Iran could care less if the global economy goes into the crapper. With all the sanctions against them they are already there. Why not have the rest of the world join them?

well iran did state yesterday they may halt oil exports to the EU as soon as next week instead of 6 months when the sanctions would ban further imports from iran after current contracts expire.

we might be joining them sooner rather than later

Neither the left nor the right has our best interests at heart; they're both heavily invested in NAFTA and it's ilk, the 'global economy' farce, no interest in bringing back Glass Steagall....they're really just invested in the inevitable failure of the US, taking what they can on the way.

Any ding dong could tell that things just could never last as they have been for the past 3 decades or so, that somethings were just bass ackwards, but nooo... we're fed garbage decade after decade as to why things are as they are, and there's no way around it, and we represent YOU, and blah blah blah...

Neither blue nor red is going to stop the freefall they've enjoyed until all hit the ground; so hunker in, get what you can and get rid of everything you don't need.... be as basic as possible and sustainable. Some times, there's no other way out than starting over and being ready for it.... we've yet to hit actual bottom.

A small glimmer of hope that America is coming back? Some manufacturing has started coming home again.... but is it too late? Legislatively, NOTHING has changed...

Hey brenda1964 Ron Paul wants to eliminate income tax,that must really make your blood boil? ha ha ha! That would be only fair to the 52% that still pay income tax right brenda1964? Ron Paul"s point is that we could still fund our govt at a 1999 level of spending without an income tax,so so COOL!

Ron Paul claims Red for legitimacy; he's not what has become of the now Republican 'party'. While warranting deeper investigation, he's worth a chance as he seems to really be an independent in disguise, representing true and needed conservative fiscal and global values on one hand while being liberal and foreward thinking on the other.

For one, I'm going to investigate him further but hold out hope, as I've said above.... trust is earned, not implied or given first. I already know about the other Donkephants in Clowngress.

brenda - Obama has an abysmal record in office and would have successfully accomplished that all by himself. The cuts to spending that must be made, he will not make and his administration works to deflect blame away from him and onto conservatives. It's a blame game that has effectively divided the country against itself. Conservatives also need a much more aggressive approach to deep cuts in spending, but have at least tried to hold the line Obama can't seem to see. Obama and many conservatives are saber rattling with Iran, and along with the majority of the Congress placed sanctions that cripple them. If the same move was made against America we would consider it a declaration of war. Ron Paul is far and away the best candidate for America weighing all issues. America is in a nose dive and he's the only one whose demand for fiscal responsibility, a commonsense foreign policy and Constitutional approach to government will enable us to 'pull up'. Don't vote party, vote person.

Ron Paul is a very likable dinosaur. I agree with his dislike for military intervention in foreign lands; however, is positions on monetary policy are not realistic. There is no way we could return to the gold standard any more than we could do away with credit cards or online payment of our bills.

Also I believe that it would be a huge help to the economy and the workforce to get Gold man Sachs out of the white house and where ever else they lurk in government! Any responsible government would have immediately restored the Glass Stiegal act! Bet you a dollar Barney Frank has a big fat consulting or lobbying job waiting for him at Goldman Sachs as a reward for his great work on their behalf as chairman of the financial services comittee! Until the likes of John Corzine are removed from access to our leaders we are doomed!

There is no way we could return to the gold standard any more than we could do away with credit cards or online payment of our bills.

Invisible hand, I totally understand that online banking is here to stay, and I pay all my bills online myself, but why don't you think we can go back to the days of not buying an item if you didn't have the money up front for it? Our economy would dramatically improve if we all went back to that line of thinking.

Entitlements have ensnared all of us into perpetual debt. "Social programs" ( i.e. Social Insecurity, Medi-Scam) that we'll NEVER see a dime of. The can has been kicked all the way down the road as far as it can go.

I agree Ron Paul is the best candidate out there as far as foreign policy is concerned, although I admit Obama has proven me wrong about the outcome of Lybia and he's handled the situation in Iran pretty well, I think.

No more war. Period.

Invisible Hand - How's our monetary policy working for us now? I did away with credit cards and have no debt. 'Realistic' is what we have to be regarding what government is - our policies do not serve all of us. Unless the law of the land is followed by every administration within the parameters set forth to limit it, citizens will continue to be assaulted by constant manipulation and constant upheaval. The law has to exist as the foundation on which everyone can stand. It must be consistently definable, understandable and applicable to every citizen. Constant change that serves some at the expense of others is the over reach of government pandering to groups that think a leader's job is appease their wish lists instead of managing a government that gives its People control over their individual lives. You cannot have freedom if you will not take responsibility over your own life. You cannot have control without responsibility. You cannot have freedom when your government is the one doing the controlling.

Monetary policy is working very well for Invisible Hand. Just refinanced some of his properties (the rest are owned free and clear of debt). The interest rates on those loans are so low Invisible Hand is now able to retire and live off the rental income.

Why should everyone get rid of credit cards? A large percentage of cardholders, including Invisible Hand, use cards for safety, convenience and the rebates/rewards, and they pay off the balance in full each billing period.

There's a reason even most Republicans don't take Ron Paul seriously. His Libertarian philosophy has good and not-so-good ideas, but taken as a whole are not in the mainstream of American political thought.

I'm going to be a rebel and actually comment on the article-

They talk about this economist like he's some sort of mystic. In reality anyone with eyes in their head could see the housing market was headed for a crash. And truthfully if there was real disclosure it probably would have happened sooner.

Sometimes I wonder what the folks in Washington are sniffing when they come up with this stuff.

Ah...the old "mainstream of American political thought". (1.18)

I don't undedrstand how you guys think that everything has been working out fine that way. It is plain as the nose on your face, that the past economic disaster cannot be continued, especially with that phoney money being printed up with nothing backoing it up. But keep up the good work Invisibler Hand, you are one of the lucky ones.

Ron Paul 2012 with or without the republican flag

Ron paul is a nut. Vote him in, and he has it set up to where our country will go down the tubes, and He and His kind will be there to save the day. Oh there may not be any wars abroud or income tax here. But there will be massive poverty and civil war here. Crime would skyrocket. Do you think people would just let their elders suffer in the streets and die along with their children? You people aren't just Greedy Bastards your Sicko to Boot! WAKE UP AMERICA! This is the 21st century not the 18th or 19th. If you don't like the way we take care of our old and young people LEAVE!

Could cause a ression??? or worsen it.

Neither blue nor red is going to stop the freefall they've enjoyed until all hit the ground; so hunker in, get what you can and get rid of everything you don't need.... be as basic as possible and sustainable. Some times, there's no other way out than starting over and being ready for it.... we've yet to hit actual bottom.

This is exactly right. Hunker down folks. The time has come to pay for our neglect of responsibility. We are just digging our nails into the side of the cliff wall as we slide down. We have not seen nothin yet

Too much government meddling worldwide and it has to stop.

Don't know whos planet your on. People live by the means in which they have been provided by the opportunity of availability around them. WE the working class poor have been hunkered down since the bush presidency and with all the infighting and greed in our government will keep struggling. Hopefully people will vote with a little common sense and in their own intrest instead of being so jealous of everything everybody else gets, foodstamps and social security, and be glad people are not starving or living on the street, and have a little compassion and not so much hate. It's the Rich not the poor that are to blame. WAKE UP AMERICA!

ABOUT THAT. Bush had a democratic congress, blame someone else.

Just tired (and confused) Bush had a Republican Congress for 6 of his 8 years in office. That is, the first 6 years of Jr.'s presidency (2000-2006) until people saw what a disaster Jr. and the Repukes were making of the Iraq war and the US economy.

Thank you!

We are overdue for a little rebellion. Hopefully, our rebellion will play out at the ballot box in November and we can finally Fire Them All. Both parties, leaders of both parties and their minions to be more exact - have brought us misery and economic failure as a by product of their buying votes with government handouts, bailouts, and corporate welfare, all paid for with funds that don't exist.

- Jefferson to James Madison, January 30, 1787^[1]"

Societies exist under three forms sufficiently distinguishable. 1. Without government, as among our Indians. 2. Under governments wherein the will of every one has a just influence, as is the case in England in a slight degree, and in our states in a great one. 3. Under governments of force: as is the case in all other monarchies and in most of the other republics. To have an idea of the curse of existence under these last, they must be seen. It is a government of wolves over sheep. It is a problem, not clear in my mind, that the 1st. condition is not the best. But I believe it to be inconsistent with any great degree of population. The second state has a great deal of good in it. The mass of mankind under that enjoys a precious degree of liberty and happiness. It has it's evils too: the principal of which is the turbulence to which it is subject. But weigh this against the oppressions of monarchy, and it becomes nothing. Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem. Even this evil is productive of good. It prevents the degeneracy of government, and nourishes a general attention to the public affairs. I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical."

just tired, and for how many years was that? Wouldn't be all through his two terms, would it? Any sources to back up your lies? Now if you would have said for the last two years of his last term in office, you would be correct. Go get some sleep, you would not be so just tired.

The situation in Iran is nothing more than the massive propaganda fear mongering machine orchestrated by the tebags/gop(greedy old party) to keep the ignorant afraid and the cash gravy train rolling along in the oil speculation market. That is unless we get a republican president in november and then within a year we will be in another war(with Iran) that will not only keep the oil/gasoline prices sky high but will allow the bloated defense industry to continue to suck what's left of our dwindling tax dollars. And then in typical gop fashion they'll blame the other party and social security, medicare, medicaid. It's like a broken record.

More proof Obama knows nothing about economics.

just tired -953129

ABOUT THAT. Bush had a democratic congress, blame someone else.

Did fox news tell you that? You are woefully uninformed.

G-Man, this Perpetual War the US has been in since WW2 is simply insane. If it's not the Koreans then its the Vietnamese. If it's not Vietnam then it's Cuba and the USSR. If not them then let's send troops to Lebanon where they got blown up. If it's not Lebanon then it's USSR in Afghanistan, or those "communists" in Guatemala and Nicaragua and El Salvador, and Grenada. If not them then it's the dictator of Panama. And when the USSR dissolved then it's Saddam and them crazy Arabs. Now it's all about Iran.

The US power elite, which unfortunately includes some Democrats, know how to play most Americans like a violin to either get votes, or money, or both.

We should at least consider the advice of Ron Paul about foreign policy and how it affects our economy. We are in a quagmire in the ME, doing the same thing over and over expecting different results seems futile.

On the other hand how does one reason with the unreasonable, Iran seems to be set on a course of self destruction. Who can figure out this mess?

Invisible Hand-

Ron Paul is a very likable dinosaur. I agree with his dislike for military intervention in foreign lands; however, is positions on monetary policy are not realistic. There is no way we could return to the gold standard any more than we could do away with credit cards or online payment of our bills.

Why do you think his monetary policy is not realistic? Backing a currency with actual, tangible assets such as gold will limit what the government can spend. They cannot spend more than they have. This eliminates the Fed's ability to print more money and debase the currency being held.

Returning to a gold standard would not eliminate credit cards or online banking. Backing our dollar with gold would not eliminate the exchange of money through technology.

Brenda - you either did not read this economist or you did not fully understand fully what he is saying.

There is one thing this economist simply does not understand. The one thing that is not controllable is a war with Iran. Unless Israel wipes out the Iranian nuclear facilities you are going to see war. I've read a good bit of the history and indeed have a pretty good feel for the situation. What many of you, including Ron Paul do not understand, and there is not excuse for not understanding, is what will happen is another 911 or worse if Iran is not stopped.

You have EIGHT economists who predicted the 2008 crash. Obama and the democrats do not consult any of them and seem willing to resist these peoples advice to their destruction.

Britain and Germany have been following these economists leads and advise. Them along with France are carrying the rest of the EU who refuse to listen to these economists.

By handing survival into the hands of politicians, we have wounded ourselves, if we keep using the current direction - we will be come terminal.

We must cut regulation and spending and ideally if we can cut those two enough, cut taxes. We must or we will continue to become "the dawn of the living dead."

Roubini has predicted every downturn. There is a reason they call him dr. doom. In 15 years of following the market never heard him say a positive word.

Atlas;

Returning to a gold standard would not eliminate credit cards or online banking. Backing our dollar with gold would not eliminate the exchange of money through technology

Makes sense to me, unless I'm mistake all this fear mongering about going back to the gold standard is just another attempt by those who fear Ron Paul and his logical stance of getting back to basics. You will often find propaganda tossed about to confuse and spread fear among the public when a subject pops up that few understand. Contrary to what some may believe, going back to the gold standard will not find us carrying little bags of gold dust around to pay our bill or buy a hamburger at McD's.

Understand this: Overall, our country has been on a downhill slide since we went off the gold standard and put our faith and trust in a bunch of greedy bankers and their buddies who run the Federal Reserve. I hate to inform everyone....THERE IS NO RESERVE only printing presses printing false hope on pieces of paper called money. Though some doubt Ron Paul because of all the negative dollars spent to thwart his efforts to save this country he is our last hope.

Both parties are afraid of Dr. Paul and his no-nonsense approach to getting our country back on track. He is the only candidate backed by the people and not only some form of big money. It would be interesting to see not only the source and amount of campaign money donated to each candidate, but also the number of individuals contributing. Paul is backed by the common man, the middle class not just a bunch of millionaires and special interest groups

The career politicians had better wake up, Paul is as good as his word and will do some house cleaning if enough people have the guts and sense to avoid the same old same old and and put a man for the people in the white house.

Watch your back Dr. Paul!!!

@Glenn974637

We are overdue for a little rebellion. Hopefully, our rebellion will play out at the ballot box in November and we can finally Fire Them All

I agree with you that we are overdue for a little rebellion, but I don't think it will be at the ballot box. Voting will not get us out of the mess we're in. I have a feeling that real change will only come at the end of a barrel.

What are the facts since Obama took office?

High unemployment

5 trillion plus of more national debt

Increasing numbers of people on food stamps and government assistance

More regulations stifling economic growth

Very low int rates that are crippling savers

NO energy policy

Class warfare

No immigration policy

The emergence of OWS

Failing relationships with Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, China, N Korea, and no peace settlement with Israel and the Palestinians.

Thousands more committees to study what all of us already know.

Why didn't Obama last year take Simpson Bowles seriously? He hired them and then he ignored them. Why? Because Obama doesn't want to do the heavy lifting. He doesn't want to take on entitlement issues that are dragging down this country. He doesn't want to take on our poor public education.

Simpson Bowles was a beginning. The fact that democrats threw a fit about the recommendations should tell us all that the solutions were good ones. The problem is agreeing with many of them makes democrats look unpopular. Instead they bashed the republicans for trying to come up with plans to deal with these mounting issues. It was all about retaining power and getting re-elected. You can hate Paul Ryan for his plan, but he wasn't thinking about getting re-elected when he put forth a plan he knew he would get bashed for. Obama, instead of praising a break from politics, instead doubled on on Ryan and belittled him in public as often as he could.

The dems refuse to admit that just raising taxes on the 1 percent will not come close to solving our debt issues. That 1 percent is approx 1.3 million filers. We have 330 million people in our country with about 138 million filers each year.

The bottom 50 percent of our country has an effective tax rate of 1.85 percent. All the income tax gathered by this bracket pays only 2.3 percent of all taxes. Who are these people and why are there so many of them? Why are so many barely making a living today ? The reason is this group includes millions that are UNSKILLED labor. That means they lack an education, and they lack any skill that ANYBODY wants.

Put the blame where it belongs. Our society with a high divorce rate stopped caring about attending PTA meetings and stopped caring about what their kids ate and what they watched on tv and who they hung around with. The burden fell to the public school system and they failed to inspire kids to want to learn. Kids today, especially minorities that are often raised by one parent, do not see a correlation between education and getting a good job.

The truth is the price of housing should come down. It was nuts in many parts of the US. Many more today can afford to buy a house if they learned to stop wasting the income they currently have. Most families are terrible with money and do not know how to create their own wealth even if that means just 1 dollar saved a day.

We want people to consume at levels they cannot afford. When they ran out of cash, we gave them credit cards and now that payment is due. You can blame the banks, but NO bank ever tried to convince me to use my credit card. They new dragged me to the bank to buy a home and take out a mortgage I knew I could not afford.

I have made a ton of bad decisions in my life, and I blame nobody but myself.

this economist is just full of it; the important thing right now is; was Newt a faith-full husband. was Mitt a predatory capitalist, is Rick the darling of the religious far-outs; just listen to the debates, and you will realize all candidates believe all the American people are moron's, sitting in front of their TV, in a tea -shirt guzzling beer, and watching sports.

This article and obama's recent SOTU address are just further confirmation you can't believe anything that comes out of Obama's mouth! His speeches are full of rhetoric and promise he can't and won't fulfill.... his past SOTU addresses are proof of that, and this one was full of 'fact check' inconsistencies as well. He doesn't have the answers, yet his minions don't seem to care!

ABO in 2012 is still the best chance for America!

Just listen to Ron Paul. His predictions have come true. Watch the youtube video titled "Ron Paul Predictions 2002".

Also,

Under Bush the population on food stamps was at 8% which had been the average number since the 1970's.

Under Obama the population on food stamps has jumped from 8% to nearing 15%.

Chuck, Glenn, You are right. The people in power have been trying for years to get us to play cowboys and muslims but, I think what is coming is gonna be more like cowboys and moneygrubbers. YeeeeHaaawww!!!!

theboys:

There is a lot of merit in what you have to say. The majority of people in this country have no concept of self discipline or personal responsibility and unfortunately the NEA does not have the answeres---it is a miserale failure as the evidence bears witness. It's always someone else's fault. We are a pleasure driven society on a downhill slide. Many will spend the last dollar given to them on cigarettes, lottery tickets, or carry out pizza, they couldn't live without a cell phone and microwave. Most of the non-working crowd has no understanding of self reliance or conservation knowing daddy-big-bucks will be there to fork over another handful of worthless cash.

Our current system has crashed and is burning before our eyes, I don't think anyone but Ron Paul is willing to take the bull by the horns and turn this ship around before it goes belly-up.

Wake up America!!

Right, because what is most important to consider is THE ECONOMY. Nothing like lost lives or the danger of a nuclear armed Iran.

Thanks for reminding me, headlines!

So we think that that Iranians are smart enough to build a nuclear weapon. Yet we are also certain that as soon as they build one, they are going to nuke Israel, without realizing that they are going to be turned into radioactive dust themselves. I am just amazed at the number of people who don't see anything wrong with this picture.

LiFe&LiBeRtY.defender,

RE: your post #1

First, I would like to say that I respect, admire, and like Dr. Ron Paul. I do disagree with some of his proposals such as eliminating Social Security, Medicare, and all social programs, generally speaking. Now for the FACTS on our "mountain" of U.S. Debt. It is indeed a 'mountain', however, it was not created under the administration of President Obama ALONE. It has been building sharply for over 40 years under EVERY president. It has increased dramatically under George Bush and Barack Obama. Under Bush with his tax cuts, primarily for the wealthy and for fighting two wars (off the budget) which have cost us over $4.2 TRILLION. CONGRESS has spent vast sums, with the approval of Obama, trying to improve the economy which was an absolute disaster when he took office in January of 2009! Had we not spent, our entire economy and banking system would have TOTALLY COLLAPSED! I agree that Ron Paul would have said, "so be it". We disagree on that point. A final thought for you based on FACTS. No president has the power to INITIATE OR FORM A BUDGET. That task is originated in the U.S. House of Representatives; approved by the Senate and then, AND ONLY THEN, is the budget sent to the President for his signature. We haven't got to the point of President Obama signing a budget, cutting a budget, or even rejecting a budget, as NO budget has been presented to him PERIOD! You have stated that it is "Obams's Budget", that is actually FACTUALLY FALSE. Perhaps you meant differently, I don't know, please let me know your thoughts. I DO AGREE that we MUST drastically reduce our spending and reduce, our deficit sharply. I just hope, as an economist, it is not too late. The time is running short for us to ACT. The act of reducing the spending and increasing the revenue to lower our national debt originates in the halls of Congress with the House of Representatives and the Senate, NOT THE PRESIDENT! Have a GREAT weekend!

Byron,

Well, please don't think I'm taking the conservative side of the discussion but, I think most of us are under the strong impression that as a country controlled by a religion obsessed with martyrdom, that common sense on their part is not really an issue to consider.

Jo Ann-666954

Just listen to Ron Paul. His predictions have come true. Watch the youtube video titled "Ron Paul Predictions 2002".

Also,

Under Bush the population on food stamps was at 8% which had been the average number since the 1970's.

Under Obama the population on food stamps has jumped from 8% to nearing 15%.

So what Ms Newt!!!!! Remember what happened in December 2008??? You people seem to forget what happened. The biggest recession in the last 100 years. It was caused by the banks and greed of wall street. Who gives a f!@# about the food stamps. That is one of the smallest things this country has to deal with. First thing we should be worrying about the cost of education, because that's what gets people the good paying jobs.

14.7 million enrolled under Bush 14.2 under Obama...

msnbc reported that obama's advance team, the occupy wall street folks are in Davos building igloos as a statement! lol

Have we learned yet that you should never send a community organizer to do a leader's job?

The 'making profits' crowd are the ones holding back our economy. Too much of our economy is locked into making money from money.

We do not have a money deficit - we have a wealth deficit. The US economy (and the global economy) will not recover until we begin producing new wealth again. While the 'making profits' crowd are still in power - we will see inflation - we will see stagnant growth - we will see a continuing devaluation of work. Economies around the world are built on parasitic economics - and - are not sustainable.

Obama's policies have, indeed, propped up the system of profiting from the work of others. The 'conservative' firewall in Congress has only postponed the inevitable collapse of the non-productive 'investor' based redistribution of wealth.

On our current path - there will not be a Wall Street (as we know it) in 10 years - the banking system (as we know it) will not exist in 10 years - the 'financial parasites' are on the path to extinction. The economy will correct itself - the economy will return to capitalism. It is inevitable ...

If we were to return to the gold standard, it would take China about 10 months to transfer all of the gold in Fort Knox to China, just counting the trade deficit with them. Actually, they would want to do it immediately for just part of the $1.5 Trillion of accumulated dollars they hold - before we change our mind.

That's the reason that we went off the gold standard in the first place - other governments were sending their ships here to exchange their accumulated dollars for our gold.

There is one thing this economist simply does not understand. The one thing that is not controllable is a war with Iran. Unless Israel wipes out the Iranian nuclear facilities you are going to see war. I've read a good bit of the history and indeed have a pretty good feel for the situation. What many of you, including Ron Paul do not understand, and there is not excuse for not understanding, is what will happen is another 911 or worse if Iran is not stopped.

Right, because what is most important to consider is THE ECONOMY. Nothing like lost lives or the danger of a nuclear armed Iran.

To BOTH of you; feel free to pack your little duds and fly over to Iran and, gawd dang it- give the Iranians a piece of your mind and straighten everything out. You don't need our permission. Meanwhile, I'll be here and will be on the White House lawn PROTESTING - along with MILLIONS and MILLIONS of others, if war breaks out.

A war with Iran would destroy this Country. You want to wage one yourself? Go for it.

We're broke. We're tired of all the war-mongering krap. And we've have had it with these asinine wars. Period.

Brenda1964....i dont know what you are thinking. Obama is passing laws that restrict our liberties, he is also increasing our debt, rather than trying to fix it. At the moment he is saying the same old thing as he did in his 2008 campaign. He has nothing to offer....you claim that the repub block all his effort...wasnt his first goal in office to bring the troops home...Well he did nothing until this (election) year. How convenient! Also he wants to shrink the gov't...(i think he got that idea from Ron Paul!)

As for Ron Paul....his non-interventionist policy, would get our respect again, around the world. Secondly, we dont need to police the world, and that in turn, would take away any threat against us. If we are to "lead" the world to peace, then why do we try do it with war....lets lead by example. PROPAGANDA is all we see on the news, which in turn, breeds us to think that we are in a dangerous war....at all times. BullSht!

Ron Paul has the most exciting, fresh and realistic ideas of anyone. Foreign and domestic policies are both simply brilliant. The reason it is frowned upon is because it will eliminate the corruption in congress and put companies like blackwater and halliburton out of business. Plus it would decrease the cost of gas, and Exxon and the likes would no longer post record profits (every quarter) for the last several years. However, the American people and small business would benefit....but that is not the main goal of the politicians....other than Ron Paul!

People are afraid of change.....but change is what we need (not the Obama hope and change thing). We need real change to fix a broken system...Ron Paul has the solution!

@ROY WILSON-336103 -- China's 'gold standard' is the American dollar. Should the United States return to the 'gold standard' - China will automatically be on the 'gold standard', too. China does not need to transfer anything anywhere.

China will soon face a decision point about continuing to use the American dollar as their reserve. A strong dollar will introduce unsustainable inflation into the Chinese economy - and - Chinese manufacturing will not be as competitive.

The 'conservative' economic policies - to weaken the US economy globally - has worked to China's benefit. It is becoming clear that those 'conservative' economic policies are unsustainable and the US policy will be changing in the near future.

.

mqira:

Ron Paul has the most exciting, fresh and realistic ideas of anyone.

I couldn't have said it any better!!! Thanks!

We can now expect the heat to be turned up by the big money goons who support the bought and paid for puppets; Obama, Romney, and Gingrich.

As Dr. Paul gains in popularity we will surely see an increase in the negative ads against him. Right now the greasy little spin-doctors are hard at work trying to create doubt and ridicule made possible mostly by the ignorance of uninformed voters who base their opinions on the never ending supply of misinformation and half-truths that is constantly regurgitated by the media.

Let's hope enough people will conclude that truly it's time to turn from politics as usual and demand accountibility from our government all the way from the Township building to the White House!

Ron Paul 2012!

How much Gold do you think we have? If we returned to the Gold Standard we would have to replace all the currency in circulation with Gold. That would mean a dollar-gold ratio of maybe $10 or 12 thousand per ounce. That would result in an immediate wave of inflation that would dwarf the one in 1920's Germany. There is a fixed amount of Gold on this Earth and a steadily increasing number of people, all of whom want to live as well as we do.

Nice to know commenting on the article rather than talking about Ron Paul is worthy of collapse.

Yeah, we go from economics to politics...but then, often the two are interchangeable. What the real issue is that has resulted in our sinking little boats is called international and central banking. Governments have turned over the money to the central banks, they loan the governments the money they need, at interest, and the interest rates get higher and higher and the governments have no way to repay said debt.

If we printed our own money we would not be borrowing from a bank. There would be no interest, no debt. We print our currency based on either GDP, a tangible like gold or some other commodity of value. Note that the house you borrow money for, the principal takes forever to pay down, the interest is almost twice the value of the house.

Then, the government have created a system wherein they use taxpayer money to bail-out the banks and corporations, so why should the banks, etc. worry about piss-poor business practices? They know that whatever they do, the government will bail them out. Look at the trillions which Bernanke used to bailout foreign banks. Most of the bailout money went to bail out foreign banks. Get rid of the Federal Reserve and the other central banks, outlaw the crooks and you will see a turn-around and major improvements in global economies. It is the central banks that have gotten us here, that and government handouts and massive bureaucracies which cannot pay for themselves.

This economy is screwed as long as the Republicans operate under the fantasy that we can solve the debt problem while we cut taxes for the wealthiest individuals.

don...If you took all the assets of the wealthiest it would pay for about 1 year of U.S. debt. As the wealthiest would no longer exist after that, then exactly what would be your plan? You wouldn't have any choices but to significantly cut spending in the long term. So why should we not start doing the only long-term solution now?

Some lip flapping regarding global overall BS there; per what once WERE American standards, the ones that matter to me, we're already going 3rd world and at some instances, there. Thanks, corporo government.

"there is rising inequality between rich and poor." So why don't those greedy rich, who caused the problem in the first place, step up and help out with the economic problems? The money is there. They just don't want to share it.

RUkiddingme. Business-politics=$$$ If you ain't got it, get out.

One day those knuckleheads will realize, that without jobs, no-one will be buying their crap from the USA, (if we still are the United States).

We all ready have third world wages. When you make less than you did 20 years ago something is wrong. At the same time there are more millionares than ever before. Get rid of grover and the Greedy Bastards and start paying a decent wage for a decent day worked and people who work for a living can prosper again. The rich don't just get rich and the poor get poor. It has gotton way worse than that. WAKE UP AMERICA!

Oh Crystal you are so confused. The poor don't make the rules. The rich do and the bankers recruited those who couldn't afford the mortgages because they made money off the mortgages whether the poor bastards could make their payments or not. The banks didn't lose money on defaults because they bundled the mortgages and sold them to someone else and eventually the taxpayers ended up paying for the defaults. No I don't believe in handouts. Nobody hands me anything. I work for every penny and so should everyone who is able. That includes handouts to the rich as well as the poor. And yes, if you only knew, the rich receive billions, if not trillions, in handouts. I've said it before and I'll say it again... follow the money. Who ends up with the money. The poor on welfare? Yeah they get a little bit, but it is nothing compared to the very wealthy. It is a convoluted maze, but at the end of the day the very rich always get more then their share because they know how to play the game because they control it.

Most could afford their homes before bush came along and caused the crash. I had never herd the term Global Economy til bush. He and his kind are selling Americans out to the rest of the world and trying to destroy this once great nation. WAKE UP AMERICA!

This guy foresaw nothing special. Hundreds of people wrote articles and papers predicting a collapse for years based on stock market, borrowing, and excess debt. This was a slam dunk prediction and purely economic. He is however, not very good at politics and weakly argues that any conflict could bring about a collapse in a world economy...Really, do you think? Thanks for the insight. US debt is a more likely factor, as well as any radical action by North Korea and trouble with China in any global events that occur.. Worry about them instead.

terryknight, how much do you pay your workers?

I don't get it. Are you implying that if a person does not employ others then there opinion does not count, or what?

@DaveT

We have to give growth to jobs, skills, education, and increase human capital so workers can compete."

We already compete, it's called 200 applicants to each job opening.

msnbc reported that obama's advance team, the occupy wall street folks, are in Davos building igloos as a statement! lol

Have we learned yet that you should never send a community organizer to do a leader's job?

LiFe&LiBeRtY.defender

RON PAULS PLAN WILL ONLY BENEFIT THE RICH.

HE WANTS T DO AWAY WITH EVERYTHING AND GOVERNMENT SHOULD ONLY EXIST TO DEFEND THE COUNTRY THAT'S IT.

He wont win in this country ever. Lets say he does get elected, how is he going to convince congress to get rid of the fed, social security, health care, cut the entire budget for the military? The rich have to start paying more and that's what Obama is doing right now, hes letting the people know the gap that there's between them and the rich and that's what he whole reelection campaign is going to be based on.

@DaveT-2289071 -- Income inequality WILL correct itself. All natural systems - including economies - seek a stable equilibrium. The political and financial forces at work today are only postponing the move to a natural equilibrium.

The global 'conservatives' have been practicing reverse Keynesian economics by trying to manipulate economies to an unnatural equilibrium. Trying to create money from money is unnatural and unsustainable. The sovereign debts around the world prove, beyond doubt, that redistributing wealth from those that create the wealth is unsustainable.

Creating debt is NOT creating wealth. Creating inflation is NOT creating wealth. It is unavoidable that 'debt' and 'inflation' will collapse - economies seek natural equilibrium.

You will see the word 'haircut' more often in financial reporting over the next few years ...

Terryknight, the reason most people could afford their homes before Bush came along is because those ARMs started becoming financially toxic during his term, and to my knowledge, they are still in effect and still allowed. IMO those suicidal loans were the single greatest causes of the financial crash, and no one has done squat about them.

article stated this in it (She added that there would be need for IMF funds to help the euro zone.)

I thought HE looked like a man. But anyways. The economic crisis is bound to happen. And the world is so connected now how could one country. Firewall itself. There is no possible way to do that.

We can slow the impact even reverse some parts of the collapse. By buying local and used recycling our own waste. instead of shipping our metals to China. And by refusing to let Huge Corporations take over every aspect of our lives.

There are ways each individual person can lesson the effect of the crisis. Most just do not have the information on how they impact the economy. It is mostly trickle down even in our spending habits. When it could be Local on up. As for Iran well that is a fossil fuel problem. Go green and get natural gas Vehicle they are available. I have seen Propane run pickups on ranches and farms out here for decades.

You caanot be serious about JOBS until you address the issue of the surplus of labor that we have in the U.S. This is/was encouraged by Obama and Bush before him through legal and illegal immigration.

These policies keep WAGES DOWN AND UNEMPLOYMENT UP.

Even Reagan Raised taxes he had to and even Reagan left country in a deficit. So much for trickle down economics.

This country is hanging on by its collective fingernails and the only thing Obama has been somewhat successful at is obscuring this dire fact with his usual smoke and mirrors. Accordingly, a clueless Obama goes forward with his re-election campaign by continuing his class warfare rhetoric and demanding more in taxes from them. I’m certain he’s been told by his economic advisors that getting more taxes from them will pretty much amount to nothing and most likely have a detrimental effect on the economy, but he insists he wants the additional taxes anyway, because it’s more ideological than economical.

That said, the class warfare rhetoric seems to play well with the entitlement class mostly because they have been conditioned to expect more handouts if taxes are raised on the wealthy.

"Until Europe radically reforms itself and the U.S. gets serious about its own debt mountain, Roubini said, the world economy will continue to stumble along to the detriment of large chunks of the world's population who will continue to see their living standards under pressure, even if they have a job."

And Obama's response is;

"What debt crisis, we don't have a debt crisis - by the way, I need another $1.5 Trillion, right away"

@joeyfromcali -- The early signs are already pointing in the direction you outline. The 'collapse' will simply mean that people learn to work for themselves instead of working for others. The same thing happened during the depression in the 1930s.

People learn to 'make do' without spending money. Fix it yourself - trade labor for labor - reclaim discards - barter. People learn to use their own ingenuity and their own labor for their own benefit. Economics become very localized when people work for themselves. That will create the foundation for a return to true capitalism.

terryknight "Most could afford their homes before bush came along and caused the crash."

How simplistic some have become. The housing 'crash' was caused by loose lending standards by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac (approving 'Liar Loans'). These were initiated under Bill Clinton, and Bush actually tried to stop it, but the Democrats refused to change anything - accusing Bush of trying to keep the poor from 'realizing the American Dream' of owning a home. Ironically, Barack Obama was one of the lead attorneys that sued lenders to force them to make loans to unqualified borrowers - and then he blamed the resulting collapse on Bush.

Need proof? Read the next post.

@Wet Willy -- No one has been engaged in 'class warfare' except the sniveling little wannabe 'conservatives'.

Warren Buffet and George Soros are in the same 'class' as the Koch brothers and Grover Norquist. Obama, as a member of the 1%, has been calling for the people in his class to act more responsibly.

The only 'class envy' being displayed are by the no-talent, wannabe 'conservatives' who believe they can use the rigged 'conservative' economics to their advantage.

Well its amazing how we got here. Its also amazing how it seems everyone wants to blame someone else for our woes. When all along we caused them ourselves. Now we have a mountain of debt that quite frankly short of a "Biblical Year of Jubilee" we will soon see our standard of living dwindle even more. Whats more frightening is when China decides along with India, Russia, and other UN nations to change the world financial reserve currency. Most readers may not know what this actually means. China has been pushing for this to be changed ever since we got into our economic mess. They want to shift to their own money or even shifting to the dinar as the World Reserve Currency. That would mean for the USA the same thing that happened in Russia when we asked for that wall to be torn down. Like the ruble did then, the dollar would become a fiat money. It would become worthless. Immediately we would see a currency exchange nightmare and hyper inflation. If you want to keep placing blame then all we need to do is turn our eyes to this little piece of legislation that did our nation in. Oh yeah its exactly what lead us down this road. If we don't repeal this and address this legislation. We will only be doomed to repeat this. Wait till all the actual toxic debt hits our economy.

Then go to the FDIC website and read the Glass-Steagall Act. Which forbid banks from doing business in securities, it was separated as a different source of commerce. This protected us and our assets. Now we have banks doing business in areas of commerce that quite frankly are too risky. Look where we are now.

We need to return back to the gold standard in order to save our dollar and to pay off our debt. We need to also move away from the Stock market as the freaking indicator of how our economy is doing. I agree we need to use people capital instead of all this paper moving around the merry go round of finance and insurance. First we need to re-elect an entire new Congress and Senate, with a New President to show the World that the US Citizen is willing to do something about our situation.

It is long past overdue for a complete overturn of Washington DC. and its career politicians who not one I remind you suffered at all through this economic downturn as they so like to call it. Now what are they doing. Besides Harry Reid sitting on his hands, and John Boehner looking for his next Fake and Bake tan. Its time to take this nation back ONE CITIZEN at A TIME!

@alex cali

RON PAULS PLAN WILL ONLY BENEFIT THE RICH.

HE WANTS T DO AWAY WITH EVERYTHING AND GOVERNMENT SHOULD ONLY EXIST TO DEFEND THE COUNTRY THAT'S IT.

He wont win in this country ever. Lets say he does get elected, how is he going to convince congress to get rid of the fed, social security, health care, cut the entire budget for the military? The rich have to start paying more and that's what Obama is doing right now, hes letting the people know the gap that there's between them and the rich and that's what he whole reelection campaign is going to be based on.

You are completely wrong or mis-informed! Ron wants to make changes to SS..the (older) people who are invested will continue...the Younger have an option to opt out and start a new program. He want to phase it out, and start one with more control. This current system is NOT working...so why continue! He is finding broken programs and offering solutions. Next, he want to abolish the Fed....this is a GREAT idea. The US government pays money to the FED (which is a private entity...not a government one) The US gov't pays interest to the FED. The Fed pays no tax is exepmt from everything. The FED is owned by several families. there is a family tree of ownership here: http//www.save-a-patriot.org/files/view/whofed.html.

By the way....Ron policy of free market would benefit everyone,....You are CLEARLY wrong on this one. Even the other candidates have said many good things about his domestic policies...most people are skeptical about his foreign policy.....So once again Ron Paul stands for Free Market....the way it should be, free market. I dont think i need to go further than that!

The gov't role in the US is to protect our civil liberties. What Ron Paul wants is to follow the law of the land...which is exactly that. When it comes to persoanl liberties....the gov should stay out. Unless you are looking for a communist or dictatorship...what else should they do. Enforce laws like NDAA, The Patriot act....That is NOT what America was founded upon. However...people in power have changed that, and Ron Paul wants to bring back the gov't role to what it should be.....America, its people and the world would benefit! Again, because of free market and less regulation!

You claim he wants to cut the ENTIRE military budget....AGAIN YOU are WRONG! he wants cut (overseas) military spending. Remember we are overseas from false wars (iraq) . Afghanistan? Why are we still there? Ron Paul does not want to cut 1 penny from defense. Military spending is not lumped together. The defense is where he wants to continue....however the wasteful "offensive" militarism is where he wants to make the cuts! Pretty Brilliant if you ask me!

Alex...please before you comment.....get you information correct!

Ok lets see if the sites showed up for you to check out yourselves. If not the Gramm-Bilely-Leach Act of 1999 was the piece of legislation that brought all this about.

The 'repeal' of Glass-Steagall restrictions you are talking about is the Gramm - Leach - Bliley Act (also know as the Citigroup Relief Act) (Pub.L. 106-102).

Another compromise bill between Sen. Phil Gramm and the Clinton administration was modification of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. ch.16 , § 2903(c)) that allowed banks to further merge with other types of financial institutions.

BTW, adjustments to the Community Reinvestment Act were made in 2005 that allowed banks to 'fudge' their numbers and still meet the requirements of the CRA and issue more loans under the CRA umbrella. The Democrats protested those changes.

I know you won't accept Wiki links but here they are anyway. The articles point to external sources of information so you can do your own research.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm-Leach-Bliley_Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Act

Republican Senator Phil Gramm of Texas has the most responsibility for allowing the banks to play fast and loose with mortgages. And the Bush administration did encourage banks to make questionable loans.

One thing about conservative politicians - the louder the denials - the more they share in the guilt.

Interesting post Ron. I'll check out the references.
I seem to recall objections myself by prez Bush, but that blathering spit-throwing Frank kept disagreeing, at least I think that was what he was saying.

Norm - Yes, the economy will find another reasonably-stable-though-ultimately-temporary equilibrium point eventually. But where that point lies is dependent on the environment in which it is established. While we can't make everybody rich, we can decide whether we want that equilibrium point to be a nation of people who are working together to make everyone better off, or one of a highly fractured society where indolence is the coin of the realm benefiting the unproductive at the highest and lowest levels while the middle class breaks under the strain of supporting them.

(Historically, that latter type of equilibrium can last a while, but tends to collapse in ways that is cathartic for the middle class while making the overlords significantly worse off, and the guillotine manufacturers much, much wealthier.)

Nerm yes that is so about Gramm and Bush, I as a Conservative can make that distinction. I also can say President Bill Clinton signed on instead of vetoing this legislation. I for one do accept Wiki. I am never opposed to debating and talking intelligently about our screw ups. Just because some Republicans act a certain way does not mean all of us are the same. I am not a RINO either. I actually don't really consider myself a Republican any longer. I consider myself a Conservative Constitutionalists. Who has certain values and things that I believe in that work. It does not mean I agree with how most think they should work. We need to quit trying to legislate social engineering and get back to common sense politics. What is called give and take. Like our Fore Fathers use to do is sit in a local Pub, have a couple ales and talk about the ails of the nation. Interesting how much actually could be achieved over a friendly beer, not some extravagant dinner and such. We have in both parties gotten away from this.

@maxwello -- A virus infects a system to increase its prosperity - at the expense of the system. A virus attempts to integrate itself into the system so it appears to be a natural and critical part of the system. The virus does not do anything productive - it only exists to multiply itself.

The natural equilibrium will be to either control the virus (attempt to coexist) or to reject the virus. If the virus becomes stronger than the system it infects - the system simply dies - the ultimate rejection of the virus.

Our global economies are infected with too many 'financial parasites' that are not doing anything productive. The 'financial parasites' are not creating wealth - they are redistributing wealth so they prosper - at the expense of the economies they infect.

Economies - like any other natural system - have attempted to co-exist with the 'financial parasites' but the infection is now overwhelming those economies. The 'financial parasites' will either be rejected or the economies will die - the ultimate rejection.

The global economies do not have money deficits - they have wealth deficits. There are too many non-productive parasites feeding on the economies to be sustainable ...

Nerm L 2.27

Yes nerm, keep alluding to that pair (Buffet & Soros) of bourgeois socialists. By your post, you exhibit exactly the traits of the gullible masses they exploit. You most adroitly ooze class envy from your every pore.

You have my sympathy.

@TheSwordNPen79 -- The fake 'conservatives' of today attempt to deflect the blame onto Barney Frank. The role of Barney Frank was to negotiate a compromise position between Phil Gramm (and followers) and the Clinton administration. That is why the compromise legislation received bipartisan approval - it was a compromise.

Understand the context of the time period - Clinton had co-opted the main conservative talking points. The Clinton administration really did cut 250,000 Federal jobs - the government really was smaller. The Clinton administration really did materially diminish Federal welfare. The Clinton administration really did support and pass NAFTA - nothing was more 'free enterprise' at the time. Clinton basically stole the Republican's lollipops. The Republicans were searching for relevance with their base. The Contract with America was the political expression of that search for relevance ...

The ultra-conservatives (NeoCon) of the period were simply trying to find issues that made political points for themselves. It was not about trying to govern - it was about trying to be relevant ...

Roy Wilson,

Cherry-picking the Fox News economic talking points again, I see, Far as you're concerned, the Dems and Obama can only do wrong, and only the Conservatives, G.W. Bush and people like yourself can do right, eh?

I may not be the first person to point this out -- but for the sake of the rest of the readers here -- the more you structure your "arguments" to look professionally formatted in its written form (in effect, "putting lipstick on a pig"), the more of an engineered marketing fraud it appears to be, especially to anyone that looks closer at what you write, and questions the one-sided opinions you keep dispensing on the 'Vine.

And you know what outcome I expect is going to make you reassess your rigid assumptions and heighten your nonconstructive, crafted cynicism? The 2012 November General Election, when President Obama is voted back in by a majority of the Electoral College as well as by the nation's electorate... and the Dems regain control of the House.

Most polls I've read over the past 18 months -- save for the ones you advertise from Fox News and their echo sites on the web, disguised as expert opinions -- point to the popularity of Obama and his policies and proposals, compared to the GOP/Tea Party's leaders in Congress, their regressive right ideologies that offend so many liberals and centrists, the right-wing's single-minded obstruction and their strong propensity to fabricate nonsense, on-the-fly.

So go on with your anti-progressive bitching, and see what it gets you. A smaller, more isolated world for people like yourself in this country, especially in the eyes of the outside world.

Good luck in selling your cynical, neo-conservative views to the majority of the readers here, because I for one, am not buying it.

Nerm (sorry for the earlier misspelling) - I don't disagree with your analysis of the situation. I just acknowledge that, using your biological metaphor, the death and decomposition of one entity creates an environment where new, unrelated things can grow. It seems a tragedy in the moment, but if it weren't for a number of mass-extinctions in the past, we wouldn't be here today.

Revolutions are only pretty in history books. I hope a new one can be avoided, but that hasn't always been possible in the past. What is most incredible to me is that the wealthiest seem to be whipping one of the poorest, but most well-armed portions of society into a frenzy. It almost seems like a plot from a dystopian novel where the ruling elite needs to decrease the "surplus population." I fear the violence that may be coming.

@Wet Willy -- The 'liberal rich' are simply confident that they will remain 'rich' if they share with society. The 'conservative rich' lack that confidence.

The fact remains that the argument is between the 'liberal rich' and the 'conservative rich'. They are of the same class - so it cannot be class warfare.

Fairness is not a 'rich' or 'poor' issue. It is an argument about right and wrong.

Goldman Sachs = financal parasite!

@maxwello -- I believe my view is more optimistic than the one you are presenting. There have been many revolutions throughout human history - not all have been violent. The Industrial Revolution is a reasonably good example.

The Industrial Revolution shifted the entire global economy toward mass labor. A shift from the predominance of the individual to the predominance of the system. While it was messy and painful for individuals - economies became more interconnected, became larger, and became stronger. Eventually most individuals prospered as the new economies achieved equilibrium. And, yes, the changes did give rise to expressions of violence. The Industrial Revolution made world wars possible for the first time in human history.

I believe we are nearing the end of the Industrial Revolution. I have no idea what the next revolution will be - but - I sense the coming change. I believe the next era will be a shift from mass labor to re-emergence of individual labor.

Individuals have become much more interconnected than economies have. It is becoming evident that individual creativity, ingenuity, and talent are becoming the currency of the future. It is possible for an individual to send a plea for help into the great mass of humanity - and - receive an answer. Individuals are directly engaged in fulfilling the needs of others. That is the most fundamental concept of economics ...

Humanity is moving beyond geopolitical boundaries, economic theories, political segregation.

Nerm Very interesting theory! How does the bloated pig of federal government fit into this? I expect if the government loses its ability to be the middle man in everything so as to benefit financially from everything. That this will not be a peacefull transition into the new age!

@ssmike -- Our current economic system is based on the ability to extract profits from wealth that will be created in the future. Profit today - work tomorrow. That is how wealth is being redistributed in our economy. As an investor, I would receive profits from the work you do tomorrow.

Those extracted profits become a liability against future work - future wealth creation. Future profits diminish because the parasitic nature of investing has already extracted and distributed those profits in the economy. At some point, no matter how hard the economy works, not enough wealth can be created to fulfill the redistribution that has already occurred.

The role of government is to moderate that redistribution of wealth. If non-productive investors are receiving too much of the future wealth - government is supposed to tax those profits and redistribute them back into the economy. If the government does not do that - the economy becomes unsustainable - and - the economy collapses.

Hey!.....................I heard that Nouriel Roubini was type cast and interviewed for one of the parts in the new "Three Stooges" movie!

Roubini is a real 'know it all!' He "saw" the crash of 08 huh? So did lots of states attorney generals who tried to warn our federal government. Hedge funds knew it too and insulated themselves with insurance against it. If Roubini was so astute and nailed the disaster of 08 how come we didn't see him standing on a soap box screaming it to the world? The only thing I saw was Bush's "Bum Boy" Paulson racing up to the Hill with the sweat running down the crack of his ass begging Pelosi for Billions to bail out his buddies in the Investment Banks.

Put a sorcerer's hat and cape on Roubini and let him stand in for Micky Mouse.

Roubini called for a major change in policy priorities.

"We have to shift our investment from things that are less productive like the financial sector and housing and real estate to things that are more productive like our people, our human capital, our structure, our technology, our innovation," he said.

Sounds like the opposite of what I hear from the GOP Presidential candidates.

She added that there would be need for IMF funds to help the euro zone.

Ironically, the IMF is also being funded by the BRICs. They used to be called third World countries. Ever wonder how they became able to bail out the EuroZone or own the US debt.... Because in order to maximize profits industry captains and central banks took our manufacturing capabilities and labor force and skills and basically gave it to them for their slave labor. We shot ourselves in the foot. The value in manufacturing, created by the hands of our workers, have been shipped overseas thereby basically leaving no way for the majority of tax payers to have any disposable income. America and Euro is no longer the driving engines behind consumerism. Guess who are now the rich boys in town. Globalization has been good for only one caste, the elite and captains of industry who play on the International level. The rest of us tax payers have been left holding the bag.

the tide of deregulation, and...

"The Warning":

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/cron/

Here's an interesting article from The Atlantic:

Mitt’s wealthy father, American Motors CEO George Romney, released 12 years of his tax returns when he ran for the 1968 GOP Presidential nomination.

These papa Romney tax returns offer a window of their own — into just how amazingly rich people-friendly America’s current tax code has become.

From 1955 through 1966, George Romney reported income of $2.97 million — about $22 million in today’s dollars — and paid 36.9 percent of that in federal income tax.

George in his heyday rated as one of America’s highest income-earners. In 1960, his rewards from American Motors helped bring his total personal income to $661,423, a bit over $5 million today. The IRS only counted 533 taxpayers who made between $500,000 and $750,000 in 1960 — and only 508 taxpayers in the entire country who made more than $750,000.

How did George Romney’s tax rate compare to the tax rate of his fellow rich? George actually paid a smaller share of his income to Uncle Sam than his peers, mainly because he donated almost a quarter of his income to charity and church.

America’s 1960 rich in George’s $500,000-to-$750,000 cohort — a range that would equal from $3.8 to $5.7 million today — paid an average 45.3 percent of their incomes in federal taxes, after exploiting every tax loophole they could find.

The 1960 rich, even after adjusting for inflation, only made a tiny fraction of the incomes our rich today are pulling down.

The true millionaires of 1960 — the 306 taxpayers who reported at least $1 million in income, the equivalent of $7.6 million today — paid taxes at a slightly higher rate, 45.8 percent. These millionaires only averaged, in today’s dollars, about a little over $15 million each in income.

How does that $15 million average for America’s richest in 1960 compare to the income of America’s richest today? The 1960 rich, even after adjusting for inflation, only made a tiny fraction of the incomes our rich today are pulling down. Last spring, the hedge fund industry trade journal reported that America’s top 25 hedge fund managers averaged $882.8 million — each — the year before.

Their tax rate? We don’t know that for sure. But hedge fund managers exploit the same “carried interest” loophole that has proved so lucrative to private equity power suits like Mitt Romney.

The top 25 hedge fund manager federal income tax rate most likely floats between 15 percent — the same rate Mitt pays his taxes at — and 18.1 percent, the average federal income tax rate on America’s 400 richest taxpayers in 2008, the most recent year with IRS data available.

So let’s review the bidding here. Today’s top hedge fund managers make 59 times more income than the richest Americans in 1960, after taking inflation into account. Yet the richest Americans of 1960 paid three times more of their income in federal income taxes than today’s top hedge fund managers pay.

Oh-kay. Well. Anyone - and everyone - who actually follows global economics (the subject of this article) knows that Roubini has been correct at every turn for the better part of a decade. Too bad so few listened.

here's another one..

a tremor...running outta cash...rumors can kill a company in a few days,..

"inside the meltdown":

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meltdown/cron/

(for everyone to see.)

@littlechanges -- Roubini is simply stating common sense economics - not colored by political overtones. Politics is supposed to be a moderating counter balance to financial markets. Unfortunately much of the debt based economics relies on controlling politics in order to subvert that moderating influence. The increasing redistribution of wealth - the growing inequality in distribution of created wealth - is the clear indication that governments are 'broken'. That includes both the United States and European countries.

Some of the important points that Roubini raises are glossed over. Roubini recognizes that the debt load in the economies are, in large part, responsible for the growing inequality in distribution of created wealth. Investments are being made in non-productive ways that do not increase productivity or competitiveness. Productivity and competitiveness are measures of an economy's ability to create wealth in the future.

A big issue that is glossed over by the politics of denial is that the debt burden Roubini is talking about is TOTAL debt - government, personal, and business debt. At present the debt burden of the United States is almost four times our GDP. The sovereign Federal debt of the United States is about one quarter of the TOTAL debt burden of our economy. Completely eliminating the Federal debt still leaves a debt burden that will be much more than three times GDP - because reducing government spending lowers GDP.

That debt burden represents future wealth that has already been distributed in the economy. Our economy is not generating sufficient new wealth to prop up what has already been distributed and produce profits. Our economy will not grow faster until that debt burden is reduced - either paid down or written off. Europe has already begun writing down their debt - taking a 'haircut'. We may also begin seeing the term 'haircut' more often in US financial reporting - especially considering the amount of foreclosures still waiting.

He's not the only one that saw the crash coming in 2008.

Mike Whitey (journalist) and Dean Baker (economist) both saw the $8 trillion dollar housing bubble before it crashed the economy in Sept of 2008 and a said it would burst with devastating consequences.

Here's an excerpt from article from 2006 (!):

Housing Bubble Bloodbath

By Mike Whitney

“The crash of the housing bubble will not be pretty. Millions of people stand to lose their homes and life savings. However, it was inevitable. The bubble created a fantasy world that could not continue. At the peak of the bubble, 160,000 people a week were buying a home, most at bubble inflated prices. The longer the bubble persists, the larger the group of people who paid way too much for their home. While it is not good that so many dreams had to be ruined, the number will be even larger if the bubble deflates slowly. So I make no apologies about hoping for the hasty demise of the bubble.” Dean Baker, “Slow Motion Train Wreck” The American Prospect, Aug 2, 2006

“No question about it, the housing downturn is here now, and it’s big.” Jim Hamilton “New Home Sales continue to Fall”, Econbrowser Aug 25, 2006

01/13/06 -- - I wonder if Alan Greenspan takes a copy of the business page along with him on the chair-lift at the Aspen, so he can read about the plummeting housing market before swooshing down the well-groomed bunny-slopes at his favorite ski resort. After all, no one played a larger role in inflating (what the “Economist” called) the “biggest equity bubble in history” than the retired Fed-master. His low interest-rate bonanza triggered a stampede of speculation in the real estate market sending prices through the stratosphere and setting the stage for the biggest economic bust in American history….

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16164.htm

@ROY WILSON-336103

For all the hard work that you put into your opus, in your role of Captain Ahab, you simply missed the basic fact that the GSEs had been around for 70 years and never had any problems insuring America's mortgages until the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act opened up the floodgates in the financial industry. By removing the firewalls that had existed among commercial and investment banking and insurance since the 1930s, all sorts of "creative" financing arose.

When that happened, any fool who could say "Duh" could sell insurance and originate mortgages and package them to sell to "investors (speculators, ahem). The reality is that the problem did not being in the GSEs. The problem started with de-regulation utopian dogma that failed to recognize that people are just idiots.

While it is true that the GSEs did not hold enough capital to back the risks that were building in the real estate mortgage market, the GSEs did not create the bubble nor did they originate the flimsy mortgages. For 70 years, holding 3% capital was MORE THAN ENOUGH to back risks when the firewalls were in place. And, it was not the Democrats that originated and then pushed the Gramm-Leach_Bliley Act. It was the Republican libertarian utopians.

I deeply apologize that this does not agree with your mission of re-writing of history or failure to recognize what really works from experience.

Kudos to you Larry. The trashing of Glass-Steagall directly led to the fall of competent banking regulations which separated the greedy Investment Banks from Commercial banking. At only around 70 pages, Glass-Steagall protected consumers and kept the mega Investment Bank wolves from the door for over seventy years. Of course everyone remembers the now infamous remark made by the illustrious, self-promoting Phil Gramm. He called us little folks just a bunch of "whiners." After his tenure in Congress, Gramm saw fit to take a job with one of the largest Investment Bank finaglers on the planet, UBS! And of course UBS was intent on hiding as much information on U.S. Tax Cheats as they could. At well over 2,000 pages, the most recent attempt at banking regulation doesn't come as close to protecting consumers from bad banking practices as Glass-Steagall did with 70 pages. It's as simple as that.

and those whose thoughts are limited to the transparently-groundless and worn-out talking points of a failed political party and derogatory comments for everyone who doesn't 'think' the same way

In the U. S. the most destabilizing influences are a president wholly bereft of even a hint of competence and an equally ignorant populace.

Yeah? I thought Bush/Grima Worm-tongue Cheney were voted out

Still people don't get it... The rich are controlling our governement. Until the general populace gets that through their heads and votes in people who will make the necessary changes, nothing wil change. The foxes are guarding the hen house. Meanwhile we argue about which fox we want to guard it next. The foxes have to go. Get rid of them. Every single one of them.

benji2 - that's an interchangable argument, reflecting both parties.

Pueo - you have succumbed to a philosophy of fear that uses envy and hate to make you feel bad about greatness.

you got that right. a stimulus package that said shovel ready but the money did not go to shovel ready brick and mortar that would have put us back to work. infrastructure? water and sewer? almost nothing. To blame? the Pres and both Republicians and Demos who did understand that it was brick and mortar jobs that would have put the country back to work.

alim,

Yes lot of people in both parties parrot partisan talking points. At best, the valid ones can serve as a starting point for meaningful discussion. But the transparently-groundless, worn-out slams like the above do not reflect genuine evaluations of Obama's performance, but deliberate falsehoods, i.e., propaganda, cranked-out daily by the right-wing noise machine.

To repeat such talking points suggests a lack independent reasoning capacity (except for those who knowingly spread falsehoods; those lack intellectual integrity).

How about offering rational thoughts instead of personally attacking jet7, "ceo". Whenever people like you disagree with someone, you attack them instead of the argument. Oh, and the plural of cliché is clichés.

TTAC: I don't see an attack.

Jet7,

Why don't you try and recruit some qualified managerial talent for your idea of a reasonable salary. You have no concept of how a capitalistic market works nor do you have any clue about risk and reward. Publicly traded companies do not simply hand the reins multi-billion dollars corporations to someone because they are wealthy or have a certain political affiliation. Do I believe that there are horrible CEOs out there that should not be running companies? Sure. Do I agree that the banking industry should have been left to collapes and bring down the entire US economy? Not really. I certainly feel there should have been much more oversight involved with the bailout money.

On the other hand... (this will probably be quickly collapsed by the online community) I strongly believe that a large part of the problem lies on the opposite side of the spectrum. Unions have pushed wages to the point where it no longer makes sense to manufacture in the United States. The same freaking construction job costs at LEAST 50% more for union builders compared to non-union builders. This artificial boost of wages makes unionized companies less competitive and unions lead to much lower productivity. They have created unsustainable pensions that are bankrupting companies. While everyone wants a higher standard of living, we need to recognize that we live in a free market global economy where jobs are EASILY OUTSOURCED. If we suddenly closed our borders and stopped imports, I would be surprised if the cost of goods did not double (if not more). High school graduates should not be making as much money as college/grad school graduates just because they are part of a union. You want to talk about corruption and Mafia like behavior??? Go look at the unions.

If you have some valid arguements or suggestions rather than bashing people for making money, I'm all ears.

Right On jet7!!!!! ceo: you either work for them, are one of them (which I doubt, they wouldn't spend their time on something as trivial as these comments) or you just have no idea what you are talking about. Wally: same for you as ceo. Why don't you do something productive to help the situation instead of working to maintain the status quo. Those you work for are greedy and dispicable. How can you sleep at night knowing these policies are causing so much harm to people and our country?

My company employs around 80,000 people worldwide and treats us well, and contributes to the community. I sleep well at night because I am on the inside looking out at the malcontents and crazies

Sounds like jet7 has struck a nerve with the gazillonares on the vine. Anything that makes sense is saskincy or leftist or drivel. Common sense or any thing close looks bad to the right wing nuts trying to destroy this country. grover and his goonies are going down and America will rise again. Too many smart people here still left. No matter how you right wing nuts try and stop education and brain wash people via the news media and now control our colleges ciriculam the message will still get through. Oh yea thats the kock brothers trying to control our college cirriculam they teach. A special will air soon about this. WAKE UP AMERICA!

The keyword walley is WORLDWIDE and not in America.

Jet 7. are you telling me that you wouldn't sell your perceived talents to the highest bidder?

Profits are high in many of those companies so they must be doing something right. But I guess some are really upset at the fact that the handouts are stopping and they will have to work for what they get.

Speaking for myself DB, my intent is to help people and to do the honorable thing, not just to rip them off for as much as I can get for myself. Greed is a bad thing. R. Scalzo: profits are high in many of those companies because they have learned how to game the system (because the control the rules). Profit is not the best way to judge whether something is right or not. What they are doing is not right. People suffer so they can make a bigger profit. That is not right. That is greed. With attitudes like yours its no wonder our country and our world are going down the existential sewer. Helping the most people possible, not just ourselves, is what is right. And no, once again, I am not talking about handouts to people unwilling to work. That also is wrong. I am talking about providing jobs and opportunity to the most people that you can. I also believe working toward a peaceful world can be profitable and benefit more people then warmongering.

Areyoukiddingme: Well, it seems you have the right perspective and it appears that you have an insight to all those greedy SOB's that are ruining this country, not to mention the business savy to change things. So why don't you start your own company. I'm sure you have the smarts, talent and drive to get that done. After all, the business executives of today have none of that...it's their capitalistic greed that has allowed them to achieve such a high standing in life, which of course is not part of your motive. All you want is for everybody to be happy. So go out there and recruit the seed money needed to start that business of yours, hire some people, pay them a lot of money and start making those profits that you can give away. Come on....it's real simple. Why not do something that really matters...instead of eliciting a bunch of verbal jibberish that makes you feel good.

TTAC - Sounds as if have found your place in life...posting inane comments and engaging in the anal practice of correcting ones grammar on a blog, contratulatuions.

@Stephen-2306079 - First of all Jet7 has the right to say what ever they want no matter what you and corporate corrupted mind concludes. Unionization is the only tool the worker has to get a fair shake in capitalistic society. Most CEO’s will never pay a living wage or offer benefits worth having if there is no rules in place to make them do so. The stockholders also dictate a trend towards a race to the bottom in wages. So organized labor will always be a target for corporate manipulative propaganda such as the type you disembogue. Perhaps the unions did overreach at a point earlier in American labor history but instead of trying correct any overreach corporations set out to destroy all collective bargaining. Hence a overreach in the opposite direction was born. So starting with the really, not so great, Ronald Reagan the push began and still surges today and is far surpassed the point of correction. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics only 11.8% of American workers now have union representation so the old “Union Bosses” cliche is tiresome and untrue. The proper cliche these days should be “Corporate Bosses”. The Corporate Bosses and their Republican Party will never pay or legislate rules for a living wage. So workers must actually reunite again instead of continuing to allow corporate money and media to dictate their livelihood.

Stephen,

While unions at some firms represent an expense that is more than they can (or would like to) sustain, no one held a gun to management's head to enter into the contracts in the first place. The workers agreed to do specific jobs for specific compensation that included wages AND benefits. If the benefits had not been offered, wages would have had to go up commensurately. Short-sited management may have agreed to more than they could afford, but how does that give them the right to complain about a contractual obligation?

Isn't it interesting that the same people who think that unsophisticated homeowners who took advice from purported experts when entering a mortgage contract should be pilloried for their inability to have foreseen the future or understand the arcane legal jargon of a contract PREPARED BY THE LENDER, while supposedly sophisticated businessmen who entered into a contract for labor THAT THEY HELP WRITE, now feel cheated because the second part of their payment is coming due. The internal inconsistency of vilifying the unions in this scenario is dizzying.

i have a few comments. it doesn't take a doctorate in economics to figure out how to correct things. here's a riddle: what do you get when you have happy, well paid employees? ... Happy, Spending, Consumers!!!!!! this isn't brain surgery! why can't the rich corporations see that? you don't have to give your employees a free ride, just give them enough money to live on! and what is a decent wage someone asked? well, it depends upon the part of the country you're from because that determines the cost of living. again, this isn't that difficult to determine the mean cost of living and adjust wages accordingly. i could probably do it and math was my worst subject.

what the uber rich in this country and around the world(because greed isn't an american commodity) aren't learning from history is that people don't bring down governments because they are happy and well fed. they do it when they are suffering! it's already starting and believe me although you may think the people are gone(i.e. ows) they are just waiting for spring. ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD WILL NOT INSULATE YOU AGAINST THE PEOPLE WHO WILL RISE UP if you don't get your greed under control.

i agreed that everyone should contribute to society if they physically can. my mother has spent her entire adult life in a wheel chair. when she was a young woman, she would have given anything to work. she still had her hands, her eyes, her hearing, her voice and above all her intelligence to give. but! back in the 'good ol' days' she wasn't ALLOWED to get a job. she barely got out of high school! god forbid she should go to college. only the very elite handicapped people who had personal nurses were allowed to further their education. my point is that i believe MOST people would gladly work if they had the opportunity. you want to get rid of welfare? well, it starts with our children. we NEED to give them something to build on and something to believe in-themselves and their abilities. but instead, city, state governments are cutting education every year to the point that if you don't have MONEY, (there'e that four-letter word again) to send your kids to private school, they suffer. they grow up cynical and lost and then guess what? they quit and end up on welfare with children. it is absolutely our own fault that we let our children down. but, the uber rich don't want your children to go to school. they are trying desperately to turn this into a third world country where you are born, live and die in the same spot and they want your children to go to work. they start by taking the jobs out of the country, bring our unemployment up and make the american worker desperate enough that he is willing to work any job for any amount of wages. then they bring back the jobs at the fraction of what they were paying before and since you can't possibly make ends meet on the slave wages that they will now offer, your children will have to go to work instead of school. and the uber rich are helping that happen by backing politicians who are fighting right now to lower the working age and get rid of public education. i'm not trying to bash the right, but the truth is the truth and it is the ultra conservative right wing that is behind this. and i'm not saying republicans because i know that the average republican on the street would no more want this than the democrats. the truth is, most people want the same thing, but we are being pulled apart by political rhetoric and we need to start ignoring the pundits and find common ground to stand together on.

free enterprise without a conscience is just greed. but, we, the people, of the united states of america, are the single most powerful entity on this planet and if we stand together for a common cause, no amount of money will stop us. WE control the fates of the uber rich because WE buy their products! Or maybe we won't. how many companies have gone out of business because they can't get any customers? well, why not some organized push to stop buying from corporate jackals? it could be done, if we had the true resolve. Pres Obama is trying to help. he wants to reward companies that bring in jobs that pay well, and he wants to stop giving subsidies to companies who don't. it's a start in the right direction. he wants to put more money back in education and less money to military. on one hand, we need a strong military, but there is NO need to constantly being at war.

are all politicians part of the rich? well, duh. how do you think they got where they are? money! if you want people in congress who truly represent you then start electing ordinary people. i'll go. i'm about as ordinary as you can get. and i'm not greedy. and i can't be bought. i left my job of 26 years because they devolved into a money grubbing corporation that cares more about profit than people. i made twice as much as i am today. but, i can sleep at night, now and get up in the morning and know that i didn't have to scam anyone to get my wages. now, i'm joking pretty much about running for office, but you get my point. we need to start paying attention to who we are electing and stop allowing big money to brainwash us with commercials into thinking that someone like Mitt Romney(i'm sure he's a nice man, this isn't a dig against him as a person) who has become the poster boy for the uber rich or Gringrich who, well, i can't think of anything nice to say, so i won't-to get into office. ron paul is from another planet, a xenophobe whose ideas would destroy everything if he could actually get them passed...which he never could. the only republican candidate worth his salt was huntsman and he was smart enough to see the light and get out. now, if he changed parties and ran for president in 2016 he might have a chance. right now, i wouldn't vote for a republican if he grew wings and sprouted a halo and until one of them does i'll stick with obama.

William the Great; "Most CEO’s will never pay a living wage or offer benefits worth having if there is no rules in place to make them do so."

You have no idea of what you are talking about. A respectable salary, health benefits, 401k's and various other perks are standard procedure for any company that wants to compete for the best employee talent available. And the stock holders concerns are not focused on salaries, they rely on company management to develop an appropriate market based pay scale. A stock holders concerns are with returns on investments. And those returns are best met with a company that provides a service or product at a competitive price and has a good standing in the community. It walks a fine line in trying to do what's best for all concerned, the company, share holders and yes...the employees. And sometimes things don't work out as planned, there are no guarantees. So take your class warfare and wealthy envy bitterness somewhere else.

@

ceo-722851 - Mr. ceo-722851 please quit flattering yourself it's painful to see and almost embarrassing for rest of us read. I envy no person and will never go somewhere else at the orders of a self centered egotistical poor excuse of human being as you. I am a proud productive worker that excels in my chosen occupation and have earned everything I own. I will never tell you to leave or shut up because my father, uncles and cousins have fought to protect your freedom of speech no matter how vile and despicable you wish to present yourself. You sir appear to be the pinnacle low of a society torn by hate and prejudice, I pity your family and have nothing else to say to you other then God bless your soul.

william, bravo! to ceo-722851- i agree with william! who the h*ll do you think you are that we should envy you? i wouldn't trade places with you for all the money in the world. as i posted before i LEFT a job because of their ethics, the money wasn't worth selling my soul to the devil for 30 pieces of silver. apparently, yours is not. would i turn down a million dollars? of course not! BUT, here's the difference between you and the rest of us. i don't NEED to be rich in order to see myself as a decent, viable human being. i don't NEED to get money at any cost to anyone who happens to get in my way.

we're not envious, we just want what we DESERVE!!!!!! a decent day's pay for a decent day's work!!!!!! the 99% work HARD for their money and frankly, mr. ceo without your workforce YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A COMPANY! so, as much as we need your employment, YOU NEED US. so, get off your high horse and start showing some appreciation for those whose backs YOU stand on

It's real simple for both you mindless dolts.....this is America, just start your own company. You're so quick to criticize those that run both small businesses and corporate America, if you want what you DESERVE, go out there and get it done yourself. What the hell is stopping you. It just requires smarts, talent and a great deal of drive....but judging by the quality of your responses I'm guessing that both of you lack one or the other and most likely all three. So I doubt if that will take place. You'll just go on blaming someone else for your circumstance as you wallow in your own self pity. While there are other people out there that believe in their own self worth, believe that almost anything can be achieved if the effort is put forth, refuse to accept second best, and strive every day to make things better. You two just complain....while loathing those same people. With the intent of learning and then hopefully excelling, I make an attempt to surround myself with people just like that all the time.

Hey William....your post was pretty tough on me...all I did was say you didn't know what the hell you were talking about and explained why. And of course, instead of trying to show me where I was wrong (because you couldn't) you jumped into a hate filled tirade full of vitriol. I would expect nothing less. The feelings are mutual.

@

ceo-722851 - Mr. ceo-722851, maybe I should apologize for my rush to judgment on you. I have looked at numerous recent posts of yours and have determined that you are probably suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder which has totally discombobulated your train of thought. The actions of victims inflicted as yourself usually have to put people down to make themselves feel big. 85% of the people with this unfortunate problem are either alcoholics or drug addicts the other 15% were most likely raised by parents whom belittled them as children. I hope your disorder is due to alcohol or drugs since I presume it would be the easier to recover from and I abhor child abuse. I would suggest you check into 12 step program and find a competent psychiatrist to assist you in this time of need, I’m sure your executive healthcare plan covers these types of physical and mental ailments. Who knows maybe after treatment you will grow a heart like that green character in the Christmas cartoon and give all those lazy dolts you have working for you a small salary increase.

Hey Willy...thanks for all the advise. If I could return the favor...it would be my suggestion that you leave the attempts at acerbic wit to somebody else...... somebody that has a wit...... and a sense of humor. Your posts just reveal a tired, frustrated individual attempting to remain relevant.

Oh please Mr. ceo-722851 cut the BS and just admit your envious of my obviously superior wit. In contrast to your repetitious, pathetic, right wing talking point filled chicken scratch I probably appear to be a damn genius. Ha Ha. Imagine! someone who thinks he’s relevant on a cable news website thread and claims to be a CEO. How inane that thought seems.

Yeah Willy....you sure put me in my place, I'm humbled. How do I match wits with someone that elicits such biting comments as "Ha Ha"? Finally, show me where I claimed to be a CEO....you simpleton.

@Wally-1853299, @ceo-722851

I read a lot on these blogs postings from (apparently) business owners and leaders. What I find interesting about those posts is how they seek to blame their workers (and unions in general) for what are business problems. The thing that always occurs to me is that whether the poster is all that great a businessman to begin with.

Ever think that maybe the reason some of these posters cannot make their business profitable while paying a living wage with benefits is that they are just a terrible businessmen or managers? Or, maybe they are in the WRONG BUSINESS. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur (it's lie that anyone can be one). It requires the skill of listening and the ability to understand the other side of a negotiation.

Many times the blog post clearly eliminates the possibility that the poster has these soft skills.

@ William: Where did I state that Jet 7 did not have a right to say what he wanted? You talk about unions giving a fair shake at corporations. Unions were once a necessity whne there was little to no government regulation. The FSLB, DOL, EEOC, OSHA, etc... give workers the protection they need. The government sets minimum wage, not the corporations. If I can't attract the employees I need at what I am offering, then I am at a competitive disadvantage. NO ONE is forced to work for me. I cannot control what other companies in my industry pay. How am I liable for artificially supressing wages??? I work 80 hours a week on average and make sacrifices, yet it is MY FAULT that I am successful??? Capitalism works because of risk and reward. If I work harder, I should be rewarded for it. It is almost impossible to fire union employees even when they deserve it. Where is the accountability??? Where is the motivation to work harder???

For the record, my parent immigrated to this country with NOTHING. My father worked 3 jobs and invested wisely rather than wasting his money. He built a company that employs over 3,000 people. We have employees that have been with us for over 25 years. Instead of making blanket statements about successful people you know nothing about, simply based on their success, try working harder and whining less.

i have a few comments. it doesn't take a doctorate in economics to figure out how to correct things. here's a riddle: what do you get when you have happy, well paid employees? ... Happy, Spending, Consumers!!!!!! this isn't brain surgery! why can't the rich corporations see that? you don't have to give your employees a free ride, just give them enough money to live on! and what is a decent wage someone asked? well, it depends upon the part of the country you're from because that determines the cost of living. again, this isn't that difficult to determine the mean cost of living and adjust wages accordingly. i could probably do it and math was my worst subject."

@alessa: Here in lies the problem... How much money is considered "enough to live on"? Everyone wants more money and higher standards of living. Ask a recent immigrant who is sending home half of their income while still "having enough to live on." Last time I checked, there is a Federal minimum wage as well as a State minimum wage. The higher of the two prevail. So if I pay my employees minimum wage (set forth by the government, elected "by the people and for the people"), then I am paying a "fair" wage. I pay almost all of my employees above minimum wage because I want the best employees I can get. Most employees start at or near minimum wage and stay there until they prove they are worth more.

For the record, I don't have a PhD in Economics either. I do have a BA in Business Management, a BS in Hospitality Management, and a MBA. I guess I'm guilty for having studied my butt off and working harder then the average person.

Larry: I'm wondering if you are from another dimension? I ask that question because the basis of your post rests on assumptions drawn from another world. No where on this thread did Wally...or myself, claim that we were business leaders or that we ran a business or can't make a payroll. And certainly, no where do we blame workers for the economic problems of this country. You're seeing something that is just not there. I guess by making those assumptions, it allows you to reach your fallacious conclusion. Because the only blame that's being thrown around on this thread is from those people who have utter disdain for anybody that owns or runs a business, be it small business or corporate management, and who are well compensated. They spew their vitriol while having no conception of what it takes to launch and then run a successful business.

As you state, not everybody is cut out to be a businessperson It requires smarts, talent, immense drive and there are no guarantees of success, as many do fail...which is the nature of business. But at least those people are trying to better their lives by being proactive, unlike many on this thread that simply want to complain and blame others for what they erroneously perceive to be an economic injustice and for what they believe they deserve.

Our collective consciousness is still in it's infancy. We have limitless access to the nooshpere yet we continue to let emotion cloud our reasoning. We continue to sit in front of these screens (t.v.'s, smart phones, i-pads, computers) We let the media drive our thought processes, it is suttle yet few would admit that they are being steared any which way by anyone or anything. Like a three year old throwing a tantrum; we are faced with certain realities but are still choosing to ignore the fact that we have a choice to make! We can give the toy (fiat currency) back to the fed reserve and serve out time out OR we can continue to scream and cry (raise the debt ceiling) until we fall asleep, sucking our thumb with tears tried to our cheeks. Trust me the time out will serve us well. If we wake up from the tantrum induced nap we will not be happy with the outcome.

That would help but also the Glass-seagal act must be restored in it's entirity.

That's Glass-Steagall, which was enacted in response to the 1929 market crash. Its main components were to create a separation between commercial banking and investment banking, as well as a provision allowing bank deposit insurance for the first time.

In 1956, the Bank Holding Company Act was passed, further regulating the banking sector. Its main provision was to prohibit banks from underwriting insurance (but not from selling insurance).

In 1999, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was passed, which, among other things, eliminated the prohibitions against investment banking and insurance underwriting by commercial banks. It is not clear that Glass-Steagall would have prevented the financial melotdown of 2008.

For all those advocating less regulation in the financial sector check this out.... Alan Greenspan referring to derivatives said that he didn't think fraud should be investigated. Seriously???? With the capability of so much damage to our economy not to mention illegal. Ask yourselves why would he say that. Then after the crisis, before congress he said events occurred that they had not foreseen. BS. Then he was forced to admit they made a mistake. BS again. They knew exactly what they were doing (getting rich). They just didn't care about the consequences.

Invisible Hand is probably correct in that Glass-Stegall would not have prevented the Stock Market Crash of 2008. Because of the FDIC, banks that gambled in the stock market, did not lose depositor's savings. The FDIC paid out the insurance, thus unlike 1929, depositors didn't lose their savings.

However, just like 1929, "investors" were duped into buying highly inflated, but very risky, "mortgage backed securities" , where mortgages in the US were sure bets for the last 60 years because the loan requirments were so stringent.

The real issue is the borrowing of money to fund federal government programs that otherwise could not be funded through regular revenue means, ie taxes. Further, the biggest problem today facing the federal government is the 78 million baby boomers who will retire in the next 20 years. These retirees will place an unsustainable financial burden on Medicare and Social Security that can not be paid for through both taxes and borrowing.

The government's solution is to do away with the federal programs and put everyone into private sector insurance, rather than address the real cause of the financially unsustainable Medicare program. The real cause is the costs of medical care. There is no regualtions upon the medical industry controlling the costs of medical care services, the same as the regulations upon the utilities industry that provides affordable utilities to the general public.

Medical care is fee for services and like all for profit businesses, the more services one provides, the more fees collected. The more fees collected the more money they make. Medical care isn't about providing medical care, it's about providing as many services as possible so they are collecting as many fees as possible. That makes for ever increasing costs of medical care in an upward spiral to unaffordable heights.

What's needed is regulations upon the medical care industry to control costs, just as the utilities industry has regulations to control costs of electricity, water so that the general public has these basic services.

It is a compelling interest to the Federal Government and the general public to treat medical care as a necessity for the general public, therefore require regulation.

Steve makes sense, therfore nobody will listen, haha. We do need more regulation and less coruption and cronie capitalism. Get grover and his goonies out of our politics and save America.

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By Lockerz

No one will listen because there's money at stake. Enormous amounts of money. Like PA. Govenor Rendell who yelled at 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl, who's covering the state gambling boom and calls her an "idiot" and "simpleton" , politicians believe the same thing about the general public and any common sense legislation.

To further that thought, funny how we hear in the media, the "Republican Establishement" this or the "Republican Establishement" that, as if the "Republican Establishment" is this entity that controls what's going on. Even Rush Limbaugh talks about the "Republican Establishment" in this manner.

Just "Who" is the "Republican Establishment" that everyone talks about, but no one can seem to say "what individuals" make up this establishment? Grover Norquist? The Koch Brothers?

Who tells the Republican candidates what to say, what not to say, what programs to endorse, what programs not to endore? and I don't mean the speech writers that often have politicians say things with such spin, that no one can figure out just what the politicians had said, let alone what they mean.

Lets have Rush Limbaugh and the TV media put names to this "Republican Establishment" that everyone has the perception of this nebulous and shadowy entity.

Same with the "Democratic Establishment". Who are the Democratic Establishment that tells the politicians what to say, what programs to endorse and what programs to not endorse.

To add: the links in my previous post and the by Lockerz were self populated into my post by Newsvine. I did not want them there but newsvine would not let me get rid of them. Bad Newsvine.

Steve I partially agree, but it is much larger and more widespread then just the medical establishment. It also involves banks, insurance companies, government contractors, like GE, investment firms, etc.

It should be plain as day that the repeal of the main Glass-Steagall did not cause the Crash. The reason Glass-Steagall was written was because without proper investigation it was assumed that banks were directly investing large sums of money directly without oversight.

The Truth was a very small portion of the money was banks directly investing in the markets. What had happened is that they had loaned to large sums to individuals and investment groups they did not own. The borrowing for securities combined with record profits in businesses lead to an inflated value for Stocks.

Government isn't as stupid as they would leave you to believe and they aren't as smart as it thinks. To stop the "inflation" in 1928 the fed in one year raised interest for borrowing from the fed from 1/2% to 5 1/2%. Instead of slowing the lending, the banks stopped borrowing from the Fed & continued to make loans at the same pace - until the spring of 1929 as they ran so low on assets to loans that they could become insolvent quickly if there was even a small run on the bank. The crash began on a normal profit taking day when investors sold twice the normal stock which triggered a large enough drop in value to start the crash.

the 2008 Crash had a similar inflation issue on Home Mortgages. Clearly what was happening was lenders were making loans per FHA specifications knowing that those specifications were going to create a higher than acceptable rates of defaults. So they would make the loans and then sell them with better loans to unsuspecting investors that were not connected with their business. The victim investors either resold them as good, sat on the and hope for the best, or insured them.

When the defaults increased significantly causing a housing glut, the values of the homes plunged causing the asset value to loan values of those stuck with the bad loans to make many of the banks and insurance insolvent. Tarp simply made some of the big insolvent banks appear solvent so they could restructure to be solvent without help - if that was possible. Only about $120 Billion has not been returned, but the loans have produced some profit that will overshadow any losses.

Steve the best thing that could be done with SS is to get it to a 401k type system. where there is something of value backing it other than a Government written I.O.U.

There are something like 19 countries that took the advice republicans promoted an the democrats rejected. None of those systems are bankrupt. All of them pay a greater benefit than our social Security. NONE of them have the constant democrat accusation of republicans going to bankrupt the social security system. What will happen is that if there is no change we will recieve a lot less than we are promised unless more money is printed - which is what the politicians will order.

401K? where's that money actually sitting? The Stock Market. What does the stock market do?

The Stock Market is to take your money by artificially inflating prices to dupe investors into buying the artificially inflated stocks, then sell those stocks at a profit, leaving the "investors" with worthless paper.

Same thing as in 1929, 1987, and in 2008.

The value of a 401K retirement plan is paper value, subject to the whims of a stock market. The 401K retirement plan only has tangible value when a holder starts selling [taking money out] the stocks the 401K was invested in at the price of those stocks on the day the stocks are sold [the money withdrawn].

I'm not basing my retirement on a 401K account who's value is simply paper value, subject to the whims of a stock market designed to dupe investors out of their money.

That's what happened in 2008. All these 50 and 60 something private sector workers who had their money in 401Ks and saw the paper value soar, believing their retirement was secure because of that paper value, saw that paper value plummet in value as the stock market crashed. Happend similarly in 1929, in 1987 and now 2008. Anyone that doesn't believe it's going to happen again is foolish.

Paper value has no value until sold. Because 401K have a huge penalty for early withdrawl [ie convert paper value to dollars], the investment companies have that money of yours to dabble with in the stock market.

That's why the Republicans want social security done away with and convert to 401K. All that money would then be available to investment banks to dabble with for decades because the owners cant take it out ie realize actual vaule by converting to dollars due to substantial tax penalties.

401Ks are simply investment banks way of getting people's money so they can invest it, artifically inflate the stock market, then crash it to make enormous sums of money, while the retirement account actually doesn't gain in value as an investment.

The scope of social security needs to be reduced from an entitlement to a safety net that's enough to keep old people from poverty in the streets. It should not be an entitlement that gives well to do seniors enough money to pay for an extra country club membership or upgrade their RV. Means Testing. Phase out SS payments for the wealthy. Make the savings available for workers to invest in regulated plans.

Nafta???

stories, or videos for you...From Congresswoman Marck Kaptur:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=marcy+kaptur+nafta&oq=marcy+kaptur+nafta&aq=f&aqi=g8g-s1g1&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=515l14446l0l19282l17l5l0l0l0l0l452l1482l2-1.1.2l4l0

on nafta.

You have the syntax of a drunken street bum...fix that problem and then maybe we can figure out what senseless point you are trying to make.

You're one to talk, "ceo".

What????

ttac ... ceo's comments are clear and concise. What's your problem?

Oh yeah, the Roubini article......thanks Mike!

The reason we have recessions is common sense. Too few have all the money and don't invest because they don't have to. You don't need no robiniksmjhf to figure this out. It any rocket science! Its called Greed. Get rid of all those Greedy Bastards and we'll all be better off. Try giving a fair shot for everybody for a chance.

I agree terry, but slow down, proof your writing and use spell check and you will have more credibility.

I think the whole problem is all the world leaders figure "I got mine" so they just dont give a dam .

lol!

The word 'recession'; by its very nature, indicates a temporary condition. How many years; how many DECADES do you think Iran can be limited in its nuclear capability? Eventually, ALL nations will have the bomb. Israel's dream of a castrated Iran will always only be just that; a dream. The world is moving past theocracies and their stranglehold on republics like the US.

While the rest of the world may be moving past theocracy, the USA is barreling toward it at full steam. Have you not been listening to the political rhetoric over the past 30 years?

JohnnyinSNJ. Nuclear ambitions DO NOT always mean nuclear weapons. Your government and it's interests just keep telling you that without proof.

True. Nuclear ambitions do not always mean nuclear weapons.

However, several months ago, the IAEA report backed up the concerns of the west. Iran has been pursuing technology and research that is ONLY useful for weapons development.

If you have no intention of building nuclear weapons, don't pursue the technology to do it. Period. Doing so can leave only one impression.

Sadly, I think war is inevitable.

Do you Libs not remember our Campaigner in Chief in his world "apology" tour, saying "We're sorry" for protecting stability in the world, and offering an outstretched hand to Iran, only to have it slapped?

Done, and Done.

There have been numerous proven instances of Iran exporting weapons and they are a known sponsor of terrorism (Hezbollah, among others).

They will not back down.

Ulitmately, Israel- in justifiable pre-emptive self-defense (wipe them off the map, remember)- with or without the US, will act decisively.

IF Amadic*head and the theocrats in Iran have no real intention of destroying Israel- they shouldn't say it. Be careful what you wish for, Israel cannot, and will not, dismiss such comments as rhetoric.

I believe that same report stated that they (Iran) were years away from producing anything.

I find remarkable, the fact that people can find it wrong for other countries to sell weapons to other nations, but gladly see no problem with the American war machine, WeaponsMart, selling so many weapons to so many countries. Probably the only business keeping our economy running.

You're right, nukes don't always mean weapons...but we're not talking about Canada - we're talking about Iran.

Iran that 'wants to wipe' another nation off the map. In the big picture we know what nation they refer to, but personally it doesn't matter...those are words of war and aggression.

I don't care much for religion, but I do believe the holocaust happened...don't you? You would stand up for a country that would deny such a horrible act? I'm not one for excuses. And "letting it happen just because it's going to happen anyway" is just an excuse to do nothing.

And I'm not advocating war, I'm saying cut them off already.

Could have fixed this in two years? Wake up, explain how to fix over 30 yrs of screwed up policies in a couple of years. I don't agree with everything Obama proposes, and I'm sure you think McCain/Pailin could have done it in 2 yrs, right?

Get a clue people, both parties are responsible, and both parties have to work together to fix this mess. By blaming Obama or Bush is getting old. And I would like to see a GOP President, and the house controlled by the Demo's, and the Senate just like it is.

Then the Demo's could pull a tea bagger stance and say NO, NO, NO to everything the President wanted to do. Sure be a rush to the head Dr's offices.

Michael, the Democrats did not control the Senate in their 2 years. If Ted Kennedy hadn't died then i guess more could have been done. Health care was passed because they used Ted Kennedy's vote as would have voted for it. I forget whats the word they use for it. There was more filibuster in those 2 years than in any point in history.

Jim-440599 you do get it.

Some actually believe that the economy got better at the end of the year, but let me remind everyone that it was only a blip created by the holiday seasons. NAFTA was a disastrous move for working Americans, yet some corporations went all in on this bid against workers. Well, that's what it actually was. For all intents and with good reason we may assume that it was created as a tool for corporations to brake the back of unions, you know those organizations who helped many Americans earn a decent wage. If you do not believe this and need more evidence just ask a union official, if you can find one.

The goal of the rich is to have most people content with as little as possible. This means that unions can't exist in their world because they demand that workers are paid a fair salary. One based upon the profits of the company, not solely upon the individual job at hand.

My advice to future governments and employers is this. If you truly desire to hold on to some degree of (power, money, and fame) what you have, you must yield to equality. All along people have been wrestling with governments to move in this direction, so no I am not surprised to see where selfishness has led the US and her sister nations. Forcing people to accept those mediocre wages will not solve the problem of financial stagnation because as soon as they grew tired of that abuse they will simply quit. A result that will recur until cold governments and big industry grasp a hold of this concept.

IAMEyes, the problem may indeed be, that governments no longer want an equal populace anymore. (here we go)...makes one think that conspiracy theories do hold water.

ED...The gas prices are the least of our worries and if we would convert all the gas burners to natural gas, the oil problem would disappear. Oil wouls once again be $20 per barrel. Listen to Boone Picking.

Sorry...Boone Pickins

"Ed Coles"

You need to do some research!

You must remember before the Great Recession, in July 2008 the cost of a gallon of gasoline rose to a nationwide average of $4.09. You might not be aware of this, but there are a record number of rigs drilling for oil right now in the U.S., the most in 25 years. Search: "Baker Huges Rig Count Hits Record" There is no moratorium on drilling in the Gulf. Search: Gulf Drilling Thrives.

Also, are you aware the Keystone XL pipeline will only have minimal to no effect on the world price of oil, that is because the price of oil is determined on the world market. The Keystone XL pipline will be transporting about 1/2 of 1% of the oil the world uses in one day. In addition the Gulf coast refineries are at this time producing more product than the U.S. needs, this excess product is being exported from Gulf ports to markets around the world and product from the KeystoneXL pipeline will be exported as well. The Keystone pipeline will take about 2 years to construct and will employ 4650 workers, all other claims such as 20,000 jobs being created are unsubstantiated. See: "Pipe Dreams? Jobs Gained Jobs Lost by the Construction of Keystone XL."

Well said. That Keystone pipeline is a pipe dream. An article the other day gave the figures of the number of oil leases approved for drilling, more than 1/2 are not being drilled on.

But keep blaming Obama for everything. If he tried to make any oil company drill on the leases, he would be accused, most likely by the tea baggers of govt getting involved. Guy just can't win/do anything right according to the baggers.

"Teabaggers"

So sick of you liberals and your destructive euphemisms...

Can't so much as post a constructive comment without name calling.

That's what comes from desperation.

The fact that your Campaigner in Chief, has NOTHING to run on related to his record of accomplishments from three years in office. Not to mention the two prior years of a Democratic controlled Congress.

Five years of Democratic control, and nothing to show for it but a mountain of debt that now exceeds the entire output of our country.

Do you even realize the significance of our debt surpassing our GDP as it has?

Have the Democrats offered ANY REAL alternatives? REAL entitlement reform?

NO.

They keep kicking the can down the road, offering trivial cuts here and there that amount to SQUAT. And the when the Republicans oppose them- because they ARE SQUAT- they're accused of being "obstructionists".

Nothing but a big "spin" game, and the liberal media condones it , supports it, and legitimizes it.

Fortunately, enough Independents and Republicans see through the charade for what it is, and just like 2010, their votes will hopefully change the direction of this country before it is too late.

Things will get ugly, they have to. Refusing to take the pain now, as the Democrats are doing, is only going to mean it will be far worse down the road.

Mike-306915

"Teabaggers"

So sick of you liberals and your destructive euphemisms...

Can't so much as post a constructive comment without name calling.

That's what comes from desperation.

The fact that your Campaigner in Chief, has NOTHING to run on related to his record of accomplishments from three years in office. Not to mention the two prior years of a Democratic controlled Congress.

Five years of Democratic control, and nothing to show for it but a mountain of debt that now exceeds the entire output of our country.

Do you even realize the significance of our debt surpassing our GDP as it has?

Have the Democrats offered ANY REAL alternatives? REAL entitlement reform?

NO.

They keep kicking the can down the road, offering trivial cuts here and there that amount to SQUAT. And the when the Republicans oppose them- because they ARE SQUAT- they're accused of being "obstructionists".

Nothing but a big "spin" game, and the liberal media condones it , supports it, and legitimizes it.

Fortunately, enough Independents and Republicans see through the charade for what it is, and just like 2010, their votes will hopefully change the direction of this country before it is too late.

Things will get ugly, they have to. Refusing to take the pain now, as the Democrats are doing, is only going to mean it will be far worse down the road.

And Mitt Romney is the solution to our problems???? Unless you are a millionaire why would you vote for him? He has no ideas? he has no plan? only to make himself and the rest of the billionaires richer. Republicans got us into this mess. the same policies that we are paying for today are the same ones passed by the people in the Republican congress. Cantor, boner, Ryan, these people passed Medicare part D, tax cuts for the rich, war spending, and now they have the nerve to say NO when its time to pay for them. Sometimes when i look at all these numbers and graphs i see of pattern of all of this being done on purpose to trash the economy only to benefit the rich.

Obama is the one trying to make the country see this and that will be the reason for hes reelection. Republicans call this class warfare and that's exactly what it is.

I think hes doing a very good job of letting the people know this. Mitt Romney is exactly what Obama has been talking about for the last 4 years.

Mike you said nothing. Just more rightie spin. The spin is the problem, from BOTH sides. Until everyone comes to the realization that both sides spin, it will continue out of control. And speaking of 2010. Where are the jobs the teaparty promised. Oh right, all those anti regulation bills sitting in the Senate. I say again. Where are the jobs? Quit spinning Mike. And I do realize the debt. Problem is we keep decreasing revenue. Yeah it's a tax issue. Seems like Everyone wants to pay less in taxes. I have seen my tax drop and drop. Wonder why we are broke? No one wants to pay, period.

Coal and gasoline, especially is coal,filthy dirty. Convert everything that burns gas and coal to Natural Gas. All we need is to convert to Natural gas as Boone Picking suggests. He is a knowledge oil man, one of the best.

Warren Buffett. The media tries to go on and on about him. Only recently has more come out and people start to wonder. The largest insider holder of the stock of Moody's rating service and has been for a long time. Inside info? You be the judge. Moody's tangled up in the mortage mess? Oh ya. Buffett loves China and the socialists.

If you really look at what he does, he's a far-left socialist billionaire of the ultra elite. Same as Bill Gates, Steve Forbes, Rockefellers, the list goes on.

Barney..I must agree.

Bobl - Boone Pickens is HEAVILY invested in natural gas as well as wind. That is why he says we all need to convert to nat gas. He stands to make a lot of money.

I don't care how much he makes off of it. It is just the most senseable thing to do. Getit?

Coal and gasoline, especially is coal,filthy dirty. Convert everything that burns gas and coal to Natural Gas. All we need is to convert to Natural gas as Boone Picking suggests. He is a knowledge oil man, one of the best.

T Boone Pickens says this because the land he bought for wind power turned out to have natural gas in the rocks. A little research should enlighten you on the subject and you'd discover that frakking for natural gas is almost wholly unregulated and is destroying land all across the country.

Heaven help the day when you turn on the water in your kitchen and it sets on fire. Natural gas is not a panacea. It's just as destructive if not more so than oil and again is a limited resource fossil fuel.

What we need is wind, water and sunshine--all free, all renewable and all clean with little to no impact on the environment.

Man if my water caught on fire that would be so cool. Just one bill for heat and water instead of 2. Not to mention, I could put the fire out with the flaming water. Creating perpetual energy motion. A new world will dawn with the 12th Iman and Jesus battling for control of Palestine. What a wonderful world. Ron Paul '12. Go Aztec '12!

Barney, the fed never predicted that the economy will be "well" soon. Nobody did. Even Obama acknowledged that "it took a long time for us to get into this mess, and it will take a long time to get out of it". Most economists knew that the housing and financial collapse were unprecented events of enormous magnitude and that the fundamentals of the economy were going down the drain (except John McCain and his followers).

The illusion of a "better" economy thru "increasing GDP" and "lower" unemployment, and yes, said so by the Bernanke.

skeeter, the economy IS better than it was in Jan 2009. that's indisputable. It is not, however, well, and the fed never proclaimed the economy is well.

Last time I checked, he's a Republican.

And you think nothing gets done now??

Neither party will work with him. It would be an epic failure.

Listed as Republican, yes. Totally not a party guy though.

Disgusted-in WV. The belief and probable argument that neither party would work with him is probably wrong, as once again, people lump everyone into one party or the other, no if's ands or but's. I think the congress would be somewhat forced to deal with his ideas, and in the process, could re-learn how to work together, as long as no playing politics is involved.

I know that's a pipe dream, with no politics being played, but if the American people do not finally see how ignorant our system has been played after this chance, well, it would be good bye America for good.

Ron Paul is a Ayn Rand follower........so much that he named his goof ball son after her. They believe in runaway Capitalism without any boundaries, and that the Elite should rule the poor. So I guess that means hes a republican.

how true brad.

Bradley, that's right Paul would take us back to the 1880's wild west. Where the evil land baron owned the sheriff, and if he wanted someone's ranch, he'd just take it. Capitalism under Paul would be full of corruption and violence and pollution. But since we could do all the drugs we want, young people support him.

Funny stuff you guys. It amazes me how you call Dr. Paul crazy, and yet you constantly continue a Punch and Judy show with each other over party lines. And Ron Paul is crazy.

joe, trust me. Nobody can afford all them drugs available, since anything to do with health care, or just drugs, is outrageously priced.

Thanks for all the laws and protection for us humble citizens over the past thirty years or so. I don't know how it could be improved!

skeeter the drug young people want, that Paul will make legal is pot. Once pot's legal, it'll be cheap. Without laws protecting air and water and preserving natural places, this country would be horrible.

??????????

jet7 just in case you are looking for a job I heard The national enquirer and The Globe are hiring.

I'm thinking jet7 watches too many Lifetime movies!

jet7

Bit early in the day to be sniffing and sipping. Might be best if you push back from the keyboard and go back to bed until it wears off.

@jet 7... Oliver Stone, is that you? Can you say paranoid?

I think that there was actually one period used in the post, and 13 exclamation points.

I assume that at least the girls are getting paid, but then again, you know those CEO's.

It seems that jet is soooo much more smarter than the one liner retardos.

Yeah, he typed it in bold, so it must be right.

Sounds like you need a financial advisor.

Be smart..Save your money and pay cash for a house. No $500 mortgage when you are retired, That is just stupid. Spend less. Don't buy unnecessary crap that you don't really need. I retired 11 years ago on $2200 per month and I am very comfortable because I planned and saved. Anyone can if they use their head for something besides a hat rack.

Everyone tends to blame any presidents, but the Lion's share of the blame rests with both houses in Washington, Rep and Demo. That is where the money flows from, not the White House.

Uh... No. I blame Obama. He shoved Obama Care down the throats of the House and the Senate. He wants to be the president that is known for providing healthcare to America. I'm not sure why busineses are the ones stuck with the tab, especially given the current economic conditions. For people who think businesses are making money hand over fist, think again. Why have so many companies gone out of businesses over the past few years? Rising costs (commodities, labor, fuel, etc...) Each employee will cost businesses an additional $2000 - $2500 per year for insurance. I wish I could provide insurance for my employees, but I'm already losing my shirt in some of my stores and barely scraping by in my other stores. I employ over 100 people and Obama Care will cost me about a QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS. If I go out of business, I will blame Obama. At least 100 people will be out of work, and the government will stop receiving taxes from me because I will be broke!

Frankly, I wish I could stop paying Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. I sure as hell won't get a penny from any of these so called "entitlements" by the time I'm ready to retire!

Money does not come from the Whitehouse, but Leadership is supposed to. The agenda and direction comes from a President who leads, unites and creates prosperity...

With Obama, regarldess of whose to blame. Whether the GOP deserves most or the Dems...Obama will always be leading a divisive country and is someone who lacks the desire to change it for the better of the people...

His failed leadership and path is one of no prosperity, higher taxes, more debt and bigger government...

Bobl - regarding fiscal responsibility Obama has to eat it. We're bleeding Obama debt big time...

I believe you are half right and half wrong. Obama is anything but a failure in leadership. He is a strong leader but with a unsatisfactory agenda.

He is a strong leader but with a unsatisfactory agenda.

Then we have more serious problems then just having a failed leader. Under these circumstances, we for the sake of this country better vote him out of office...

And vote in some millionair jackass,eh?

Obama couldn't lead a kindergarten kazoo band. Weak, incompetent, inept...but he gives a good teleprompter speech.

Wally: Yeah, we need a Newt moon!

You got that right!

When will people learn??? Politicians are owned by the people who bought them. It doesn't matter Republican or Democrat they all work for the rich and powerful, not 1%, but more like .1%. They just use different platforms to confuse the populace and make them think they have a choice. Our system needs to be changed to take the money out of politics and put in place people who work for the general public and the country as a whole. All or at least most of our politicians work for the very few. Meanwhile they distract us with arguing over which political party to blame. Blame them both, but mostly blame the people pulling their strings. Once again, it is very simple, follow the money. Who is benefiting. Not our country and not the general population.

kenshell, Areyoukiddingme, Bobl........

Come on....I know that the possibility is in there...... Tell me, you actually have thought about......Ron Paul haven't you.

It's OK.

areyoukiddingme, how is it that you keep blaming the rich 1% for the incompetent people we have in congress. Most are not there on their 1st term, most are on their 3rd or 4Th term. It is not the 1% that keeps sending them back to Washington again and again; rather it is we the people that keep sending them back. So please explain to me why it is the 1% fault. Are the other 99% so stupid that we blindly go and vote for what the 1% tell them too? Is it only the 1% that vote? Maybe the 1% have the ballot boxes rigged, I would like to hear your theory on how it is the 1 % fault, when it is we the people that control who is sent to Washington and who is not.

I think areyoukiddingme answered you question in his first sentence. Read it again. He is completely correct in what he says! I see you are from texas, that explains a lot.

Thanks Tim. At least someone is paying attention. texasbob- in case you haven't noticed it takes money to get elected, lots of money these days. You may think you have a choice, but your choice is limited to those who can afford to run. What you see as choice is really a well orchestrated manipulation of the general population and that takes a lot of money.

A lot of money is spent on elections, but that does not mean that it takes a lot of money to get elected. It is votes that get people elected and you have a choice on who you vote for so, take responsibility for your actions in the voting booth and stop blaming others just because they happen to have money.

Micheal you don’t speak for Texas and neither do I, so crawl back in your hole on 6^th street and go back to sleep and Tim I can see you are awfully proud of where
you come from and I think that explains a lot also.

Have a great day sitting on your backsides and crying about how much money someone else has taken the initiative to earn.

This is for Texas Bob: The beginning of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the public and political backlash against the so called 1%.

The young people, the poor, are especially influenced by such media.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec11/makingsense_08-16.html

Paul Solman went around and showed his pie graph and the politicians along with the socialist picked up on the inequality of wealth as a means in which to make the general population angry at the rich, thus agree to vote for tax increases upon the rich, so that politicians can continue their spending levels without any meaningful reform of spending and borrowing.

Buffet, like the Kock brothers, is just the celebrity end of the wealthy ruling elite in America. Buffet is a Clinton "liberal" the Kock brothers are Bush "conservatives", but both support "free trade" policies which are the engine of the elite's destruction of US jobs, wages, and benefits. If it came down to it they would stand back to back in defense of eachother's wealth and power and both would unite against any presidential candidate with the audacity to take on the foundations of the system which they have both used to their benefit.

Koch... oopsy

Yip, liberal or conservative, a person can't tell the difference between the rich ones. Similar agendas, I think. There are far right large corporations and there are far left large corporations and all on wallstreet. Both still enjoying the tax cuts and that's why neither part wants them to end, regardless of what they may say.

Right on!!! Its good to see some people on here have their eyes open.