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Bankrupting America

Posted 38 months ago|19 comments|971 views

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Obama , America , Money

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Jakarta99

Do we really understand what a “trillion” dollars amounts to? The number is almost incomprehensible yet our elected officials have put us into debt beyond comprehension and are now trying to sink us even further into debt. I essence they are bankrupting America.
President Obama literally crammed a $700 billion bailout bill down Americans throats, not allowing lawmakers to review it and now once again is trying to sink us even deeper into debt while Americans are still wondering what the $700 billion did.
I am not placing blame on any one party or person but there are things going on in Washington right now that have no “transparency” and my children as well as your children will be paying for. I want to know why these things are being pushed through before anyone has a chance to think them over. This in its self makes me think we are being scammed by our own elected officials.

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Colorado
Westcliffe, CO

38 months ago: first of all, I am glad to see a Ron Paul on your video, one of the few men that understands this country has rules, like them or not. Obama talks about responsibility every time that he writes a check "for America" but being truly responsible means putting aside his agenda and focusing on the economy. Even Warren Buffet, a open supporter of Obama, criticized his efforts to use this crises as a platform to move his agenda, someone needs to listen in Washington, more then just Ron Paul.

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Jakarta99

38 months ago: I agree. Though I am not an Obama fan I would have gained new respect for him if he had came into office and put aside his agenda even for one year to tackle this economic trouble. Instead we are now headed down an unpaved road of new policies and bureaucracy with all the red tape that goes with it and carrying a mountain of debt. It seems most of our officials are living on another planet or being motivated by reasoning other than what they say.

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Colorado
Westcliffe, CO

38 months ago: I had hoped for more, maybe because he was unspoiled in the political field, but I figured that he would keep the status-quo, the problem is, this is a terrible time to play politics like usual, there might not be anything left. Great article by the way.

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Jakarta99

38 months ago: Thanks Siempre. I always look forward to your feedback whether I agree with it or not.

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amishking

Moderator
Auburn, NY

38 months ago: I understand the concept, that we are holding these huge corporations up to keep the economy from collapsing,to avoid another depression. But aren't we just postponing it? Isn't a free market free to fail?

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Colorado
Westcliffe, CO

38 months ago: That is the big question right now. Trying to help banks because of the bad assets seems like the right thing to do and it might be the only thing the government can do but the markets need to look back and realize that poor government planing started and helped expand the housing bust and more importantly the financial bust. In 1938 FDR started Fannie Mae to start a secondary housing market, it was a sound plan. The problem was that Fannie outlived it propose to provide low interest loans to banks to free up the credit market.(sound familiar?) During the housing boom the government kept interest rates and down payments down to banks and in turn the banks kept rates and down payments low. All the good borrowers had taken out loans, but that was not enough for elected officials, they wanted the low income to have a house and loan. Big problem is they can not afford such a loan. Longer story short, the bubble mixed with an accounting change and a switch in congress and in 2007 everything started to slide. So yes, until the country recognizes the big problem, its going to be hard to recover with bad politics.

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TheLegendTomWing

Administrator
Philadelphia, PA

38 months ago: hmm, i think I'm going to write about this on fmylife.com

it'll go something like this:

"I got fooled TWICE by the federal reserve, and now my taxes are gonna go up again, and inflation is going to kill me, FML."

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The Cypress Gang

38 months ago: Tom,
Worry about getting through the deflation.
I'm busy keeping lots of people on the payroll right now. The funny thing is that most of them think nothing is going on. Maybe I need more sleep and should stop working 60 hours a week to keep my people employed.

I don't get paid for overtime.

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Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO

38 months ago: I hate to say this but there is a complete lack of understanding of the Constitution of the United States of America so rampant in this post and thread it's almost unreadable.

Obama crammed no such thing down anyone's throat. The Executive Branch can do nothing but manage it's own budget without Congressional Legislation. The Congress created the legislation including its size and Obama signed it into law. I need not remind everyone, I hope, that the federal deficit and the budget deficit are not the same things. Moreover, the federal deficit has been cranking up for decades through 2 terms of Reagan, a term of Bush, two terms of Clinton, and two more terms of a different Bush. Only Clinton, among those in the list, managed to operate the budget such that it swung into a surplus during his second term. Which meant there was money to pay down the federal deficit. Meanwhile, if we do not fix our economy, devastated by the right-wing philosophy of de-regulation, the federal deficit will only get worse and worse and even the might Ron Paul knows that.

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Jakarta99

38 months ago: Coloranter what I am pointing at is Obama did not give anyone time to look over this piece of legislation. It is like buying a car. Would you like the salesman to say "O.K there it is, you seen it, now sign here, here and here". It is my opinion that if Obama did not realize people would say "wait a minute what are you pushing onto us" then he is a moron. This is not the "transparency" he campaigned on. Yes this legislation was created by congress but congress is or is suppose to be answerable to the people. I realize most Obama supporters follow him blindly and think he can do no wrong but many Americans expect they're government to feel a sense of disclosure to the people who are going to be paying for this piece of legislation. Without the disclosure of what was in the bill there will always be the sense that it was "crammed down our throats".

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Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO

38 months ago: Once again, I'm going to disagree. The President is not in control of the timetable for the passing of legislation. That is up to the Congress. The Congress is the body that, if anyone did not give sufficient time to read the bill, controls the speed. The President only controls the signing of a bills passed into law. And of course, the President can veto a bill. Which then Congress can override. So, to say that "Obama did not give anyone time to look over this piece of legislation," reveals a lack of understanding on how laws get passed.

I am also very frustrated with the constant harping on the 'transparency' issue. Obama has already been more transparent than any previous president in our history. If he shows no more transparency the rest of his term, he will still hold that record. So, to question him on transparency is a shallow blow. But, regardless, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that was passed by the full Congress and signed into law by President Obama in Denver was written by the Congress with suggestions by the White House. The executive branch does not make law. Anyone can suggest to the Congress what should or shouldn't be law, but only the Congress can write it. And what a lot of American are seemingly in the dark about, is that this Congress can override any Obama veto he might issue. So, he is actually powerless, as it should be in my opinion, to make Law!

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Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO

38 months ago: The full text of the legislation was posted online in PDF form for ALL Americans with computer access to download and read. THERE WAS NO LACK OF TRANSPARENCY. None of this was "crammed down the throat" of anyone by anyone. And, unlike in the past, EVERY American can visit this link http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/arra_public_review/
read the final legislation as signed into law by downloading the same PDF that was up before, and post your own comments to be read by the President's staff and assimilated into general reactions.

When on earth was anyone allowed to do that before in the history of our nation? I'd like to know when it becomes our responsibility before we write outlandish accusations of irresponsibility on the part of our government to get out and do a little work and become informed citizens? Nothing burns me up more than people who criticize things that aren't even true, blame people for things they didn't do, and fail to educate themselves sufficiently before going on some kind of crusade spewing venom and falsehoods as fact.

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Jakarta99

38 months ago: Yes Coloranter you have several solid points there and are correct. I am glad I placed the disclaimer that I am not blaming any one person or party. In my behalf however it is Obama which will receive the responsibility of these coming years, good, bad or ugly. After all we do not say "the legislature's failed years during the Bush presidency" do we? We say the unsuccessful or disappointing Bush Presidency. As president Obama will, like it or not receive the glory or the ridicule for what happens during his term.

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