USA politics makes you, your own worst enemy! Reality Check

by Babel-Fish | October 24, 2009 at 10:19 pm

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20-year long economic slump | Photo 05

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uploaded by PIM of SPAIN

There is a World outside your countries borders and since the last world War USA had that world mostly on a lead, through your money power and drive. However your main Achilles heel is corruption and greed that had been included within the so called American dream.

Your society had from the start allowed for fanaticism of religion and fringe loonies such as fascist white supremacy groups, to gain localized power and lobbying powers within your system of governance. The once seen melting pot of Europe became a more multi-national broth. A very strange mixture of cultural differences with it plastic coated pomp of hey we are a traditional American family.

The traditional American family lived on ice cream, gas guzzling cars in fast paced system of fast foods and making fast bucks. It led to citizen seeking pleasure and the good life which came more alive with the invention of the Credit Card that led to the unsecured loans and credit. A Hollywood and Disneyland society that wanted to burn the cash before it was earned.

Then when that American Dream Bubble burst and the reality of the American family debts became such a problem those that loan and gave the credit run out of money. This indeed started a domino effect due to US bank securities world wide being made worthless.

Okay now that’s all history and recessions normally given time recover, because people that still have large amounts of money want to invest it to make more money. Once they gain confidence in the market place the stock markets rise gradually and eventually recover. Yes of course there are issues arguable methods for governments to help recovery of which are to long winded and not what I really want to go into depth at this present time.

The real problem is your politics and the hype created by the administrations opponents and the spread of malicious propaganda. What this does is slow down the recovery as it is aimed at losing investors confidence as a political tool.

.The problem is that hype and propaganda has the power destroy a nation or weaken it so it will not recover its original power. This is what we are seeing in the USA today.

Samples……

The Republican View…

Americans hoping for a big economic boost from President Obama’s economic stimulus programs got a douse of cold water Thursday: The White House’s top forecaster said the largest impact of the stimulus on economic growth is probably in the rear view mirror.

That’s the case even though unemployment continues to rise and many of the stimulus dollars haven’t been spent.

“Most analysts predict that the fiscal stimulus will have its greatest impact on growth in the second and third quarters of 2009,” Christina Romer, who chairs the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in testimony prepared for Congress. “By mid-2010, fiscal stimulus will likely be contributing little to growth.”

This view is shared by many economists, as Ms. Romer noted. But her assessment comes at a difficult time for both policymakers and for Americans in general.

Despite the massive $787 billion price tag, polls show that many Americans are skeptical about whether the stimulus is accomplishing much. Since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the nation’s jobless rate has climbed higher than the White House and others had predicted.

Mr. Obama’s approval ratings have sagged in recent weeks. Meanwhile, policymakers who back the stimulus have sent mixed signals. Some say not to judge the programs too soon, since most of the stimulus money hasn’t been spent yet. But now Americans have been reminded that, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), the impact of stimulus next year will be modest.

The Democrats view..

As a teacher, I should have realized that many people have trouble with the distinction between growth rates and levels. As noted in a new article by the Christian Science Monitor, I made the uncontroversial statement in testimony yesterday that fiscal stimulus has its greatest effect on economic growth over the period where it is ramping up most quickly. This statement seems to have caused some confusion and misunderstanding.

When we go from no stimulus to substantial tax cuts, increases in government spending, and aid to state governments, this has a large effect on the growth rate of real GDP – just as when you press hard on your car’s accelerator and go from 0 to 60, you have a great change in your speed. This sense of acceleration is exactly what we have been experiencing since the start of the year. Fiscal stimulus has been steadily increasing, raising GDP growth by between 2 and 3 percentage points in the second quarter and between 3 and 4 percentage points in the third quarter. Because GDP was falling rapidly before the stimulus, the contribution of the Recovery Act to growth has changed what would have been a continued rapid decline in GDP to only a modest decline in the second quarter, and changed what probably would have been a further decline into what is now widely expected to be a moderate increase in the third quarter. We expect that stimulus will continue to have a positive effect on growth in the fourth quarter of 2009 and well into 2010, though, by design, not by as much as it did in the second and third quarters of 2009. As a result, we expect the largest effect of the stimulus on the levels of GDP and employment to occur well after the largest effects on growth rates.

The truth is in fact the last sample and the reality is that the Republican Party are in fact destroying the chances of US fully recovering and remaining a super power. USA needs investor confidence to get completely back on its feet and that only can be done by a patriotic holding of hands between both main political parties.

The great American dream has died the political elitist system has killed it. The shame is the
majority of American's just wanted to live a nice civilized life and thought that living in debt was
the norm. That norm had spread elsewhere in the world but there cultures made them a bit
more thrifty and most worried about high over drafts and heavy credit card bills.

Sorry Americans but that is the reality when you have a governance system that is corrupted by
elitists and fringe political and religious loonies.

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Paschen

at 00:44 on October 25th, 2009

I think you mean Achilles heel.

Babel-Fish

at 14:03 on October 25th, 2009

Yep sorry, I will put it right. thanks.

t k kidwai

at 01:43 on October 25th, 2009

Excellent article.A must read for new generation Americans and those who try to emulate American system.

"We have about 50% of the world's wealth,but only 6.3% of its population......In this situation,we can not fail to be the object of of envy and resentment.our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity without positive detriment to our national security.To do so,we will have to dispense will all sentimentality and day-dreaming;and our attention will have to be concenterated everywhere on our immediate national objectives".(George F.Kennan on US Policy for the Middle East,1948{State Department Planning Study,February 23,1948,cited in Noam Chomsky,On Power and Ideology,The Managua Lectures}.

There has been no change in this policy of acquiring larger share of world's wealth and this policy of aggrandizement is being implemented with more aggressiveness and all wars must be seen in the backdrop of this policy.

Whereever American Multinationals go,corruption follows.Enron paid 20 million US$ to Indian politicians for setting up a power plant in an Indian state,Maharashtra.Union Carbide bribed Indian officials and flouted security norms causing biggest ever tradegy in Bhopal caused by leakage of gas.

Intervention in almost every country by US imperialists had one sole objective:to protect US corporate interests.

For these,apart from other,reasons US is the most hated country in the world.

PIM of SPAIN

at 02:32 on October 25th, 2009

What if they had done nothing? No bailouts. No stimulus. No monetary policy. No fiscal policy. What might have happened? As usual, history is ready with the answers, if only people would care to listen and observe for themselves. As result of living on credit, that caused the financial crisis in the first place, there is decreased demand for everything due to increased savings. The savings rate eventually will go beyond the 9% level where it was 20 years ago. The psyche and habits of consumers have been permanently changed. People now are more intersted to paying their debt down, and save money for an uncertain future. Reviving the economy is not in the cards anymore. All future consumptions have been bought in the past, there is no growth future at this moment of time and most likely not in the foreseeable future. The effects are in the rear view mirror as above correctly is mentioned. Put your safety belts on when the stimulus packages run out, look only at the cash for clunkers history, to understand what is going to happen next. The Achilles heel is more in the uncontrolled credit spray of easy money, that triggered the corruption and the greed. Hope that people will understand the wise lessons that are payed out in front of them.

Babel-Fish

at 14:13 on October 25th, 2009

The recovery would of been extended by about two month without the stimulant, it was the hype that need addressing the stimulant just showed governments acting and doing something of which took some of the sting out of the doom and gloom hype. It was never the solution as I have stated in the article recessions recover when the investors find confidence and these people want to make money.

albertacowpoke

at 02:50 on October 25th, 2009

The lessons of history and big credit still haven't been learned.

In Canada, in TV ads, credit cards are still being pushed. There are also mass mail outs offering pre-approved credit.

It seems old habits are hard to break.

Dave Pearson (not verified)

at 02:57 on October 25th, 2009

Western Canada, I'd say

Dave Pearson (not verified)

at 02:55 on October 25th, 2009

What's your point?

albertacowpoke

at 04:24 on October 25th, 2009

My point is that the blueprinting of people to live beyond their means is still going on.

djermano

at 05:16 on October 25th, 2009

I have to agree with you Bob on this....People want more than materialism in this world. Because only having materialsim does not mean one is wealthy. We are wealthy when we do things that uplift the spirits and remakes the hearts. We become a nation when people agree...on doing the right things....not creating illusions.....causing a false flag burning..such as what happened on 911.

This is my comment and I want to post it here as well...because many people continue to blame the economic problem on a Financial Crisis, and asserting Financial Fixes that simply won't work.

The American people do not trust each other....This lack of trust means the country is bound to fall...into obscurity....just as Rome did...

It got to big.....and they failed to see the signs.. The politicians fell for a lie., which led to other lies....and now we are reaping the rewards of those lies.....

The problem is no one trusts the US anymore. It is not a depression, nor a recession. Those conditions exists when people do trust the government, and work to get it back up to speed. The present situation is more than that. We had an attack on the USA...and people do not believe the 911 government version of lies...especially when they deliberately shut down investigations...and to make matters worse...they lied about the wars....and killed over a million innocent people. We think people are dumb...and just forget that? We'd be better to show an earth balloon picture with bullet holes in it, and blood flowing everywhere.

The US government thinks we just simply forget those things.....and have great admiration and trust in the US government? Hell no.........In Fact the people are purposely working their way out of the USA. Many are seeking banking and jobs outside the USA...to keep the money out of the hands of the criminals who took control of the US government.

There will be no good news for the economy...no matter who is voted in....when they purposely refuse to bring those responsible for doing the terror on 911...namely the inside secret US government. We aren't dumb....and I said it before....There is no trust anymore in the nimwits who run the country in the USA. That is no Depression, and no Recession...it is entirely different... Mark my word....things are changing as Obama claims....but not for the better.

The Rev

Spydermonkey

at 05:19 on October 25th, 2009

Credit card companies are still trying to push there ever worse deals on ever higher interest rate cards with higher fees.. But I have seen a few reports that fewer people are taking credit card Co. up on their offers. I would think that the people that are accepting the offers are the people with the least abbility to pay off the depts they rack up.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 05:22 on October 25th, 2009

The same problem(s) will continue to present when it has not been resolved effectively.

Thanks for this, Babel-Fish.

Babel-Fish

at 14:06 on October 25th, 2009

Your very welcome Rhonda

Rory Cripps

at 06:20 on October 25th, 2009

YES! Democrats good! Republicans Bad! LOL!

Seems to me that best hope for economic recovery is for people to stop pointing their finger at one another. To blame one political party for the nation's ills has no basis in reality. Recessions begin under Democrats as well as under Republicans. No doubt that the current recession began under the Bush Administration. But no American political party has been able to wave its magic wand and make the economy better over night. Politicians use the economy to score political points because they know that American's first concerns are economic. They also know that most Americans haven't a clue as to how the economy works and as a result, politicians can make up any kind of crap that they want about the economy and use it to their political advantage. A case in point is FDR (a Democrat) that presided over the Great Depression. That economic downturn persisted for over a decade until WWII brought it to an end. Yet FDR was able to convince the majority of voters that had it not been for his economic policies, America would have been worse off. The assertion that FDR pulled America from the depths of the Great Depression is perhaps the biggest political myth ever perpetrated on the American people and politicians have been following his lead ever since.America has faced many economic downturns before but managed to recover from them. However, the current recession has a few components (such as the housing market) to it that we weren't faced with in previous recessions. In July of 1982, the unemployment rate hit 9.8% (about what it is now) and peaked at 10.8% in December of that year. It stayed in the 10% range for ten months and didn't come down to 7% until November of 1986 almost four and a half years later.

Babel-Fish

at 14:17 on October 25th, 2009

Political parties need to hold hands and not present gloom and doom propaganda but of course these elitist will continue the Status Quo. It's the way they are and habits die hard.

nanute

at 02:40 on October 26th, 2009

Here's a nice primer on what's wrong in America right now. http://www.lcurve.org/ Someone, anyone activate the link. (I'm a rube on these things.) Take a close look it will scare you.

I don't know how many times I've heard the FDR myth by revisionist "historians" such as Amity Shlaes. You've got a background in economics Rory, take a look at this article and the accompanying graphs and tell me that Roosevelt's policies weren't helpful. http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/new-deal-economics/

All that aside, If you look at the disparities in wealth and income distribution and the widening gap between rich and poor over the last 30 years, you will see that the main cause of the current economic meltdown is directly related to severe distributional disparities. Add in the fact that the government and corporate interests encouraged consumers to spend what they didn't have to mask the glaring inequality of wealth and income. You can't run a domestic economy that has 60-70% of its GDP based on consumer spending while simultaneously shifting the wealth and income to a smaller and smaller percentage of the population. You can call it class warfare, if you like. In fact it probably is a form of class warfare. It wasn't the idea of the lower and middle income wage earners to implement tax policies that gave more to the so called producers of wealth and jobs. While at the same time sending good paying jobs to third world countries.

People are highly agitated and pissed off right now. And as you point out most don't understand how the economy works. They don't trust their government, especially this current one that is being de-legitimized by ideologues and demagogues that are concerned that some equality just might be restored to the people that need it most, at their expense. It's all about the money, and who is gonna pay for the mess that has been created by the past mistakes of both parties policies. (How's that for bipartisanship?)

The irony is that there is this distrust of government, and yet whenever there is a crisis or natural disaster, people look to the very government they do not trust to come to the rescue with Federal dollars.

djermano

at 02:52 on October 26th, 2009

naute...just put it on it's own sentence line..then hit enter.

http://www.lcurve.org/

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/new-deal-economics/

It will turn blue and you know it is live now.

When you post the comment the blue turns into a golden yellow color.

The Rev

nanute

at 03:05 on October 26th, 2009

rev,

do you mean on a separate line in the text? I'm going to do a test:

Amity Shlaes strikes again - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com This link is relative to my post above. Thanks very much.

nanute

djermano

at 03:20 on October 26th, 2009

Yes..you got it now....smile.

U R Welcome. And yes I agree with Krugman..that Keynesian Economics does not work.

The Rev

nanute

at 03:25 on October 26th, 2009

I think you mis-read what Krugman said Rev. He didn't say that Keynesian Economics does not work. He is arguing that the policies of Keynes weren't utilized during the New Deal. Quite the contrary, Krugman is a Keynesian.Take a closer look.

djermano

at 03:36 on October 26th, 2009

Sorry...I reread it 3 times....and I find the article supports that Keynesians doesn't work. Whatever angle you think Krugman is taking..clearly he ends it with how LBJ Keynesian tactics proved futile.

The Rev

nanute

at 03:47 on October 26th, 2009

Rev,

Krugman is saying that Keynesian theory wasn't applied by FDR during the depression. The theory wasn't even published until 36'. Krugman is saying that FDR's stimulus spending of 3% of GDP was minuscule with an output gap of 42%. Conversely, Krugman in other writings has argued that Obama's stimulus plan is not spending enough. Keynesian he is.

djermano

at 05:19 on October 26th, 2009

Yes Krugman is Keynesian: http://mises.org/story/3583

First of all Krugman is a crook and I blame him along with others such as Volker, and Greenspan for not telling the truth. Back in 2001 people were ridiculing Greenspan for the loss in the Stock Markets http://mises.org/story/646

Yes GP is Keynesian as well....or at least his prodigy is.http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=003DyC

Krugman and Greenspan both believe in outdated signs of the times. They blame savings as the precept to recesssions. When people save..they don't consume...which means loss of jobs. But that is not the real issue. Keynes philosophy is that savings is a bad thing.

And I disagree... If you take a look at where Lord Keynes came from..he is from the British Empire..you know the guys with the guns and military imperialistic attitude in taking over the world. Krugman is the same..favors the crazy out of control military industrial complex. This is our problem... His lies along with Greenspan back in 2001 hoped that a war in Iraq and Afghanisntan would lead them down prosperity lane...as they had planned 911....because of the collapse of the economy because of their policies. 911 was a result of failure on the Inside Keynesian lunatics when things fell apart first leveling Enron.

The things really fell apart after the bank bailout. That certainly was a Keynesian result....and this guy Krugman has the audacity to stand behind his nobel prize of failure and high University credentials that has literally been nothing but lie upon lie upon lie.

The rebirth of Keynesian is a threat as much as the rerise of Nazism to occur. And yet they fail to see that. We are in a totally different time than FDR's Depression era. The economy is bloated....we don't need stuff, because we have so much of it, we can't buy anymore.. Without savings...how do banks get the money to loan? You see savings does work.. China is without a doubt non-Maynard Keynes and they at the moment are doing well beyond the expectations of their own predictions as their economy continues to grow at a stable pace. That is the savings is held in check to the loaning.....so things do not get out of control by wacko Keynesians...

The only reason they want the economy to start working again is so they can start up their Credit Card schemes again, repay the losses they created...and to ultimately ratchet up the war machine....to kill many more innocent people. Krugman is both foolish and dangerous.

I do think Krugman wrote this article to blurr his connection to Keynesian Policy..

Amity Shlaes strikes again - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com....as I identified his psychological approach to say more things about being anti-Keynes in his article than pro.. You simply believe he is writing a pro Keynes article because in the past he has stated his pro-keynes principals....that earned him his prestigious University credentials and Nobel Prize in Economics...But I tell you he is a fraud...a robber and a murderer.... I also say SHUT DOWN WALL STREET to put a dead lock bolt on the means for the Military Establishment to make money to procure arms for their phoney wars.. And to not listen to the crackpot economists like Krugman..who caused this mess to begin with.

The Rev.

Hugh Askew

at 03:28 on October 26th, 2009

nanute, while i don't agree with you on FDR (the economy took care of the bad debt on it's own...see PIM for more on that), your last line is incredibly true. Very well said.

See Pavlov for more on that.

Hugh Askew

at 03:31 on October 26th, 2009

Hugh Askew

at 03:32 on October 26th, 2009

nanute, while i don't agree with you on FDR (the economy took care of the bad debt on it's own...see PIM for more on that), your last line is incredibly true. Very well said.

See Pavlov for more on that.

nanute

at 03:54 on October 26th, 2009

hugh, you know that I respect your thoughts and opinions. The Austrian School of Economics, of which PIM is a proponent, always argue that there is no useful role for government in reviving or stimulating the economy. I respect PIM and his opinions, I just don't share them.

Look at the Great Depression any way you choose. The reality is that there was no private sector ability capable of producing jobs UNTIL the run up to the war. Every thing that was done from 33-41 was primarily government action. The public demanded it. Just as I noted in my previous post and the sentence you noted. Look at the link to Krugman's article if you haven't already, and tell me otherwise.

Roy C

at 14:22 on October 25th, 2009

I don't agree with all you say here, BF, but I highly approve of the spirit in which it is written. A total thumbs up on that one!

Babel-Fish

at 20:24 on October 25th, 2009

Thanks, its nice to get respect for ones opinion and honesty from those that oppose some or all of a said opinion.

snuffysmith

at 07:35 on November 22nd, 2009

Things Could Get Ugly Fast

by Mike Whitney / November 20th, 2009 (4)

Things could get ugly fast. With the Democrats backing-off on a second round of stimulus, the Fed signaling an end to quantitative easing, and Obama moaning about rising deficits; there’s a good chance that the stumbling recovery could turn into another sharp plunge. Bank lending is shrinking, consumers spending is off, housing prices are falling, unemployment is soaring and the wholesale credit markets are in a shambles. This isn’t the time to slash government support in the name of “fiscal responsibility”. Obama needs to ignore the gloomsters and alarmists and pay attention to the Nobel laureates like Joe Stiglitz …

Full article