Huge deficits will be omnipresent throughout President Obama's first term, complicating his administration's messaging efforts on the economy. But advisers separate the political repercussions from the actual underlying fiscal and monetary policies. In some ways, the short-term politics of the deficit are negligible. They're preferable to the short-term politics of a much higher unemployment rate with no economic growth -- and a smaller deficit.
What's more important, to the administration, at least, is the degree to which the deficit has an impact on market expectations and the behavior of market players. If the goal is to stimulate private sector job growth, how the market feels about deficits -- and to the degree that the deficits reduce the incentives for investment -- this is the site of the most important political interaction. More government spending, in the form of, say, a bailout of state and local governments or a second federal stimulus -- may not have enough support in Congress, but the private sector is where the White House believes that growth needs to come from -- the government has already provided a trillion dollars worth of stimulus. Having abandoned the concept of moral hazard to save the economy in 2009, the administration will use it to their advantage in 2010.
The White House believes that when Americans say they're worried about the deficit, they're motivated by a search for clues that the current administration is budgeting responsibly. The White House time horizon, remember, is focused on sustainable growth over the long-term. The employment picture is terrible, but the continuing government transfer payments -- extensions of COBRA and unemployment insurance -- are militating the social effects off mass unemployment.
Conservatives are going to run on deficits and spending because they can, and because those issues serve as proxies for a range of objections to the size and scope of government. The Obama administration is going to focus on slowly changing the fundamentals. There will be talk of real, across-the-board limits to discretionary spending. There will probably be a bipartisan deficit reduction panel set up, along with, perhaps, another Social Security reform commission.
The Obama White House won't bailout state governments. Aside from small, precise interventions, like an extension of the homeowners' tax credit, business tax relief, and continual UI and COBRA extensions, the White House won't 'do" much of anything to kickstart the economy in 2010.
At some point next year, the unemployment rate will start to come down. The deficit will remain high, but the administration is confident that a good vector for the rate along with visible economic growth will enhance consumer confidence and induce more spending. If consumers are spending -- if they sense that their personal incomes are rising --- they will be less amenable to Republican economic arguments.
Indeed, some GOP strategists are already counseling their clients not to shoot their wad on the economy, anticipating that it will recover enough.
unemployment will continue to remain high until businesses have incentives to hire...right now, businesses are rewarding themselves with lower labor costs by cutting jobs and higher productivity as those still with jobs take up the slack...there is no incentive to hire...for information on salaries being paid by companies, SalaryFor.com http://www.salaryfor.com/ offers a free and extensive database of what job seekers can expect in terms of pay. you can post your own salary or view others for free.
As the president gave his inaugural speech, the $6.2 billion George W Bush aircraft carrier was launched the same day. On it will be maybe 90 aircraft worth (your guess is as good as mine) some $4 billion. Five thousand sailors will be paid $hundreds of millions. As he preached a new world economics, what we really got was a bunch of the "same old..same old". At this very moment a new class of carrier is being built called the USS Gerald Ford. Another two years to finish and another $6.5 billion with 90 aircraft worth maybe $6 billion and 5000 sailors earning $millions. Plus another 4 frigates are being built at this very moment also. Did Obama cancel these expensive items to save money once he became President? NO!! Where is he going to get the money to pay for these items??
You must understand the United States is broke! Every penny collected from tax now goes to pay the interest only on the US national debt. It doesn't even lower our debt...just pays the interest on it. Now how do they fix the 100,000 bridges that need to be replaced. Pay heat and hydro and maintenance for the 50,000 government buildings they own??? Pay the million people on government payroll??? Pay the handouts that they give 120 countries each year??? Pay for the few million troops collectively in Korea and Japan and Turkey and who knows where else??? Pay for the war that goes on as we speak. Pay for the 160,000 mercenaries in that war plus our troops???? Buy the oil imported each day and fix the roads and highways. How do they find money to pay for the food stamps. For the last 15 years the Federal Bank has been printing money out of thin air to the tune of approx 20% increases in overall money in circulation per year without any consequences happening. Do you think they can create $100 billion a year out of thin air and use that money to pay bills without some form of consequence? Cause if you do, then you're more stupid than "Forest Gump". Stupid is as stupid does! That's why they stopped publishing the total amount in circulation figures M3. The "they and them" don't want you to realize this. The Fed keeps two books. The money supply in circulation in the US and the money supply in circulation outside the US used to pay for oil as US currency is the money used by the oil exporting countries as payment. Everybody keeps US money for this purpose. Iraq was the first to declare they would start to ask for oil payments in Euro's instead of US dollars. Iran also said they would consider same as did a few others. That's why the US invaded Iraq. Not to bring democracy to a nation that has never known democracy. If that was the reason, then the US should have done this long before now....why did they wait? Why don't they invade Saudi Arabia if that's the case? Once they invaded and removed the dictator in Iraq, nobody from that nation has suggested they go off the US dollar as the method of payment. Nobody in Iran has said anything against the US dollar since the invasion nor any other country. If the world is allowed to go off the US dollar then every importing nation would sell their US dollars and buy Euros. The US would sooner of later be forced to bring those $Trillions home and enter them in the domestic money supply figures. That would make their money worthless as hyper inflation would destroy the dollar. Remember Germany after the war. $50 million marks for a loaf of bread. Better buy because tomorrow it's worth $55 million marks. That's what would happen and the US government won't allow this to happen without a fight.
The US is in deep trouble! The first thing they must do is stop the denial. The US has keep the world from killing each other for the last 50 years. We owe them for this! Now they need the world's help in solving their problems. They've helped everybody at one time or another. We must help them... but the US needs to come clean with their problems and a fundamental change must occur in the way they/we do business and think. Ross Perot...a true businessman would have started things going but the "they and them" put a stop to that and we ended up with the "same old" and more debt and problems but the military got their new $100 million dollar war planes and new aircraft carriers. The industrial military complex is a part of the "they and them". It touches everybody's life and fights back when it doesn't get what it wants. It must be dismantled and those funds redirected to rebuilding the US. That will start the country working again. The other nations must pay the US to protect them. The US has a hundred ways to kill off the world if it's attacked as 9 out of 10 shuttle flights over the last 20-25 years put enough eye in the sky satellites that no country can gather 5 tanks together without the US military knowing about it and the diplomatic core showing up and asking "what's going on". They could have killed all 500,000 Iraq's troops and saved the 3000+ troop deaths to-date because the eye in the sky knew where the Iraqis Guard troops were before the US invaded and could have bombed them without a single US death. That's the reason why they put those satellites up there...so they could do that. Not to explore the heavens but to watch their enemies. I'm sorry for those who lost love ones and they should be demanding answers for the conventional war the US decided to have when they should be a 21 century military using the technology they have in place.
Obama can get things going by demanding a change in the way business works. The president of the company must not be allowed to influence or appoint directors. The directors must be held responsible for the actions of any and all their employees including the president of the company. The buck must stop somewhere.
Obama can go to the Restaurant Association and ask them to buy newspapers and journals for their customers. This is a business expense and can be deducted. He can offer them double the deduction if they do this. This would put all paper mills back to work immediately. That solves the paper industry problem.
Obama can stop giving handouts to over 120 countries each year. It's gone on too long and he can't afford it anymore.
Cut the government by 25%. Computers were suppose to eliminate people jobs but instead the government work force expanded. Either the computers do what they were suppose to do or you get rid of them and just hire people....but not both.
There are 30 intelligent organizations in the US costing $billions. Surely the US can do without half of them...maybe without 2/3 of them. According to them all....the info regarding 9/11 fell through the cracks in the floor. They don't justify their keep!
Obama must stop the building of underground bases and the tunnels connecting them. There are over 130 underground bases in the US. Where did the military get the money to build them? Who pays for their upkeep now? Come clean about area 51 and other secret places. How many people work at these places and who's in charge. Are you Mr. President? What is being worked on at these bases?
Bring home the 60,000 troops in Korea. Tell the North Koreans that if they invade South Korea then the use of nuclear bombs on their country will occur. Tell the world you can't afford the cost of those troops anymore. Send those troops to Iraq and get rid of the mercenaries saving $billions per year.
Make the US military work with 1/2 the budget they now use up. That will make them angry but at least some will retain their jobs. Make the eye in the sky satellites do their job as intended. Use the army core of engineers much more than we do now. Let them expand and compete for domestic jobs.
Make the selling of drugs a capital offense punishable by death. Hard decisions for tuff times. Put a end to gang violence in America by adding 5 years hard labor for violent crimes. Send them to Baffin Island to survive on their own or die. One less wort on the ass of society. We can't afford to house them anymore. Expand the military police and stop hiring domestic police. Start patrolling the streets in jeeps at night. Obama must do something!
Bring back hard labor and work gangs. Eight hours of hard road work everyday will stop the desire to come back.
Hunt down all the terrorist's organizations and simply bring justice to them. Stop the lies...some agency in the US knows how to contact Bin Laden and all the others. He was a CIA asset not far back. Don't watch them or infiltrate them....kill them!! The US can't afford the way they guard their country. Hard choices.
outlaw the use of lobbyists in the capital. Cut all free bees for government elected officials. Let them buy their own lunch. Freeze salaries for the rest of your term.
get rid of the Federal Reserve Bank and have the Treasury Dept print it's own money that the government guarantees. $trillions will be saved. Trade one for one for the domestic money supply but throw away the external money. Make everybody identify to the banks their financial situation and prove how much they have. This would force the return of $billions of illegal money from the mob. How would they be able to prove they own it?? Billions if not trillions would be lost and that dirty money would be thrown out. Now the government would have stats on everybody.
make an offer to buy all of Canada. Make an offer Canadians can't refuse....like a 1.5 US treasury note for one of their money. Canada can't survive without your trade but you need their water and oil. Things would work a lot better if Canada was the next 10 states. The United States of North America is a good name.
increase immigration for the next 10 years while you get your country moving but offer no handouts while they get settled.
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