How Washington's politicians downgraded America.

[BingoT]

How Washington's politicians downgraded America.
The downgrading of America is a humiliation for a nation constantly fretting about its potential decline. It reinforces a very common belief here, that the squabbling politicians in Washington are to blame for many of the country's ills.

It was indeed a major theme of candidate Obama that "business as usual" couldn't continue and, by an effort of will, America had to come together.

The decision by Standard & Poor's to push America into the second division, when it comes to trustworthiness about paying its bills, puts the USA below the UK, Germany, France, Singapore, Finland and 14 other countries.

The reason it gives is what all America has been saying: Washington doesn't work. The S&P report says: "The political brinkmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed."

A clumsy sentence, yet it encapsulates the frustration of many Americans. They don't think too much of the plan they did eventually come up with at the last minute.

"Our opinion is that elected officials remain wary of tackling the structural issues required to effectively address the rising US public debt burden in a manner consistent with a 'AAA' rating and with 'AAA' rated".

They warn America's debt will continue to balloon and they have little hope of the politicians fixing it.

They say they think dealing with the debt remains a "contentious and fitful process". They say no-one is serious about dealing with the programmes that eat up money, like Medicare, health care for the elderly.

They single out Republicans for ruling out tax rises. "It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options... Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues."

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[felicie]

Sounds pretty depressing doesn't it. That's why I had to take a break from all this crap. I haven't watched the news or read anything about politics, the debt ceiling, bla bla bla for 2 or 3 weeks now and it's really been nice lol. Like being in my 20's again and not giving a damn what went on outside my little group. Who needs it. You sure as hell can't change anything. All you can do is let the devil run it's course and hope like hell it wont be as bad next time.

 

[ksech]

It's really sad, we have had pitiful choices when it comes to candidates for office. Our politicians are in such denial over this debt situation, someone needs to come up with a 12 step program for them!

And as a slight derail, of all the first ladies who have come before her and laid a foundation for issues that truly mattered, Michelle Obama really wants to be remembered as the one who tackled fast food??? WTF?

 

[felicie]

Lol hell if I know. Get out of my lunch bag lady, that's what I'd tell her.

 

[gloria460]

It's really sad, we have had pitiful choices when it comes to candidates for office. Our politicians are in such denial over this debt situation, someone needs to come up with a 12 step program for them!

And as a slight derail, of all the first ladies who have come before her and laid a foundation for issues that truly mattered, Michelle Obama really wants to be remembered as the one who tackled fast food??? WTF?

derail/


I find that comment not true and useless. I understand that we may not like who is doing what but I don't know why you just decided that she was just focusing on fast food. There's quite a bit to Michelle Obama and it doesn't include fast food. I could have listed a ton of stuff but you get my point I hope.

She also sent representatives to schools and advocated public service
She has begun advocating on behalf of military families
Obama has become an advocate of her husband's policy priorities by promoting bills that support it. Following the enactment of the Pay equity law for women.
She is notable for her support from military families and some Republicans
After a year as First Lady, she undertook her first lead role in an administrationwide initiative. Her goal was to make progress in reversing the 21st century trend of childhood obesity
This effort does not supplant her other efforts: supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, promoting the arts and arts education, and fostering healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country /end of derail

 

[Silencio]

couple of interesting links about Goldman Sachs :

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And regarding the debt read this:

2001 vs. 2012

The U.S. budget situation has deteriorated significantly since 2001, when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecast average annual surpluses of approximately $850 billion from 2009–2012. The average deficit forecast in each of those years as of June 2009 was approximately $1,215 billion. The New York Times analyzed this roughly $2 trillion "swing," separating the causes into four major categories along with their share:

Recessions or the business cycle (37%);
Policies enacted by President Bush (33%);
Policies enacted by President Bush and supported or extended by President Obama (20%); and
New policies from President Obama (10%).

CBO data is based only on current law, so policy proposals that have yet to be made law are not included in their analysis. The article states that "President Obama’s agenda ... is responsible for only a sliver of the deficits", but that he "...does not have a realistic plan for reducing the deficit..."[68] Presidents do not, acting alone, have constitutional authority to levy taxes or spend money; all such proposals must originate in Congress, but the President has a veto over new laws, and his priorities influence Congressional action.[69]

Peter Orszag, the OMB Director under President Obama, stated in a November 2009 that of the $9 trillion in deficits forecast for the 2010–2019 period, $5 trillion are due to programs from the prior administration, including tax cuts from 2001 and 2003 and the unfunded Medicare Part D. Another $3.5 trillion are due to the financial crisis, including reductions in future tax revenues and additional spending for the social safety net such as unemployment benefits. The remainder are stimulus and bailout programs related to the crisis.[70]

The Pew Center reported in April 2011 the cause of a $12.7 trillion shift in the debt situation, from a 2001 CBO forecast of a cumulative $2.3 trillion surplus by 2011 versus the estimated $10.4 trillion public debt we actually face in 2011. The major drivers were:

Revenue declines due to the recession, separate from the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003: 28%
Defense spending increases: 15%
Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003: 13%
Increases in net interest: 11%
Other non-defense spending: 10%
Other tax cuts: 8%
Obama Stimulus: 6%
Medicare Part D: 2%
Other reasons: 7%[71]

source:

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[jetset]

Thanks for an interesting and factual post, Silencio, although I read recently that the US deficit was in fact currently 14.2 trillion and sure to rise due to ongoing wars, domestic political decisions, global economic conditions and rising interest rates on national borrowing following the S&P downgrade.

I'm surprised that the percentage due to bail-outs looks so (relatively) small, given the massive amounts deployed - I guess some of that must already have been repaid.

A depressing picture no matter how the indebtedness numbers vary, but a scenario from which I am confident the US will ultimately emerge despite its political differences - mainly because the majority of Americans are innovative and hard working.

But I suspect it's going to be a long, hard haul, and it is essential that the politicians put the brakes on overspending wherever they can. The same pretty much applies everywhere imo.

 

[footdr]

Amazing we were AAA as long as we were...

Do you think a corporation or business would hold a AAA rating if they had to borrower billions of dollars each month to pay their bills? Doubt it.

Why do Republicans not want it to be easy for Gov to raise taxes but easier to cut spending? Duh! Because until spending is cut and more in line with what current revenue is they don't want taxes raised to accomodate more spending. As a "real tax payer" to the tune of over 140,000.00 a year; I refuse to pay another dime until they stop spending more than they recieve in revenue. Especially since those earning millions and up pay less taxes and small business such as mine who are not incorporated paid 50% of the taxes and 51% of workers pay nothing in federal income tax.

We need a balanced budget, period.

 

[felicie]

I wonder if the American 'public' can hire lawyers to do a big civil suit or what do they call it, class action? against their own government for mishandling money that doesn't belong to them? I generally don't care for all the suing that goes on these days but it sure would be easier than throwing a revolution don't you think? They need to get their act together real soon. All of them.

 

[footdr]

Totally agree

I wonder if the American 'public' can hire lawyers to do a big civil suit or what do they call it, class action? against their own government for mishandling money that doesn't belong to them? I generally don't care for all the suing that goes on these days but it sure would be easier than throwing a revolution don't you think? They need to get their act together real soon. All of them.

that is why raising taxes is requires a higher percentage of votes than does cutting spending under the Republicans "balanced budget bill". In essense it says if you are going to raise taxes it better be to pay down the debt and not to pay for new costly programs or to borrow more money.

I am not willing to pay more taxes(our business already pays over $150,000.00 /yr, all of our employees health premiums, 100% of our employee profit sharing contributions. Due to the PPACA we will likely be forced to contribute less to the profit sharing plan and worse yet; drop Medicare and medicaid patients(not current but any new won't be seen). We either do this or go bankrupt and our employees lose their jobs as do we lose our ability to earn.

 

[Silencio]

Thanks for an interesting and factual post, Silencio, although I read recently that the US deficit was in fact currently 14.2 trillion and sure to rise due to ongoing wars, domestic political decisions, global economic conditions and rising interest rates on national borrowing following the S&P downgrade.

I'm surprised that the percentage due to bail-outs looks so (relatively) small, given the massive amounts deployed - I guess some of that must already have been repaid.

A depressing picture no matter how the indebtedness numbers vary, but a scenario from which I am confident the US will ultimately emerge despite its political differences - mainly because the majority of Americans are innovative and hard working.

But I suspect it's going to be a long, hard haul, and it is essential that the politicians put the brakes on overspending wherever they can. The same pretty much applies everywhere imo.

My pleasure, good solid ground for the start of a debate
In my opinion republicans only put fear into the working class and small businesses, you guys have any idea what a foreigner thinks when he watches fox news.. it's pure propaganda. They don't care about the working class, I think they only care about being loyal to the richest of the rich.. and keeping them as friends

Anyhow like me and a couple of foreigners here have been saying it's these people who have to pay taxes, have a look at this:

1) Exxon Mobil made $19 billion in profits in 2009. Exxon not only paid no federal income taxes, it actually received a $156 million rebate from the IRS, according to its SEC filings.

2) Bank of America received a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, although it made $4.4 billion in profits and received a bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department of nearly $1 trillion.

3) Over the past five years, while General Electric made $26 billion in profits in the United States, it received a $4.1 billion refund from the IRS.

4) Chevron received a $19 million refund from the IRS last year after it made $10 billion in profits in 2009.

5) Boeing, which received a $30 billion contract from the Pentagon to build 179 airborne tankers, got a $124 million refund from the IRS last year.

6) Valero Energy, the 25th largest company in America with $68 billion in sales last year received a $157 million tax refund check from the IRS and, over the past three years, it received a $134 million tax break from the oil and gas manufacturing tax deduction.

7) Goldman Sachs in 2008 only paid 1.1 percent of its income in taxes even though it earned a profit of $2.3 billion and received an almost $800 billion from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury Department.

8) Citigroup last year made more than $4 billion in profits but paid no federal income taxes. It received a $2.5 trillion bailout from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury.

9) ConocoPhillips, the fifth largest oil company in the United States, made $16 billion in profits from 2007 through 2009, but received $451 million in tax breaks through the oil and gas manufacturing deduction.

10) Over the past five years, Carnival Cruise Lines made more than $11 billion in profits, but its federal income tax rate during those years was just 1.1 percent.

below, release from Sen. Sanders....

Tax Time? Not for Giant Corporations

source:

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I wonder if the American 'public' can hire lawyers to do a big civil suit or what do they call it, class action? against their own government for mishandling money that doesn't belong to them? I generally don't care for all the suing that goes on these days but it sure would be easier than throwing a revolution don't you think? They need to get their act together real soon. All of them.

How about you start with your previous President then? He's rich enough to get himself a good lawyer

 

[Silencio]

funny but not a laughing matter :O

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[Zoozie]

It is not just the politicians to blame...

Even as non US citizen I am worried about the development over there. The decline has been going on for the last 20 years. It is not just the politicians to blame, but the
general population as well. They are voting for the politicians in a democratic country. Ie. why does the Tea Party stand so strong? I really dont get it.
Reason, logic and science are being thwarted by religious maniacs(which are now also politicians). Intelligent Design are taught in schools in many states. Come on...
The general education level (not by years, but by skills) in US are below many third world countries. To me it is obvious reason and science is the way forward. That was
how US gained it superpower status last century.


You can not blame the politicians for this:

 

[Silencio]

Funny graph..
So not saying the graph is 100% fact. But a weird conclusion would be the countries who are the most religious are the least sympathetic to poor people. Go figure lol.
If Jezus/Jesus was alive today, he wouldn't be pleased to say the least..
Never understood the church for that matter even when I was a child, the stories about Jezus/Jesus telling people to leave all their possessions behind and follow him. And there you have the church with all their gold, art, huge buildings and so on. And most of all the power it had through the ages, and what they did with it..

Even as non US citizen I am worried about the development over there. The decline has been going on for the last 20 years. It is not just the politicians to blame, but the
general population as well. They are voting for the politicians in a democratic country. Ie. why does the Tea Party stand so strong? I really dont get it.
Reason, logic and science are being thwarted by religious maniacs(which are now also politicians). Intelligent Design are taught in schools in many states. Come on...
The general education level (not by years, but by skills) in US are below many third world countries. To me it is obvious reason and science is the way forward. That was
how US gained it superpower status last century.


You can not blame the politicians for this:
View attachment 28647

 

[bryand]

Thanks for an interesting and factual post, Silencio, although I read recently that the US deficit was in fact currently 14.2 trillion and sure to rise due to ongoing wars, domestic political decisions, global economic conditions and rising interest rates on national borrowing following the S&P downgrade.

I'm surprised that the percentage due to bail-outs looks so (relatively) small, given the massive amounts deployed - I guess some of that must already have been repaid.

A depressing picture no matter how the indebtedness numbers vary, but a scenario from which I am confident the US will ultimately emerge despite its political differences - mainly because the majority of Americans are innovative and hard working.

But I suspect it's going to be a long, hard haul, and it is essential that the politicians put the brakes on overspending wherever they can. The same pretty much applies everywhere imo.

I think you meant to say the US national debt is 14.2 trillion (14.765 now . The yearly deficit is currently 1.3 trillion.

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[luarod]

Hi

This thread is really interesting, more for me as a foreigner who lives in a country where political corruption is totally normal and everything is going to shit. I think that you can't only blame the politicians on charge now, some things come from previous decisions and also there is the whole economic crisis thanks to our friend the banks (among other things).

For me it's not only a matter or raising taxes or cutting expenses (normally harming the working class), The crisis has shown that the system is not working so a lot of things have to change. sadly I'm not intelligent enough to know an alternative.

 

[jetset]

Spain certainly is at the forefront of the economic crisis, and recently the government has been engaged in selling off assets like 30 percent of the national lottery as a means of reducing its debt burden.

Unfortunately there are no easy answers to this crisis, as nations throughout Europe and America are discovering. Just way too much debt accumulated and a dreary situation in prospect all round.

 

[luarod]

Spain certainly is at the forefront of the economic crisis, and recently the government has been engaged in selling off assets like 30 percent of the national lottery as a means of reducing its debt burden.

Unfortunately there are no easy answers to this crisis, as nations throughout Europe and America are discovering. Just way too much debt accumulated and a dreary situation in prospect all round.

Yes, the national lottery thing is just crazy.... That is why I think is not a matter of raising taxes or cutting expenses. In Madrid they are trying to privatize some of the public services to decrease the province's debt but still they are stealing and expending lots of money in stupid things. They should stop stealing our money and decide better where the money should go, we have shitty management.

On the other hand, USA has their own problems and characteristics so it's a different situation, that is why I find a post like this interesting, I get to see other peoples opinion of the bad situation we are all in.