Topic: Biggest Economic Lessons
started by: Expatriate
Posted by Expatriate on Feb. 12 2014,8:07 am
Why The Three Biggest Economic Lessons Were Forgotten`ROBERT B. REICH
Why has America forgotten the three most important economic lessons we learned in the thirty years following World War II?
Before I answer that question, let me remind you what those lessons were:
First, America’s real job creators are consumers, whose rising wages generate jobs and growth. If average people don’t have decent wages there can be no real recovery and no sustained growth.
In those years, business boomed because American workers were getting raises, and had enough purchasing power to buy what expanding businesses had to offer. Strong labor unions ensured American workers got a fair share of the economy’s gains. It was a virtuous cycle.
Second, the rich do better with a smaller share of a rapidly-growing economy than they do with a large share of an economy that’s barely growing at all.
Between 1946 and 1974, the economy grew faster than it’s grown since, on average, because the nation was creating the largest middle class in history. The overall size of the economy doubled, as did the earnings of almost everyone. CEOs rarely took home more than forty times the average worker’s wage, yet were riding high.
Third, higher taxes on the wealthy to finance public investments — better roads, bridges, public transportation, basic research, world-class K-12 education, and affordable higher education – improve the future productivity of America. All of us gain from these investments, including the wealthy.
In those years, the top marginal tax rate on America’s highest earners never fell below 70 percent. Under Republican President Dwight Eisenhower the tax rate was 91 percent. Combined with tax revenues from a growing middle class, these were enough to build the Interstate Highway system, dramatically expand public higher education, and make American public education the envy of the world.
We learned, in other words, that broadly-shared prosperity isn’t just compatible with a healthy economy that benefits everyone — it’s essential to it.
But then we forgot these lessons. For the last three decades the American economy has continued to grow but most peoples’ earnings have gone nowhere. Since the start of the recovery in 2009, 95 percent of the gains have gone to the top 1 percent.
What happened?
For starters, too many of us bought the snake oil of “supply-side” economics, which said big corporations and the wealthy are the job creators – and if we cut their taxes the benefits will trickle down to everyone else. Of course, nothing trickled down.
Meanwhile, big corporations were allowed to bust labor unions, whose membership dropped from over a third of all private-sector workers in the 1950s to under 7 percent today.
Our roads, bridges, and public-transit systems were allowed to crumble under the weight of deferred maintenance. Our public schools deteriorated. And public higher education became so starved for funds that tuition rose to make up for shortfalls, making college unaffordable to many working families.
And Wall Street was deregulated — creating a casino capitalism that caused a near meltdown of the economy six years ago and continues to burden millions of homeowners. CEOs began taking home 300 times the earnings of the average worker.
Part of the reason for this extraordinary U-turn had to do with politics. As income and wealth concentrated at the top, so did political power. The captains of industry and of Wall Street knew what was happening, and some played leading roles in this transformation.
But why didn’t they remember the lessons learned in the thirty years after World War II – that widely-shared prosperity is good for everyone, including them?
Perhaps because they didn’t care to remember. They discovered that wealth is also relative: How rich they feel depends not just on how much money they have, but also how they live in comparison to most other people.
As the gap between America’s wealthy and the middle has widened, those at the top have felt even richer by comparison. Although a rising tide would lift all boats, many of America’s richest prefer a lower tide and bigger yachts.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 12 2014,9:35 am
Economic lessons like the spanking we're taking now?
Posted by Botto 82 on Feb. 12 2014,11:38 am
Now, as in the last 30 years? Because I know you're not daft enough to suggest that this is an Obama problem.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 12 2014,12:06 pm
Oh it's far from being just an Obama problem, this goes back as far as FDR and social security. Every president between here and there has had a hand in it. Obama just seems to have kicked it into a death spiral.
Posted by Botto 82 on Feb. 12 2014,3:49 pm
Did you actually read the article? Our economic woes have nothing to do with FDR and Social Security and everything to do with Reaganomics, and everything after.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 12 2014,6:50 pm
(Botto 82 @ Feb. 12 2014,3:49 pm)
QUOTE
Did you actually read the article? Our economic woes have nothing to do with FDR and Social Security and everything to do with Reaganomics, and everything after.
No I didn't read the article.Expat has me on ignore.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 13 2014,7:12 am
...which is not a bad thing. 
Posted by MADDOG on Feb. 13 2014,8:09 am
Robert Reich, ex-Secretary of Labor under Clinton and currently < blogger > from U of C at Berkeley.He seems to have a fixation on Moyers, Colbert and the Daily Show.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 13 2014,8:23 am
Reich = Inferiority complex.
Posted by Liberal on Feb. 13 2014,8:52 am
Blogger? 
Posted by MADDOG on Feb. 13 2014,10:08 am
hey look. The guy with the pointy hat is back. < blog >
Yeah, I'd call it a blog. His article expat posted is in the opinion pages.
Posted by Common Citizen on Feb. 13 2014,10:44 am
Robert ReichA UC Berkley Professor. Clinton appointee and MSNBC hack.
That's rich.
QUOTE
He published his experiences working for the Clinton administration in Locked in the Cabinet. After publication of the book, Reich received criticism for embellishing events with invented dialogue. The paperback release of the memoir revised or omitted the inventions
He also ignores the entitlement society in which we have become and how that has affected our culture.
Defining those who are poor today is much different than how we defined them 30-60 years ago.
nuff said...
Posted by Liberal on Feb. 13 2014,11:12 am
(MADDOG @ Feb. 13 2014,10:08 am)
QUOTE
hey look. The guy with the pointy hat is back.
< blog >
Yeah, I'd call it a blog. His article expat posted is in the opinion pages.
< blog >
Yeah, I'd call it a blog. His article expat posted is in the opinion pages.
Without a doubt the dumbest thing you've ever said, and possibly the dumbest thing ever posted on this forum.
Posted by MADDOG on Feb. 13 2014,11:26 am
Why thank you. 
Posted by Botto 82 on Feb. 13 2014,12:35 pm
Feel the love... 
Posted by Botto 82 on Feb. 14 2014,7:12 am
The beauty of this article is its nonpartisan nature, which I'm sure annoys the partisan morons that want to point fingers at their opposite numbers. Are you ready to throw out the baby with the bathwater and start voting third-party? I know I am.
Posted by Glad I Left on Feb. 14 2014,8:00 am
(Botto 82 @ Feb. 14 2014,7:12 am)
QUOTE
Are you ready to throw out the baby with the bathwater and start voting third-party? I know I am.
I have in the last two presidential elections. But in this state it really doesn't matter. They really only need to put the (D) on the ballot anyway.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 14 2014,10:18 am
I wouldn't call Short-Bob nonpartisan but the repubs lost there way along time ago. Things need to change, fiscal responsibility needs to be implemented. Spending needs to be reined in.
Posted by MADDOG on Feb. 14 2014,10:56 am
(Liberal @ Feb. 13 2014,11:12 am)
QUOTE
(MADDOG @ Feb. 13 2014,10:08 am)
QUOTE
hey look. The guy with the pointy hat is back.
< blog >
Yeah, I'd call it a blog. His article expat posted is in the opinion pages.
< blog >
Yeah, I'd call it a blog. His article expat posted is in the opinion pages.
Without a doubt the dumbest thing you've ever said, and possibly the dumbest thing ever posted on this forum.
QUOTE
My < blog > is now at < www.robertreich.org. >
Posted by Expatriate on Feb. 16 2014,5:09 pm
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 12 2014,6:50 pm)
QUOTE
No I didn't read the article.Expat has me on ignore.
you’re not on ignore you’re just plain ignorant.
All of our rightwing friends are quick to condemn Reich because they can’t handle the truth in his words.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 16 2014,5:29 pm
^^^
Posted by Expatriate on Feb. 16 2014,6:02 pm
^^^ 
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 16 2014,7:15 pm
^^^ well how about that,Welcome back cupcake.
Posted by grassman on Feb. 17 2014,3:47 am
It seems to me that with some, you can put every bit of common sense and logic in front of them, yet they still refuse to get a grip on it. 
SB is one those that think, as long as I am doing well,so what. This no longer is The United States. It is the beginning of the end.
(CNN) -- Venture capitalist Tom Perkins is back in the news with a big (and ridiculous) idea: If you pay a million dollars in taxes, you should get a million votes. While some media outlets have since pointed out that Perkins was perhaps courting controversy, his system of wealthier Americans having more say at the ballot box follows an equally bizarre argument this week from Bud Konheim, CEO of luxury retailer Nicole Miller.
Konheim took a different tack on the inequality debate, asserting instead that all Americans are wealthy. According to Konheim, "We've got a country that the poverty level is wealth in 99% of the rest of the world. So we're talking about woe is me, woe is us, woe is this. ... The guy that's making, oh my God, $35,000 a year. ... Why don't we try that out in India or some country we can't even name ... China, anyplace -- that guy is wealthy."
For now, it's safe enough to assume that Perkins' dollar-a-vote initiative is unlikely to take off. But Konheim's argument actually falls into a growing category -- members of the wealthiest income group in the country trying to convince average Americans that they, too, are all very wealthy.
Last summer, a commercial funded by the conservative Charles Koch Foundation tried to persuade people that the middle class in America is actually rich by pointing out that someone making over $34,000 -- a decidedly middle-class income -- was part of "the wealthiest 1% in the world."
Seriously? Let's look more closely at this idea that the poor -- or even the middle class -- in America are actually wealthy.
Konheim's argument probably does not hold much weight among millions of Americans who skipped filling a prescription in 2012 because of the costs, according to Commonwealth Fund's Biennial Health Insurance Survey. Nor does it likely ring true for many in the middle class who are trying to buy a home at a time when home prices have doubled since 1970. And let's not forget the cost of a public four-year college education, which has risen by an eye-watering 250% over the past 30 years.
The federal poverty level in the United States for a family of four is $23,550, significantly less than estimated living expenses. More than 3 million Americans earn the minimum wage or lower, and today's minimum wage has 30% less buying power in real terms than the minimum wage in 1968. Or put another way, someone on minimum wage would have to work for more than 130 hours to buy the $950 dress that Konheim's company is selling right now at Saks Fifth Avenue.
To be sure, Americans do not need to buy luxury dresses. But they do need to buy food. And according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 14% of Americans were food insecure at some point in 2012. In other words, in the wealthiest country on Earth, millions of Americans could not be sure where their next meal was coming from. And poverty is much more prevalent than you might think -- more than half of Americans between the ages of 25 and 64 will spend a year of their lives in or near poverty.
As worrisome as these statistics are on U.S. poverty levels, there is also alarming data about the state of the middle class.
Median incomes in America are actually lower now than they were in 2000, and household debt levels have skyrocketed. If we look at millennials -- the youngest part of our workforce -- there were 10 million of them who were unemployed or underemployed last summer, more than the entire population of New York City.
Comparisons Konheim would have us make with developing countries miss the point. The United States is not a developing country, and it does not serve us well to try to ignore the real difficulties of many Americans. So the question is not whether a full-time retail worker earning $14,000 in Texas is better off than a full-time retail worker in India, or even whether a household with $34,000 in Philadelphia is doing better than many families in China. The question is whether the economic conditions we have now are serving us -- all of us -- well.
And the answer to that is: not really. Or, more positively: We can certainly do better.
Economic growth in the United States is lagging behind our historical average, and unemployment five years from the Great Recession is still too high. And the American Dream, the notion that if you work hard and play by the rules you can get ahead, is taking a serious knock when economic mobility -- the ability to move from the wealth you were born to another level -- is lower in the United States than in countries like Canada and Germany.
Doing better for all Americans is not about creating divisions between income levels. And it's certainly not about trying to convince workers who are struggling to pay their rent that they are actually rich.
Simply put, doing better for all Americans -- the wealthiest included -- and growing our economy in a sustainable way requires a growing and vibrant middle class that is contributing to an innovative and entrepreneurial workforce, while providing a stable source of economic demand. In short, we need Americans to be both productive workers and reliable consumers.
Acknowledging the very real struggles many of our fellow Americans face is not just a moral imperative, it is also an economic one. And we can't have a constructive conversation about how we improve the country's economy if we ignore the difficult realities facing many Americans today.
Konheim and Perkins can disparage their fellow citizens all they want, but the truth is that the American economy will do better when more Americans are doing better.
Posted by grassman on Feb. 17 2014,4:08 am
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 17 2014,5:39 am
Well GM, I see you've turned chicken sh!t tooI haven't always done as well as I have most my life. There have been times were I slept in my car a few nights and worse, times where I distressed over how I was going to feed my family. I never gave up though, never once asked the gov. For a handout.
$34K a year? A single person ought to survive well on that, you might have to have roommates, you might have a crappy car but you seem to think that one should be able to support a family of four on that. Before one decides to knock-up his girlfriend he should probably think of the consequences abit. But no, too many idiots don't want to help pay for Miss Trailer Trashes' birth control or buy a 75 cent condom. After that it it automatically becomes societies problem.
The more money you have the more votes you get? Why not? It seems to be a logical solution to the progressives game plan of "carrot and stick" vote for us and we'll give you this, what the hell is the difference? Let's throw the opposite end of the stick in here for you, funny thing is I watched this yesterday out of pure coincidence,
< http://www.c-span.org/video...ist-usa >
I'll keep my "Randian" attitude on life, in fact I'll just keep my attitude period, it's served my well throughout the years.
Posted by grassman on Feb. 17 2014,5:51 am
So you see your hatred of "trailer trash" groups everyone into one boat for taking on rough times. You will not look at the real picture. Facts are facts, take some time and try to understand the meaning instead of throwing people under the bus.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 17 2014,6:04 am
^^^ no hatred of trailer park dwellersJust hatred of paying for other peoples dumbazz mistakes.
Posted by grassman on Feb. 17 2014,7:35 am
Once again, you don't understand the conversation. If the wages were up, there would be less need for assistance. How does a pro team win when there is just one star player? Trust me, there are many out there that really do not want a hand out but need one.
Posted by Botto 82 on Feb. 17 2014,8:26 am
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 17 2014,5:39 am)
QUOTE
The more money you have the more votes you get? Why not?
Congratulations, you've officially become part of the problem.
Circumventing the will of the People is a threat to the very principles this country was founded on, as much as returning control of big finance to European bankers, the ultimate goal of the establishment of the Fed in 1913.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 17 2014,8:53 am
(grassman @ Feb. 17 2014,7:35 am)
QUOTE
Once again, you don't understand the conversation. If the wages were up, there would be less need for assistance. How does a pro team win when there is just one star player? Trust me, there are many out there that really do not want a hand out but need one.
Once again you can't see the forest for the trees, this population explosion with under educated, under achieving derelicts along with the burgeoning criminal immigrant population is the dilution of our labor force. And before you have the chance I work with a lot of immigrants, most of them not worth a damn but there are a few that are hard workers and though fewer, some that shine.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 17 2014,8:55 am
(Botto 82 @ Feb. 17 2014,8:26 am)
QUOTE
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 17 2014,5:39 am)
QUOTE
The more money you have the more votes you get? Why not?
Congratulations, you've officially become part of the problem.
Circumventing the will of the People is a threat to the very principles this country was founded on, as much as returning control of big finance to European bankers, the ultimate goal of the establishment of the Fed in 1913.
Read the post please,
I asked what the difference was to what the progressives do by literally buying votes.
Posted by grassman on Feb. 17 2014,6:12 pm
So because of some bad workers, everyone should not be allowed a comfortable wage. You are dope!
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 18 2014,5:16 am
(grassman @ Feb. 17 2014,6:12 pm)
QUOTE
So because of some bad workers, everyone should not be allowed a comfortable wage. You are dope!
So what you're saying is bad workers should be paid the same as good workers? If a worker is lazy or careless, shows up late or doesn't produce as much they should make as much as a good worker?
A good or excellent worker who is efficient and proactive at a job should make no more than the lazy slob who puts little effort into their work or does just enough to get by?
We're you looking in the mirror when you wrote "You are dope"?
Understand my world a little, the better I work, the more I work, the smarter I work the more money I make. I tire of whiners who complain about not making enough money yet do nothing to change their situation.
Posted by grassman on Feb. 18 2014,5:38 am
Wow, you are really dense. What part of the article did you not read and understand? Pretty much the whole thing huh? It is not about giving everyone a handout. It is about how the pieces have been stacked in favor of a few. A healthy economy needs many players. This has nothing to do with how well a few work. This is the big picture. Try playing cards with a card counter and you might start to get a clue.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 18 2014,5:48 am
Yes I read the article and Reich loves to bash Reagan and I would have to make the same observation, you really are dense. But I suppose it's just a difference in upbringing. Fend for yourself, work not only hard but smart. We live in different times now, we participate in a world economy.
There are no guarantees in life, nobody owes anybody a living.
It's hard to count cards with 6 deck shoes but I try.
Posted by Botto 82 on Feb. 18 2014,7:54 am
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 18 2014,5:48 am)
QUOTE
We live in different times now, we participate in a world economy.
Yes. The wealthy have global markets now and are much less dependent on American consumers. This is why, even during a sputtering recovery, the wealthy have seen their profits exceed their pre-recession profits by 60%.
Both parties and the fed are no longer interested in stimulating the economy. Their number one constituency, the rich, are quite happy with a sluggish economy so why should they worry?
In other words, if you're rich, it ain't broke, so why fix it..?
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 18 2014,8:12 am
^^ So we strive to become isolationist?
Posted by Botto 82 on Feb. 18 2014,8:23 am
Why is rebuilding the middle class always equated with isolationism by you Ayn Rand types? (She had no problem taking Social Security, when the time came, by the way.)What's wrong with instead eliminating all the cronyism in Washington politics?
You need to stop falling for that BS that says America is about the actions of individuals, striving alone. The people saying that already have all the money. Put down the Rand and read some Chomsky.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 18 2014,9:08 am
America was and will continue to be built by individuals. But I have to agree, cronyism in Washington needs to be stopped, on both sides of the aisle.By the way, though I have retirement resources put away but I will take my SS, I paid in, I want as much back as I can get.
Posted by grassman on Feb. 18 2014,4:19 pm
SB, I sure hope you plan on getting cremated. According to you, you need nobody. Can't carry yourself to the grave now can you. 
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 18 2014,6:49 pm
(Botto 82 @ Feb. 18 2014,8:23 am)
QUOTE
You need to stop falling for that BS that says America is about the actions of individuals, striving alone. The people saying that already have all the money. Put down the Rand and read some Chomsky.
If by Chomski you referr to anarchism, as I skimmed through a "stateless society"? A decentralization of power? Isn't this what libertarians and conservatives strive for? To defang our federal gov. And return power to the states?
If not help me out here, I'll read some more.
Posted by irisheyes on Feb. 19 2014,2:42 pm
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 18 2014,9:08 am)
QUOTE
By the way, though I have retirement resources put away but I will take my SS, I paid in, I want as much back as I can get.
Then why do you guys always complain about entitlements? Geez, government spending and entitlements are bad, until it goes to a Republican.
QUOTE
Reich loves to bash Reagan and I would have to make the same observation, you really are dense... Fend for yourself, work not only hard but smart. We live in different times now, we participate in a world economy.
Reagan opened a new era of massive government spending while claiming it doesn't have to be paid for. That's not good for any of us.
We don't live in different times now, international trading is not as new as you think. The only thing that changed is we've become anti-tariffs and weakened trade laws to the detriment of nearly everyone on this side of the Pacific.
QUOTE
If by Chomski you referr to anarchism, as I skimmed through a "stateless society"? A decentralization of power? Isn't this what libertarians and conservatives strive for? To defang our federal gov. And return power to the states?
Noam Chomsky could be called a Libertarian, but he's the opposite of a conservative. He's a Libertarian Socialist, as far as I know.
Chomsky gets it right in the area of U.S. tax policy, which he calls regressive. We've turned what once was a progressive tax code of the early to mid-20th Century into a regressive one that taxes the middle class at a far higher rate than the richest.
Posted by grassman on Feb. 19 2014,4:18 pm
It just slays me how some people still believe Reagan was the great one. 
He started the downfall of this once great nation. All in the name of greed.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 19 2014,4:26 pm
(irisheyes @ Feb. 19 2014,2:42 pm)
QUOTE
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 18 2014,9:08 am)
QUOTE
By the way, though I have retirement resources put away but I will take my SS, I paid in, I want as much back as I can get.
Then why do you guys always complain about entitlements? Geez, government spending and entitlements are bad, until it goes to a Republican.
QUOTE
Reich loves to bash Reagan and I would have to make the same observation, you really are dense... Fend for yourself, work not only hard but smart. We live in different times now, we participate in a world economy.
Reagan opened a new era of massive government spending while claiming it doesn't have to be paid for. That's not good for any of us.
We don't live in different times now, international trading is not as new as you think. The only thing that changed is we've become anti-tariffs and weakened trade laws to the detriment of nearly everyone on this side of the Pacific.
QUOTE
If by Chomski you referr to anarchism, as I skimmed through a "stateless society"? A decentralization of power? Isn't this what libertarians and conservatives strive for? To defang our federal gov. And return power to the states?
Noam Chomsky could be called a Libertarian, but he's the opposite of a conservative. He's a Libertarian Socialist, as far as I know.
Chomsky gets it right in the area of U.S. tax policy, which he calls regressive. We've turned what once was a progressive tax code of the early to mid-20th Century into a regressive one that taxes the middle class at a far higher rate than the richest.
Interesting, I'll probably read more tonight,
One thing, pull your head out of your butt and realize I'm not a republican.
Then we'll be good
Posted by Common Citizen on Feb. 23 2014,8:07 am
I disagree that Social Security is an entitlement program when I am paying for it. That dog don't hunt. Since I am required by the government to fund it now, I will require the government to fund me later. Ya dig?
Posted by Botto 82 on Feb. 23 2014,9:11 am
The secret to getting filthy rich is to figure out how to get other people to pay your bills. THAT's the entitlement program that needs to go. Do you honestly think Monsanto paid to clean up the myriad Superfund sites that the company is responsible for? Food stamps and Medicare pale in comparison.It seems that one of the biggest entitlement programs involves being a government contractor. Is Lockheed Martin going to pick up the tab on the cost overruns on the F-35 project? Doubtful.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 23 2014,10:49 am
(grassman @ Feb. 19 2014,4:18 pm)
QUOTE
It just slays me how some people still believe Reagan was the great one. He started the downfall of this once great nation. All in the name of greed.
He started the downfall of this once great nation. All in the name of greed.Why Reagan was so great?
He started the downfall?
Let's see, 2 years of Ford, 4 years of Carter, Reagan was the second coming of Christ compared to those boobs.
Posted by Expatriate on Feb. 23 2014,2:06 pm
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 19 2014,4:26 pm)
QUOTE
One thing, pull your head out of your butt and realize I'm not a republican.
QUOTE
Let's see, 2 years of Ford, 4 years of Carter, Reagan was the second coming of Christ compared to those boobs.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 23 2014,3:29 pm
(Expatriate @ Feb. 23 2014,2:06 pm)
QUOTE
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 19 2014,4:26 pm)
QUOTE
One thing, pull your head out of your butt and realize I'm not a republican.
QUOTE
Let's see, 2 years of Ford, 4 years of Carter, Reagan was the second coming of Christ compared to those boobs.
Working hard today?
Posted by Expatriate on Feb. 23 2014,8:46 pm
(scab @ Feb. 23 2014,10:49 am)QUOTE
Reagan was the second coming of Christ
Only a baboon would idolize the procreator of trickle down economics.
Posted by alcitizens on Feb. 23 2014,9:24 pm
Republican President Richard "Dick" Nixon signed all of us up to cheap labor in China..
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 24 2014,6:49 am
(Expatriate @ Feb. 23 2014,8:46 pm)
QUOTE
(scab @ Feb. 23 2014,10:49 am)
Only a baboon would idolize the procreator of trickle down economics.
QUOTE
Reagan was the second coming of Christ
Only a baboon would idolize the procreator of trickle down economics.
I made a lot of money when Reagan was prez.
Maybe if you opened your eyes a little and maybe worked a little harder instead of blaming your lack of success on those who would give us great opportunities.
Narrow minded union thinking is fast coming to an end.
Posted by Common Citizen on Feb. 24 2014,7:35 am
(alcitizens @ Feb. 23 2014,9:24 pm)
QUOTE
Republican President Richard "Dick" Nixon signed all of us up to cheap labor in China..
What have Presidents Carter, Clinton, and Obama done about it since?
Nothing. Don't get all partisan on us with this subject. It would be easy to argue that cheap labor in China has increased and been more exploited during their administrations than Nixon's.
nuff said...
Posted by Glad I Left on Feb. 24 2014,8:30 am
(Expatriate @ Feb. 23 2014,8:46 pm)
QUOTE
(scab @ Feb. 23 2014,10:49 am)
Only a baboon would idolize the procreator of trickle down economics.
QUOTE
Reagan was the second coming of Christ
Only a baboon would idolize the procreator of trickle down economics.
Expat, you are better than that. Taking a quote out of context is just wrong. I expected better of you.
Posted by Expatriate on Feb. 24 2014,1:59 pm
It’s hardly out of context, SB made the statement, he compared Reagan to the second coming.QUOTE
Let's see, 2 years of Ford, 4 years of Carter, Reagan was the second coming of Christ compared to those boobs.
Posted by Glad I Left on Feb. 24 2014,2:11 pm
That's better. At least the whole statement is there now. He did NOT say Regan was the 2nd coming of Christ (on its own merit)He said compared to the those boobs, (Carter and Ford) he was. There is a difference.
Like IE, you are well spoken in your rebuttals and I found it beneath your intelligence to stoop to that.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 24 2014,5:40 pm
(Expatriate @ Feb. 24 2014,1:59 pm)
QUOTE
It’s hardly out of context, SB made the statement, he compared Reagan to the second coming.
QUOTE
Let's see, 2 years of Ford, 4 years of Carter, Reagan was the second coming of Christ compared to those boobs.
< http://www.universalclass.com/i/course/reading-comprehension-101.htm >
If you want I'll pitch in
Posted by Expatriate on Feb. 25 2014,2:39 pm
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 25 2014,2:49 pm
^^What a chicken sh!t
Posted by grassman on Feb. 25 2014,3:08 pm
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 25 2014,2:49 pm)
QUOTE
^^What a chicken sh!t
Yeah I have to agree, Reagan really did suck. He was a stooge with the strings soooo tight.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 25 2014,3:11 pm
^ I was posting of ExpatBut next time I'll be sure to make that clear.
Posted by Expatriate on Feb. 25 2014,3:32 pm
Posted by grassman on Feb. 25 2014,3:59 pm
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 25 2014,3:11 pm)
QUOTE
^ I was posting of Expat
But next time I'll be sure to make that clear.
But next time I'll be sure to make that clear.
Oh. Never mind, go back to your rose
room.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 25 2014,5:01 pm
^^^oh be nice,We've been talking to realtors up your way,you never know,
We could become neighbors.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 27 2014,5:27 am
According to French Prez Hollande,Andrew Cuomo and Detroit's leaders lowering taxes is the way to go. By doing this it attracts people and companies.
Even some of the libs are wiseing up
It's amazing how much you learn when you get whacked in the face with the proverbile 2x4.
< http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2014...timulus >
Posted by Expatriate on Feb. 27 2014,6:58 am
your link goes to CNN Money but no article.
Posted by irisheyes on Feb. 27 2014,7:20 am
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 24 2014,6:49 am)
QUOTE
I made a lot of money when Reagan was prez.
Maybe if you opened your eyes a little and maybe worked a little harder instead of
Maybe if you opened your eyes a little and maybe worked a little harder instead of
You've pointed that out before in defense of Reagan. But that points to YOUR success, not that of the Reagan Administration. If someone were to have not made any money during the Reagan years I doubt you'd think it was Reagan's fault.
If you truly were not a Republican, then why is it you consistently defend Republican Presidents and attack the ones who are Democrat?
QUOTE
Maybe if you opened your eyes a little and maybe worked a little harder instead of blaming your lack of success on those who would give us great opportunities.
Speaking of lack of success and great opportunities, how about the minimum wage debate.
Don't you blame lack of success on those same minimum wage workers that would give us great opportunities if they could buy more products and services? At least according to the CBO report that you brought up.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 27 2014,7:34 am
^^ no, I don't blame the minimum wage worker, coming out of high school I was a minimum wage worker, I worked hard, sometimes not always successful but I never gave up. The idiots I blame are the one's that become comfortable( if you can call it that) then complain that they're not paid enough even though they've done nothing to merit a raise.Defending republican presidents? Bashed Ford didn't I?
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 27 2014,7:35 am
(Expatriate @ Feb. 27 2014,6:58 am)
QUOTE
your link goes to CNN Money but no article.
Most likely doesn't allow chickensh!ts to view.
Posted by Expatriate on Feb. 27 2014,8:26 am
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 27 2014,7:35 am)
QUOTE
(Expatriate @ Feb. 27 2014,6:58 am)
QUOTE
your link goes to CNN Money but no article.
Most likely doesn't allow chickensh!ts to view.
Tried Explorer, Chrome & Firefox all respond NOT FOUND, it’s not surprising a deadhead connects us to a dead link!
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 27 2014,11:41 am
^^ I read it just fine, I'll try and fix it when I get home tonight.Call CNN and have them take you off "ignore"
Posted by MADDOG on Feb. 27 2014,1:56 pm
I'll take a shot that this is the link to your story. About two minutes of search found it.Effort.
< Three governments, one lesson about stimulating the economy >
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 27 2014,3:17 pm
(MADDOG @ Feb. 27 2014,1:56 pm)
QUOTE
I'll take a shot that this is the link to your story. About two minutes of search found it.
Effort.
< Three governments, one lesson about stimulating the economy >
Effort.
< Three governments, one lesson about stimulating the economy >
Thank you
Posted by MADDOG on Feb. 27 2014,5:25 pm
NP. Just another example of liberalism from expat. He needed someone to do it for him.
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 28 2014,4:50 am
(Expatriate @ Feb. 27 2014,8:26 am)
QUOTE
(Self-Banished @ Feb. 27 2014,7:35 am)
QUOTE
(Expatriate @ Feb. 27 2014,6:58 am)
QUOTE
your link goes to CNN Money but no article.
Most likely doesn't allow chickensh!ts to view.
Tried Explorer, Chrome & Firefox all respond NOT FOUND, it’s not surprising a deadhead connects us to a dead link!
I miss Jerry Garcia.
Posted by grassman on Feb. 28 2014,6:00 am
Posted by Self-Banished on Feb. 28 2014,8:18 am
^^^yes...no...maybe.
Posted by Expatriate on Mar. 01 2014,10:31 am
Bush policies resulted in massive deficits and the worst recession since the Great Depression, but the Republicans want more of the same. In fact, after creating such enormous deficits GOP lemmings of this forum clamor for more trickle down Reagan era voodoo economics, they don’t seem to realize they are getting fleeced and are voting against their own economic interests!
Posted by grassman on Mar. 01 2014,10:50 am
Those are the ones that call others sheeple. Amazing isn't it. Sad at the same time. The ones that are collecting the most already have the most.
Posted by Self-Banished on Mar. 01 2014,3:21 pm
^^^maybe you two should get a room.
Posted by grassman on Mar. 01 2014,10:44 pm
Maybe, you need a room. Know what I'm sayin?
Posted by Self-Banished on Mar. 02 2014,6:00 am
^^ and I get accused of "tit for tat"Grassman and Expat are forever pissed that Reagan fired the air traffic controllers, if he hadn't, it would have crippled our economy. Union members who think otherwise, think that he was conspiring with corperate America are about as nutty as people who believe in one of the many internet conspiracies. Really sad, really unproductive.
On to where we are now
We have all the potential, all the resources, an idle workforce(unforgivable unemployment numbers) Our stock markets are up, thanks to the Fed printing money willy-nilly. Inflation is low but for how much longer? Our trading partners are making moves towards dumping the dollar.
Blaming this on Bush is becoming more and more pathetic, hopefully this fall will be a step in the right direction and not electing progressives,electing conservatives, I don't care what letter's behind their name.
Posted by MADDOG on Sep. 05 2014,12:26 pm
More good news.QUOTE
"By almost every measure the American economy and American workers are better off than when I took office," he said, rattling off a string of improving economic indicators even while acknowledging not all people are benefiting. < "The engines," he said, "are revving a little louder."
>
>
< "Two months before Election Day, worst jobs report of the year" >
< "Jobs report disappoints" >
<
“Whoops! Jobs Recovery Lost Steam In August” >
QUOTE
< High Expectations Were Dashed >
New Payroll Figures “Fell Short Of Expectations ” As Economic Job Growth Well Under 200K Goal. “The payroll figures fell short of expectations – analysts had predicted around 230,000 jobs added last month, according to a Bloomberg survey… The economy added 142,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 6.1 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.” (MJ Lee and Patrick Temple-West, “Jobs Report Disappoints,” Politico, 9/5/14)
The Jobs Report “Fell Short Of Expectations” By 88,000 Jobs. “The economy added 142,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 6.1 percent, the Labor Department said Friday. The payroll figures fell short of expectations – analysts had predicted around 230,000 jobs added last month, according to a Bloomberg survey.” (MJ Lee and Patrick Temple-West, “Jobs Report Disappoints,” Politico , 9/5/14)
•The Number Of Jobs Added Is “Well Below Expectations.” “The U.S. economy added 142,000 jobs in August breaking a six-month streak of gains above 200,000, well below expectations.” (Vicki Needham, “Two Months Before Election Day, Worst Jobs Report Of The Year,” The Hill, 9/5/14)
Posted by Self-Banished on Sep. 05 2014,2:02 pm
^^^blew some dust off this one 
Yeah what was it, 148k jobs? Probably all part-time.
Posted by MADDOG on Sep. 05 2014,7:26 pm
(Self-Banished @ Sep. 05 2014,2:02 pm)
QUOTE
^^^blew some dust off this one
Yeah what was it, 148k jobs? Probably all part-time.
Yeah what was it, 148k jobs? Probably all part-time.
142K, you give them too much credit.
QUOTE
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- AUGUST 2014
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in August, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business
services and in health care.
< Read more >
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in August, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business
services and in health care.
< Read more >