Poverty Rate Reaches Highest Levels

Almost every economist (and American family) will tell you the best model out of poverty is an intact family with two parent household.......young women raising children, not working, relying on government assistance doesn't work ! Originally Posted by Whirlaway

What economist have you been talking to?

They will tell you that our standard of living has been going down and that is why both parents have to work just to keep the same standard of living of 50 years ago.

I'm not sure what you have been smoking but you need to pass it around.

What economist have you been talking to?

.... that is why both parents NEED to work just to keep the same standard of living of 50 years ago. Originally Posted by WTF

There, I fixed it for you.

The problem is now, that "they" need to make sure they don't earn $200,000 or more year, so they won't be "rich" and pay more taxes and have to provide health care coverage for the maid and gardner.

Vote for a Republican?

You must have a very short memory.

The Republican from Crawford Texas is the one responsible for at least 80% of the hole we are in.

. . . Any other Republican will only carry us further down that road.
Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

remember who was in congress pushing on the spending at that time Palosi Rheed and oh yeah Barack Hussein Obama

Even if the deficits were decreasing, which they aren't, the national debt is still increasing. We are almost at critical mass for an economic meltdown of biblical proportions. It will be difficult, but the spending has to stop. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

And revenue needs to be raised. Can’t do one without the other and have a real impact and more immediate success.

The real issue is that the government has been engaged in a massive upward redistribution of wealth over the past thirty years. It slowed somewhat during the Clinton years, but not entirely. We need to reverse that government driven upward redistribution. It's really quite simple. Originally Posted by TexTushHog

Maybe si maybe no. But if campaign contributions to candidates and the political parties were limited to $500, it wouldn’t matter would it? Corporations are NOT people and should not be allowed to pay tribute to their puppets.

And we are kinda redistributing the wealth. What’s the deal with the Labor Department going after Boeing for moving one of it’s newest plants to the South to get away from the union strangle hold on their business and profits? Seems to me that the gob’ment knee deep in seeing that more of Boeing’s profits are re-distributed to the poor, over paid and over insured union workers in Seattle. How many other instances of this kind of strong-arm tactics are there? I’ll bet thousands.

Not everyone who opposes President Obama was a supporter of George Bush. I opposed the wasteful and stupid things President Bush did as well as our current President. So yes, I did complain about spending millions to find non-existent WMDS, and I oppose President Obama's disastrous fiscal policies. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

Amen and well said! I loathe W. There never were any WMD’s and the Bushies knew it. Why else did they tell 900+ lies in the year leading up to the Shock and Awe? Iraq was / is a huge mistake. I hated Bush!

Why can’t we get an honest to God crooked-honest politico like LBJ or someone of that? Because I know the days are LONG gone when we could get an honest to God honest politician like Lincoln or a balanced budget, fiscally conservative kinda guy like Jackson. Just a thought.

.............................. ..I opposed that idiotic war from the very first day it was announced and so did Barack Obama, I am proud to say, but I did not have the intense pressure from Washington to support Bush in his insane drive to attack Iraq.

. . . The fact that the Iraq war was clearly a mistake should be patently obvious right now to anyone with even a modicum of good sense.

(Decided "past your life expectancy" my ass!) Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

Then if Obama was opposed to the war, WHY ARE WE STILL THERE? Obama took all of that idiot Bush’s really BAD policies and left them in place: the war, the tax cuts, the borrowing to pay for the war and the tax cuts, the Patriot Act, the stimulus packages, stimulus packages to criminals that were never prosecuted……………

What does any of this have to do with poverty in America? Nothing, because we don’t have real poverty in America. We have haves and have nots, but nothing approaching real poverty here. I grew up poor in a time when Houston was booming; I mean really booming, but in poverty??? No. IB’s post outlined the poverty line at $22,000 for a family. But his post also went on to say that didn’t include food stamps, government lunch programs, public housing, Medicaid, the Earned Income Tax Credit and on and on. Those things add up to a substantial amount of money. Is it a financially successful life? No, but they aren’t hungry, or uneducated, or even without cable and a flat-screen TV!

............................Go od thing is oil will go to about $350/bbl. and natural gas will go to $13 - 20/mcf and I can finally retire if it will stay there for a year or two. (At least if I have time to turn my stocks into cash before they go completely to shit.) But it won't be a pretty scenario economically for most. Originally Posted by TexTushHog

If natural gas would jump to that, I’ll never see another winter or summer again. I’ll travel with the fall and spring seasons for the rest of my life. Here’s too it.

Well, give it a year or two. When we leave, and are no longer an effective check on a majority Shiite government, what are we going to do when the civil war that we've been repressing breaks out. Let's say that the Shiite's start killing the Sunni's and Saudia Arabia is, nor surprisingly pissed off. The Saudi's tell us that we're going to war in Iraq to protect their coreligionists or they're cutting off the oil tap. Then what the fuck are we going to do. (Actually, I know what we're going to do. We're going to go back to war in Iraq if we can't get the Saudi's to back down. And every Western Country that they want to is going to war with us.) This is a very real scenario that can easily happen.

Good thing is oil will go to about $350/bbl. and natural gas will go to $13 - 20/mcf and I can finally retire if it will stay there for a year or two. (At least if I have time to turn my stocks into cash before they go completely to shit.) But it won't be a pretty scenario economically for most. Originally Posted by TexTushHog

Stocks have pretty much gone to shit in my book. Atleast you can liquidate easily. Banking stocks in particular have been lousy unless people are shorting them. Especially the European banking sector, those banks have literally fell off a cliff. I just feel sorry for the people trapped in their 401k's that think, "the market always goes up!" The people that lost nearly half of their retirement in the crash of 08-09 can lose the rest of their retirement if the Euro zone explodes! Their already losing their wealth via inflation and if big inflation hits, that 401k trap will amount to a hill of beans.

The best thing the U.S. can do in Iraq is just leave. The civil war that will blow up in Iraq will just happen anyway. We never should have gone in to begin with. Right now it's just a big waste of time, money, resources, and most importantly American lives. This is just another Bush nightmare that continues to live. If Obama would have brought the troops home instead of serving his masters wishes, no doubt he would have an easier time getting reelected. Now the incumbent is faced with an uphill battle amidst his dwindling popularity.

Then if Obama was opposed to the war, WHY ARE WE STILL THERE? Obama took all of that idiot Bush’s really BAD policies and left them in place: the war, the tax cuts, the borrowing to pay for the war and the tax cuts, the Patriot Act, the stimulus packages, stimulus packages to criminals that were never prosecuted……………

What does any of this have to do with poverty in America? Originally Posted by OliviaHoward

We are still technically in Iraq, but we have been massively reducing our involvement in that country since President Obama came into office.

We never should have invaded that country, but once you have occupied a country, you cannot evacuate your troops and materiel so easily.

Aside from the moral obligation a country now has to restore some semblance of order, there is also the logistical nightmare of demobilizing and entire army in an orderly fashion.

That all takes time and planning, but thank God that withdrawal is happening instead of escalating..

. . . War has very much to do with poverty because the trillions of dollars spent in Iraq could have done enormous good in growing our own economy instead of depleting our country's treasure.

Then if Obama was opposed to the war, WHY ARE WE STILL THERE? Originally Posted by OliviaHoward

Because he lies.

Because he lies. Originally Posted by LexusLover

I didn't know that. All this time I thought it was Bush who lied about WMD's!

. . . War has very much to do with poverty because the trillions of dollars spent in Iraq could have done enormous good in growing our own economy instead of depleting our country's treasure. Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

Just think how the right wingers would bitch and moan if we took the money we spent rebuilding other countries schools and roads and did that same thing over here!

Oh my God they would raise a hissy fit!

[QUOTE=OliviaHoward;1663699]And revenue needs to be raised. Can’t do one without the other and have a real impact and more immediate success.





Amen and well said! [B]I loathe W. There never were any WMD’s and the Bushies knew it.

I will post this for the 3rd time, watch and learn, they were there then dismantled

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...ag=mncol;lst;6

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...ag=mncol;lst;5


/B]Why else did they tell 900+ lies in the year leading up to the Shock and Awe? Iraq was / is a huge mistake. I hated Bush!

Why can’t we get an honest to God crooked-honest politico like LBJ

you mean the guy who stuffed the ballot boxes in Devale County?


or someone of that? Because I know the days are LONG gone when we could get an honest to God honest politician like Lincoln or a balanced budget, fiscally conservative kinda guy like Jackson. Just a thought.

In his detailed and comprehensive book, Richard Clarke, the chief-counter terrorism adviser, repeatedly advised Bush against Invading Iraq, but Bush was hell-bent on gunning for Saddam, I believe because of the assassination attempt that Saddam had made on his father.

That in itself is understandable, but to bring our entire country to economic ruin because he had to settle a personal score is more like the mindset of a school boy than the grand vision of a true leader who puts his country ahead of his petty rivalry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Against_All_Enemies

mindset of a school boy Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

Excellent description of the former Yale Yell Leader who................




.................was born on third base.....................


.................thought he hit a triple.......................


.................. and grew up to be a Clown!

In his detailed and comprehensive book, Richard Clarke, the chief-counter terrorism adviser,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Against_All_Enemies Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

Condoleezza Rice counterargues that Mr. Clarke was largely responsible for the failure of the intelligence community before 9/11.

James Wilkinson, the deputy national security director for communications, had this to say about Mr. Clarke: "The public continues to get different stories on different days depending on which Mr. Clarke they ask or read. These contradictions directly undermine his overall case against the [Bush] administration."

Twenty-five year CIA veteran Michael Scheuer's position on Clarke is: "Clarke is 'self-serving' and 'risk averse,' [and] was an interferer of the first level, in terms of talking about thing that he knew nothing about and killing them.. . . . I'm certainly also aware that I'm much better informed than Mr. Clarke ever was about the nature of the intelligence that was available against Osama bin Laden, and which was consistently denigrated by himself and Mr. Tenet. I think Mr. Clarke had--had a tendency to interfere too much with the activities of--of the CIA, and our leadership at the senior level let him interfere too much."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Conten...4/954cfheq.asp

And if Clarke is such a self-professed saint, where was his anti-Bush rhetoric in this interview with Fox News' Jim Angle?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,115085,00.html

I didn't know that. All this time I thought it was Bush who lied about WMD's! Originally Posted by bigtex

Not only do you guzzle the Kool-Aid, you piss it as well.

I will post this for the 3rd time, watch and learn, they were there then dismantled

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...ag=mncol;lst;6

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...ag=mncol;lst;5
Originally Posted by cptjohnstone

Again, 20/20 hindsight.

Hi Olivia, yes, revenue must be raised, the problem is that even if all income in the US over $250k were taxed at 100% there would not even be enough raised to satisfy one year's budget. Spending is the much bigger problem. But damn you're cute!

I didn't know that. Originally Posted by bigtex

I know.

All this time I thought it was Bush who lied about WMD's! Originally Posted by bigtex

And Clinton (both of them)
And the Majority of Congress
And Powell
And just about all of the intelligence agencies of most countries
And the members of the UN security council
And, of course, Cohen ...

"While some charge that the Bush Administration exaggerated or manipulated the available intelligence, the fact is that all responsible officials from the Clinton and Bush administrations and, I believe, most Members of Congress genuinely believed that Saddam Hussein had active WMD programs. While it is too early to declare that belief to be entirely wrong, I think we all have been surprised by the inability to find meaningful evidence of such active WMD programs.

“Statement of William S. Cohen to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States” March 23, 2004

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/hearings/hearing8/cohen_statement.pdf

"March 23, 2004"

Now, BT, when was it that you KNEW there were no WMDs?

______________________________ ______________________________ _
Obaminable Lies:
The health care plan will increase job growth
stimulus will reduce the jobless rate to around 7%
I will close GITMO
"So tonight, the American combat mission in Iraq has ended." ...
Solyndra ...
my father served in WWII
there are 57 states in the United States
BP is going to deposit $120 billion for Gulf Spill fund
and the lies keep coming.

http://obamalies.net/list-of-lies
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I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven’t resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it.
American.com
USA producing more oil than ever before
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Fence between US and Mexico is “Practically Complete”
Department of Homeland Security says 5%

Lies During Second Year

No signing statements to nullify or undermine congressional instructions as enacted into law
Obama Lies to Keep Czars
No “boots” on the ground Libya
Anyone that has worked with the AC-130 gunship can tell you, you need spotters to let aircraft know where the targets are. Usually it is Special Forces, Rangers etc trained for this mission. It’s CIA Agents in Libya on the ground
Reform will also rein in the abuse and excess that nearly brought down our financial system. It will finally bring transparency to the kinds of complex, risky transactions that helped trigger the financial crisis.
Obama Lies About Financial Reform Bill
All Americans WILL BE were, “surprised, disappointed and angry” about lockerbie bomber
Obama Memo
I will not rest until the BP Oil Spill stops
Obama’s Schedule
The health care bill will not increase the deficit by one dime.
Campaign and Presidency
If you like the health care plan you have you can keep it
TownHall
“Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place.”
U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C., September 9, 2009.
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We have run out of places in the US to drill for oil.
Obama’s oval office speech in June 2010
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I got the Message from Massachusetts
Daily Bail
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I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Obama Inaugaration. 20 Jan 2009
Cut Deficit in Half by end of first term
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Recovery Act will save or create jobs
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NPR
Guantanamo bay to be closed within a year
Council on Foreign Relations.
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2008 Campaign Lies

Take our nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert
ArmsControl.org – “the current alert posture … should not be changed”
Mr. Ayers as “a guy who lives in my neighborhood,” but “not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.
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Would have the most transparent administration in History
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We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way.
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I have visited all 57 states.
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Source: Any bill passed during presidency
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Now, BT, you got Bush out of office in 2008, so let's start working on a change in 2012. OK?