Political Ramblings

[thaiturkey]

Borrowing money that can never be paid back to stimulate growth is not the answer. Sure we can borrow more and stimulate a little more, but where will we be in another 10 years. That is not you. This is us. Without massive inflation that hurts everyone, we will be saddled with ever growing maintenance on a debt that will eventually sink our economy. If you remove all discretionary spending from our budget, we will still have a deficit. That means if all we do is pay maintenance on our debt, social security and medicare, we will still have a deficit.

Well, let's see what happens.

 

[chickened]

Government does not create wealth. It takes wealth and redistibutes it. Wealthy people invest their own money best, government does not have a good record for spending money it gets from taxpayers wisely or on wise projects. It must collect more during recessions to maintain what it promises which is ironically a time when spending should be less. The free market will level out, government should store up for lean times, that concept has been lost. I was taught to save money why cannot government do the same.

 

[rufus]

Sadly, I am afraid that we are destined to suffer a huge inflation. I cannot see any way around it. When the Chinese see the dollar on it's last legs, they will really begin to dump it. That will be followed by other nations in the Middle East.

Already, I am seeing a lot of real estate being bought up by Chinese nationals. Metals of all types are being scrounged and sold off to China. I guess they are trying to slip their hand out of the trap before it goes off. Just easing away from the dollar.

Inflation leads to hyper inflation and that stifles the economy. Nobody wants to be caught holding a worthless currency. No matter how much money they drop into those ebt cards, they won't be able to buy anything. And those people will not be denied. They will just take whatever they can. The Watts riots will look like a picnic in comparison.

I wish we could think of a way out of this, but I am afraid we can't.

 

[hemet dennis]

I personally don't think the "cliff" is that bad a thing. It may slow the economy for a time but in the end we will be much better off for it. Raising taxes and cutting spending is what is needed to cut the debt. And everyone will be paying a fair share if they want to cut some deductions then that's fine also. I think we should do away with a lot of deductions. Why do I have to pay more in taxes then someone else because they have more kids ?

 

[hemet dennis]

I do find it funny that these tax cuts that the Democrats are crying to keep are the same tax cuts that they voted against when Bush was President. So to a Democrat they were bad then and good now.

 

[bakerjw]

What is funny is that what is coming are not spending cuts. They are just not getting the budget increase percentages that they have been getting every year.

 

[waterdog]

Here is a little food for thought for our government

"You just
pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more
than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible
for re-election and

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they're out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social
Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the
Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into
the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the
American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all
Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.
Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and
participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the
American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void

 

[MamaRoo]

Here is a little food for thought for our government

"You just
pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more
than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible
for re-election and

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they're out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social
Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the
Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into
the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the
American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all
Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.
Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and
participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the
American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void

I think most of these changes wouldn't even be felt by our men and women in congress. Their "salaries" represent very little of their actual worth.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/08/news/economy/congress-net-worth/index.htm

Quote:

 

[hemet dennis]

Quote:

If you do the research you will find that most of the Republicans with a lot of money earned it before being elected and most of the Democrats got rich after they were elected.

 

[hemet dennis]

What is funny is that what is coming are not spending cuts. They are just not getting the budget increase percentages that they have been getting every year.

I have found that most people with an opinion on the " fiscal cliff " don't really know what it is.

In the United States, the fiscal cliff is a term used to refer to the economic effects that could result from tax increases, spending cuts and a corresponding reduction in the US budget deficit beginning in 2013 if existing laws are not changed by the end of 2012. The deficit—the difference between what the government takes in and what it spends—is expected to be reduced by roughly half beginning in the first days of 2013. This sharp decrease in the deficit in such a short period of time is known as the fiscal cliff. However, the Congressional Budget Office estimates this sudden reduction will probably lead to a mild recession in early 2013.
Because of the short-term impact on the economy, including a possible recession, the fiscal cliff has stirred intense commentary both inside and outside of Congress and has led to calls to extend some or all of the tax cuts, and to replace the across-the-board reductions with more targeted cutbacks. The laws leading to the fiscal cliff include the expiration of the 2010 Tax Relief Act and planned spending cuts under the Budget Control Act of 2011. Nearly all proposals to avoid the fiscal cliff involve extending certain parts of the Bush tax cuts or changing the 2011 Budget Control Act or both, thus making the deficit larger by reducing taxes or increasing spending. The protracted negotiations over this have also generated heightened policy uncertainty over the eventual tax and spending landscape in the US.
The Budget Control Act was a compromise intended to resolve a dispute concerning the public debt ceiling. Some major programs, like Social Security, Medicaid, federal pay (including military pay and pensions), and veterans' benefits, are exempted from the spending cuts.[note 1] Spending for defense, federal agencies and cabinet departments would be reduced through broad, shallow cuts referred to as budget sequestration.
The United States public debt would continue to grow even if no mitigating actions are taken to avoid the fiscal cliff. Over the next ten years, projected increases in the debt would be lowered by as much as $7.1 trillion or about 70%, resulting in a considerably lower ratio of debt relative to the size of the economy. For the first year (from fiscal year 2012 to 2013), federal tax revenues are projected to increase by 19.63%, while spending outlays are expected to decline by 0.25%.[1](table-1.6)[note 2] These changes would raise 2013 tax revenue to 18.4% GDP, above its historical average of 18.0% GDP, while reducing spending to approximately 22.4% GDP, still above the 21.0% GDP historical spending average.[2]