Obama, Phil Gramm and Dr. Phil
That duddering old fuss, Phil Gramm, the genius behind McCain’s “balanced budget” of which no one can explain how it will actually be balanced, flubbed about the economy and Americans yesterday. Gramm stated that if McCain wins he’d be burdened with a sluggish economy weighted down by Americans overly concerned with America’s economic decline. Here’s the interview.
“You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. “We may have a recession; we haven’t had one yet.”
“We have sort of become a nation of whiners,” he said. “You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy,” he said.
McCain repudiated the statement, apparently calling your electorate a load of whiners is poor strategy for a presidential campaign. Gramm’s simple view of growth apparently also doesn’t account for the 6th month of job losses in a row. Ahhh, I’m sure those unemployed American families can keep themselves warm at night with the glowing knowledge that despite their woes the nation still has 1 percent growth going on.
What has transformed this moment from run of the mill campaign flub to a truly classic election moment? The Obama response:
-Marc-
Never mind your whining article proves Phil Gramm’s point – that we are a nation of whiners. Anybody under 45 doesn’t even know what a bad economy is. And McCain’s response just proves he’s another in a long line of weak, pandering politicians.
Since full employment is considered between 4-5% unemployed according to economists, 5.5% unemployment is hardly a reason to jump from the roof, though it would please me greatly if a few of you slacking lefties would do so.
When Obamaist, your new messiah, slaps his increased capital gains taxes, removes the FICA cap, porks thru his windfall profit’s taxes, socializes medicine {ad nauseum} you will.
It actually would tickle me to watch liberals (or is it progressives) get a real squeeze for once vis-a-vis the Dimmah Carter days, then discovering your clueless lefty leadership had been lying thru their teeth.
Except the whining would be come completely unbearable.
Well Tex,
Luckily some people have brains enough to know the signs of a sagging economy are indicated by much more than unemployment rates and GDP.
For example, I currently live in an area with a 6% unemployment rate, only .5% more than the national rate as you indicated. However, average income hovers right round 24,000 a year and currently, gas eats up around a quarter of their yearly income, and may get worse.
So I suppose that they really shouldn’t be whining about having to figure out how to pay their rent, for food and Healthcare with the other 18,000 dollars a year they have left?
No, you know, I think you’re right. They should be thanking God that only 6% of them are unemployed.
Yea well Marc, tell your struggling neighbors with all the brains, you included, to solve this little disconnect concerning your saviour Obamaist when they cast their vote this November in dreams of brighter days…
Obamaist insists that to save the Great Ponzi Scheme, I mean Social Security, he’s going to axe the cap on FICA. Those employees of that small business or large corporation paying an average of $24K a year? They just got their taxes hiked 15% on any wage above 99K – even in your neck of the woods, that’s not uncommon as you would like to believe.
But, in the same evening Tex heard this news: Obamaist’s campaign shill of a manager comes on and when asked what the real problem is with our economy, he says (and I quote), “the problem is Alan, real wages haven’t kept up with inflation for the middle class! We must demand that this be resolved and this is Senator Obama’s intent!”
Why don’t you take a poll in your “neighborhood” and ask the employers paying $24 a year to your neighbors with all the brains how much they intend to raise wages in the coming years when their corporate taxes and FICA are being raised dramatically? They’ll smile as the mention the words, “work reduction.”
Got news for faux economists like you Marc…
$24K may be looking pretty sweet when all of you are living off unemployment and COBRA. Of course, you won’t need to drive unless to the credit union to cash the unemployment check.
Right Tex,
Cause a war (two of them actually), increasing health-care costs, and the lowering in value of the American dollar have a been a ton of help to the economy.
No tex, I’m not an economist, but I can read in what you’ve said that you’re sure as shit not an economist either and if you are, you’re much more content to be a partisan shill. Why? Well for instance your unwillingness to propose solutions based in facts; you’d rather attack with a few one-liners and future inevitabilities covered with the unavoidable inevitability of American greed. Oh my! You mean sleazebag shareholders would rather cut workers (or substandard CEO’s) than accept a reduction in profit?
Gimme some news.
That is, and will continue to be the problem to work around in constructing solutions to our current economic woes. Many of us are still willing to sojourn forward and try to better the nation rather accept the status quo and a slowing economy brought on by the same ideology you seem to advocate.
Hey tex, work on some solutions and turn off the Limbaugh tapes for your rote memorization, K?
Oh, also the reason why the “brains” in my neighborhood are pulling down 24k or less may have less to do with a work ethic than it does many of them are black and this is Alabama.
Have they found a market solution for racism yet? If they have let me know.
Well, I tell you what Marc. I’ll take my MBA and my Rush Limbaugh tapes and compare it to a wannabee, college jumping journalist who doesn’t have an economic clue if that’s the choices were left with. Why don’t you list your credentials and accomplishments beyond “blogging” to certify you as an expert as you tacitly attest because that is certainly not how your About reads.
So let me give you a tip to try and rectify your poor existence: try living within your means and not with your hands out begging from a broken government – the only solution you libs can derive…
Being I’m in medicine and originally started in the hydrocarbon industry, I’m laughing at you about increasing health care costs and oil prices due to those bullying Republicans like Gramm. Surely even you aren’t that naive?
And why would I try to bridge a divide so wide? I will say this and it really is something you should set to memory – business cycles and historically trends up after time – just as will happen this time. The best thing government can do is to stay out of the way and manage the money supply. That is why us heartless conservatives know to invest in an index fund and forget about the chicken little crowd. Is that so hard to understand?
It would be a complete waste of time because you have little or no foundation from which to learn. It is obvious that you don’t understand the basics of business, economics or anything else of importance for that manner as indicated by the premise of this inane thread and your parroting the typical libbie meme.
Everything is defined as racist by you libs – except Obama’s spiritual advisor, of course? I know your crowd doesn’t have a clue to what tolerance means as you’ve perverted that word to mean just the opposite. But I didn’t realize “racist” was now in the lexicon of global “change”, fascist, nazi, or tolerance where you play the sematic games.
Yes, I have plenty of suggestions. But sharing them with you simply turns into a pissing contest because clowns like you don’t listen or debate – you rant.
Well Tex,
As I already clued you in I’m not an economist, nor do I pretend to be one. I am, however, a grassroots political organizer, and if I don’t get into more of the specifics of how and what I do you’ll have to forgive me because I could invalidate our non profits status by advertising both causes (my political and my day job) on this site.
My original post was of course, not about the economics, simply about how calling Americans whiners during a period of 6 month job losses is a stupid and politically unproductive thing to do Something I am qualified to say, and something any old dumbass should be able to see, as you yourself noticed it just creates pissing contests between both sides.
Also, excuse me for connecting racism to per capita income. I wasn’t jumping the racist card, I have defended, on multiple occasions, those who have been accused of being racist for disagreeing with Obama or any number of black political issues. It is our sovereign right to disagree as long as its intelligently. And I will say that Alabama currently has more counties under investigation for violations of the Voting Rights Act than any other state, so I don’t think I am out of line in making my assertion.
However, I will say a few things in response. The idea that you don’t benefit from the government is bullshit, and you know it too. I’m not going to bother to argue the numerous ways you do benefit, just try to see you argue how you don’t.
No, I don’t entirely blame health care costs and higher energy prices on the Republican party, I blame any one who has been in power and hasn’t engineered a solution; Democrat or Republican. Clinton or Bush.
Just as equally as I condemn anyone who so jumps to the defense of the same bunch of ninnies and starts shouting out gross generalizations about my party and ideological affiliation on the basis of one position; which is what gets us in a pissing match in the first place.
It’s you who creates that huge gap you reference Tex, not I. Sounds like you’ve been in the world a while, but I also don’t think I’m going beyond basic observances in saying you’ve got some growing up to do.
The idea that you don’t benefit from the government is bullshit, and you know it too. I’m not going to bother to argue the numerous ways you do benefit, just try to see you argue how you don’t.
I ought to receive some benefit – good grief, my wife and I paid well over $50K in federal taxes last year. You going to tell me my family received $50K in benefits? About the only benefit we receive, other than the military which I happily support, is to help support your lot.
You could do me a big favor. Get rid of all my so called benefits I receive, send me a bill for my part of the military bill per capita, and let me keep the money. We can call it even and I won’t trouble you again.
Let’s see, our benefits. We can’t even attend public schools because they suck so bad since your side took over the curriculum 40 years ago. And we certainly don’t want our children affiliated with the godless, lefty type and were forced to shell about about $20K a year for them to receive a good education K-12.
Both my wife and I max SS and we don’t hold much hope of receiving much more than a fraction of what we’ve put in. That would be a 13% increase in wages. Now if your idea of unity by socialism plan wins out, we might have to rethink.
As far as growing up, well maybe so. But I would care to wager that’s your standard line when somebody doesn’t agree with your assessment. Excuse me if I find you woefully blind and completely ignorant.
You should have listened to your parents.
I’m actually more of a centrist than my parents. Let them take over and you’d be really scared.