Have Americans finally woken up and smelled the coffee?

[Slytovhand]

What I am going to propose will sound absolutely ridiculous, then I will explain why, and why it will never happen.

You REALLY want the economy fixed? I mean...really and truely?? Here is how in some really easy steps.


Through lobbyist out the door, put armed guards with orders to shoot to kill blocking their way back.

Yeah, I'll put that down as being a tad ridiculous...

Monitor all governement employees (especially senate, house, president etc) activity 24/7. That way no bribery (its a start).
Let anybody who has a problem with the monitoring resign, new people have to sign a contract agreeing to the monitoring if they become a government official before they can even run for the office.

Ditto... I have no problems with transparency, but 'all' government employees...???? A worker at a local government run library now needs to be 'monitored'?? I don't think so...


As for your other ideas, yes, I can see the sense behind those!


Now.. onto our current discussion... the US's economy. Formula for GDP

GDP = private consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports − imports),

Anyone see the entry there for accumulated debt?? Nope! Damn! What's 12Trillion USD over 8 years? 1.5 trillion?? Take that out of the US's GDP and see where that leaves you! And that's not including the current figures. (FTR, Wiki also says US Gross debt is about 80% of its GDP) EU - about 7.6Trillion USD which is a mere (ha!) 61.5% GDP.

(FTR - Australia's GDP is a tad over 1Trillion USD, but our (federal public net) debt is... NIL!!)

[IDrinkaRum]

Out of 13 specific issues, only 4 - relationships with other countries, terrorism, environment, and energy - have the American population giving President Obama a 50% or higher approval rating

[guywithashovel]

Out of 13 specific issues, only 4 - relationships with other countries, terrorism, environment, and energy - have the American population giving President Obama a 50% or higher approval rating

I usually try to take these with a grain of salt, since they can easily change. For example, back in the early 80s, Reagan's approval ratings were dropping substantially, to the point where there was serious doubt as to whether or not he could get reelected in 1984. This was because of the deep recession that the country was in at that time (unemployment climbed up to 10.8% in 1982). But then when the 84 election rolled around, he won in a 49-state landslide with 58% of the popular vote. On top of that, people now tend to rate him as one of the strongest presidents we've ever had.

Right now, people are still a little uncertain about the economy. I still am to, to an extent. However, we are gradually seeing more signs of recovery, so I'm fairly optimistic.

[Rapscallion]

Over here, they're called the mid-term blues. Every politician going talks up the good stuff they'll do when elected. When the best talker gets in, they have to take some hard decisions, and that's when approval ratings drop dramatically. You're only as popular as the last new tax to hit the population.

However, the way the teeming mases work is that after a year or so of shiny things, they'll forget and the now-incumbent will be able to talk of good things for a while and get re-elected.

Ain't politics grandy and dandy?

Rapscallion

[DesignFox]

<snip>
However, the way the teeming mases work is that after a year or so of shiny things, they'll forget and the now-incumbent will be able to talk of good things for a while and get re-elected.

Ain't politics grandy and dandy?

Rapscallion

So funny that you say that today. This morning, listening to my favorite talk station, the host said something very similar.

He basically stated that as long as people got to keep their SUV's and Plasma TV's, they won't complain about anything. His cheeky thought is to drop SUV's and Plasma TV's to all the terrorist groups in the Middle East. Instantly solve our problem.

[Rapscallion]

Panem et circenses

It's an old phrase, but a very true one. Keep them fed, keep them distracted through entertainment, and you can get away with a huge amount.

Rapscallion

[HYHYBT]

Did they ever get the electricity working regularly again? Because the plasma TV's aren't much use without it.

[DesignFox]

Did they ever get the electricity working regularly again? Because the plasma TV's aren't much use without it.

Well, it was a joke...so... yea...

[Rapscallion]

He basically stated that as long as people got to keep their SUV's and Plasma TV's, they won't complain about anything. His cheeky thought is to drop SUV's and Plasma TV's to all the terrorist groups in the Middle East. Instantly solve our problem.

Just reread this and it sparked a memory. Back when the war began in Afghanistan to root out Bin Laden, somene worked out that the best way to wage war would have been to ship in a load of tractors and seed etc, and just give it to the populace, taking away the support for the Taliban and other warlords.

Would be a more civil way to wage warfare.

Rapscallion

[Depot Denizen]

It would have been. I'd have fully supported sending over equipment and seeds and supplies to help establish a thriving food supply than bomb the hell out of them. I bet we'd have gotten more support too.

That's what I dislike about foreign decisions. Everyone's so quick to send bombs over, why not try and do some humanitarian work for a change to try and resolve the root problem. People aren't as ornery when they have a steady supply of food and don't have to fight to get it.

[Boozy]

Would be a more civil way to wage warfare.

No question. But it's not like the US hasn't tried that approach in the past with hostile countries, usually well before invading. Solutions like this are and have always been the first line of defense. No one wants a war, even cold-hearted bastards. Wars are expensive and nasty.

But the US couldn't just waltz into Afghanistan and give the people a bunch of tractors and seed. They needed to distribute them. And the lines of distribution and all infrastructure were controlled by the Taliban. The Taliban needed to be removed before we had any way of working with the populace.

[Slytovhand]

No one wants a war, even cold-hearted bastards.

Actually, I'll say that there are a lot of people who do... money and personal wealth is more important than other people's lives in countries far far away... and war is a guaranteed way to make money!

[Boozy]

What I was saying is that no one wants a war unless it's a last resort. If there is a way to further a country's economic interests in a region without killing people, any sane person would take that route. At the very least, it's less messy.

[BroomJockey]

What I was saying is that no one wants a war unless it's a last resort.

And Oceania has always been allies with Eurasia.

[Slytovhand]

What I was saying is that no one wants a war unless it's a last resort. If there is a way to further a country's economic interests in a region without killing people, any sane person would take that route. At the very least, it's less messy.

Any sane person... but I have my doubts about the sanity of a lot of people in power... including those in the US administration.

We've already had discussions and debates about Bush and Cheney, and how eager they seemed to be to invade Iraq (given Cheney's connections with Haliburton, et al)... given that, would he be considered 'sane' knowing how much his profits would soar?? They wanted a war in Iraq.. they egged Hussein on, they lied, they (tried to) convince a whole world to go to war. The 'liberation of the Iraqi people' might make for a great PR campaign...later, but they were looking for that war for years!

Now, let me be a real nasty piece of work, and suggest that everyone who voted for Bush/Cheney second time around also wanted a war in Iraq.... either that, or they didn't smell the coffee for some other reason... (and before it turns into Reps vs Dems argument - there are actually others people can choose to vote for...)