McCain is on TV proposing the utter destruction of the world economy

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

Balancing the federal budget in the next four years would be equivalent to just shooting every tenth person to reduce crowding on the highways. It makes Smoot-Hawley seem thoughtful by comparison.

It is INSANE.

I am disturbed that we are at a political/cultural point where Obama cannot afford to even point that out. We cannot effectively criticize McCain's most irresponsible, deluded, destructive policy proposal because people are so fricking dumb that almost everyone thinks a balanced budget (which would be tantamount to national suicide) sounds like a good thing.

(Raising taxes in the near future, even on the rich, is also destructive and I wish Obama would drop that proposal for the time being. Economic growth is waaaaay more important than deficits at this juncture.)

Sorry, but this is my theme for the day and I'm sticking with it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7435289

[BootinUp]

1. Roughly equivalent to 1929 mistakes. nt

[cliffordu]

2. I'm with you as far as shooting every tenth person on the freeway, can we make

it every fifth one???

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Herbert Hoover, Jr.

[whistler162]

10. But without Hoovers intelligence....

Hoover was a mediocre to lousy President but did superb work before and after being President.

[no_hypocrisy]

17. Agreed. Hoover actually was successful in providing massive food aid

to Europe after the war.

[mrJJ]

4. Mission Impossible

Impossible to do unless the US agrees to sell off some its gold reserves to cover what we already owe on the books... never mind the 20 Trillion thats off the books. Ceiling debt is already at $9 Trillion.

[lib2DaBone]

5. McCain is promising anything and everything....

The morons in the crowd are too stupid to even stop and think if it is at all possible. "Two chickens in every pot, two cars in every garage, a pony for Susie and a Firetruck for little Johnny, and free Ice Cream for Everybody!" YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY USA-USA-USA-USA

[uponit7771]

12. Right, there's no need to believe ANYTHING McCain says right now, he sounds desperate

[verges]

18. ICE CRREAM!!!!!

YEE_HAW!!!!

[Meshuga]

6. He might as well go out there and say that he promises to make all Americans rich...

...by the end of his term.

[PretzelWarrior]

7. YOU ARE WRONG about raising taxes

I don't know what you're even talking about. This crisis has NOTHING to do with someone who makes $300K per year having to pay some more in taxes.

It is about credit markets. We need to fix the wider symptoms of economic problems by being able to follow through with some of Obama's proposals to create some help for middle class.

Don't tell me you're one of those LAFFER curve type people.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

8. Thanks for the straw man

John Maynard Keynes and JFK were not "LAFFER curve type people"

The Laffer curve is an absurd extrapolation of the underlying truth that both government spending and tax cuts are stimulative. Irresponsible application of sound theory does not refute the under-lying theory.

The problem with the Laffer curve is that is suggested that tax cuts always INCREASE revenue. No sane person believes that.

It is entirely separate from the question of whether tax cuts are stimulative.

I am arguing for deficit spending, which is the opposite of the Laffer curve people who deny tax cuts cause deficits.

[Roland99]

19. The only deficit spending that makes sense now is make-work legislation.

Further bailing out of the top won't fix the leaky boat underneath.

[uponit7771]

9. McCain sounds like he'll say or do anything to win right now...

[uponit7771]

11. Don't understand why NOT raise taxes back to RayGun days on people making 250k? They're NOT going to

...stop spending and they don't pay fair share right now.

Yes, Obama is talking about Robin Hood tactics right now and I don't mind seeing that most of Bush's tax breaks were aimed at the 250k and above and look what that did to deficits.

I don't see how deficits that aren't in line with growth are good to a countries currency.

[anigbrowl]

16. Well, raising taxes may not be the right thing to do during a recession

You make hay when the sun shines, not when it's winter. So it might be worth postponing tax raises and running larger deficits for a year or two in order to get the economy growing again, then gently raise taxes when profits and income are going, rather than when they're on the way down. In general, it makes sense to spend during a recession and save during periods of growth. 'Revenge taxation' doesn't necessarily solve problems as some believe.

Mind, this only scratches the surface of fiscal policy. It's a complex subject.

[ieoeja]

20. Raising taxes *can* be an incentive to invest.

I have often wondered if the economy does so much better under Democrats simply because the investor class re-invest their profits during Democratic administrations figuring to cash-out, i.e take their profits, when a future Republican administration lowers taxes.

It could be that by promising those future tax-cuts, the Republicans actually help create a better economy when the Democrats are in power!

[BeyondGeography]

13. Once we're out of a recession, we must restore pre-Bush levels of taxation on the wealthy

Obama has already said he won't raise taxes if the economy is shrinking.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

14. Thank you for understanding!

Once we're out of a recession we must restore pre-Bush levels of taxation on the wealthy

[Overseas]

15. I agree that McLurch is really idiotic economically.

But I also want to see the rich pay their fair share.
I'd like to see the cap on payroll income taxes removed. I can't stand it that a lawyer earning $400K pays the same taxes as a school administrator who earns $120K.

And I say PLEEEEEEASE go ahead and remove those Bush tax cuts for the super rich.

I like it that for 90% of us, Obama's plan will lower our taxes. It's about time.

Give the tax cuts to us consumers and we will spend. That will stimulate economic growth.

[Poseidan]

21. let's not destroy the economy, please

But maybe we could change it into something sane, when the time is right? Paying based on what society values... society though, tends to value the wrong things. People are idiots. Corporations encourage stupidity, so they can sell their sucker customers even more crap.

Besides, how are we becoming a richer nation by sending our money to other countries? This notion of spend rather than save seems to be at the heart of our economic problems. The more money we save, the richer, as a nation and as individuals, we should be.

[markevil]

22. Idiots

Apparently there are people out there who think a 72 year old with 100 million in the bank cares about their jobs, taxes and mortgages.. Pretty F...ed up