Drudge has been running a photo in conjunction with the story below. There is a more appropriate image to go with Obama's statements, though.
Via Yahoo:
[Obama]seeking to fire up an important part of his support base ahead of November's elections, told black leaders on Saturday he wanted their support to "guard the change" he was delivering.
Our divisive president destroying the common bonds that unite our nation.
out
Let's see, "destroying the common bonds that unite our nation"....you mean, trying to provide health insurance for more Americans who can't afford it, doing away with pre-existing conditions, saving the country from another Great Depression and encouraging all school children to stay in school and work hard.........geez, all that sounds pretty darn American to me, unless you're a tea bag.
ReplyDeleteI was at a roadside watermelon stand earlier this summer. A third fellow by the name of Obama strolled up as I was about to buy a peach of a watermelon from the vendor. He said, "Hold on, let me take that $5 and buy that melon for you."
ReplyDelete"OK," I said, at which point he dashed from one customer to the other attempting to influence them with his new stash. During all the scurrying he managed to flick three dollars in a nearby creek for what he deemed to be "future investment". This sounded slushy to me, but whatever.
Eventually he returned to the watermelon vendor and gave him a $1.50. Fifty cents had disappeared beyond the $3 "future investment".
At this point Obama forced the watermelon vendor to hand me a watermelon off his table of week old melons that were normally half price.
End result....
---- Despite the fact that the vendor had lost money, I was pissed off at him for handing me such a crap melon.
---- The vendor, for his part, was perplexed to the point of frustration by my anger; as far as he could tell I never paid him for the melon he gave me.
---- Although the vendor continued to kiss this Obama Character's ass in an effort to retain future business he was pissed at being forced to operate at a loss.
---- For the Obama guy's part, between visits to collect more money for my next melon which had by now been raised to $15, he was too busy picking lobster from his teeth to notice the dischord he had created, nor did he have the inclination to hear my complaints.
Thus we have the broken bond of economic transaction and the ensuing hate between citizens....Thank you, Obama.
This does not sound "pretty darn American" to me.
Next:
The Great Depression was extended in its length due to government's efforts to spend its way out, just as our current recession/possible depression has been extended. Recessions are the downside of irrational exuberance and easing the pain of the inevitable winter only increases the length of the downward slide at great expense. Taking the hit and allowing winter to pass clears the economy of the plaque of irrational exuberance and allows for a new spring.
Recessions were handled this way prior to the 1930's. They were hard, but they were short. Now they are long and expensive.
As for schools, I am not sure the teaching cultural balkanization rather than the melting pot binds us tighter. Nor does ignoring liberty or ignoring the teaching of the founding fathers. I especially dislike the numbering of my daughter -- as though there had been no Auschwitz. History seems forgotten.
There has been decay in America and it is as unAmerican as the dominant slices of the Boomer generation.
Lastly the inherent scorn of your final statement which seems to refer to the TeaParty is indicative of you lack of respect for American history and the clearest example of the breaking of our common bonds.
You make no sense, nor do any of the people who apparently endorse your way of thinking. There was nothing in my comment, nor in yours about American history.
ReplyDeleteAs a moderator I prefer that dialog be a living thing. Bringing in thoughts not immediately germane often creates new avenues of thought and perception on a given topic.
ReplyDeleteTo that end I appreciate the comment you brought up in reference to schools as proof that there are bonds that unite us as a nation.
I would think, though, that you could reciprocate in kind and accept that American history falls under schooling. Or has American history and schooling grown so divorced in the liberal world view that they have become mutually exclusive?
Can you give me an example of where I don't make sense?
Like I said --- I appreciate the dialog.
Okay, here's just one of many paragraphs that doesn't make sense, and then I'll address your line above of "has American history and schooling grown so divorced in the liberal world view that they have become mutually exclusive". boy, that was a doozy.
ReplyDeletehere's just one paragraph that just doesn't jive: You said: "The Great Depression was extended in its length due to government's efforts to spend its way out, just as our current recession/possible depression has been extended. Recessions are the downside of irrational exuberance and easing the pain of the inevitable winter only increases the length of the downward slide at great expense. Taking the hit and allowing winter to pass clears the economy of the plaque of irrational exuberance and allows for a new spring"
First off, if the government had not bailed out our financial system (which by the way, almost all of which has been paid back to the Treasury), our country would have endured massive deflationary spiral. There would be almost no credit available. This would price people out of the market for homes, cars, and any other big-ticket items. Most people would have their credit cards pulled or their limits severely reduced. Prices would come down hard, people would get laid off, they wouldn't spend, so prices would have to come down even more, more people would get laid off, etc, etc. Eventually, the government's tax receipts would dry up, but they couldn't lay off government workers, as that would threaten the means by which they maintain order. So they'd wind up borrowing a ton of money anyhow.
As bad as things have been, had our government not done what it did, we would be in worse shape now. No one liked having to give money to institutions who basically got us into this mess, but sadly it had to be done.
the next few years will, sadly, see a slow return to spending and more credit, but businesses are more risk averse and so are consumers. We took a hard fall, and it will take time to recoup confidence. as for your Great Depression comments, WWII pulled us out of that slump.
as for "has American history and schooling grown so divorced in the liberal world view that they have become mutually exclusive". Nope, it's just the opposite, as most Progressive want to reexamine current curricula in public schools and spend more time and money beefing up education so our country rises from 11th place in the world in college educated graduates back to 1st in the world as we were until the 1980's. Sadly, I have read and heard on all news outlets that most Republicans and tea bag members seek to eliminate the department of education, along with teaching creationism as opposed to evolution.
You said:
ReplyDelete"(which by the way, almost all of which has been paid back to the Treasury)"
Agreed, TARP has almost all been paid back, but it is not the sum total of the bank bail out. TARP is only $700 billion compared to a total cost of the bank bailouts of nearly $13 trillion.
Here is a recent PBS inquiry into the matter via Youtube: http://www.littleurl.net/9829ef
But, still, one must ask how these banks are paying off TARP in this economic environment. Where is this profit coming from? T
The answer, in large part, is that the Fed Reserve loans them money at under 1% that they then invest in T-Bills that return 3-5 percent. The bank profits are the result of the difference.
Think about that -- our government is loaning money at interest rates that no one else will ever see, with the exception of loans between family members, to banks that then fund our national debt. In essence TARP is being paid off on the backs of our children.
The result is that the government has in effect created a risk free environment for banks to operate which crowds out all riskier investments like making loans to you, me, or the business down the street. How does this affect us?
First, if a person needs a loan they have difficulty getting one when the banks can instead invest in "free, no risk money" via the Fed and T-Bills. I believe this fact goes a long way toward explaining why we have programs like the USDA Rural Development Program which back stops 80% of bank losses on loans that are fully collateralized. This program lowers the risk of making the loan to zero, but that is what is needed to entice banks to make loans in an environment where they can invest risk free elsewhere.
Second, the low interest rates also hits savers. The retired who live off the interest of their earlier sweat are now forced to dip into principal to live because the return on their investments is so very low. The low interest rates hurt savers, but the banks do just fine.
This is the impact of immoral governance damaging our economy and damaging savers for the benefit of banks.
Lastly, the banks should not have been bailed out. Everything you list as having been a possible result of not bailing them out is currently happening anyway. The difference is that it is happening in slow-motion extending the pain and for some, the agony only worsens what will happen anyway.
The Great Depression...
It seems people are desperate to find Keynesian rationals for how we emerged from the Great Depression. If they don't credit FDR, they credit government spending (building plains, bombs, etc.)on WW2.
The reality is that the United States won WW2, not GB, not France, not the Soviets, not any of the Allies. The US was the only power involved in WW2 to emerge unbloodied aside from the tragic loss of life. The only major power after WW2 with a functioning industrial base was the US and the world turned to the US for supplies when it began to rebuild.
In short, WW2 eliminated competitors and created markets for the US to grow into.
There is also the added benefit of the debt the world took on during the war as the US supplied the war effort with goods. Fort Knox was filled with their gold.
My question in reference to education, history, and liberals was based on snark. You had wondered in the previous comment why I had brought American History into the discussion when you in the comment prior had brought up schools. I was making a point through the use of snark. I will try to avoid use of snark in the future. My apologies.
As for the Department of Eduction... Show me a student being taught by the Department of Education and I'll show you an imaginary friend. The DoE is a bureaucratic waste that produces nothing and should be relegated to the state level only.