I worked my life away to make ends meet! THE ONLY REASON IS IF YOU GIVE AWAY MONEY THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO VOTE, CAUSE A PERSON WITH 3 JOBS CAN'T FIND THE TIME! THE OTHER REASON IS YOU CANNOT DONATE WHEN YOUR BROKE! Now you know why bi-partisen B.S., lets give rebates of more than what you tell me I must live on? yet another slap in the face to Veterans! Easy way to make us ashamed enough to find some rope! Thanks for your support? when i got OUT! Bi-Partisen that!

Am disappointed, actually, that the Democrats aren't making more of a political message about subprime. For one thing, the housing boom was peaking and there were warning signals at about the same time the GOP (then a majority) was concerned instead about passing the bankruptcy bill. When they should have been overseeing the banking interests, instead they were making things harder for individuals.

Further, the kind of market economics you saw with the bubble is hardly new, but shows what happens when things get too laissez-faire. U.S. history before the depression was full of booms, bubbles, panics and busts. The mechanisms FDR put in place, later refined, were intended to smooth out the peaks and valleys (People don't like the peaks to be smoothed out but don't mind so much with the valleys).

Finally, there's not so much a need to "new ideas" incubated in some think tank with the purpose of serving ideology first, as there is for not abandoning old ones that worked. The great postwar housing booms were built on rising wages (as productivity gains were SHARED fairly), modest houses, and fixed-rate mortgages. All three of those were forgotten this time.

All preceeding comments display the colossal ignorance of those who falsely believe that any old opinion is better than yielding to expertise.

Both parties are run by the same interests, so is it not logical that both parties would support a plan that benefits those interests.

So, it is a fact that White Women have benefited the most from civil rights legislation and hold high ranking positions throughtout American society. Hillary Clinton represents a faction of the civil rights movement and Obama another. Hillary's faction has proven to be stronger. And ironically her faction is the one that benefited the most from civil rights. . Obama's x factor is not race but unity. What brings unity, economic success for the average JOE.

There is only one unifying issue in this country and that is the ECONOMY, mONEY, DOLLARS, and that is why women with children are coming out in record numbers to support Hillary. They believe that Hillary can directly address their soccer mom concerns, education, health care and the economy.
Obama can counter this by proposing sweeping middle class tax cuts. Hillary Clinton has not been specific on this issue. If the MIDDLE CLASS FEELS THAT OBAMA can actually imPlement a middle class revolution then race will no longer be a factor and Obama will be able to cross over and take a chunk of the white vote. THis revolution would include dealing with outsourcing, programs for the middle class that show them how to save, invest, plan and avioid debt. These subjects are not taught in school.WHY?

The middle class has been the victim of corporate indoctrination. Stay StuPid. They do not want you to double your money they want you to double their money. Every middle class family should be able to do compound interest problems in their heads. It can be learned in grade two. It is a very useful skill to have because it gives you a lightning fast benchmark to determine how good (or not so good) a potential investment is likely to be.
The rule says that to find the number of years required to double your money at a given interest rate, you just divide the interest rate into 72. For example, if you want to know how long it will take to double your money at eight percent interest, divide 8 into 72 and get 9 years. If the Middle Class can make better financial decisions it would have a profound affect on the economy.
The rule A stronger middle class will make the rich richer in the long run and helP uPlift the Poor.

Both parties are run by the same interests, so is it not logical that both parties would support a plan that

The President???s so-called economic stimulus program is a bandage. It may forestall a recession. Both parties may be able to cash in on votes, BUT our economy is heading for a colossal train wreck for the following things that the economic stimulus does NOT address:
1.It increases rather than decreases the $ 9 trillion national debt. We???re not really cutting taxes; we???re merely passing them to the next generation.
2. It does nothing to address the massive student debt that many young people face coming out of college. How will these young people be able to found businesses, start families, or buy homes, especially at today???s prices?
3. It does not address the rising cost of medical care, which will consume an increasing portion of everyone???s income.
4. It does not address the housing crisis or the cause of the current housing prices, namely that houses are priced way beyond the reach of the average wage earner. The only so-called solution, the APR, merely made the problem worse.
5. It does not address the massive income gap, exemplified by the wages a CEO earns and the wages the average worker takes home. It does nothing to stem the distribution of wealth from the lower and middle class to the super-rich. You cannot build an economy if only 1 % of the population can afford to buy anything. That???s where we???re headed. And everything the Bush administration has done has accelerated this problem.
6. It does not really address the issue of employment. The figure of 500,000 jobs is really disingenuous. How many of these jobs are going to Americans? How many will be off-shored or held by imported laborers from a guest worker program. It does not address the issue that a lot of jobs that are available have miserable wages and no fringe benefits. To see what that type of life is like read Barbara Ehrenreich???s book Nickel and Dimed.
7. It does not address global warming. It does not provide the $ 150 billion dollar a year that we need for the research and develop of renewable energy sources, according to an article by Chris Mooney, This will Mean the World To Us (American Prospect, January/February, 2008).
Our failure to act decisively now will spell catastrophe in a few decades.
8. The President???s economic stimulus also fails to recognize the real engine of economic growth- the development of a sustainable economy based on recycling and renewable energy. The renewable energy market alone has a $ 6 trillion potential, according to a recent article in Newsweek. The current administration, as well as the current generation of pundits and commentaries, is so rooted in the past that they cannot see the future.

In short, the President???s economic stimulus program will only delay our one way ticket to disaster. This country needs to stop acting like drunken frat boys and grow up.