GOP decides ‘It’s the economy’ for 2010

[Franco]

There won't be an economy left in 2012! Maybe even none in 2010. It will all be government and nothing but the government!

[Steve]

Can anyone tell me how a republician administration can find a solution to fix the economy? I would be willing to vote for anyone in 2010 (republican, democrat or independent) if they can come up with a way to bail us out.

Simple. Get the government to get the fudge out of the way and let those capable of running business do so and actually make money without being shaken down for every loose nickel.

The free market is the Carnot engine of economics.

[HuntsmanTollers]

To date, no one in either party has shown the intestinal fortitude to do this. The Republicans are hampered by the fact that the single biggest factor leading to the deficits we now face were the tax cuts implemented by Bush and his then Republican controlled congress that were never funded then or for the future.

Do you take your posts directly from the DNC website. This propaganda wagon rolls again. Taxation is not the only way to grow the Federal government's income, Republicans believe that economic growth by less taxation is the way to go while Democrats think expanding benefits and taxation will work. This is a difference between the two parties belief system. As usual the truth is somewhere in between. However, neither party can dispute that the deficit is directly tied to SPENDING COMPARED TO INCOME just like it is in everyone's household. Spending went up for a number of reasons during the Bush administration and spending is going up substantially now. What is not increasing is income. Both sides need to adopt a pay as you go approach. Unfortunately both sides find reasons why it doesn't apply all the time, usually due to a perceived crisis, now it is economic stimulus and health care.

[YardleyLabs]

Do you take your posts directly from the DNC website. This propaganda wagon rolls again. Taxation is not the only way to grow the Federal government's income, Republicans believe that economic growth by less taxation is the way to go while Democrats think expanding benefits and taxation will work. This is a difference between the two parties belief system. As usual the truth is somewhere in between. However, neither party can dispute that the deficit is directly tied to SPENDING COMPARED TO INCOME just like it is in everyone's household. Spending went up for a number of reasons during the Bush administration and spending is going up substantially now. What is not increasing is income. Both sides need to adopt a pay as you go approach. Unfortunately both sides find reasons why it doesn't apply all the time, usually due to a perceived crisis, now it is economic stimulus and health care.

Actually, I'm not sure that I have ever visited the DNC web site even though I make contributions to them every month automatically. Other than that, I do not take issue with your statement; it is the same one that I was making -- "Unfortunately both sides find reasons why it doesn't apply all the time, usually due to a perceived crisis, now it is economic stimulus and health care."

Pay as you go must apply to both expenses and revenues. Assuming the economy is growing, tax cuts must be financed with expense cuts or other tax increases just as expense increases must be financed with other spending cuts or tax increases. Those rules were followed under Clinton and the result was a surplus and a reduction in national debt. Those rules need to be brought back.

[HuntsmanTollers]

And as you pointed out in another thread, Clinton had the help of a Republican congress.

[dnf777]

Agreed, regardless of the amount of Bush's deficit. I just had to jump in because you made no mention of the king of all deficits, Obama in your initial post.

Obama has not had ONE budget pass yet. Therefore not one red cent of this 11 trillion is owed to him. (I'm certain there WILL be shortly!) But republicans cannot just gloss over Bush's HUGE record setting gov't spending!! At that was with 6 years of republican congress in both houses, then two years of do-nothing rubber stamp dem congress. (and YES, it was nearly 8 TRILLION added to the nat'l debt by Bush and his congress...so much in fact, they had to add another digit to the national debt ticker!)

Please don't think I'm saying democrats have the answer....but until republicans admit they have a problem, they don't either. You can't just keep pointing fingers to the other guy, and deny your own faults. "YOu can fool some people all the time, and all people some of the time"...but last november shows you couldn't fool 64% anymore.

[road kill]

Obama has not had ONE budget pass yet. Therefore not one red cent of this 11 trillion is owed to him. (I'm certain there WILL be shortly!) But republicans cannot just gloss over Bush's HUGE record setting gov't spending!! At that was with 6 years of republican congress in both houses, then two years of do-nothing rubber stamp dem congress. (and YES, it was nearly 8 TRILLION added to the nat'l debt by Bush and his congress...so much in fact, they had to add another digit to the national debt ticker!)

Please don't think I'm saying democrats have the answer....but until republicans admit they have a problem, they don't either. You can't just keep pointing fingers to the other guy, and deny your own faults. "YOu can fool some people all the time, and all people some of the time"...but last november shows you can still fool 64% .

Fixed!!

[Sundown49 aka Otey B]

To fix the economy 3 things need to happen
1) put all our congress in prison for government corruption.
2) have a straight across the board income tax with NO loop holes. Just takes one page to say EVERYONE PAYS 10 % straight across the board instead of a 4,600 pound printed out tax code.
3) JUST use some Common Sense.

[dnf777]

Accounting for all budget and non-budget expenses and revenues, the US was operating with a deficit of almost $300 million/year when Clinton took office. That deficit went down every year of his presidency, producing surpluses (actual, not budgeted) in each of the last three years he was in office. When GWB entered the White House, he inherited a surplus of $236 million in 2000. That surplus was estimated to continue to grow.

The estimates of a multi-trillion dollar surplus were the CBO estimates of what was expected to happen over the next ten years. Because of deterioration in the economy, the CBO argued for reductions in that estimated surplus over the objections of the White House which was counting on the surplus to finance its tax cut program. Ultimately, Republicans short circuited the debate by ending the Clinton era agreement on pay as you go so that there would be no need to justify tax cuts based on budgetary considerations.

The result was immediate. In 2001, the surplus shrank by half, and by 2002 we were once again operating with a major annual deficit that grew every year Bush was in office (that's based on actuals, not budgets), reaching an estimated $700+ billion in the last year of his administration.

Obama hasn't come close to Bush's performance so far. However, his ten year budget estimates do forecast massive deficits that, if he remains in office for eight years, would rival those accumulated by Bush in abosolute dollars and probably equal Bush in constant value dollars.

While you are correct that Congress is legally responsible for appropriating funds and passing tax bills, Bush aggressively supported and demanded the actions that produced those deificits. In fact, the only thing that slowed down the annual increases in deficits was the election victories which finally gave democrats control of Congress. At that point, deficits actually declined each year before skyrocketing in 2008 in response to the econimic collapse.

Personally, I believe that the deficits incurred carelessly by the Bush administration were the primary factors leading to the economic collapse in 2007-2008. I am not happy about the Obama plans for continuing Bush's outrageous profligacy. While deficits can help in the short term, they are not sustainable once the economy begins to recover. Once our economy is growing again, we need to balance the budget and in fact generate surpluses to begin paying down the debt incurred over the last eight years even if that requires tax increases and massive spending cuts. To date, no one in either party has shown the intestinal fortitude to do this. The Republicans are hampered by the fact that the single biggest factor leading to the deficits we now face were the tax cuts implemented by Bush and his then Republican controlled congress that were never funded then or for the future.

There you go again!! Clouding the issue with facts!
Can't we just Obama-Bash with made-up truths and accusations?

[road kill]

There you go again!! Clouding the issue with facts!
Can't we just Obama-Bash with made-up truths and accusations?

Yardley said;
"Personally, I believe ..."

How is that a truth??

Bush's biggest error (in my opinion) was allowing the "devalue" of the US dollar to help strengthen the Euro.
Won't go into lots of detail, doubt anyone would read it anyway.