Where is the US economy headed?

"I was against increased federal spending in education and the new prescription drug program, and a host of other things that need to be cut. "

Oh yes...let's see USA and this generation of children fall further behind in terms of world's position in GNP and as far as our standard of living, partly because our kids are becoming to dumb to count or read. We're heading the wrong way economically for at least the last 10 years in the competition for world share of commerce. How do you expect our children to compete for jobs if they aren't better educated -- doing that takes MORE well spent money, not less.

Cutting and spending can be always done more wisely than it has been. That takes efficiency in government..and a Congress that gives a **** about something besides being re-elected.

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Re: "Respect for life"?

How about some respect for the men and women lives who are possibly being sent to their death defending a country where we don't belong and to one who won't defend itself after we leave (should we ever GET to leave). They wouldn't know democracy if it bit them in the ass - talk about a waste of lives and money that has been ill-spent!

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Ragman, this country built the best educated generation and the most technically advanced country on the face of the earth without alot of federal spending. It was instead done locally by local school boards and parents that cared and ran the schools. And some of the most funded school systems are the ones that fail the worst. Money will not fix it. Much of this is cultural and it is systemic. We need massive revamping of the system and an injection of something different, instead of the liberal fixes of a government controlled educational system that has gotten us to this point. Fact is, it is the teachers unions and the government educational bureaucracies that are fighting change. Obama talks about change, but is it the change we need or just a bunch of buzzwords to throw more money at big government?

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okie wrote :

Quote:

I would see the respect of life being pretty important, something that is missing in the Democratic platform

would you see the loss of thousands of innocent lives in occupied iraq - that is , AFTER the war ended - as "respect for life" ? are those just "collateral losses" ?
hbg

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Ragman wrote:

Re: "Respect for life"?

How about some respect for the men and women lives who are possibly being sent to their death defending a country where we don't belong and to one who won't defend itself after we leave (should we ever GET to leave). They wouldn't know democracy if it bit them in the ass - talk about a waste of lives and money that has been ill-spent!

Did we belong in the fight to rid Hitler from the world, after all, he did nothing to us? Look, I am not a fan of going all over the world, but the conditions were laid out, the U.N. piddled for a decade or so, Congress voted, and Bush acted, history is history, and I am fed up with those people that supported it trying to spin it now as if they had nothing to do with it, it was all Bush. This is the culture we live in, nobody wishes to take any responsibility for anything. I say, lets finish the job, be optimistic, and try to bring Iraq along, it could be a huge factor and positive turning point in the Middle East.

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okie wrote:

Ragman, this country built the best educated generation and the most technically advanced country on the face of the earth without alot of federal spending."
...
"Money will not fix it. Much of this is cultural and it is systemic. We need massive revamping of the system and an injection of something different, instead of the liberal fixes of a government controlled educational system that has gotten us to this point. Fact is, it is the teachers unions and the government educational bureaucracies that are fighting change. Obama talks about change, but is it the change we need or just a bunch of buzzwords to throw more money at big government?

How can this 'revolutionary' idea be done without spending MORE money? If you think this is done without spending more, you're dreaming.

Where do you think teacher's salaries rank now versus where they were, say, about 20 years ago? Where do you think teacher's salaries are, let's say, in advanced countries in northern Europe?

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hamburger wrote:

okie wrote :

Quote:
I would see the respect of life being pretty important, something that is missing in the Democratic platform

would you see the loss of thousands of innocent lives in occupied iraq - that is , AFTER the war ended - as "respect for life" ? are those just "collateral losses" ?
hbg

Life without sacrifice for what is right is worthless. At least they died for a decent cause instead of being killed as an innocent and helpless babe a few minutes, days, or weeks, from being born because of the gutless wonders on the courts and in the halls of Congress today. And blame the loss of life in Iraq on those that bear the blame, hamburger, the people that have no respect for the rights and lives of others. You are an insult to suggest that we are the cause.

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Ragman wrote:

okie wrote:
Ragman, this country built the best educated generation and the most technically advanced country on the face of the earth without alot of federal spending."
...
"Money will not fix it. Much of this is cultural and it is systemic. We need massive revamping of the system and an injection of something different, instead of the liberal fixes of a government controlled educational system that has gotten us to this point. Fact is, it is the teachers unions and the government educational bureaucracies that are fighting change. Obama talks about change, but is it the change we need or just a bunch of buzzwords to throw more money at big government?

How can this 'revolutionary' idea be done without spending MORE money? If you think this is done without spending more, you're dreaming.

Where do you think teacher's salaries rank now versus where they were, say, about 20 years ago? Where do you think teacher's salaries are, let's say, in advanced countries in northern Europe?

Return the control and funding of schools to local authorities and quit wasting it on bureaucrats. Put some competition in the schools, which will cause a refocus from worthless curricula to that which we need, or what the consumer desires, the parents.

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What decent cause is that? The pursuit of greed..and Oil?

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Ragman, good grief, if we wanted the oil, we would simply take it and not pay for it. Fact is, we pay dearly for it at a very high price as determined by the world oil market, not us.

You need to join John Edwards campaign. He repeats the same old worn out slogans and garbage, I will fight for you against the corporate greed, blah, blah, blah, it is so predictable, same old nonsense. I am still waiting for him to attack his own special interests, the lawyers and big government. He could have written the same speeches for Castro and all the other guys that hate corporate greed.

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Oh well, I need to go now, carry on ci and Ragman. Sorry to rain on your Obama or Clinton parade to "change." I would just like to know what the change really is, more and bigger government and a weaker defense, or some other kind of change we need.

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okie wrote:

this country built the best educated generation and the most technically advanced country on the face of the earth

... apart from the 50 or so other countries which also have the best educated generation and which are the most technically advanced country on the face of the earth, too.

(Just saying.)

(It's this constant, Americocentric metaphorical "We're Number One"-Foam-Finger-Waving that occasionally irritates me.)

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So then your implication is that anyone who objects to this war in Iraq and Afghanistan is a pinko commie? Ever hear of the concept of free speech and our beloved Constitution?

USA could not morally go in and take the oil! That is an absurdist argument as that strategy would backfire in the eyes of the world. So an alternate strategy by the powers-that-be seems to be the current one -- e.g. kill Hussein, replace their government and nation-build on in the image that suits this present Admin. Doomed to failure as that region and that country will reject any form of democracy outright.

The war in Iraq is morally wrong and will lead our's and that nation to nowhere that is good for anyone. the fact that you see anything morally right about this effort is purely amazing.

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old europe wrote:

okie wrote:
this country built the best educated generation and the most technically advanced country on the face of the earth

... apart from the 50 or so other countries which also have the best educated generation and which are the most technically advanced country on the face of the earth, too.

(Just saying.)

(It's this constant, Americocentric metaphorical "We're Number One"-Foam-Finger-Waving that occasionally irritates me.)

oe, Me too! Some people just don't realize that our country's economy and educational system are falling further behind many more countries every year. They can't fathom the idea, but the reality becomes more acute for American families as they lose their jobs, homes, and health care. Some people are just plain blind to reality.

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Old Europe: Many Americans can't find those countries on a map. Therefore those countries don't actually exist. So we must be #1.

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cicerone imposter wrote:

Some people just don't realize that our country's economy and educational system are falling further behind many more countries every year. They can't fathom the idea, but the reality becomes more acute for American families as they lose their jobs, homes, and health care. Some people are just plain blind to reality. [/color]

I couldn't agree more. I am scared to death when I see what is happening to our educational system. We all agree on the symptoms, but unfortunately there is little agreement on the cure.

The cure isn't just money. The statistics I've seen are that the US leads the world in per pupil spending. On a different site I posted that parents need to become involved on a daily basis with their children's education, and that teachers need to be held accountable for their performance, and other posters ripped me for it.

If we can't agree on these points, then throwing all the borrowed and inflated money in the world at the problem won't help.

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Ragman wrote:

So then your implication is that anyone who objects to this war in Iraq and Afghanistan is a pinko commie? Ever hear of the concept of free speech and our beloved Constitution?

USA could not morally go in and take the oil! That is an absurdist argument as that strategy would backfire in the eyes of the world. So an alternate strategy by the powers-that-be seems to be the current one -- e.g. kill Hussein, replace their government and nation-build on in the image that suits this present Admin. Doomed to failure as that region and that country will reject any form of democracy outright.

The war in Iraq is morally wrong and will lead our's and that nation to nowhere that is good for anyone. the fact that you see anything morally right about this effort is purely amazing.

Okie: if you think our corporations aren't greedy and that oil is not at the heart of this battle, you are in fantasy land. Take a look at the trend of USA's CEO corporate salaries in relationship to the average salary of typical workers. Never in the history of USA has there EVER been such a huge salary disparity between corporations and workers. If you think petrol and pharma/medical corporations and a handful of elite rich individuals aren't behind these political campaigns you are likewise fantasizing.

Greed is the name of the game and poor and middle-class workers are quickly losing the battle. The greatest transfer of wealth in the history of USA has been occurring over the last 20 or 30 years while we are all too busy working and trying to keep out heads above water -- too powerless to fight.

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The pace of job losses in mortgage lending slowed in December, as some companies shifted workers to other areas of financial services, but the losses may pick up again in the new year as the U.S. housing market continues to weaken and credit remains tight.

The government said on Friday that 7,000 jobs were lost in December in credit intermediation, a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) category that includes mortgage lending and related activities. That follows a drop of 13,000 jobs in November.

Job losses since the industry's peak in February 2007 now total 79,000 people. By comparison, the U.S. construction industry has lost 236,000 jobs since its peak in September 2006, the BLS said.

Executives at staffing companies that provide temporary and permanent workers to the industry are divided over whether the worst is over.

"I'm sure all the write-downs haven't (yet) been taken by the financial services firms, but it suggests that they've made the adjustments on the employment side that are going be required," said Tig Gilliam, chief executive of Adecco North America. Adecco is the world's biggest staffing firm.

Some Adecco clients have reallocated resources, but only diversified companies have that flexibility, he said.

"I had a client who took exactly the same number of jobs from a call center focused on mortgage sales and moved them to credit card," Gilliam said. "Companies that are solely focused on the mortgage arena won't have that opportunity."

U.S. mortgage lenders have been cutting jobs in recent months to lower costs and react to tightening credit conditions. Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has said it would cut up to 12,000 jobs. Earlier this week, National City Corp (NCC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) slashed its dividend and announced 900 job cuts.
http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN0432057720080105?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

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Where is the connection to the current conversation..ummm...huh? Rolling Eyes

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The quote above is addressed to the main subject of this thread sir.

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Where is the US economy headed?

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