[thejanitor]

That's actually one of our biggest problems. We just don't make anything anymore.

Can't help but be reminded of McMurtry's song "We Can't Make it Here"

[BookiesBernanke]

Can't help but be reminded of McMurtry's song "We Can't Make it Here"

The US still has the Military Industrial Complex which supplies the world with high tech weaponary and exports death to brown people

[King Mayan]

andywend you old buffoon, I live California, we get taxed up the ass. I'm willing to pay even MORE taxes, just to help America and the old tea baggers on Medicare. Something your selfish ass will never do.

[andywend]

I paid over 6 digits in income tax alone last year due to well timed financial investments. If those investments went sour, I would have been all alone to eat the loss.

Have you ever paid that amount of tax in a single year?

[I/O]

http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbu...-reached-obama

Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on raising the US debt limit, President Barack Obama has announced.

The deal will cut about $US1 trillion ($A911.91 billion) in spending over 10 years, the president says.
"I want to announce that the leaders of both parties in both chambers have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default, a default that would have had a devastating effect on our economy," Obama said at the White House on Sunday night (Monday morning AEST).
Obama said the deal, which still needs to be approved by Congress, would establish a bipartisan committee of congress to report back by November with a proposal to further reduce the US deficit.
Congress must reach a deal on raising the $US14.3 trillion debt ceiling by Tuesday to avoid a government default.
Default "would have had a devastating effect on our economy," Obama said in the televised address.
No votes were expected in either house of Congress until Monday at the earliest, to give rank-and-file members time to review the package.
"We're not done yet: I want to urge members of both parties to do the right thing and support this deal with your votes over the next few days," Obama said, with time running short before the midnight Tuesday (1400 AEST Wednesday) deadline.
The US government hit its debt limit on May 16 and has used spending and accounting adjustments, as well as higher-than-expected tax receipts, to continue operating normally - but can only do so through August 2.
Business and finance leaders have warned default would send crippling aftershocks through the fragile US economy, still wrestling with stubbornly high unemployment of 9.2 per cent in the wake of the 2008 global meltdown.

um dude

you live on a prison island

what the fuk do you care attention whore

[unfukkinreal]

It's time to start cutting anything and or everything that is free. If you can't earn then gtfo!!
Live by a river. Learn to fish. Learn to hunt .
Why the Fuk do all the poor people look to.others?

[unfukkinreal]

We have a huge debt because everytime we get Dems into office they start something's that is free. Or they enlarge our oversized government. And we can't afford to pay for it.

Hell when I cant afford something I don't get it.

I wish government was the same.

[andywend]

unfukkinreal, everything you say makes perfect sense. If you can't afford something, THEN DON'T BUY IT!!!

Millions of people bought homes they could NOT afford and they are treated like they're victims while those entities that were foolish enough to loan them the money and got stiffed are considered the criminals.

We're living in some weird version of the Twilight Zone where those that turn their back on their obligations are treated like heroes.

[rkelly110]

Boy, ain't that the truth Andy. It seems the majority in this country doesn't have a clue
on how to manage money. They have to have the latest device, better home or car
than their neighbor, ALL at the same time.

Letting the bank tell them what they could afford, instead of them sitting down, itemizing
what THEY can afford. The bank could care less if you have to eat or have heat.

[BookiesBernanke]

Boy, ain't that the truth Andy. It seems the majority in this country doesn't have a clue
on how to manage money. They have to have the latest device, better home or car
than their neighbor, ALL at the same time.

Letting the bank tell them what they could afford, instead of them sitting down, itemizing
what THEY can afford. The bank could care less if you have to eat or have heat.

Its so much more than that.

No Financial Literacy programs in schools
CC Companies allowed on college campuses focusing on freshman
Predatory lending taking advantage of poor and uneducated

The "American Dream" propaganda of keeping up with the Jonses

These principles are force fed to every american. The few that have parents that taught them financial responsibility can understand this, but many cannot.

This has been the plan for a long time...

Look around -- everything in our culture is about EXCESS, and WANT
Every music video, every movie, every 'reality show'

Its just pure propaganda - spend, spend, spend

[rkelly110]

I hear ya Bernie. That's what made our economy strong, but now it's come around and bit
people in the ass.

Job losses or pay reductions has put people in the streets and bankruptcy.
People in fear for their jobs are saving for an eventual rainy day.

Business' not hiring, because they don't know what their tax burden will be, thanks to
'bama spewing shit about them paying more.

Now, with the debt ceiling fiasco, people's retirement has been destroyed.

All of our elected officials need to go play golf and leave shit alone. In other words, smaller govt.

[DwightShrute]

at least the massive wasteful spending train has been slowed down with this deal and while it fell way short to where it needed to be, at least the new president in 2012 will not have as much damage done from now to then. 536 days until Obama is out of office.

[BigdaddyQH]

The fact is that over 33% of the "Poor" in this nation own theor own home. 55% have TWO cars. Over 90% never go hungry. It is about time that the government realizes that there is no sin for a family to own one car, rent, instead of own, and stop making a career out of living off of welfare. The fact is that in some cases, people make more on welfare that they would if they worked a minimum wage job, when you consider all of the expenses incurred when people have to work, such as gas, food, etc...When the government makes it as profitable NOT to work as it is TO work, the nation falls apart.

[King Mayan]

at least the massive wasteful spending train has been slowed down with this deal and while it fell way short to where it needed to be, at least the new president in 2012 will not have as much damage done from now to then. 536 days until Obama is out of office.

[jw]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...066179042.html

Did Republicans get tricked into a super-sized tax increase as part of the debt-limit deal? That depends on who you ask.

There's a lot of chatter among conservative Republicans that they may have just signed on to a stealth $3.5 trillion tax hike. That's because the "baseline" that congressional scorers use assumes that after 2012, all of the Bush tax cuts will expire and the Alternative Minimum Tax will start to hit up to 25 million tax filers. It also assumes the full implementation of several hundred billion dollars of Obamacare taxes that kick in after 2013.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan says that using a baseline that assumes these tax cuts go away makes it "nearly impossible" to accomplish tax reform, because any grand bargain will have to start by raising $3.5 billion in taxes just to remain revenue neutral and leave the deficit unchanged.

Jim Carter, a former White House economist in the George W. Bush administration, says the $3.5 trillion tax baseline over current policy means that "tax increases are assumed to be baked in the cake." This probably means a rise in income tax rates, dividend taxes and capital gains taxes after 2012. Mr. Obama may get his tax hike on the rich without a vote.

Meanwhile, Gene Sperling of the National Economic Commission has come to a different conclusion. In his White House blog on Monday, Mr. Sperling said that the Congress is not tied to any particular baseline.

"Reports have suggested that the [deficit-reduction] Committee would have to use a 'current law' baseline—a baseline that assumes that all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire along with relief from the Alternative Minimum tax," writes Mr. Sperling. "However the claim that the Committee is required to follow this approach is simply false."

Mr. Sperling adds that the new budget law "does not anywhere require the Committee to work off a current law baseline. Nor does it preclude the Committee from requesting [Congressional Budget Office] estimates based on alternative baselines and using those estimates for purposes of certifying the deficit reduction achieved in the Committee."

Which is to say that the two parties are offering very different interpretations of what the debt deal says about taxes. Let's hope it doesn't take three months to get this straightened out.

[ACoochy]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...066179042.html Did Republicans get tricked into a super-sized tax increase as part of the debt-limit deal? That depends on who you ask. There's a lot of chatter among conservative Republicans that they may have just signed on to a stealth $3.5 trillion tax hike. That's because the "baseline" that congressional scorers use assumes that after 2012, all of the Bush tax cuts will expire and the Alternative Minimum Tax will start to hit up to 25 million tax filers. It also assumes the full implementation of several hundred billion dollars of Obamacare taxes that kick in after 2013. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan says that using a baseline that assumes these tax cuts go away makes it "nearly impossible" to accomplish tax reform, because any grand bargain will have to start by raising $3.5 billion in taxes just to remain revenue neutral and leave the deficit unchanged. Jim Carter, a former White House economist in the George W. Bush administration, says the $3.5 trillion tax baseline over current policy means that "tax increases are assumed to be baked in the cake." This probably means a rise in income tax rates, dividend taxes and capital gains taxes after 2012. Mr. Obama may get his tax hike on the rich without a vote. Meanwhile, Gene Sperling of the National Economic Commission has come to a different conclusion. In his White House blog on Monday, Mr. Sperling said that the Congress is not tied to any particular baseline. "Reports have suggested that the [deficit-reduction] Committee would have to use a 'current law' baseline—a baseline that assumes that all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire along with relief from the Alternative Minimum tax," writes Mr. Sperling. "However the claim that the Committee is required to follow this approach is simply false." Mr. Sperling adds that the new budget law "does not anywhere require the Committee to work off a current law baseline. Nor does it preclude the Committee from requesting [Congressional Budget Office] estimates based on alternative baselines and using those estimates for purposes of certifying the deficit reduction achieved in the Committee." Which is to say that the two parties are offering very different interpretations of what the debt deal says about taxes. Let's hope it doesn't take three months to get this straightened out.

So those tea-partiers may end up getting the opposite of what they originally held congress to ransom for

[jjgold]

Economy slowly disintegrate
Obama buried us

[Enkhbat]

I don't exactly know what to make of this deal. jjgold might be right

[rggolds8]

Some deal

Federal Budget 101

The U.S. Congress sets a federal budget every year in the trillions of dollars. Few people know how much money that is so we created a breakdown of federal spending in simple terms. Let's put the 2011 federal budget into perspective:

• U.S. income: $2,170,000,000,000
• Federal budget: $3,820,000,000,000
• New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
• National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
• Recent budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000 (about 1 percent of the budget)

It helps to think about these numbers in terms that we can relate to. Let's remove eight zeros from these numbersand pretend this is the household budget for the fictitious Jones family.

• Total annual income for the Jones family: $21,700
• Amount of money the Jones family spent: $38,200
• Amount of new debt added to the CC: $16,500
• Outstanding balance on the CC: $142,710
• Amount cut from the budget: $385

So in effect last month Congress, or in this example the Jones family, sat down at the kitchen table and agreed to cut $385 from its annual budget. What family would cut $385 of spending in order to solve $16,500 in deficit spending?

It is a start, although hardly a solution.

Now after years of this, the Jones family has $142,710 of debt on its CC (which is the equivalent of the national debt).

You would think the Jones family would recognize and address this situation, but it does not. Neither does Congress.

The root of the debt problem is that the voters typically do not send people to Congress to save money. They are sent there to bring home the bacon to their own home state.

To effect budget change, we need to change the job description and give Congress new marching orders.

It is awfully hard (but not impossible) to reverse course and tell the government to stop borrowing money from our children and spending it now.

In effect, what we have is a reverse mortgage on the country. The problem is that the voters have become addicted to the money. Moreover, the American voters are still in the denial stage, and do not want to face the possibility of going into rehab.

By: DAVID THOMAS
Chief Executive Officer
Equitas Capital Advisors LLC

[jw]

• Total annual income for the Jones family: $21,700
• Amount of money the Jones family spent: $38,200
• Amount of new debt added to the CC: $16,500
• Outstanding balance on the CC: $142,710
• Amount cut from the budget: $385

[CENTER][CENTER][COLOR=black]
So in effect last month Congress, or in this example the Jones family, sat down at the kitchen table and agreed to cut $385 from its annual budget. What family would cut $385 of spending in order to solve $16,500 in deficit spending?

Now after years of this, the Jones family has $142,710 of debt on its CC (which is the equivalent of the national debt).

The most hilarious thing are the people who insist that the Jones family can simply spend less to get this $142,710 CC bill paid off rather than go out there and bring in more income alongside the cut in spending ...

Delusional.