This is the second time I have deleted my portfolio settings from my desktop. The first time was in September of 2008. I couldn't concentrate looking at the sea of red, as the stock market dropped 634 points. My blood pressure was trending the other way. The White House, pundits, and politicians can dismiss the drop in our credit rating because of the source, but the skittish traders reacted to their message. That was half of it but the European markets already had them scared. It's ironic because after the pullout, the traders put their money in treasury bills. That's where most experts think is the safest place, despite a downgrade by one of the three rating firms. Outgoing fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said our treasury bills continue to be revered currency around the world.
The presidential candidates did the obvious, by blaming the president for the downgrade. They obviously didn't read the part that stated "S&P's contention that "the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues" to help ease the country's fiscal problems." There's plenty of blame to go around but this is not a time to point fingers, blame the past administration or forget the actions of the past administration Even outgoing republican secretary treasury Hank Paulson thinks tax increases should be part of the solution.
This morning a lot of the talking heads on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" said that President Obama's speech was flat yesterday, and the market went down several points when he was finished. Really, are we down to the significance of speeches? They went onto praise FDR and Lyndon Johnson for their ability to get things done. One lonely voice brought out the fact that both presidents had a Democratic-controlled Congress. I do think president Obama needs to stop trying to be the great mediator. The opposition does not want to compromise, so he needs to treat them as a lawyer would treat a hostile witness. They said the president should call the leaders in; to work out the details of the grand bargain. ($4 trillion cuts, revenues, and entitlement reforms.) What if they refuse to come in? What's wrong with the four leaders volunteering to come in? They mentioned the bad optics of the president going to fund raisers while the country burned. Again, we have to go back to President Bush going to a fundraiser while Katrina drowned the city of New Orleans. It's a total waste of resources to use all our energy on the finger pointing. Presidents have to go on fund raisers if they expect to get reelected.
The president could try to shame Congress but only the speaker can call them back into session, unless we have a national emergency, I think we have a national emergency, but if they are coming in with the same lines in the sand mentality; they might as well stay on vacation. As I said before, Congress could pass some bipartisan trade agreements, extend unemployment benefits and work on a jobs bill. I think the president could start thinking about a way to bypass Congress with a private sector infrastructure bank and enlist the help of the Federal Reserve. Poll after poll state that the American people think, jobs and the economy rank ahead of the debt. The debt is extremely important, but we still have time to work on that when we start to recover. We have already cut discretionary and defense spending almost to the maximum, so we need to work on the elephant in the room; Social Security, Medicare, tax reform, taxes, and Medicaid reform.
We need to be upfront; republicans do not want tax increases to be part of the mix because spending cuts will force the weakening or the eliminating of Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid. Representative Paul Ryan's budget bill lays out the plan. Does anyone think that a person 55 years old will be able to obtain an affordable private Health Insurance plan in 10 years? Does anyone think that states will use their block grants from the Federal government for Medicaid, to help the needy instead of balancing their budget? The democrats need to consider reforming the entitlements. I would like to see them raise the caps on Social Security, raise the age limit requirement, and consider means testing. Medicare has a lot of problems that can be solved by eliminating waste and duplication, but they need to do something about prescription drugs. I've heard that Lipitor has risen by 50% in four years. We should be able buy prescription drugs from Canada and Mexico or least as part of a bulk purchase plan.
I know that is not in the best interest of the opposition party to help this president get us out of this financial mess, but a president Romney will inherit whatever Obama leaves him. The minority party democrats will then become the party of NO, and the cycle will start all over. We need to start on solutions that will benefit both parties such as taking the debt ceiling negotiation off the bargaining table and start taking steps to reform campaign finance laws. It will be a shame if the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq. Libya are not at the top the list of campaign topics. We had a tragedy over the weekend where 30 Special Forces died, yet there was very little coverage. Those wars are import parts of our domestic and foreign policy.
It's not a time to be frightened, it's a time to be part of the solution.
Print- •
-
Share
- Share this item
-
Grab the link
Copy and paste the link:
- Blog about it
- Close
- •
-
18 Comments
- •
-
Flag
-
Thank you for your contribution.Flag this as inappropriate
- Close
-
- •
Follow Mike
Comments
Yes I am ...funny indeed,Fox is great at getting people to Ffight and Newt is fring back at Chris Wallace...lol
August 11, 2011 at 8:31 p.m.Mike-
Are you watching the debate? This is great!
I think they may actually be attacking Obama less that they are attacking each other.
Can't wait for the GOP Convention.
August 11, 2011 at 8:27 p.m.Get out of the sun; it's making you delirious...:-)
August 11, 2011 at 2:38 p.m.Rick Perry will be President unless Ron Paul is elected. Right?
August 11, 2011 at 2:33 p.m.What duh?
August 11, 2011 at 2:06 p.m.Is that before John Kerry said I said that before I said that????????
August 11, 2011 at 2:05 p.m.Writein
I know you hate liberals but I will use the pundits name because she deserves the credit for the idea..... Rachel Maddow came up with a good idea last night.
She said that at the time of the stimulus, several hundred republicans requested some of that money for their districts... I've already reported that over 120 republican representatives posed for pictures at the site of the economic stimulus projects; that they voted against.... Anyway, there are still several hundred requests that have not been filled. She suggested that president Obama aknowledge those requests because they have the cost amount and an estimate of how many jobs they would create. I think Michelle Bachmann and Jeff Sessions have some that would cost millions of dollars but they said he would create thousands of private sector jobs. Would they tell their unemployed constituents that we couldn't afford it? The president could do this at all the republican districts. They could call it the GOP job initiative plan, it doesn't matter but if it doesn't produce results, then it was based on their projections.
August 11, 2011 at 2:03 p.m.Poor Mitt Romney. It seems he lobbied S&P for Massachusetts by promising them that he would have a balance approach(tax increases) in reducing that state's debt. Tonight, he will tell us how dumb that is..lol...."It's what I say, not what I did."
Watch the GOP presidential debates on Fox tonight 8:00PM
August 11, 2011 at 1:44 p.m.Count how many times you hear middle class;I bet they mention Ronald Reagan a lot more..lol
That's your opinion; not a substantiated fact.
Have a good one
August 11, 2011 at 1:38 p.m.As I said, whistling past the graveyard. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. You will be walking, ad infinitum.
August 11, 2011 at 12:09 p.m.Writein
I will answer your question from my previous blog on this blog because is much easier to navigate.
You said"The reason why they kept blocking Elizabeth Warren is because they are scared of her. They can’t handle her."... Quite the contrary, they defeated her, but I understand what you mean. They did come after her, and it did make the news.
You also said"However, President Obama and every Democrat on now on should reach inside for that inner LBJ and apply some “treatments” on Michelle Bachhman, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, WOAI, etc."
The inside circle of the Obama Administration will tell you that he's not a " in your face" he's more of a mediator. You can't make a person into something he is not.
I don't place any importance on Bachmann,Beck,Hannity or an AM radio station from Texas. LBJ was a tough cookie, but he had the majority of the house and senate, so he could take away committee chairmanships, promise pork, or promise not to campaign for a congressman. LBJ was a long time legislator who had a lot of favors he could call in... That's the reason John Boehner couldn't corral the tea party. The republicans made a pledge against pork. The tea party doesn't care about future committees, and their pledge to Grover Northquist meant more to them than anything Boehner said.... I agree the democrats need to get a spine, but their concessions worked for them for NOW...According to a Gallup poll the dems have a 47% approval in the debt talks,47%disapproval,the GOP has a 33% approval and a 59% DISAPPROVAL.
This national discussion is about the role of government... You will see every right-wing Republican continue to talk about the debt. That's because the less money the government has, the less they can spend on the safety net and entitlement programs. The other side is just playing defense.... They need to go on the offense. Yesterday, I heard that the White House may look at a plan that Chris Matthews brought out, but again, president Obama does not like in your face Chris suggested that they do like they used to do in the old days. You remember the bridge collapse in Minnesota don't you? What if,Obama suggested using the job infrastructure bank to repair some bridges in Minnesota. Do you think, presidential candidates Michelle Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty would disapprove? How about a high-speed rail in Virginia? That's what I like to discuss, not the same old " and you're another one" arguments.
August 10, 2011 at 9:35 a.m.Mike.
You know what my solution is, but this time I won't bother you by repeating it. LOL
August 9, 2011 at 10:37 p.m.Mike,
I totally agree with newcowboy, it’s time to get to work…
Like you, I had to a take blood pressure pill as the market was headed to the pits of he$$ one more time.
At some point the President has to take some responsibility. When he walked up to the camera yesterday, all he needed to say. “I apologize to the American people, my policies have not worked, and it’s time to get to work on something that will work.” But as you and I watched, he went on to criticize everyone else; he failed to take any blame for his polices or even his lack of leadership in any capacity. As the leader of the greatest country in the world as he stood before those cameras he did not display leadership or integrity, dignity, and pride, he only showed a displaced attitude of angry. I have never been as disappointed in one of our leaders as I am with this man. Mike this is not a partisan issue, he has to put quality in his leadership, you cannot stand before the American people and continue to blame others they will lose absolute total confidence in you. If he can’t even get this half right, it is truly time for him to resign. Mike be careful times are about to get real hard, civil unrest may be on the horizon.
P.S.
I hope yesterday didn’t hurt you to bad… I dumped everything before 10:00 am…
August 9, 2011 at 3:57 p.m.Good luck
Victore
Social Security is in pretty good shape. Its long-term finances could be improved even more with some minor tweaks that most folks probably wouldn't even notice, but there's no crisis, the system isn't going bankrupt, and if policymakers decided not to do anything for a while, that'd be fine, too. The more the White House reminds folks about this, the better.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/arch...
August 9, 2011 at 3:48 p.m.I firmly believe that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will be around for many generations to come, because Social Security can be made solvent with just a few fixes. It all depends on what route to take, but we should have been increasing taxes to pay for those programs all along.
Ponzi scheme is just a talking point use by the right that wants to eliminate or privatize the programs.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors, not from any actual profit earned by the organization, but from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_sc...
It's certainly not an investment operation because the previous generations received more than they paid in... I certainly didn't mind my company taking out 1.45% for Medicare and 6.2% for Social Security, to ensure that the elderly were taken care of.
August 9, 2011 at 3:21 p.m.The congressional Budget Office and many, many top economists don't think that the entitlements will bankrupt the country, if we work on the reforming the system. Doing nothing will bankrupt the country.
Does anyone capable of rational thought think that anyone 45 years of age will even HAVE Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid 20 years from now? These Ponzi schemes will either be radically restructured or, in 20 years, they will have bankrupted the country. To argue that tinkering around the edges can fix the problem falls in the same category as wishful thinking and whistling past the graveyard.
August 9, 2011 at 2:54 p.m.Newcowboyintown
You summed up in one post, what took me 3 hours to write.
It's time to get beyond the political rhetoric because everyone should know where the political line in the sand is.... There are still some rare bipartisan legislation like the new trade bills and some revenue neutral ones that can be passed.
It's time to say that if you don't want to be part of the solution; don't get in the way.
It's highly unlikely that we will see the results of any jobs program in the short term future but if we can get a trend going in the right direction; it will snowball.
August 9, 2011 at 11:22 a.m.Well said - time to roll up the sleeves and go forward. I have just about tuned out the media because I am just plan tired of hearing what the other guy isn't doing or that it is all the other guys fault.
Let me know Mike if something important is ever said - I might want to go to the archives and listen.
I do agree with removing the point where you stop paying into SS - and I plan to work well past 62 or even 65. I also agree that there needs to be tax reform - but first someone has to really state what the truth is. Some say the top elite pay all the taxes, some say the middle class carries the burden, some say the lower class pays a disproportionate amount - just depends on what point and what line you are trying to support. I know what I pay - and that is the only real fact I can attest to.
As soon as the politicians start telling the truth and stop blaming someone else - let me know - until then - nothing important will happen.
August 9, 2011 at 11:06 a.m.