Where is the US economy headed?

Immature.

It is amusing to me that I corrected a typo I made here, that actually produced a factual error, and the correction is continually voted down. Does that make sense?

It does to me.

The CRA has nothing to do with the financial crash. This is a trope thrown around by Republicans who don't understand the situation, but seek to pin the blame on their political opponents.

Cycloptichorn

That describes you well.

Apparently you missed out on alot of what has in fact happened, cyclops. You still live in denial. It isn't about pinning blame, it is about what happened, and sometimes blame is real, whether you like it or not. I know in your mind a Democrat can do no wrong, but maybe someday reality will overtake you.

These folks know as much about economics as they know about history and media awareness and political science, which is nothing.

Remember a few years back when every rightie posting on these boards opened his/her remarks to the progressives with, "You drank the Kool-Aid?"

Are you old enough to remember the rumors from the 1950s about Communist cells and of the control that the Soviets had over Eastern Europe and China and were trying to wrest here in the US? Well, I can't help but speculate that some sort of right wing, maybe not Republican, but conservative mechanism dispatches these missives to the people like gunga and David and spendius and ican and all those marches with their handmade signs on the streets, scripting them.

It is sad that people like okie never had a decent course in government or political science or even in reasoning.

It's sad that progressives haven't a ******* clue... none at all.

As a postscript to my above post, what sealed it for me was hearing an interview many months ago or a year ago or so on a local station of a very well respected banker that has owned a bank or run a bank for a very long time, a man that obviously knows what he is talking about. The bank is one of the most respected banks in the area, and has highly respected ownership and management. It was obvious that he was and is intimately familiar with the banking business, including home loans, the CRA, and all of that. He stated in no uncertain terms that the CRA most definitely did have profound effects, both directly and indirectly upon the the housing bubble and ultimate negative effects of it. I don't remember all of the details of what was said, but I was impressed with his knowledge, and it all made perfect sense, after all I come back to an eternal principle, anytime you insert non-market forces into a free market, you always get unintended consequences.

That was all I needed to know, cyclops, to hear who I consider to be a relative expert, as compared to anybody else, including you here in your continual defense of Democrats.

Question for you, pom, do you have some kind of weird emotional attachment to communism, or what? Are you wishing for some kind of utopian situation, maybe you wish you could be living in the Soviet Union of the 50's, or maybe China?

So, you don't remember the details, the name of the bank, or who the person was - but he told you what you wanted to hear, and that's good enough for you. If I were to link to an interview with bankers and financiers who had the opposite opinion, would you believe them?

I highly - highly - doubt it. I don't believe that any amount of evidence is what really matters to you; instead, confirming your suspicions that the Evil Democrats are behind every problem, is what matters.

Cycloptichorn

By the way, do us a favor - explain how the CRA lead to the financial crash. In detail. You seem damn sure that this was the cause, but you've never displayed any understanding of the details of the situation.

I'll just add it to the list of things that you talk out your ass about, but can't back up:

- Claiming that Obama 'denounces' America in his speech
- Claiming that the budget can be balanced and the debt paid off without raising taxes
- Claiming that the CRA and the Democrats - and not the bankers who wrote the bad mortgages - were responsible for the banking crash

And last and absolutely funniest

- Claiming that Hitler and the Fascists in Germany were, in fact, Liberals.

Cycloptichorn

Interesting. People believe what they want to believe, based on emotional and not on intellectual decisions, so, that when they are confronted with facts that contradict their emotionally based beliefs, they scream liar. That is just what okie did.

He also claims that it was Lincoln's conservatism that led him to free the slaves.

Finally, the old saw about Hitler being a liberal really is a hoot. That's why he killed all those Jews! My late mother-in-law, who was a terrible racist, would have, according to my ex, have voted for Hitler had he run as a Republican. My ex had a friend who was Jewish and a rather attractive man. MIL insisted that he was an "ugly, dirty Jew." All Jews were dirty to her. It was disturbing to hear.

On the other hand they being dumber than rocks it wouldent take even if they were educated.

Just okie and the right wing, or maybe you and some other left wingers too?

If this is true about people, than it's true about both sides.

More taxes from Obama and America is not amused.

Individual Mandate Excise Tax (Page 324/Sec. 1501/Jan 2014*): Starting in 2014, anyone not buying "qualifying" health insurance must pay an income surtax according to the higher of the following (page 71 of manager's amendment updates Reid bill)

Employer Mandate Tax (Page 348/Sec. 1513/Jan 2014*): Small business owners pay their business taxes on their personal 1040 forms. This tax does not exempt startup small business owners even if they make less than $250,000.If the employer does not offer health coverage, and at least one employee qualifies for a health tax credit, the employer must pay an additional non-deductible tax of $750 for all full-time employees. Applies to all employers with 50 or more employees. If the employer requires a waiting period to enroll in coverage of 30-60 days, there is a $400 tax per employee ($600 if the period is 60 days or longer).

Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 1997/Sec. 9003/$5 bil/Jan 2011): Americans would no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).

HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike (Page 1998/Sec. 9004/$1.3 bil/Jan 2011): Increases additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

Flexible Spending Account Cap - aka "Special Needs Kids Tax" (Page 1999/Sec. 9005/$14 bil/Jan 2011): Imposes cap on FSAs of $2500 (now unlimited). Indexed to inflation after 2011 (added on page 363 of manager's amendment). There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education.

Medical Itemized Deductions Cap (Page 2034/Sec. 9013/$15.2 bil/Jan 2013): Currently, those facing high medical expenses are allowed a deduction if the total cost of the expenses reduces the filer's income by 7.5%.The new provision would impose a threshold of 10%.This new tax will most adversely affect early retirees and the catastrophically ill. Waived for 65+ taxpayers in 2013-2016 only.

Tax on Indoor Tanning Services (Page 373 of Manager's amendment/$2.7 billion/July 1, 2010): New 10% excise tax on Americans using indoor tanning salons

BTW, has anyone caught on to indoor tanning salons?

Has anyone noticed how few tanned people walk about?

What does that tell you about these businesses?

Perhaps that they are fronts for other activities?