Welcome Back America!!!!!!!!!

[shoxilla]

The Valley had the BigO in the past, maybe we can get the new BigO in the future. I hear he can trey it up.
:goshocks:

[kcshocker11]

The BigO! Oh no here come the jokes

[WuDrWu]

I'm afraid there isn't going to be anything funny about this.

[rjl]

There is only one sure way to help the economy. Cut taxes.

Ok, that really is all.

OK. We did that a little less than 8 years ago, and have been doing it about every 3-4 years since.

Aaaaaaannnnndddddd....

Taaadaaaa! Here's your economy!

[SpanglerFan316]

We have a new president. It is in the interest of the nation that the economy improve. Either you complain or you give Obama & his team a chance to fix the mess Bush & his team created. Which you choose says more about you than about the new administration.

I expect Obama to make mistakes. I expect him to get some things right. I'm not really paying attention to the speeches, etc. right now; I'm trying to help WSU as best I can. If only I had $1M (or more). :D

You believe waaaaaay too much in the power of the government. Read Prez above and take it in slowly and carefully. It will be a shock to your system.

You are not as smart as you think you are if you believe 1 person (or 1 and his "team" have put the country where it is....

More government = bad

Less government = good

Remember it. That is all.

There is only one sure way to help the economy. Cut taxes.

Ok, that really is all.

I don't really care about politics that much. People who are dogmatic (not naming any names here) tend to view politics and society in a simplistic way and have simple answers. Sometimes they are right. However human society is complex and often dogmatic people, on the "left" or on the "right," have the wrong answers.

It is important that there be tension from various groups and points of view because this helps keep governments and societies "honest." It is also useful to be open minded and look at the facts.

I do like this quote:
We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.…

http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=obama-restates-commitment-to-health-2009-01-20

Our society is largely based on products and ideas from science. Making science a political football was a very bad decision by the Republicans.

[BostonWu]

The numbers simply won't add up. We're printing money with no end in sight. We're going to cut taxes, bail out everyone and their bro, balance the budget, provide nationalized health care, provide stimulus packages, fight the war against terrorism, fund social security, reduce the deficit...........Much of which is fools gold.

4 years from now when we're bankrupt, a true fiscal conservative like Romney will seem like a savior. We’ll be in such fiscal dire straits that nobody will care if he supposedly waffled on a few social issues or what church he belongs to.

[SpanglerFan316]

Boston: We are going further into debt and I don't care for this. What I find very objectionable is the hypocrisy of people who did not object when Bush & company ran up the federal debt but are objecting now.

Of course, some of these hypocrites may say "Bush's spending was for a good cause" or "Bush's spending was necessary because ..." or "Bush's tax cuts were good for the economy" or ...
Does the federal deficit care why it is so large? No!
Does it matter which "good cause" caused the federal debt to increase while Bush was in office?
Look at the graph here http://zfacts.com/p/318.html

We still have the Bush tax cuts (e.g. the federal inheritance (or estate) tax - in 2010 all estates will be taxed at 0%). So is the economy in good shape?

I accept that the federal debt may need to increase more on a temporary basis because the economic alternative is much worse than increased debt. However I hope the debt is lower when Obama leaves office than it is now.

[RoyalShock]

The "debt" will not be lower than it is today. The "deficit" might be. But as long as we are running a deficit and not paying down more than the accumulating interest on the debt, it will increase. The federal government would have to get much smaller before it can even dream of reducing the debt.

You can count me as one conservative who feels that increased spending is what made Bush a moderate, at best. My opinion of Reagan is tarnished because he allowed government to get a lot bigger under his watch.

[BostonWu]

Spangler: Any true red-blooded fiscal conservative came away pissed with W (and there has been more than ample evidence that shows that on this board). He was a fiscal disgrace in the good name of Ronald Reagan. How BO decides to spend from here on out is on him and my guess is BO’s initiatives in comparison are on a much grander scale (nationalized health care, tax subsidies for those who pay zero taxes, continued bailouts on top of more mega stimulus packages, etc.) So your mention of W right about now carries no weight – you can trash him all you want because this conservative doesn’t care.

We’re furiously printing money without the funds and America better wake up before four years comes and goes and we’re all sitting out front of the Speedy Cash lot.

[SHOCKvalue]

We have a new president. It is in the interest of the nation that the economy improve. Either you complain or you give Obama & his team a chance to fix the mess Bush & his team created. Which you choose says more about you than about the new administration.

I expect Obama to make mistakes. I expect him to get some things right. I'm not really paying attention to the speeches, etc. right now; I'm trying to help WSU as best I can. If only I had $1M (or more). :D

You believe waaaaaay too much in the power of the government. Read Prez above and take it in slowly and carefully. It will be a shock to your system.

You are not as smart as you think you are if you believe 1 person (or 1 and his "team" have put the country where it is....

More government = bad

Less government = good

Remember it. That is all.

There is only one sure way to help the economy. Cut taxes.

Ok, that really is all.

I don't really care about politics that much. People who are dogmatic (not naming any names here) tend to view politics and society in a simplistic way and have simple answers. Sometimes they are right. However human society is complex and often dogmatic people, on the "left" or on the "right," have the wrong answers.

It is important that there be tension from various groups and points of view because this helps keep governments and societies "honest." It is also useful to be open minded and look at the facts.

I do like this quote:
We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.…

http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=obama-restates-commitment-to-health-2009-01-20

Our society is largely based on products and ideas from science. Making science a political football was a very bad decision by the Republicans.

Gotta love espousing the virtues of open-mindedness, while in the very next breath basically trashing those who don't count evolution as fact, eh Spangler.

I'm always highly amused at the left's concept of "tolerance".

[RoyalShock]

I may be looking at Obama's stimulus plan too simplistically, but all I see is lots of government spending and handouts, very litte tax cuts and no money in the hands of taxpayers (which is fine by me since we don't have the money unless it gets printed up).

People realize that the economy is bad and tax increases to pay for all this "stimulus" and failed bailouts loom on the horizon They aren't going to start spending. They are going to start saving. (which is actually a good thing long term, IMO). And it's going to be a long while before they start spending again.

If the government were to pass massive spending cuts to go along with a tax reduction, I think you'd see consumer confidence increase and the economy rebound quicker.

[SpanglerFan316]

After 8 years, I would like to see the "debt" lower than it is today and the "deficit" turned into a surplus. I may not get my wish. :D

[SpanglerFan316]

Spangler: Any true red-blooded fiscal conservative came away pissed with W (and there has been more than ample evidence that shows that on this board). He was a fiscal disgrace in the good name of Ronald Reagan. How BO decides to spend from here on out is on him and my guess is BO’s initiatives in comparison are on a much grander scale (nationalized health care, tax subsidies for those who pay zero taxes, continued bailouts on top of more mega stimulus packages, etc.) So your mention of W right about now carries no weight – you can trash him all you want because this conservative doesn’t care.

We’re furiously printing money without the funds and America better wake up before four years comes and goes and we’re all sitting out front of the Speedy Cash lot.

So where were the posts here complaining about Bush's increasing the federal debt? Did you favor Bush's tax cuts, even though they increased the federal deficit and debt? If your answer is "yes," you don't really have any standing to complain about the debt now.

What happened to "pay as you go" that existed while Clinton was President? Tax cuts which actually reduce the federal debt (ala JFK) are one thing; tax cuts which increase the federal debt are another.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/05/AR2007010500681.html

I don't understand your comment "He was a fiscal disgrace in the good name of Ronald Reagan." RR greatly increased the federal debt.

[ABC]

There were and are many conservatives who opposed the Republican Congress spending binge and the fact the Bush didn't veto more spending. You are living under a rock if you didn't hear the cat calls from the right.

Many conservatives opposed the massive expansion of Medicare as well as the tariff protection of the steel industry.

I sure didn't hear any left of center opposing these things.

Conservatives supported the tax cuts b/c they work. They helped avoid a recssion. Tax cuts weren't the cause of the budget deficit. SPENDING IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE CAUSE.

Pay-go is a bunch of crap and it has so many execeptions to it it is worthless.

In my somewhat expert opinion, the primary, but not exclusive culprit for too much spending is the legisaltive branch. They have far more control over the budget that is passed into law than the Executive branch.

Thus Reagan and Bush are partly to blame, but more to blame are the members of Congress who passed the budgets during their tenure. (Bush has special blame for the Medicare expansion although he proposed many market-type reforms that were ultimately rejected by a coalition of Democrats and Republicans.)

[SubGod22]

There were and are many conservatives who opposed the Republican Congress spending binge and the fact the Bush didn't veto more spending. You are living under a rock if you didn't hear the cat calls from the right.

Many conservatives opposed the massive expansion of Medicare as well as the tariff protection of the steel industry.

I sure didn't hear any left of center opposing these things.

Conservatives supported the tax cuts b/c the work. They helped avoid a recssion. Tax cuts weren't the cause of the budget deficit. SPENDING IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE CAUSE.

Pay-go is a bunch of crap and it has so many execeptions to it it is worthless.

In my somewhat expert opinion, the primary, but not exclusive culprit for too much spending is the legisaltive branch. They have far more control over the budget that is passed into law than the Executive branch.

Thus Reagan and Bush are partly to blame, but more to blame are the members of Congress who passed the budgets during their tenure. (Bush has special blame for the Medicare expansion although he proposed many market-type reforms that were ultimately rejected by a coalition of Democrats and Republicans.)

Well put :good: