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Oh right. Gee how convenient it. It was the dems. Just the dems. The president, a lack of financial regulation on multiple levels had absolutely nothing to do with it.Because dimwits took control of congress.Obama's plan on ISIS reminded me just how dumb the American people are. I like Obama, but anyone with a moderate amount of intelligence knows that he is bullshitting the American people on this issue. There is no way airstrikes alone will defeat ISIS. If they are to be defeated, it will require a full scale war. Whether or not we should launch a full scale war is a separate issue however. His speech was simply an attempt to placate the American people who do not want boots on the ground. The truth is Obama and the Pentagon know full well a full scale war is what would be needed.
This issue isn't really my point so much. It is a part of a broad point which is that Americans are stupid. Americans, on average, are not smart enough to understand issues like war strategy, economics, and geo politics. It pisses me off that our politicians come up with bullshit solutions to our nation's problems that simply sound good to the American people. They are solutions that the American people can easily understand but, in reality, are not good solutions.
When it comes to fixing complex problems, politicians need to stop listening to what the American people think and listen to what educated experts say about them. Let's break down some examples of solutions that work yet Americans hate so our politicians don't do them.
To pay down the debt, we need to cut spending AND raise taxes, not cut them.
To create jobs, tax cuts are not the solution. Tax cuts, especially the ones for the wealthy, do very little to stimulate economic growth. They do more to add to our national debt than they do let business grow. I know it SOUNDS like it makes sense to cut taxes, but facts and reality say otherwise.
I know it SOUNDS like it makes sense to enact huge and broad spending cuts, but in reality, when it comes to cutting spending (which in itself is important), these cuts must be carefully selected and analyzed. This is something the tea baggers can't seem to grasp. When it comes to cutting spending, a scapel is needed - not a lazy sledgehammer.
I think back to the 2012 election. Both Romney and Obama ran on the issue of paying down the debt. They both came up with easy to understand strategies for doing this, but experts dismissed both strategies as being unrealistic.
"To create jobs, tax cuts are not the solution... but facts and reality say otherwise."
You make the generalization without substantiation.... check the facts first!
Now for the FACTS:
First Deal with the realities of the last MAJOR tax cuts by Bush.
1) Do YOU agree a recession started under Clinton and became official 3/01 ended 11/01?
Source: USATODAY.com - It s official 2001 recession only lasted eight months
2) Do YOU agree that the dot.com bust occurred and cost $5 trillion in losses?
According to the Los Angeles Times, when the dot-com bubble burst, it wiped out $5 trillion dollars in market value for tech companies. More than half of the Internet companies created since 1995 were gone by 2004 - and hundreds of thousands of skilled technology workers were out of jobs.
Source: The dot-com bubble How to lose 5 trillion 8211 Anderson Cooper 360 - CNN.com Blogs
3) Hard to believe but people forget that 9/11 cost $2 trillion in lost businesses,market values assets.
Jobs lost in New York owing to the attacks: 146,100 JUST in New York.
Year 2001: September 11 Terrorist Attacks
The 9/11 terrorist attacks were the events that helped shape other financial events of the decade. After that terrible day in September 2001, our economic climate was never to be the same again. It was only the third time in history that the New York Stock Exchange was shut down for a period of time. In this case, it was closed from September 10 - 17. Besides the tragic human loss of that day, the economic loss cannot even be estimated. Some estimate that there was over $60 billion in insurance losses alone.
Approximately 18,000 small businesses were either displaced or destroyed in Lower Manhattan after the Twin Towers fell. There was a buildup in homeland security on all levels. 9/11 caused a catastrophic financial loss for the U.S.
Source: The Top 10 Financial Events of the Decade
4) $1 trillion in written off losses due to the WORST Hurricane SEASONS in history.
The worst Katrina made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 3 in 2005. It took 1,836 lives and caused $81.2 billion in damages. Andrew slammed into South Florida in 1992 as a Category 5. It caused 40 deaths and $30 billion in property damage. More than 250,000 people were left homeless and 82,000 businesses were destroyed or damaged.
Hurricane Katrina ALONE! Year 2005: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
On August 25, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the U.S. as a strong Category 3 or low Category 4 storm. It quickly became the biggest natural disaster in U.S. history, almost destroying New Orleans due to severe flooding.
The Top 10 Financial Events of the Decade
THESE events OCCURRED!
YET in SPITE of a) 400,000 jobs due to Hurricanes Katrina/Rita , b) 2,800,000 jobs in alone due to 9/11,
c) 300,000 jobs lost due to dot.com busts...
In spite of nearly $8 trillion in lost businesses, market values, destroyed property.. IN SPITE of that:
AFTER the tax cuts Federal Tax REVENUES Increased an average of 9.78% per year!!!
Government Revenue Details Federal State Local for 2008 - Charts
So with ALL these above FACTS substantiated with sources AGAIN...[TBODY] [/TBODY]
Year revenue(billions) increase/
decreaseChange Reason 2000 $1,211 2001 $1,145 -$ 66 -5.47% -- remember Wall street closed, no flights 3 days destructions! 2002 $1,006 -$139 -12.14% In spite of dot.com/911 losses tax writes offs.. 2003 $ 926 -$ 81 -8.04% dot.com/911 losses tax write offs 2004 $ 998 $ 73 up! 7.87% ^ Tax cuts STARTED.. in spite of tax revenues UP! 2005 $1,206 $207 up! 20.76%^ Again tax cuts in play.. REVENUES UP!!! 2006 $1,398 $192 UP! 15.95%^ AGAIN tax cuts but REVENUES UP!!! 2007 $1,534 $136 UP! 9.72%^ Again tax cuts BUT revenues UP!!! 2008 $1,450 -$ 84 - 5.45% $500 billion pulled out of MMF on 9/18/08 in 2 hours!
Tell me where TAX revenues decreased BECAUSE of TAX CUTS?????
AND please once and for all why not admit the above events had a DIRECT relationship to tax revenues!
I find it hilarious you didn't even mention the Great Recession which began in the last 4 months of Bush's presidency. We lost 3 million jobs in Bush's last few months. We lost 5 million more in the first 6 months of 2009 which were directly connected to the same financial crisis. You are a disingenuous goon and you know it.
Bush's tax cuts created 4.6 jobs per million dollar cut. That's it.
You people are pathetic.