World markets slumped today as people realized what the Republican forced cuts will do to the US economy and jobs.
If any of this was about improving our economy or creating jobs, the markets would have soared. They didn’t.
So now we have most economists and all the world markets telling us that the Republicans are driving us into a deep hole. We will see the economy shrink and unemployment climb, and then this winter we will start the whole cutting process all over again. If we really want a second Great Depression, we are now on track for it.
President Obama said the right words today and I hope he can pull it off – we need more stimulus and we need to roll back the Bush tax cuts on the rich – then we can still pull ourselves out of this Republican inflicted hole.
And don’t forget, the State Republicans are following exactly the same agenda – if you want an economic recovery, vote for Shelly Moore and stop Walker and Harsdorf from any further damage to our local economy.
Another stimulus??? The first one is working so great!! You liberals are something else!
I don’t want an economic recovery since I believe the planet cannot survive an upturn in the American economy. We need a significant economic contraction if we are to bring our consumption of resource into line with what is sustainable worldwide! So, should I vote for Sheila?
Of course not, since this contraction will inevitably lead to a struggle to distribute what we DO have equitably and I certainly don’t trust the Republicans to do a good job of that!
I don’t support the Republican policy of ‘top loading’ power and resources to the wealthy. I also don’t support their apparent philosophies of “Grab everything you can,while you can” and “The Devil take the hindmost.” In a contracting economy, these policies will inevitably lead to disaster, both personal and political.
Those “cuts” are 5% of the budget if you use todays budget as the baseline with no increase over the next 10 years. A cut would have been $1.2 trillion in the next 1 year budget cycle, and that still would not balance any budget Obama has put forth. The markets tanked because they realize that we are not serious about our debt problem. So here is how Obama and David get these “cuts.” This year base budget is $3.8 trillion. Next year they ask for $4.4 trillion, but compromise on $4.2 trillion and call that a $200 billion cut. Where I see that as a $400 billion increase in spending, Liberals see that has lost money that they could have put into studying the “mating habits of south american tree frogs in captivity in the antarctic.” We either cut our government by 30% across the board right now, or we will have to cut it 50% down the road once we have 60% of the nation getting there government cheese (FYI, we are currently at 51% with no Federal income liability). Katie, You are so progressive, your policies will make our lifestyle regressive. Distribution equality, without equal input. Nice play, sounds very Mein Kempf to me. “Grab everything you can,while you can” are you speaking of the $6 trillion in debt the Democrats have ran up since Jan 5th 2007? That is the date that they have controlled at least 2/3 of Washington. In regards to grabbing, why is it ok for the bottom 50% of tax filiers in this nation to reach into the pocket of those who actually contribute and pay for our government and get a free pass, but gosh forbid I do well for myself and take care of my family first, I am the one called greedy. Vote for Sheila!
Katie,
I think one way or another, we will end up with a contracting economy. The Tea Party/Walker Harsdorf way seems to be to drop us into decline without any preparation.
My preference would be to get some economic growth first, so that we have the money and willpower to tackle major real problems, like global warming and creating a non fossil fuel economy.
David, this is seriously confused. First, you have completely ignored market concerns about Europe in the worldwide stock retreat. Second, Standard & Poor’s stated that anything less than $4 trillion (that’s Trillion with a “T”) in cuts would lead to a downgrade of the United States AAA credit rating. It was the failure to demonstrate we could get our fiscal house in order and control spending in a meaningful way that led to the downgrade by S&P.
The $7 billion in cuts to discretionary spending next year (that’s Billion with a “B”–one thousand times less than a Trillion) is enough to run the government for about 36 hours (we borrow $4.5 billion per day.) After our day and a half of restraint, discretionary spending increases by $830 billion over the next 10 years. The agreement reformed no entitlement programs (the real driver of spending) and eliminated no program or subsidy. A decrease in a projected spending increase is not a cut.
The debt crisis will eventually spell the end of the progressive dream of living at the expense of everybody else. This downgrade of the full faith and credit of the United States (another Obama historic first) means we will pay higher interest rates to service the debt created by borrowing 43 cents of every dollar we spend. Dishonest and incompetent politicians think you can create economic growth with federal spending and tax the country to prosperity. After the dismal performance of the last three years why would anyone in their right mind want to send more money to Washington?
If you agree with David Mathews and Huey Long (the original progressive) that “if you aren’t getting something for nothing you’re not getting your fair share” than Shelly Moore is your kind of politician. Moore spending, Moore taxes, Moore unemployment. If you think we need a sane fiscal policy to avoid becoming a banana republic please vote Sheila Harsdorf.