more flexibility to do what?

So what is going to happen with.....

Solyndra scandal?
Fast and furious?
Bengazi?

Or is all this forgotten?  Forward!.........to the cliff!

Those clearly don't matter.  Forty years ago Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency to avoid impeachment for less.  Twenty years ago Bill Clinton survived impeachment for less.  Today, not only to we not impeach a guy for getting Americans killed, we re-elect him for four more years of the same!

Those clearly don't matter.  Forty years ago Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency to avoid impeachment for less.  Twenty years ago Bill Clinton survived impeachment for less.  Today, not only to we not impeach a guy for getting Americans killed, we re-elect him for four more years of the same!

Our country is on the decline no doubt, the decline is probably immeasurable by our society or probably don't care.

.

this:

Yeah, looks like he'll be able to give Putin exactly what he wants from that position... 

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Kennedy :"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country"

Obama: Ask what your country can do for you - not what you can do for your country

Generation Entitlement. Given not earned.

Nailed it!

Obamas voting base stronghold.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=o64Fz-KW1Dk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Do64Fz-KW1Dk

Where our debt came from since 2001:



It does include entitlement spending under Obama.

Another one of my favorites - GDP growth mapped on to our tax rates for the wealthy.



Causal? No way to tell since tax rates aren't the only things that change, of course. Informative? Yes, because cutting taxes on the rich did not magically lift us out of a recession that was not as bad as the one we are struggling with now. That image comes from an interesting article:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/09/tax-cuts-dont-lead-to-economic-growth-a-new-65-year-study-finds/262438/

So who wants to pitch in on renting one of those 3d printers?

What's the deal with these?  Saw something a couple weeks ago about them but didn't look into it.   

Where our debt came from since 2001:



It does include entitlement spending under Obama.

First post here.  And likely last.  Partial venting going on here as well.  I expect good argument, as my post will most likely be considered controversial.  But don't expect me to respond.  I've already banned myself.  Warning.  TL;DR

Obama, for all intents and purposes, spent very little.  The overhang of the Bush budget tarnished his reputation and pretty much labeled  him as fiscally irresponsible.  But in defense of what I feel is fiscal responsibility, Obama made the conscious decision to reappoint Ben Bernanke, as a "reach across the isle" move.  Remember, it was Bush who chose the Bernanke.  That said, IMO the economic policy of the current administration is deplorable.  The QE2 & 3 initiatives, along with Twist (1 & 2) have created a manipulated market, where growth seems defined by government intervention instead of a healthy market where consumption (supply and demand) dictates how the market moves.

We have an economy where liquidity is injected into the market via Fed policy and credit markets are manipulated to obtain desirable rates.  All the while enabling individuals to borrow when normally they wouldn't be able to.  Know anybody refinancing?  Thank the Fed.  Nothing wrong with that as most people will be able to lock in a low rate.  That's the point of Twist.  The hopes is that people will refinance their mortgages and have money "left over" to spend on consumption and/or invest.  The problem for me is in the way these low rates were obtained.  Currently, thanks to QE3, we have the Fed purchasing $40B of MBS until they see fit.  How is all of this paid for?  Through the issuance of Treasury Bonds, right?  Who's buying?  Funny thing is, due to Twist, the Fed owns the majority of all long term paper and do most of the buying themselves by selling short term paper.  What happens when the Fed sells out of short term paper?  What happens when the Fed can no longer purchase long term paper because they own it all?  Why is it that this time around, they decide to start purchasing toxic debt (MBS) instead of another round of LSAP?  Maybe because their powder is running dry.  They run the risk of a failed auction.  When that occurs we have a technical default.  Thanks, Ben, for genuinely taking the time to think this through.

Sure, you can blame Bush all you want, as this video does.  In reality, you can rightfully place a large portion of blame on his administration.  But why exacerbate the problem by "fixing" horrible economic policy with more horrible economic policy?  Everything that was campaigned on in this recent election; domestic policy and international/foreign policy.  Nothing matters when your economy is in the tank.  The United States has enjoyed many years of prosperity due to the strength of our currency and it's status throughout the world.  The last thing we need is a loss of confidence due to our current economic situation.  Just look at the decline of the petrodollar as an example.  It's starting to mean nothing to many countries.  I thought the sanctions on Iran were supposed to be working?  But when Iran bypasses those sanctions by trading oil for gold, the global reserve currency no longer holds the strength it once so confidently held.

Keep arguing that it's all Bush's fault and cutting taxes on the rich doesn't help the economy because you're right, to an extent.  But none of that helps the economy.  Taxing the rich to death doesn't help either.  Consider that the debt responsibility per every individual in the US is over $50k.  And that would be to break even.  Thanks to the wonderful economic policies of the current and past administrations, the United States has finally dug a hole that we can't get out of.  The only way to dig us out of the mess we're in is to severely piss a large portion of the US population off.  Big time.  Imagine what would happen if a large portion of welfare recipients learned that they were getting cut off.  Civil unrest like you wouldn't believe it.  Do you think any president or congressional leader would put their own ass on the line and propose such a thing?  Look what happened to Ron Paul.  No one wants to end up like him.  Everyone wants to save their own ass and ride off into the sunset.

It's not this guy's fault, or that guy's fault.  It's our fault.  We're the ones who put those people into office in the first place.  And we're the ones who keep re-electing them.  The next time you want to blame someone, think about that fact.

Roadster, you might want to read some of my other posts. Blame rarely lives in them.

While I don't disagree with most of your post, I'm still trying to figure out how pissing off a large part of the US population is going to get us out of this mess. Other than perhaps making the mess seem less relevant by creating a larger mess.

I only partially agree with the summary that we are at fault because we keep electing these guys into office. While true... what other choices are there when it comes to the scale of problem you are focusing on here? Fiat Currency isn't going to go away neatly even if it is certain to go away eventually.

Awesome summary, Roadster! 

What's the deal with these?  Saw something a couple weeks ago about them but didn't look into it.

Do a search for "distributed defense" or "wiki weapon".

Pretty curious how the printer will fuse the material to create a barrel and receiver so that it will be able to contain the explosion from shooting a bullet. Maybe start with a 22 caliber?

I'm pretty sure they are gonna be useful as you can create your own precision tools using a CAD design and the printer. Or maybe good for creating your own custom rifle stock and firearm accessories.

Roadster, you might want to read some of my other posts. Blame rarely lives in them.

I wouldn't argue that.  But these last three quite obviously point the finger at Bush and the "Rich" people.

While I don't disagree with most of your post, I'm still trying to figure out how pissing off a large part of the US population is going to get us out of this mess. Other than perhaps making the mess seem less relevant by creating a larger mess.

The point being that the biggest expenditure in our budget (or lack thereof) is Medicare/Medicaid, then Social Security, then Military spending.  In order to get our spending under control, a restructuring of mandatory spending/entitlements needs to happen.  I think we also need to take a good look at Military spending as well.  But look what happened to Paul Ryan when he tried to present any semblance of reform to the general public?  Malarky!  Will another mess be created?  Of course, as is the obvious result.  But what happens is that the system is fixed from the top down.  People will soon come to realize that they can't just keep holding their hands out to the government expecting it to get filled.

Am I advocating a total removal of these programs?  Of course not.  These programs exist for a reason.  There are always people out there that genuinely need help.  And that is what these programs are for.  It's the abuse of these programs that ruin it for everyone.  A good example would be family planning.  It's a great program that assists women in finding an alternate solution toward birth control when their current situation may not allow them to positively bring a child into this world.  Some women genuinely need this service.  It's those women who abuse this service by using medicaid to fund an abortion all because they wanted a boy and inconveniently have a girl.  Or vice versa.  Now, my taxpayer dollars are going to fund an abortion because this woman isn't happy with the gender of their child, when it could have gone to a woman who genuinely needs it.

I only partially agree with the summary that we are at fault because we keep electing these guys into office. While true... what other choices are there when it comes to the scale of problem you are focusing on here? Fiat Currency isn't going to go away neatly even if it is certain to go away eventually.

Of course, but that's the problem.  What makes you think the the DNC or RNC will actually allow a proper candidate to emerge?  What's the saying?  I voted for the least of the two evils.  It's pathetic when that's how we explain our voting experience.  Look what happened to Ron Paul.  He had ideas that would steer this country back toward the right path.  While not all his ideas were popular, especially his foreign policy, he had an excellent economic policy in mind.  But the right couldn't wait to kick him out of the convention as soon as they had the chance.  Look at his track record.  He's a great example of a politician who is not easily swayed by lobbyists.  They were scared of that.  But were we given a chance to elect him?  No.  They couldn't wait to get him off the ticket.  Even if he got on the ticket and was elected, how many people in Congress would actually work with him to pass any of his ideas?  The sad reality is that more and more it seems that Washington is run by big money.  The question remains, how do we fix THAT when the people who have the power to change it don't want it changed in the first place?  I'm sad to say that I have difficulty recognizing the country we love to call, The United States of America.

First post here.  And likely last. 

Then...

I wouldn't argue that.  But these last three quite obviously point the finger at Bush and the "Rich" people.

The point being that the biggest expenditure in our budget (or lack thereof) is Medicare/Medicaid, then Social Security, then Military spending.  In order to get our spending under control, a restructuring of mandatory spending/entitlements needs to happen.  I think we also need to take a good look at Military spending as well.  But look what happened to Paul Ryan when he tried to present any semblance of reform to the general public?  Malarky!  Will another mess be created?  Of course, as is the obvious result.  But what happens is that the system is fixed from the top down.  People will soon come to realize that they can't just keep holding their hands out to the government expecting it to get filled.

Am I advocating a total removal of these programs?  Of course not.  These programs exist for a reason.  There are always people out there that genuinely need help.  And that is what these programs are for.  It's the abuse of these programs that ruin it for everyone.  A good example would be family planning.  It's a great program that assists women in finding an alternate solution toward birth control when their current situation may not allow them to positively bring a child into this world.  Some women genuinely need this service.  It's those women who abuse this service by using medicaid to fund an abortion all because they wanted a boy and inconveniently have a girl.  Or vice versa.  Now, my taxpayer dollars are going to fund an abortion because this woman isn't happy with the gender of their child, when it could have gone to a woman who genuinely needs it.

Of course, but that's the problem.  What makes you think the the DNC or RNC will actually allow a proper candidate to emerge?  What's the saying?  I voted for the least of the two evils.  It's pathetic when that's how we explain our voting experience.  Look what happened to Ron Paul.  He had ideas that would steer this country back toward the right path.  While not all his ideas were popular, especially his foreign policy, he had an excellent economic policy in mind.  But the right couldn't wait to kick him out of the convention as soon as they had the chance.  Look at his track record.  He's a great example of a politician who is not easily swayed by lobbyists.  They were scared of that.  But were we given a chance to elect him?  No.  They couldn't wait to get him off the ticket.  Even if he got on the ticket and was elected, how many people in Congress would actually work with him to pass any of his ideas?  The sad reality is that more and more it seems that Washington is run by big money.  The question remains, how do we fix THAT when the people who have the power to change it don't want it changed in the first place?  I'm sad to say that I have difficulty recognizing the country we love to call, The United States of America.

Liar