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Author Topic: Obama and the "fiscal responsibility summit"  (Read 2687 times)
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WhiskeyGirl
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« on: January 15, 2009, 05:01:22 PM »

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"I am pleased that the House of Representatives has acted with urgency on an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will save or create over three million jobs, provide tax relief to struggling families and businesses that create jobs, and invest in priorities like health care, education, and energy that will make America strong and competitive in the 21st century. This plan is a significant downpayment on our most urgent challenges, and it will contain the kind of strict, independent oversight that will allow the American people to hold Washington accountable for how and where their tax dollars are spent," Obama said in a statement.

Obama has warned against increasing the cost of the package too much, given the record federal deficits, projected to reach $1.2 trillion this year. He told editors at the Washington Post today that he will convene a "fiscal responsibility summit" in February to discuss how to solve long-term financial problems, with a special focus on entitlements such as Social Security.

"We need to send a signal that we are serious," said Obama of the summit.


Why not fix the broken pieces first?  Work on "fiscal responsibility" first? 

How can anyone contine to spend money when there are ongoing concerns about where the money is going?

Is it likely that anything will change after the $825 billion, plus $350 billion from TARP is spent?   

How much in debt?  Trillions.

How can America be "strong and competitive in the 21st century" when every family already owes something like a $500,000 mortgage for the debt?  AND, HAS NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT?

How much is all this borrowing going to cost in the end?  $100 trillion before it is paid off?  For how many generations?  Until 2100?  Maybe 7 or 8 generations down the road?

What about the collapse of the dollar?  How does Obama offer to prevent that from wiping out the savings of millions of Americans?

The nation is broke.  My billion dollar personal bailout check hasn't arrived from the treasury.  Maybe it's in the mail?

Why isn't Obama focusing on a "significant" downpayment on the debt?  Isn't the national debt a campaign contributor?  A special interest group?

How much will American's be taxed in the future for the Obama/Bush bailouts/special interest spending today?  What is the future value of all these downpayments on the paycheck of the future?  Future generations?

How about a plan today, that addresses the financial tsunami of debt being created?

Who's going to pay for all this pork?


http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/01/obama_weighs_in.html
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WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2009, 05:49:20 PM »

How much is a million?

Quote
Letters: Nation needs new fiscal responsibility

January 11, 2009

A number of years ago a court case was attempting to award a plaintiff one million dollars, a large sum for its day. The jury was made up of average, hard working people, who perhaps had never seen a thousand dollars all in one place. The defense attorney decided to bring into court one million one-dollar bills, so they could see the physical aspect of it. The plaintiff only received a small fraction of what was asked for, because of what the jury witnessed.

Fast forward to today, and the current bailouts. One million dollar bills, end to end, would reach from Neenah to Milwaukee, one billion would circle our equator four times, and one trillion would stretch from the earth to the sun, a paper trail 91 million miles long. Now our governor and four others are asking for their trillion, another trip to the sun. The Iraq war is already half way to the sun at this point in time.

If this was a Parker Brothers board game, I might get a chuckle out of it. At least drunken sailors only spend what they have earned and what resides in their wallets. Hopefully the new administration will set a more reasonable financial tone for our country, not an easy job, all things considered.

Paul Fitzgibbon

Neenah

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20090111/OSH0603/901110470
One comment -

middlemancrisis wrote:

Quote
Hee Haw! Please, I can't help from falling over! If you think Obama will be fiscally responsible when we're already hearing about a 1 trillion dollar deficit.....that someone ought to pull their heads out of their a**. Bloating the federal government by expanding infrastructure proves to do nothing short of wasting billions of dollars. I'd love to see what Paul what thinking when he wrote this.....
1/12/2009 1:54:24 PM


The nation is broke.

Where is the downpayment on creating a 'solvent' Social Security?  IIRC, the 'trust fund' is still empty, looted long ago.  Solvent Medicare?   Medicaid?  Healthcare reform?

Any idea how future generations will pay this back?

jmho
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WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2009, 06:05:08 PM »

Business as usual - trying to spend the nation out of bankruptcy...

Quote
Congress advances emergency economic aid plans

Thu Jan 15, 2009 5:44pm EST 
By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-led U.S. Congress took steps on Thursday to give President-elect Barack Obama the weapons he wants to fight a worsening economic recession by advancing legislation to provide nearly $1.2 trillion in emergency spending.

What happened to $825 billion?  Already gone?  Anyone see that first billion fly past?  Destination?  Where is all that added pork going?

Quote
Bank of America is in talks to receive about $15 billion in additional bailout funds, according to sources. There were also concerns that Citigroup Inc was having trouble coping with soaring credit losses.

How many US jobs are at Bank of America and Citigroup?  How many were sent offshore over the years?  All this money - how many jobs in the US were 'saved'?  How much bonus money is being saved?  How many will be returned to the US? 

Promises for more accountability...what exactly does that mean?  When will that money be returned to taxpayers and how much is it costing over the next 100 years?

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE50E8H320090115

How much will they want next month?  When will the nation collapse under all this debt?  Families and savings wiped out for generations?  Except for maybe the advantaged few?

jmho

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All my posts are just my humble opinions.  Please take with a grain of salt.  Smile

It doesn't do any good to hate anyone,
they'll end up in your family anyway...
WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2009, 06:15:51 PM »

Casino Gambling and Regulation -

Quote
Challenging casino capitalism

Chandra Muzaffar

A number of Asian and European governments are convinced that there has to be an effective international regulatory framework to ensure accountability and transparency on the part of capital markets and rating agencies. They feel that the absence of a regulatory framework is the primary cause of the current global financial crisis...

Why didn't the US put their financial house of cards in order back in 2005?  I think the trouble started long before that, but there wasn't enough support on Capitol Hill for reform.  What would motivate some of these same players to look for reform today?

Quote
Can we expect Asian and European leaders at the Washington Summit to go beyond that? Can we also expect them to call for the permanent banning of unregulated short selling of stocks and shares? Will they ask for a ban on unscrupulous trade in derivatives? Will they seek to prohibit speculation on shares, currencies and commodities? Are they prepared to propose fundamental structural changes to the international financial architecture to ensure that the prohibition of speculation remains effective? Are they ready to commit themselves to the eventual goal of eliminating casino capitalism itself, once and for all?

How about executive and other compensation based on rising share/stock price?  Does that REALLY enhance shareholder value long term?  Or, at least until certain shareholders sell off all their shares?

Quote
It is widely acknowledged for instance that it is in the interest of China and Japan who hold billions of dollars worth of US treasury bills and other financial instruments to ensure that the US economy remains afloat in the face of the present crisis. Similarly, derivatives trading, options and futures contracts are as integral to British and German financial centers as they are to New York. Even Saudi Arabia, one of the countries invited to the Summit, whose economy is purportedly 'Islamic' is deeply entrenched in the US helmed international financial system. Besides, the US elite, while making some concessions here and there, can be expected to defend casino capitalism to the last currency speculator since it ensures the global financial hegemony of the US.

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2009/01/16/news0800.htm

interesting ideas...imho
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All my posts are just my humble opinions.  Please take with a grain of salt.  Smile

It doesn't do any good to hate anyone,
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WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2009, 06:30:17 PM »

This last article reminds me of, or paints the picture in my  mind, of a nation enthralled by gambling, and losing.  A nation in the hands of gamblers...losing the farm...


I feel lucky...

Just one more bet...

Chump change...

House and car...

College fund...

Retirement...

Gambling will set the nation free...

Gambling will lead the nation on the road to recovery...

Gambling will lead the nation to prosperity...

One more bet...

I feel lucky...

Get help now!  1-800 Gamblers Anon.

Roll baby roll... 
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All my posts are just my humble opinions.  Please take with a grain of salt.  Smile

It doesn't do any good to hate anyone,
they'll end up in your family anyway...
WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2009, 07:46:12 PM »

Quote
Finance and economics were not among Obama's political priorities when he began his run for the White House. Indeed, he rarely addressed the subject of Wall Street until the financial system reached breaking point in a dramatic chain of events kicked off by Lehman Brothers' collapse in September.


I wonder how the bailout would have played if Lehman and others didn't collapse until after January 2009?

Quote
Seeing nothing to concern them, bankers were big financial backers. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JP Morgan were in the top 10 organisations employing Obama donors: the banks' staff and their families stumped up more than $2.2m.

I wonder where they get that data?  Is the donor data online and public somewhere?  From memory, I believe there are some on the Obama team that have links to these organizations. 

Anyone concerned with conflicing interests?


http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/18/barackobama-globalrecession
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All my posts are just my humble opinions.  Please take with a grain of salt.  Smile

It doesn't do any good to hate anyone,
they'll end up in your family anyway...
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