National Debt

Economic And Political “Pearl Harbor” For Progressive Cause: The Surrender Of Barack Obama! :(

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Today, December 7, marks the 69th Anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, forcing this nation into World War II!

Today also marks the first day waking up and realizing that Barack Obama has surrendered to the Republican Party and the conservative movement by his so called “compromise” to prevent a rise in taxes on the middle class and to allow unemployment compensation extension for 13 months!

Obama came into office declaring no more tax cuts for the super wealthy, but now he has caved in, sadly, and will likely see many progressives and liberals abandon him, perceiving him as weak, ineffective, wimpy, lacking “cajones”! 🙁

There was no easy answer, of course, and one must realize that the nation overwhelmingly repudiated the Democrats in the midterm congressional elections!

But the hope and promise of the Obama Presidency seems to have been spent, and he seems unlikely to accomplish much more in the next two years! 🙁

Meanwhile, another estimated $900 billion will be added to the national debt, only worsening the long range prognosis for this nation’s economy! 🙁

We are rapidly moving toward the possibility of economic bankruptcy, but the super wealthy will not be harmed by it, only the middle and lower classes! 🙁

The country is being “raped” by the upper class elite, and the danger is that when the middle and lower classes finally “get it”, there could be bloodshed and violence as a result, and the nation could rapidly decline as a super power and defender of freedom around the world! 🙁

So this is a moment to mourn, not only for the losses at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, but for our long term losses economically and socially in future years, because of what the voters in November stupidly did, and the “surrender” by President Obama last evening! 🙁

Barack Obama And The Bush Tax Cuts: If Extended For The Rich, A Political Disaster For The Democratic Party! :(

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President Obama will meet next week with Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress after his return from his Asian trip, and he MUST stand strong against the GOP demand for continuation of tax cuts for the top two percent of Americans, who already have too much of the entire national income!

Just because the Democrats lost approximately 60 seats in the House of Representatives, the most since 1938, does not mean that we need a Democratic Party which acts as if it is the step sister of the Republican Party!

If Obama caves in on this matter, he will lose much of the base of his party, and endanger future economic recovery, and cause the likelihood of a challenge in the Democratic Presidential primaries in 2012!

If that happens, while Obama would almost certainly win the nomination–as William Howard Taft did in 1912 over Theodore Roosevelt, Gerald Ford did in 1976 over Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter did in 1980 over Ted Kennedy and Jerry Brown, and George HW Bush did in 1992 over Pat Buchanan–it would certainly weaken him for the election campaign, and likely cause his defeat, as it did for all four of the above Presidents challenged in the past century for the nomination of their party!

No one can seriously consider that Obama intends to do anything about the burgeoning national debt, if he permits an additional $700 billion to be added to the debt over the next ten years, just to keep “peace” with the Republican party, as that party has no interest in cooperation, and has made clear their major goal is to cause Obama to be a one term President!

So, Mr. President, show some guts and courage, and do NOT cave in to the GOP! Refuse to go along with tax cuts for the wealthy who do not need it! Show principle and conviction, and know that loyal Democrats will be there defending you, and know that the average middle class American, including many Independents, who are struggling to survive and keep his or her employment and housing, will regain their senses by 2012, and reward you and your party for being truly the party of the middle class, unwilling to continue the GOP plot to enrich the top two percent at the expense of the rest of the population!

Tax Cuts For the Wealthy: David Stockman Vs. Mike Pence!

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This past weekend, former Reagan Budget Director David Stockman debated the Republican party demand for a continuation of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy with Indiana Congressman Mike Pence, who has been one of the most hard line conservatives insisting on that issue, despite the fact it would add $700 billion to the national debt over ten years, at a time when it is clear that there is dire need to avoid adding to the national debt, which is already over $13 trillion! 🙁

Stockman gave an excellent presentation, and called such a demand for the wealthy to continue to have tax cuts as totally irresponsible and unrealistic in the present economic climate! He made it clear that the Reagan Administration was wrong to allow a tripling of the national debt during the 1980s, and it was recalled that he had resigned early in the administration over the reckless defense spending which caused most of that overwhelming addition to the debt!

Stockman made it clear that the Bush tax cuts in the past decade had been a mistake as well, as it caused a doubling of the national debt, with much of it because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also starting the Medicare prescription plan for senior citizens without taxing to pay for it!

Stockman’s appearance on the interview showed how far the GOP has gone since the 1980s–willingness to be totally reckless in the name of the wealthy, despite the fact that the stratification of American society with the wealthy having such a large portion of the total national wealth, as compared to the middle and lower classes, is the greatest it has ever been!

Pence showed total irresponsibility over the issue of the long range effect of GOP tax policy, and also demonstrated that he has no concern over the effect of budget cuts on domestic needs in the midst of the greatest economic downturn in 80 years!

It again must be recalled that MOST of the national debt increase has been due to Republican Congresses and Republican Presidents, with Jimmy Carter only adding a comparatively small amount to the debt, and Bill Clinton actually balancing the budget in his last years in the White House, and leaving a surplus for George W. Bush, who proceeded to double the national debt, on top of Ronald Reagan tripling the national debt in his time! Reagan added $2 trillion, and George W. Bush $5 trillion to the national debt, meaning seven of the nine trillion added to the debt since Jimmy Carter left office was due to these two Presidents and their administrations alone! 🙁

And the first President Bush added a good portion of the remaining two trillion, leading up to the $10 trillion plus debt when Barack Obama came into office in 2009! This is not what one hears on conservative talk radio and Fox News Channel, however! 🙁 But it is the truth!

So the GOP has a record of total recklessness in the name of the wealthy, while the country flounders economically, and David Stockman was effective in delivering a warning as to the danger of following GOP economic doctrine! 🙁

Tax Cuts For The Wealthy NOT Favored, According To Gallup Poll! So Why Are Republicans Favored To Gain Control In Midterm Elections?

Ronald 1 Comment

It is odd that the Gallup polls indicate a likely advantage in the midterm elections toward the Republican Party, at the same time that their polls demonstrate that Americans do NOT want the Bush tax cuts, which include big cuts for the wealthy, to continue beyond their expiration date in December 2010!

44 percent agree with President Barack Obama and the Democrats that the top two percent of the population, who make more than $250,000 should pay more taxes, that they do not pay enough, and that major social programs, including Social Security, need the extra tax collection from the wealthy to make them function!

Only 37 percent agree with the GOP view on taxes, which would raise the deficit by another $700 billion at a time when the Republican Party calls for cutting spending dramatically in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s!

So the GOP is saying give more money back to the rich, even though that will not promote financial stability, will cause a great increase in the national debt which the GOP condemns, and will further cause a stratification of the social classes in America, already more stratified than Great Britain! 🙁

The issue hard to understand in the Gallup polls is how could more Americans want to see taxes increased on the wealthy, and yet seem to be ready to elect Republicans to control of Congress, or at least the House of Representatives! 🙁

It seems to defy common sense that the American people could support the Obama and Democratic view on taxes, and yet wish to elect Republicans! It indicates lack of enthusiasm on the part of Democrats, and very possibly, total ignorance of what political parties are all about by many Americans! 🙁

It would indeed be a sad state of affairs if the American people, at least by a plurality, want Democratic ideas and end up with a GOP majority in Congress through ignorance and a lack of participation in the electoral process! 🙁

It is a strong indication of the dire need to educate the American people on the facts and the realities of political debates and issues, instead of utilizing fear and prejudice and myths to manipulate the voters! 🙁

George H. W. Bush, “Voodoo Economics”, And Republican Economics In 2010!

Ronald 2 Comments

The Republican Party is famous, or rather infamous, for creating a vast majority of the national debt, and yet they keep on acting as if the Democratic Party are the villains in this regard!

George H. W. Bush, competing for the GOP Presidential nomination in 1980, attacked candidate Ronald Reagan’s claim that tax cuts would NOT cause an increase in the national debt! Bush called it “voodoo economics”! Of course, that is exactly what happened under Reagan, with a tripling of the national debt from one to three trillion dollars!

The first President Bush was more cautious on tax cuts, and actually increased taxes and was bitterly criticized by conservatives, which helped to cause his defeat in 1992!

His son, George W. Bush, managed to almost double the national debt from 5 to 10 trillion dollars, meaning just Reagan and the second Bush created nearly a 7 trillion dollar increase in the debt, much of it because of Reaganomics and Bushonomics, meaning tax cuts for the wealthy who had no need for it, as many themselves would admit!

Meanwhile, the national debt went up much more slowly under Jimmy Carter, often considered stingy in his desire to cut government spending and avoid major tax cuts! Under Bill Clinton, there was also a rise in taxes on the wealthy, and a more careful handling of the budget so as to add far less debt!

So under the first Bush, Carter and Clinton, only about 2 trillion dollars was added to the national debt, which was one trillion when Carter left office!

So the two Democratic Presidents were better at managing the national budget and avoiding major debt growth, while the two Republican Presidents added most of it, and father Bush added more than Carter and Clinton, but also kept the idea of “voodoo economics” in mind during his Presidency!

But now, in the midst of propaganda that giving the unemployed extra months of compensation in the worst economic climate since the 1930s will bust the budget and add to the debt, leading conservatives in the GOP argue that major tax cuts must continue to the wealthy!

Are these Republicans living in the real world, or are they just so lacking in concern about what they claim to be a major problem only when it affects average Americans? 🙁

Is this country to be run for the top two or three percent, or for the American people at large? 🙁

This is what Americans must consider as they go and vote this November in the midterm elections! Will they vote out of ignorance and fear, and allow name calling to determine their decision; or out of reality, common sense, and realization that they are being fed propaganda to manipulate them?

The future of this country, and getting out of this economic mess we call the Great Recession, is up for grabs, a terrifying scenario! 🙁