American Economy

The Economy Improving Greatly, But Obama Gets Little Credit For It!

Ronald 1 Comment

The American economy is rapidly growing and improving, and the future is bright, except for the problem of unemployment. The auto industry is booming, as Obama saved the industry by giving them assistance in 2009-2010, and the expansion of the economy has also been benefited by three to four percent growth in the past two economic quarters. But one would get the impression that Barack Obama deserves no credit, when he deserves most of the credit for the improvements!

There is still the issue of refusal of the GOP House of Representatives to promote infrastructure spending, to raise the minimum wage to the level of inflation over the years, to continue the assistance to long term unemployed to avoid starvation and homelessness, and the need to push for education, as the future for the young, with proof that the more educated one is, the much lower the unemployment rate really is, and will continue to be. Also, lowering the debt for college students and graduates, as much as there are subsidies for corporations, would be a massive move in the right direction.

That is why it is essential for an end to the deadlock in the nation’s capital, and for action to be taken, but if not, the urgency of a Democratic Congress majority in both houses in November’s midterm elections is apparent!

Barack Obama Becoming Another Bill Clinton On The Economy: Higher Taxes On Wealthy, Better Economy!

Ronald 9 Comments

Barack Obama has fought for higher taxes on the wealthy, and brought them about in 2013, as Bill Clinton did in 1993.

Under Bill Clinton, we had the greatest period of economic prosperity in American history, the rich paid more, and the country did not tank!

Now under Barack Obama, the deficit in government spending is rapidly declining, and the stock market is at an all time high, both occurring as we see higher taxes on the wealthy once again!

The Republicans complain bitterly once again, and again, they are wrong, and economic expansion is occurring, even with the GOP attempts to block it, and instead, draw attention to what they call “scandals”, which, by comparison with scandals and controversies under George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, pale by comparison!

The result of the GOP political “dirty tricks” is that they will NOT harm Barack Obama’s historical accomplishments, or Hillary Clinton’s chances for the White House, which depend only on her desire to run. If she runs, she is the 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017!

The Barack Obama Economic Record: Worth Defending!

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Republicans love to attack Barack Obama as a dissater on economic matters, claiming he is a total failure, and conveniently forgetting the horrible record of George W. Bush, and what Barack Obama inherited, the worse economic conditions for a new President entering office since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933!

But just as the FDR economic record is seen as positive by most historians and other scholars, someday the Obama record in his first term will be praised.

Of course, there are still naysayers for FDR’s economic record, and they seem to be multiplying, as part of the conservative and Republican assault on Barack Obama, but the truth is otherwise from what the propagandists state!

Is there room for improvement? Of course, but considering where we started in January 2009, the economy has come a long way.

What has been accomplished?

The creation of 4.1 million jobs.
25 straight months of economic growth.
The lowering of the unemployment rate from a high of 9.7% to 8.2%.
An increase of 63 percent in the stock market.
The revival and success of the auto industry.

This is a record Obama can be proud of, and we must remind ourselves that, as Obama has stated, the mess we were left in by the Bush Administration cannot be reversed completely in four years, and maybe not even eight years.

It will be a long haul, but the point is progress is being made, and Mitt Romney refuses to recognize that, and thinks his business experience will be the way to get us out of our economic mess more quickly.

A final thought: The last businessman President was Herbert Hoover! That is correct, Herbert Hoover! Enough said!

What Can Mitt Romney Win In November?

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Mitt Romney may have won Ohio by the small margin of one percent and about 12,000 votes over Rick Santorum, but the question remains: Where can he win a combination of states to equal a majority of 270 electoral votes?

Can he win New England, even his home state of Massachusetts? Unlikely, with maybe the exception of New Hampshire.

Can he win the Middle Atlantic states? Unlikely, with the best chance in Pennsylvania, but unlikely.

Can he win the South? Unlikely, despite being the GOP nominee, because of his Mormon faith. Sure, he will win some of the states but unlikely to win Florida, North Carolina or Virginia, the swing states, and a chance to lose Georgia to Barack Obama as well, with the growing Hispanic and Latino vote in the Peach State.

Can he win the Midwest? Well, maybe a few states, but he has lost all of the Midwest and Great Plains states that have had primaries and caucuses so far, except for his birth state of Michigan and a narrow win in Ohio. Rick Santorum has real support in this area of the country.

Can he win the Mountain States? Yes, for those which have large numbers of Mormons, including Arizona, Utah, and Idaho, and probably Montana and Wyoming as well, but not likely to win New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada.

Can he win the Pacific Coast states? Is that a serious question? NO, except for Alaska.

If the economy continues to get better, Mitt Romney has lost his biggest issue.

If the anti woman vendetta of Rush Limbaugh and social conservatives in Congress and the states continues, as with the failed Blunt Amendment and the Virginia vaginal probe law, Romney will lose.

If the anti immigrant (Hispanic and Latino) mentality of Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and other states continues, the only Hispanic vote Romney might win is the Cuban vote in Florida and elsewhere, but not the Mexican, Puerto Rican, Colombian, and other Latin nations’ immigrants, meaning only those who are legal and can vote.

If the extremism of the GOP continues down its destructive path, Independents will leave them in droves.

Of course, Barack Obama and the Democrats must work and plan as if they could lose the election, because they could, but the obstacles facing Mitt Romney are massive, and this could have a deleterious effect on the Republican Party in many state races and in both houses of Congress.

Stock Market Revival Under Barack Obama: Wonderful, But Not Time To Declare Victory!

Ronald 2 Comments

Three years into the Obama Presidency, and the great news is that the stock market has seen a tremendous revival under his watch.

Yesterday, the stock market reached a level unseen since before the economic collapse of 2008 and the Great Recession, as the Dow Jones reached its highest level in four years, and the Nasdaq reached its highest level in eleven years.

With a 5,000 point gain since the Obama inauguration, there is a temptation to think that the economic decline is over, but that would be unwise to believe. There is still too much unemployment, and too many people who are underemployed, so it is not a time to declare victory in any shape or fashion. 8.3 percent unemployment is the lowest in three years, but not good enough to rest on one’s laurels.

However, if Obama can bring about or have the fortune that at least 150,000 jobs are created every month from now on, with last month bringing 250,000 growth in jobs, then the unemployment rate will go below 8 percent, and the odds of Obama winning a second term will be greatly enhanced.

The point is that Mitt Romney and other Republicans will have less of an issue to use against Obama if that growth occurs, and already, one can see that Romney is having problems being coherent in his reaction to the job and stock market gains.

The long range issues of foreign policy and defense and national security, and the significance of the federal courts and the Supreme Court, will, hopefully, start to come to the forefront, as in the long run, these are the more important issues for the future of the nation.

Barack Obama’s State Of The Union Address: Powerful, Inspirational, Visionary!

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President Barack Obama reminded us tonight of how he inspired us when he ran for President in 2008.

His speech was powerful, inspirational, and visionary, and he made it clear that he was willing to fight for what he believed in, if the Congress continued to stand in the way of progress and change. He would take action in areas where there is stalemate, by use of his Presidential powers.

He pointed out how the economy is improving; how we are more respected around the world; how we have greatly lessened the danger of terrorism; and the work that must be done, regarding education, infrastructure spending, and other initiatives to continue the expansion of the American economy.

He gave tribute to Americans who have sacrificed for our country, particularly in the military, and called for “fairness” when it comes to tax rates and to share in the responsibilities of being American citizens. And he called for opportunities for young immigrant children who only want the chance to prove their commitment to the only country they remember, by getting a university education or serving in the military,and thereby gaining the chance for citizenship.

He called for a sense of renewed commitment, and a shared one, in the future of our nation, which he said can never be regarded as having passed its peak, but still has greatness in its future if we all do our part in advancing America.

The speech made one proud that Barack Obama has been our President for the past three years, and it marks the inception, more formally than before, of the Presidential Election campaign of 2012!

Class Division, Conflict, Stress Multiplying: Dangerous For American Social Stability!

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A new survey demonstrates that the biggest problem developing socially in America is economic class conflict and division, more than racial differences or the debate over immigration.

Economic inequality, leading to a sense of rich versus poor, and very little middle class, is a time bomb that could endanger the nation’s future.

The great increase in this feeling is, interestingly, most common among whites, middle income earners, and independent voters, but also increased among Republicans.

73 percent of Democrats and 68 percent of Independents believe there is strong economic class conflict.

Also, 71 percent of those who earned between $40,000 and $75,000 believed there are strong class conflicts, up from 47 percent in 2009.

The Census Bureau has come up with the figure that the top ten percent of the population have 56 percent of the national income in 2009, up from 49 percent in 2005.

If this trend continues, and if the masses become more and more resentful at the unfairness of national income distribution and taxation policies, it is not going to benefit the Republican Party, and could lead to demands for far greater taxation of the wealthy, already at the lowest level it has been since the 1920s!

Unemployment Rate Down And Job Growth Up For Barack Obama: Important Turning Point!

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The unemployment rate in December fell to 8.5 percent, the lowest it has been in nearly three years, and over 200,000 private sector jobs were created, making for a total of 3.2 million private sector jobs created in the past 22 months!

After a very difficult 2009 and a stagnating few months in 2011, creating doubts about economic recovery, it seems as the economic revival which has been wished for since the economic collapse of 2008-2009 has finally turned the corner.

Barack Obama had said that unemployment, which reached a high of 9.6 percent in 2009, would fall below 8 percent. It now seems possible that the rate will continue to plummet, and may reach the 8 percent level by the fall, just in time for the election.

History tells us that a President is reelected IF the unemployment rate is declining at the time of the election.

Considering that Barack Obama has done so much good for the country, despite GOP obstructionism, it is hoped that the unemployment rate will continue to fall, and by history, therefore, guaranteeing his reelection against weak, uninspiring GOP opposition.

Student Loan Forgiveness As Method To Revive The American Economy!

Ronald 3 Comments

A proposal by Moveon.org to have the federal government pass legislation promoting student loan forgiveness as a method to revive the American economy is a great idea that needs to be strongly considered and acted upon!

We have millions of American students who have been saddled with thousands of dollars, sometimes tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands in debt, in the pursuit of their education to acquire a bachelors degree, a masters degree, a doctoral degree, a medical, law or dental or other professional degree.

The advancement of these young people toward their educational accomplishments is not just good for them as individuals, but for the entire nation, as we NEED more educated people, and more professionals in all fields!

But by burdening them with onerous debt that many cannot pay, or cause them to struggle to survive economically, we undermine the growth of the economy, as this makes it difficult for these students to buy homes and cars, spend money on consumer goods, and generally to add to the economy because of the heavy debt payments, which only enrich greedy financial institutions who have no concern about the “slavery” they are imposing on the future generations!

There is no better cause than to liberate the future generations, and allow them to contribute positively to the economy of the future!

So instead of having millionaires and billionaires continue to acquire wealth and not give a damn about their country, let’s invest in the young, the future, and do what other countries do–fund education beyond high schools, see education as the most important job of government along with health care, and in so doing, revive the American Dream that we hear so much about, but do not do anything to advance!

The Classic Hamilton-Jefferson Struggle To Be Reenacted In The Presidential Election Of 2012!

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America’s political party struggles began in the Federalist Era of the 1790s, when the Federalists formed under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton, and the Democratic Republicans were created under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton backed more national government and a broad interpretation of the Constitution, and Jefferson spoke up for more state and local government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

As the centuries went by, and the political party system continued to evolve under different names, leaders, and issues, the classic Hamilton-Jefferson split continued to control our politics.

And now, the Hamilton-Jefferson split of more than two centuries duration, will have a classic confrontation in 2012, and it is actually much more important for the future of the nation than any election since 1964, when Barry Goldwater challenged Lyndon B. Johnson!

The debate in 2012 will be more important because of the split nature of our government presently, and the fact that this election is the culmination of 30 years of government dominated by conservatives.

Will we decide to cut down the size of the federal government dramatically and go back to the concept of states rights? What federal government responsibilities will be farmed back to the states, or into the hands of those who want privatization? How shall we deal with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, which led to bigger national government and more federal government responsibilities? How shall America deal with the world outside at a time of the growing influence of China, India, and Brazil in economic affairs? What should be the future of constitutional law, based to a great extent on appointment of Supreme Court Justices and other federal judges? How should the office of the Presidency develop in the future, and should his powers be brought under greater control by Congress and the courts?

These are among the questions that 2012 will decide, and the results will be much more important than just typically. The future of the Republic is at stake!