Debt Debate Killed Our Confidence

[dgibby]

Bill McInturf of Public Opinion Strategies, one of the smartest pollsters in the business, has just released research findings on the consequences of the debt debate that are jaw-dropping.


As a result of the politics of the debate—not just the outcome but the way it was handled—consumer confidence, interestingly, has dropped 15 points in two months to its fourth-lowest level since the survey began in 1952. The wrangling in Congress over the debt ceiling joins the Iraq invasion of Kuwait, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina in terms of impact on our national economic psyche.


"Make no mistake," McInturf notes, "this collapse of economic confidence is not an independent event driven only by economic reality. This sharp a drop in consumer confidence is a direct consequence of the lack confidence in our political system and its leaders."


As a result, American trust in government has collapsed, and along with it so has confidence in the economy. Which has only added to the ugly economic death spiral.

more at link:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/31/obama-faces-reelection-struggle-as-debt-debate-kills-consumer-confidence.html

[Brickbat]

1. Makes sense to me. So few people gave an actual shit about the debt/deficit issue; all we want is

jobs. The fact that suddenly everyone's telling us the the debt is the most important thing just underlines how out of touch all of Washington -- all the way up to Obama -- really is.

[dgibby]

4. I think it was the government's handling of the situation

rather than the actual debt ceiling that caused the problem. It pointed out just how dysfunctional Washington is.

[Brickbat]

15. Totally agree. The fact that they kept pushing and talking about it -- and not talking about jobs --

just made it clear where their fake priorities are.

[Bandit]

2. Well I have zero confidence that Obama will do the right thing and I know

beyond any shadow of doubt the Republicans will do the exact wrong thing every single time..The sad fact is though that Rublicans lead Obama around as if he were a little boy..

[Kurmudgeon]

7. Calling the president a "boy"? Seriously?

The GOP did what they did because they had the numbers to do so. Calling the President names doesn't change that fact.

[Tatiana]

11. He didn't call the President himself a "boy."

He said the Republicans lead him around as if he were one. I, for one agree. As a person of color it really makes me cringe to see how he lets Republicans continue to hand him proverbial "whippings" without finally standing up for HIMSELF (if not for us) and making the point that he will not entertain their blatant disrespect.

[dgibby]

13. Thank you.

You hit the nail squarely on the head.

[hifiguy]

18. Well said, and thank you. nt

[dgibby]

12. Nobody here is calling the President a "boy".

Reading comprehension is your friend. The phrase "as if he were" does not equate to "he is", but you know that, don't you?

[WI_DEM]

16. Stop making things up you know that he didn't call the president a 'boy'

[JDPriestly]

26. The GOP will discover in 2012 that it does not have the numbers

any more. The GOP ran in 2010 on a "where are the jobs" campaign. They got into office and started campaigning on "why is the debt so large" even though they should know that the three presidents who ran up the most debt were all from their party, the Republican Party.

Americans are going to look for a candidate who brings some solutions to the table -- and no Republican can seriously do that -- not after having started two wars neither of which is winnable, ruining the economy and then offering no solution to our dual problems -- recession and debt.

So, we may be in for some big surprises in 2012.

Americans generally vote for the person with the most promising view of the future -- and that ain't the Republicans for sure.

And not a single Republican can offer a plan that will work and brings hope to people. That is because we Americans all know what our problem is: too much of the money is concentrated in the hands of too few of the rich. They have created themselves an aristocracy, and that is what America was created to avoid.

[dgibby]

31. I hope you're right. n/t

[dgibby]

10. I agree. It's very disconcerting.

I realize their goal is to make him a one term President, but I find it terribly depressing that he enables them at every turn.

Instead of using the power of his office to call them out everytime they pull one of their destructive, stupid stunts, he comes across as aloof and disengaged. If he continues along this vein, Perry will eat his lunch AND drink his milkshake.

[RandiFan1290]

32. Like this?

Really tired of seeing the Democratic party act so subservient.

[Fumesucker]

3. Is the lack of confidence in our political system and leaders justified or not?

That's really the ultimate question..

[dgibby]

6. Absoutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Couple this with the zero jobs growth report that just came out today, and it amazes me that anyone who's paying even an iota of attention would approve of anything Washington does. I have a feeling that poll numbers for Obama and Congress are going to be dropping like a stone. Wonder when they're going to call it what it really is, a depression.

[DaveJ]

5. No wonder, with the Tea Party on its way to destroying our contry

Of course everyone is preparing for disaster.

Back when I was young we feared having one insane person with their finger on the "red button."

I never would have predicted that not just one insane person would gain control, but the majority of government leaders would be crazy.

So yeah, no wonder people are frightened.

[dgibby]

8. The inmates have taken over the asylum.

I feel like the government is playing a starring role in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

[Fumesucker]

9. I really wish it was just the Tea Party..

I think that could be handled..

IMO, it's more like sixty to ninety percent of the politicians and almost all the M$M.

And the courts haven't helped either..

[Telly Savalas]

14. To call what happened a "debate" drains that word of meaning

and that's not meant to be a joke.

I went into it with a rather modest view of what good can come out of Washington in our current political environment, but that fiasco made me even more pessimistic and destroyed the little confidence I had. So it's no surprise that the economy is also showing weakening confidence.

Joseph Stiglitz put it well in a recent column:

the extreme right threatened to shut down the US government, confirming what game theory suggests: when those who are irrationally committed to destruction if they don’t get their way confront rational individuals, the former prevail.

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/stiglitz141/English

Obama's relations with the GOP are akin to a parent dealing with a toddler having a meltdown: the best efforts are only going to marginally improve results. Nevertheless, I think Obama could be playing his hand better so he doesn't get a free pass.

[dgibby]

17. I agree with Stiglitz.

These people are hellbent on destruction. Eric Cantor's high school yearbook says it all: "I want what I want when I want it". Someone on tv last night referred to him as a manchild. I don't think he's even that mature, and that's what passes as leadership in the GOP.

[hifiguy]

19. Most people outgrow that phase of development

by the time they are 6 or 7. Cantor is a moral and intellectual pygmy.

[DCBob]

20. 100% correct.

and the blame is squarely on the t-bagger/Republicans.

[Cool Logic]

21. $14.7 Trillion in debt is enough to make anyone lose confidence...

[hifiguy]

27. So go back and talk to Chimpy, Cheney and Raygun

They're the ones who ran up most of those trillions with their tax cuts for the wealthy and privatized wars of convenience.

[Cool Logic]

28. Not exactly....for not a single President of the US has ever spent a dime.

Spending bills must originate in the House and then must be passed by Congress as a whole

[hifiguy]

29. I a perfectly aware of that fact

but Presidents set priorities.

I shall not engage your petty pedantics beyond this.

[Cool Logic]

30. Well, that depends on the President...as well as the makeup of the House and Senate...

In any case, it doesn't appear that it matters who is in control, for the results have been pretty much the same no matter who is in charge.

[scheming daemons]

22. That was the teaparty plan all along

The economy was recovering up until the time the GOP took over the house.

Their GOAL was to stall it... so they could win in 2012.

[dgibby]

23. Agreed.

They should all be charged with treason for overthowing their vow to the Constitution in favor of their vow to Grover Norquist.

[deacon]

24. This is what the GOP wanted. They are succeeding. They need Obama to fail and admitted it. Why so

words in articles when the truth is in an easy summation? Why so many words when anyone with two eyes can see what the GOP has done since Obama was sworn in?

[dgibby]

25. And yet, he continues to placate them.

Most self-destructive political behavior I think I've ever seen in someone so bright.

[FiveGoodMen]

33. OR ...

He's working with them.

Then it's collusion, not self-destruction.