Forum Post: Obama Admits He Can't Fix The Economy
Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 12, 2011, 4:29 a.m. EST by eyeofthetiger
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lol wow how arrogant is this guy all he wants is attention he says it'll take 2 more presidents to fix the economy If he knew he could'nt fix it why did he take the job as president? that's my question
Obama tries too hard to please everybody and winds up pleasing nobody. He should draw his line in the sand.....
he should bury his head in the sand
It was pretty obvious even when bush was still in office that the damage done by his administration would take decades to repair, if it didnt outright destroy the economy, which is almost what happened. You simply cannot radically cut taxes and try and ramp up military spending funding two wars and not expect the bottom to fall out sooner or later.
Thats not what he said. But I'm not here to support any politician. I'm here to post the ugly truth:
The ugly truth. America's wealth is STILL being concentrated. When the rich get too rich, the poor get poorer. These latest figures prove it. AGAIN.
According to the Social Security Administration, 50 percent of U.S. workers made less than $26,364 in 2010. In addition, those making less than $200,000, or 99 percent of Americans (actually more like 98%), saw their earnings fall by $4.5 billion collectively.
The sobering numbers were a far cry from what was going on for the richest one percent of Americans.
The incomes of the top one percent of the wage scale in the U.S. rose in 2010; and their collective wage earnings jumped by $120 billion. In addition, those earning at least $1 million a year in wages, which is roughly 93,000 Americans, reported payroll income jumped 22 percent from 2009. Overall, the economy has shed 5.2 million jobs since the start of the Great Recession in 2007. It’s the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression in the 1930’s.
Another word about the first Great Depression. It really was a perfect storm. Caused almost entirely by greed. First, there was unprecedented economic growth. There was a massive building spree. There was a growing sense of optimism and materialism. There was a growing obsession for celebrities. The American people became spoiled, foolish, naive, brainwashed, and love-sick. They were bombarded with ads for one product or service after another. Encouraged to spend all of their money as if it were going out of style. Obscene profits were hoarded at the top. In 1928, the rich were already way ahead. Still, they were given huge tax breaks. All of this represented a MASSIVE transfer of wealth from poor to rich. Executives, entrepreneurs, developers, celebrities, and share holders. By 1929, America's wealthiest 1 percent had accumulated 44 percent of all United States wealth. The upper, middle, and lower classes were left to share the rest. When the lower majority finally ran low on money to spend, profits declined and the stock market crashed.
Of course, the rich threw a fit and started cutting jobs. They would stop at nothing to maintain their disgusting profit margins and ill-gotten obscene levels of wealth as long as possible. The small business owners did what they felt necessary to survive. They cut more jobs. The losses were felt primarily by the little guy. This created a domino effect. The middle class shrunk drastically and the lower class expanded. With less wealth in reserve and active circulation, banks failed by the hundreds. More jobs were cut. Unemployment reached 25% in 1933. The worst year of the Great Depression. Those who were employed had to settle for much lower wages. Millions went cold and hungry. The recovery involved a massive infusion of new currency, a World War, and higher taxes on the rich. With so many men in the service, so many women on the production line, and those higher taxes to help pay for it, some US wealth was gradually transferred back down to the majority. This redistribution of wealth continued until the mid seventies. By 1976, the richest 1 percent held less than 20 percent. The lower majority held the rest. This was the recovery. A partial redistribution of wealth.
Then it began to concentrate all over again. Here we are 35 years later. The richest one percent now own over 40 percent of all US wealth. The upper, middle, and lower classes are sharing the rest. This is true even after taxes, welfare, financial aid, and charity. It is the underlying cause. No redistribution. No recovery.
The government won't step in and do what's necessary. Not this time. It's up to us. Support small business more and big business less. Support the little guy more and the big guy less. It's tricky but not impossible.
For the good of society, stop giving so much of your money to rich people. Stop concentrating the wealth. This may be our last chance to prevent the worst economic depression in world history. No redistribution. No recovery.
Those of you who agree on these major issues are welcome to summarize this post, copy it, link to it, save it, show a friend, or spread the word in any fashion. Most major cities have daily call-in talk radio shows. You can reach thousands of people at once. They should know the ugly truth. Be sure to quote the figures which prove that America's wealth is still being concentrated. I don't care who takes the credit. We are up against a tiny but very powerful minority who have more influence on the masses than any other group in history. They have the means to reach millions at once with outrageous political and commercial propaganda. Those of us who speak the ugly truth must work incredibly hard just to be heard.
i think your "jobs shed" number of 5 million is WAY off--obama last night conceded to 8 million (his figures EXCLUDE people whose benefits ran out and the underemployed), i've seen ADP reports of 14 million, and we have about 400,000 NEW unemployed every week, with new jobs last month of about 100,000 (not seasonally adjusted,,,, so that # includes Christmas labor). The real unemployment rate is pretty well accepted to be 18% with underemployment (harder to measure) believed to be in the 5-10%.
The figure I quoted was 5.2 million. This was reported in October. If you have a report showing that we have lost 8 million, I'd like to read it. If so, that would only strengthen my argument.
Is this a simple disagreement over how many jobs have been lost or are you trying to downplay the massive gains of the top 1%?
obama said last night on "60 minutes" that it was 8million,,, but it's many more than that because of the exclusions used to "achieve" that figure. yes, this does strengthen your argument. and i find many of your points to be correct and frightening at the same time.
think about this: if it's 5 million, and roughly 10% unemployment that would mean 50 million people worked prior to the crisis. there are 310 million people in the us, so with 50 million workers, only 16% of all people worked, or alternatively, 84% did not work... do those numbers square up??
Sorry, but to blame everything on one man, that is just ignorant.
No one can fix this train wreck. Wake the fuck up.
He took the job so he doesn't have to work for 4 years........ahhh seems that's what he has done his whole "career", eh????
Please vote him OUT in 2012 so he can maybe get a REAL job LOL
How do presidents fix economies?
if people spent more time educating themselves and talking about issues to vote on instead of pandering to adolescent popularity contests, there would be no need for protest.
that's just it everyone wants to be a star they should just call it Presidential Idol instead of Presidential Primaries and how many more ooops excuses are we gonna hear from that one guy
you still aren't arguing an actual issue. be part of the solution or you are part of the problem.
yea an ant in a hayfield is a problem
comon, really? what does that even mean!?
you need an IQ above 200
lol, well that ain't happen'n.
when in doubt just start sayin Da Bears Ditka Da Bears
Yeah yeah yeah, obtuse pseudo-intellectual elitism is always a safe bet for mediocrity. It generally accomplishes nothing other than to make perps look stupid. Bleh.
Yeah eyeofthetiger, if you know you cannot cure cancer in one human lifetime, why spend your life working on cancer research? Or if, like Gaudi, you're an architect building a church that won't be completed until 200 years after you die, why start? Why would anyone do anything they won't live to see through to the end? Why have children? You're only going to die before they do!
Answer: don't be a dipshit. He ran for president because he hoped he could help fix the problem.
Then he became just another Plutocratic stooge. So i don't support him, or any Republicratic candidate.
it's like trying to reinvent the wheel Progress knows no boundaries Blind ambition is this country;s greatest downfall I know there are great scientists and inventors out there who could find a replacement for oil and also make living cheaper it's crazy if you ask me to keep screwing around with that middle east shit hole we have more than enough resources here
What do idiots take to a gunfight? A knife. What do Americans hire for a malfunctioning economy? A lawyer/community organizer. Even Obama himself has stated that the number one idea for economic revival is ingenuity. But again, what creativity could you expect from a man who chooses a profession more closely associated with conflict. So, in the end, the source of our problems seems to be Pogoesque, ourselves. Demand better representation at the executive branch, demand a plural executive. To continue to vote status quo, as Carlin humorously admonishes, encourages them or, as I say, expresses contentment and/or idea deprivation. Now, what was that definition of a fool, yea, to continue doing the same and expecting a different results. Demand better representation at the executive branch, demand a plural executive. Change the system, not the puppets. "But oh my guy/gal is different!," you say. Your guy/gal has the same biological and psychological makeup as the next one. They, our reps, go to Washington as neophytes and eventually they succumb to corruption. It's about the money; it's about human nature. Why do you think we have checks and balances in the first place? I write as CPA/auditor of 40 years. No where have I worked that I did not see corruption, including the housing financial sector, where I was a financial analyst. Later, I will share this story with you.
I wish to close this appeal with one thought. Did you ever wonder why so many employed people decry your efforts? Because they cannot afford to lose their jobs, so they become sycophants, sometimes so much so that they become complicit with the corruption. How do I know this to be true? Because they have told me, apologetically.
When will you awaken, when your tent is not some transient housing, but your actual address? Demand better representation at the executive branch, demand a plural executive. Anything else is an admission that you enjoy whining.