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President Obama (file)
There was news out today from the Congressional Budget Office warning that "a stalemate over how to tackle a series of fiscal deadlines at year's end would likely push the United States economy into recession" again. Some of these challenges include the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, raising the debt ceiling and extending funding for federal programs.
Bloomberg reports that President Obama's general election prospects keep improving as the economies of several vital swing states keep improving. When the Republican candidate for President is solely running on the issue of the economy, you have to think about Republicans' motives during this economic recovery. The following positive news from important swing states might not seem that rosy to them.
In Ohio, the state's economy followed the roller coaster of the auto industry to a deeper recession than elsewhere and a stronger recovery. Unemployment in the state dropped to 7.4 percent in April, also aided by a rebound in steel, growth in other manufacturing industries and a surge in oil and natural gas development through the use of 'fracking' technology...
Virginia, a state that went Democratic for the first time since 1964 in backing Obama, has been sustained throughout the recession by federal government contracts, particularly military procurement. Unemployment never rose above 7.3 percent and had dropped to 5.6 percent in April...
Joblessness has been declining more rapidly in Florida than elsewhere, with the 8.7 percent April unemployment rate down from a peak of 11.4 percent in February 2010. The state's tourism industry has benefited from pent-up demand for more vacation travel as the economy has recovered.
Will these findings prompt a shift in focus for the campaigns? Tweet me your thoughts or drop me a line in the comment section below.
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Of course, theoil and gas industry's developed the fracking process and apply it on state and private land dilling and production leases whenever and wherever they can succeed in prevailing over the Obama EPA's and Interior Department's and Energy Czar's attempts to restrict and delay the need3ed and welcone energy resources. And while exploration, and production on lands and under waters controlled by the federa; government has fallen 15% now from 2008 levels, Obama faced with that runup on gasoline and deisel and home and industry heating oil rices wants to take credit for the private initiatives of our oil and gas companies, even while he is trying to stop the normal tax credits to the producers which are depreciation and amortization of their exploration and production expenses.
The recent resurgence of consumers taking on new private debt to purchase new automobiles to replace their aging vehicles (without a deficit financed "cash for clunkers" program) has been a shot in the arm to Ohio's autocentric manufucturing sector, but it is a survival action as consumers were faced with a doubling of gasoline prices from the $1.94 per gallon under Bush's last year, to the over $4.00 per gallon this last year.
Virgina, especially Northern Virginia, is assurdely aided by the rapid swelling of the Federal Government workforce, and the increases in federal employees and contracted consultants' rates of compensation. I'll give him that!
Richest man in the world, Carlos Slim of Mexico at an estimated $66+ billion.
Richest woman in the world, Gina Rinehardt of Australia, with an estimated $28+ billion.
Of course, the Obama desired "Buffet Rule" tax increase in the United States of milionaires and billionaires incomes would only generate $4.7 billion dollars a year, just enough to cover our federal govenments spending every eleven (11) hours only, but enough to give a further leg up to the global capitalists over those in the United States, to our economy's detriment; all in the interest of "fairness" as our amateur hour Presdent puts the argument!
Sorry...!!! I don't quite get your comment: "normal tax credits to the producers which are depreciation and amortization of their exploration and production expenses". Why are tax credits "normal"? According to whom are they "normal"? Depreciation and production expenses are a part of any business venture, but we don't subsidize all. I don't see why taxpayers should continue to subsidize extremely profitable industries. Furthermore, doesn't a recent statement from an American oil industry CEO concerning the fact that his company was not an American company, but was an international company and that the issue of American national security was none of his company's business, warrant a different approach towards the oil industry?
Manta, the only subsidizing done by the federal government is that of special legislation and appropriations to the green energy industries under the Obama Administration, although the Carter Administration did begin also to subsidize ethenol production in the agriculture sector, which is an ethnical non starter in my book to take away from the food production for a hungry world that the US plays such a large part in remedying. And that includes General Motors and General Electric for their role in developing of hybrid automobiles in the case of the former, and wind turbines and nuclear power in the case of the latter. Incidentially, both of those Corporations paid absolutely zero ($0.00) in taxes to the US Treasury last year. (Crony Capitalism?).
Every manufacturing and natural resource sector and transportation/warehousing sector and construction sector and retail sector and entertainment sector and utilities sector gets 'normal' levels of depreciation of capital improvement allowances and amortization in their tax structure as tax credits. The Obama Administration and the "Progressive" Democrats want to deny that only to the fossil fuel exploration and production, so that the additional tax revenues they rake in from that little bit of "global warming" initiative engineering might be expended in the real subsidies given out ih crony capatalistic fashion to the "green" energy companies; that approach has a duel purpose, to make exploration and production of fossile fuels more difficult and more expensive, while trying to boost the inefficient and pricey "green" energy production of such limitations by putting the former on the same cost plane as the latter.
As to Exxon/Mobil, the world's largest oil and gas producer, they are constantly exploring and producing around the world, at great expense to their corporate bottom line in order to produce the most product that the world is crying for. Of course, increasingly in light of the animosity of the present administration, they find it is often better to do their business in other countries.
Got it now?
It's sad to witness ideology blinding people to such an extent. I do get it, believe me. I suggest you read "Private Empire: Exxon Mobil and American Power" by Steve Coll. You support corporate welfare and I do not. I support a democratic system of government, and you support Citizens United. I get it.
I suggest you realize the absurdity of your position in the NOT penalizing one sub-industry of an energy sector by refusing them the regular allowance of expense deduction thru tax credit by depreciation and amoritization of development and production capital outlays that all other industries apply to protection of their profits is not in any way a government subsidy.
The money isn't the government's money. It's not a transfer payment from the tax payer to the corporation. It is allowing the corporation (a public good enterprise, by the way) to keep more of their profits so that they cover their costs of exploration and production of a much needed product and have the ability to expand their operations, pay their employees, pay their shareholders and bond holders, and plan for the future! This is the majic of capatilism that put this country on the map, and that even the former Communist countries are now trying to emulate.
Replace that with the crony capatalism of a would be nationalist socialist government (Obama's Sol Lewinski model) that penalizes certain industries and rewards certain industries, including direct government subsidizing payments, all based on concepts of government defined "social good" instead of free market principles) and you will unhinge the strengths and superiority of our capatalist system. At your peril, "mantra"!
Anybody who wants evidence of Grandpa's cognitive dissonance only has to ask him about human-caused global warming...
Come on Fuzzy, say something on the subject. if you say anything coherent I'll bounce it off one of my best friends who's a PhD physicist who works in the field.... You need to watch out for cabbies, sometimes. We often know really sharp people...
It is easier to expose your bullshipping tactics in an area where you don't know the vernacular and the buzzwords, but speaking as an old English teacher, that second paragraph of yours is utter nonsense. Your denial about the existence of global warming allows you to ignore the advantages of "green" programs; the goal is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions and arrive at more sustainable practices.
I love how you holler about how the (non-existent) spending increases are "handing a bill" to our children but you utterly ignore the reality that petroleum and coal resources are finite, and we are depriving future generations of their birthright by squandering them needlessly.
I mean you do recognize that higher fuel prices have led to conservation practices and more efficient engines, right? And that fuel prices have risen whether Democrats or Republicans were in the Oval Office?
Worse, Chris Matthews just pointed out some more lies you've been repeating about Obama increasing government spending and adding to the deficits. You were hollering Martin Bashir wasn't bringing the subject up, so here you go...
http://hardballblog.msnbc.msn.com/
The title is "The Biggest Republican Lie of All"
On Wednesday, financial news service MarketWatch produced a chart that Republicans are going to have a tough time explaining away. Here's the upshot: over Barack Obama's four years in office, federal spending will rise a mere 0.4 percent.
That's with the Bush-era tax cuts in place. If they're allowed to expire, then we can make some headway on the deficit. And maybe spend some money on quality education so guys like me can teach (I would've been to Nevada years ago, but the collapse under the Bushies took that option off the table and made it a no go). Then we wouldn't have such poor performing schools... Might put a crimp in FAUX News's viewing audience, but I don't think they're suffering.
Every vegatative life form relies on carbon dioxide to live, grow, and flourish, from algae to the largest tree. And they convert the carbon dioxide not only to their flourishing life form (including vegatative food plants) but oxygen also. Basic fact of biological science, Cab Driver.
Tell the coal mining economy of West Virginia that is producing the cheapest form of fuel for electricity generation that we have next to hydroelectric (something we once had in abundance until the environmentalist got so upset that those dams were causing problems with fish life in our rivers and streams) that the Obama Administration is just out to help their future generations by attacking their ability to sell their product in the US. Seems to me that in the Democrat Party primary in that state 42% of the voters cast their votes for a convicted felon serving time in a Texas prison rather than Obama. And that was just followed by another over 40% of votes cast for the local hero in Kentucky's primary for a fellow by the name of Wolfe instead of the incunbant President in their Democrat primary (of course, Kentucky is our second leading state in anthricite coal production) Get the picture?
Mathews! Ha! I addressed his nonsense on other posts in detail on this blog. But here it is again in abrieviated form: Mathews statement that DURING Obama 3&1/2 years in office his levels of federal spending have hardly increased significantly, and had his charts rolled out to "prove" it. Trouble in Cab Driver, the budget he began with was passed in the Bush administration for fiscal year Oct, 2008 to Nov, 2009. And the Obama Admministration supported by Democrat majorities in both Houses of Congress immediately set out to bust the budget in their first months in office in 2009 to the tune of over $1+ trillion of deficit spending, which included the $800 billion ineffective stimulus bill that year. And then they have, unfettered by a budget in the past two years (2010 and 2011) continued to spend at that rate (substituting growth of federal government and social spending initiatives for the $800 billion deficit funded stimulus bill of 2009 in each of those years). So Obama's huge baseline increase of deficit spending in 2009 has been continued as a growth of government deficit spending effort in the subsequent years of his administration.
Picture a little less fuzzy for you now, you ignoramous-MSNBC stupid pap sucking fool?
Aww...now the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says we are headed to a financial cliff by the end of this year as the Bush Era Tax Cuts extended thanks to the Tea Party revolt in 2010 will end if not reauthorized and the Alternative Minimum Tax fix which includes indexing to inflation is not accomplished again, sucking tax dollars from millions of the unintended middle class tax payers. Too, economists are now predicting that at the present "burn rate" of Federal Government deficit spending for social programs and patronage (front loading the election, perhaps) the breaching of the debt limit will probably occur again by Labor Day, just as the politicians are looking to get off to their Conventions (both State and National) and for the Congressmen and Women, Senators, and President attend to their reelection campaigns.
Business as usual for this "transformational" President, who has spent nearly all his time since Labor Day of 2011 campaigning for his relection and fund raising, instead of leading our way out of the nightmare....then he wonders why small businesses and larger corporations aren't expanding or employing more workers, and the stock market has only had 4 up days in the Month of May while the Dow Industrial Index shed over 1,500 points going on 2,000 as investors reflect the dim economic picture forward and go back to bonds and cash investments, although the Federal Reserve broadcasts their willingness to continue forcing investors into risk assets by keeping interest rates. artificially low.
By the by, the real facts show that during the Bush years, over 8 years, Government spending amounted to 17.5% of Gross Domestic Product; during Obama's 3&1/2 years, it has risen to 25% of Gross Domestic Product.
Of course, Obama want's to double down on that, as his answer on how to get the private sector up and running he thinks having government take more of the money out of the economy by way of tax increases and borrowing will magically increase the Gross Domestic Product in the future. It "tax, borrow, and spend your way to properity"...a Nationalist Socialist economic model that has failed wherever it has been tried in history...but it is "transformational", I'll give him that! It's just that I'm not sure being transformed to a second rate industrial and military power debtor nation along the way is what we wanted when we elected him for the Presidency based on "Hope and Change", which has left the majority of the US voters shaking their collective heads and saying this next time we "hope he will change"!