Last week this is what a gleeful John Boehner had to say about the GOP having their ransom demands met on the debt deal:
When you look at this final agreement that we came to with the White House, I got 98 percent of what I wanted. I’m pretty happy.
And tonight, for the first time in this country’s history, “S&P cut the long-term U.S. credit rating by one notch to AA-plus,” because:
The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America’s governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy … It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options.
Congratulations, Mr. Speaker.
Think S&P got it right?
#57 foobar said, …
“Shrub inherited a pretty damn good balance sheet, debt at 30% GDP and falling, and the Congressional Budget Office projecting public debt eliminated by 2009.”
Maybe the debt would have had a chance of being eliminated if the DotCom boom of 1999 had never ended. More likely, the dotcom boom would have had to continue ramping up at its dizzying pace all the way to 2009 to have had any chance of that occurring.
As it was, Congress made the temporary influx of DotCom revenue a permanent presumption of annual income from the 1990′s on. Sadly, that was far from the reality. This permanent increase in spending of temporary money had occurred before Bush became President. Also note that the ONLY reason that Clinton had a “balanced” budget in 1999 was that dotcom boom money kept rolling in faster that Congress anticipated for several years running. If they had anticipated it, they would have preemptively spent it so there would have been no chance for Clinton’s “balanced” budget to occur.
What I found hilarious (besides Eidard’s attempts at deflection) is the response the current admin gave to the S&P’s downgrade: the typical retort of a banana republic government
“We are a sovereign country and no one tells us what to do”
Typical bravado of the sleazebag.
Obama, Geitner, Pelosi, Reid, Boehner should all resign for what they have done to the country.
This was the most telegraphed downgrade in history, everyone in the Tea Party, Fox News, Business community…knew cuts had to happen now, the spending game was over.
They suggested at least 4 trillion now, as a good start.
Typical of their usual “above the people attitude” Obama and his fellow conspirators believe they are above the law, above the reality of the marketplace.
And often they are, as they can exempt themselves from the rules they force us to follow.
Their hubris was incredible…
Now we the Tea Party will do our best to make them pay.
2012 looms, if we don’t slide into Obamachaos before then.
#63 You know you are the best anti tea party propaganda there is, don’tcha?
#64 I know you aren’t only dull, you are the cause of dullness in others.
Among the disordered minds at DU, you sit supreme, a triumph of stupidity over retardation.
#48, its actually worse than that since what they are saying are cuts are not actually cuts, since they are not off the current budget, but off the myth that is baseline budgeting.
A better analogy would be, a family Making $58,000 a year, and spending $75,000 with $327 grand in credit card debt. Instead of cutting 3 thousand from the 75 thousand, instead they say we project that we will be spending $80,000 in 10 years, but instead we are going to cut from that and only spend $77,000, and acting like they have really cut anything, instead of actually adding $2,000 in extra spending.
Any budget that includes “baseline” spending increase should be killed and never see the light of day, and those that proposed it should be run out of town.
Drive by Poster, so you’re saying that Bush was handed a raw deal? Or you’re saying that the ballooning defects had nothing to do with policy?
Certainly there was a recession, but it was a rounding error compared to other factors.
Until someone in Washington cares enough to stop the bleeding of USA jobs overseas, the economy is going to tank. We must rewrite the unfair trade agreements.
#67, The stock market dropped from 11,700 to 10,500 during the last year of Clinton’s presidency. This was the start of the bust.
During 2001 (a Clinton era budget), it dropped from 10,500 to 8,200. At this low point, it was announced the first wave of the tax cuts were coming. Notice the rebound after that to 10,600.
It then dropped back down to 7,500 near the end of 2002. It was during this time, the second wave of cuts were announced.
The economy rebounded from a low of 7500 to 14,000 in 5 years after that.
It could be coincidence, but the tax cuts sure looked like they helped the stock market. All that extra money in the hands of the citizens produced a boom. And all the government spending on top of that didn’t hurt the GDP numbers.
Eventually, it all caught up with us because at the end of his second term, it dropped from 14,000 to 6,600.
I suppose it could be said that Bush era budget is what caused it . . . the same way the Clinton era budget caused the dot com bust.
Notice I am sticking with “era.” I don’t want to assume the President was wholly responsible for any good or bad.
#7
I buy my veggies at a local international market. Prices are half as much, with twice as good selection. You’ve got to be a little more careful about checking stuff.
Whole Foods, or similar, will tend to have slightly better veggies at double the price of a traditional chain on any item with foreign sounding names.
There is an international market near me took over an older full-size supermarket. About 1/3 is veggies and it is amazing. 10+ kinds of potatoes and more pepper, squash, bitter greens, citrus, herb, and onion varietals than most Americans have ever seen.
I’ve found these establishments to be more varied than a chain supermarket. You’ve got to look a little more, and be willing to drive a little more.
Also, are they selling huge volume of veggies and can offer a price break, or are they getting seconds from major suppliers and/or dealing with low quality suppliers.
If you are actually thinking about food, and not making a… John Kerry(?, can’t remember) reference go browse these markets.
I’ve also seen city markets and Amish markets serve this same function. City markets are going to be really specific. If you are in a top 10 US city there is a very good market near you. It might not sell what you like though.
Amish markets can be top quality, and it’s easier to spot the outside merchandise. My favorite local one is open about 20 hours a week spread over 3 days. It is mobbed from the moment it opens. Get there a few hours too late and it looks like a Soviet shop. All empty shelves.
Since you brought it up twice…
#69 LL Take a look at tax revenue for 2004, for example. Big spike. Shrub and the Congress were serious smucks.
#65 Thanks for reacting that way. Means my work is done. Keep doing that heckuva job for your team
#69 All things being equal, tax cuts certainly grow the economy and increase tax revenue.
But Bush & crew grew government and regulations, and this hit hyper speed in 2006 when Democrats swept local, state and Federal elections…so by late 2007, after layer and layer of more bureaucratic obstacles struck, even the Bush tax cuts couldn’t overcome the negatives.
Its incredible the amount of bs a buisness must go through, to build any factory, or sell any product. And hiring is also fraught with danger, lawsuits galore for every bogus reason.
Its no wonder the economy began recessing in 2007 and continues now, given Government is still growing, and the parasite still feasting on the private economy, robbing citizens of their constitutional right to freely pursue business and keep the profits or property that results, without having it confiscated by the government.
#72 Working towards a goal requires intelligence. When I put your brain on a razor’s edge, it looks like a pea rolling down a four lane highway, having no purpose whatsoever.
Your words indicate something is eating at your mind…not to worry—it will soon die of starvation.
I now return control of your brain set to you—I live in it 24/7, you can resume being stuck on station identification.
pedro, no points for any easy kill.
Tax cuts without spending cuts equal National Welfare.
Taxed shows how he is a Zombie by not addressing this fact. R. R. undertaxed and overspent. Bush 2.0 undertaxed and overspent.
Taxed, you are a party Zombie who only wishes to eat the brains of rational people. Get your clutter off this site God Damn It!
#71, Have you got a link? I’m being lazy this morning
#76 Tax cuts without spending cuts equal National welfare.
I agree.
So you must be depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.
You don’t have a clue what the Tea party believes, or are…
Don’t worry, brain eating zombies would never chase you.
#75 Foobar–the mental dwarf who’s been dipped in a bucket of pubic hair!
You’re still here…even after you and Peeeedro took 1st Prize at the Olympics for Stupid:
http://dvorak.org/blog/2009/04/30/caption-this-photo-34/
I heard you both were lost in Thought—being such unfamiliar territory, I expected you’d be gone forever.
I know exactly what the Tea Party is, it is a bunch of hot air that ammounts to nothing!!! And you, Taxed, are the same thing.
1. The Tea Party is not a Political Party.
2. The Tea Party has no representative ideas, it is completely amorphous. The self-identified members say it represents any idea that happens to exiting thier collective mouth. These ideas are often orthogonal, and broad but shallow.
3. The Tea Party is little more than a pandering advertisement campaign that seperates “campaign donations” from the comfortable and stupid. The Rock Stars of the Tea Party, Ron Paul excluded, use the sloganeering and faddish events to line thier pockets with money for doing nothing more than pimp braindead ideas.
In summary, the Tea Party is the equivelent of the Pet Rock. It is not a party, as the Pet Rock wasn’t a pet. It is designed to quickly raise cash for its inventors without providing and value, just as the Pet Rock was designed to do.
I hope you have fun with your pet rock there Mr. Mentally Taxed!