Where is the US economy headed?

Great come back waterman. Is someone still reminding you to breath.

What was waterboy's comeback? I put him on Ignore.

Take it easy ci. You advised A2Kers to short sell gold at $1495. Has you broker sent you demands for top-up cover yet?

Hello Thomas. I enjoyed a very good, but a bit rainy weekend.

To resume;

I think I follow your references to the differenced between supposed "demand and supply side " problems (though I am skeptical of its adequacy as an explanation of the economic issues facing Europe and the USA today. Apparently you acknowledge that Greece is very close to default and needs to confront an underlying productivity problem if it is to resume the (illusory) economic standard of living it enjoyed before its debt crisis - in or out of the Euro Zone.. They will also have to deal with the political and public demand dynamic that led to the financial self-deception and fraud that took them to this brink.

Do you believe that other nations in Europe and the U.S. also suffer from this dynamic and its attendant illusions to some (varying) degrees? What (if any)is the difference between a government financial/debt crisis motivated by (say) a misguided desire to save its banks following the collapse of a bubble in which they had heavily invested(as in Ireland) and one resulting from chronic spending and borrowing to sustain social welfare payments it can no longer afford? To what degree do you believe the latter problem exists in Europe and the U.S.? Do you really believe that added government spending and borrowing can actually stimulate an economy such as ours to grow at the rate of forecast demand for already enacted entitlements? In your view Is there any difference in the stimulative effect of say spending on infrastructure (or reducing the taxes on enterprises) and increasing spending on social services?

In this context it is noteworthy that most of the touted "Infrastructure investments" in the last "stimulus" bill were in the form of grants to the highway & environmental departments of states whose tax collections were rapidly falling due to the economic crisis. The net effect was very few "shovel ready" projects, and instead merely a one year delay in the overdue staff restructuring of already bloated state governments. I acknowledge that by sustaining (largely non-productive) employment for a year it reduced unemployment and sustained basic demand to some degree, but by adding to our debt and sustaining the illusions of the affected people, it, in my view, at best merely delayed the correction of the underlying problem, while adding to our growing debt crisis.

I never said anything about "short-selling" anything. Don't you even know how to quote other people? When you change the message, you are lying.

clueless imposter, you are an idiot.

Even ABC Admits It Now

By Neal Boortz

Reason small businesses aren’t hiring is because of Obama policies. Actually heard an ABC reporter over the weekend talking about small business owners (our jobs creators) who are holding back – anxious about hiring – because they really don’t know what’s coming their way in the form of new regulations under ObamaCare and the Dodd-Frank consumer bill. That in addition to uncertainty over the costs of ObamaCare.

Think about it … these people are ready to hire; but the man in the White House is scaring them to death

Clueless imposter, are you aware that Obama has called the private sector 'the enemy' ?


I bet you think Bush made him say that ~

Does anyone know if Obama has a plan to increase jobs in this country?

The GOP talks a good game about creating jobs, but their only solution is cut taxes for the rich. ha ha ha ha... You're too stupid to understand economics; that's the reason why you ask such stupid questions. GW Bush destroyed jobs by his Great Recession that started in December 2007. That's a FACT, you dummy! He affected the jobs around the world; a new accomplishment by a US president.

Any blip of job increase before the Great Recession hit was the faulty economy based on loose money policies under Bush-Greenspan-Bernanke, and the selling of homes to people who couldn't afford to buy them. Have you learned anything about banks and derivatives? You don't have a clue!

You have no logical response.

Obama is the president and the left has been running the show for 4 years.

What has Obama and the left done to improve the job situation in this country?

In a tsunami everything gets swept away and it tkes a long time to recover. The economic tsunami GWB created will take a long time for America to recover. Maybe you could go to Japan and try to help the tsunami victims recover in a jiffy as you seem to think big disasters are quick and easy to recover from.

Loose money policies under Bush!? I suppose you've never heard of quantitative easing, otherwise known as QE I and QE II.

Regarding tax cuts for whomever, it really makes a difference just which taxes are cut. In other words, do they motivate or just toss money into the economy. The Bush cuts in regard to rapid write of assets did produce useful spending (stimulation). I witnessed the effects personally, though to some extent we are speaking of assets that would have been acquired within a few years anyway. On the other hand, his tax rebate of $600.00 for nearly everyone with earned income just tossed money into the economy, and motivated nothing.

In other words, not all tax cuts are equal.

So, as far as you know Obama has no plan to increase jobs in this country.

Tax cuts are welfare for the rich.

Lotto tickets are a tax on the stupid

It funds the art projects like Opera. Guess you don't care for opera. Opera puts me to sleep.

roger, Of coarse it makes a difference which tax cuts are beneficial; you seem to forget GW Bush started two wars without paying for them - while giving the wealthiest amongst us tax cuts, and increasing the national debt. What ever your QEI and QEII is about, I understand macro economics.

What GW Bush did during his eight years has proven to be disastrous for our economy; you have heard of the Great Recession I presume?

GW Bush's lax governmental controls of Wall Street is partly to blame, but more importantly his tax cuts for the wealthy while increasing our national debt.

Trying to blame Obama for high unemployment only shows you have no concept about macro-economics. Obama's stim bill made the best attempt at reducing the Great Recession on Americans and our economy.

If you think you have a better plan, I'd like to hear it.

I would like to point out right now that QE I & II are "mine". They are Obama's, unless he would like to disown his Fed Reserve and Treasury apppoinments.

Your own macro concepts seem distinctly Keynesian. Some agree with you, as the law of averages suggest they will.

I've been critical of both Greenspan and Bernanke, and explained why many times on these boards. If you want to challenge my opinions about them, you are free to do so.

Obama is not perfect, but I will defend him on the issues I believe where he made the right decisions. If you've been reading my opinions on Obama, I have also been very critical about many aspects of his decisions - including how he implemented Obamacare.

I will also admit that I was wrong to criticize Obama on saving GMC. It has not only saved over one million jobs, but GMC also paid back most of the bailout money. That was a good choice, and I was wrong.