Our problem is the lack of JOBS not the deficit.

[erodriguez]

Our problem is the lack of JOBS not the deficit.
Our problem is the lack of JOBS not the deficit.
Our problem is the lack of JOBS not the deficit.

Say it with me!

Our problem is the lack of JOBS not the deficit.


My Congressman Jerry Nadler said basically the same on the Brian Lehrer show today. In spite of the host continuously asking on how he would cut the budget, armed with facts Nadler made his point clear.

Our problem is the lack of JOBS not the deficit!

How hard is that? Other politicians and citizens need to step up.

Listen to a real Democrat speak:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/2011/feb/15/budget-congressman-nadler-reacts/

[rucky]

1. Yep.

Less people paying-in taxes. More people needing government services.

Maybe it's so obvious that people forget to mention it?

:shrug:

[shanti]

2. the jobs are gone.

the only way i see around it is to heavily tax corporations that outsource, which obama promised to do if elected.

*crickets*

[erodriguez]

3. Hah I got a heart! Thanks, secret admirer.

[jimlup]

4. +1000

[notesdev]

5. Our problem is both

You try spending nearly twice what you take in, see how long you last before your credit cards get canceled.

Only reason we have gotten away with it this long is that the USD is the world's reserve currency.

[uppityperson]

6. I see both of them as problems.

[obxhead]

7. If the problem is the deficit

then the real cause of the deficit should be attacked. Military and tax cuts.

Military spending, war, and tax cuts have caused our deficit. Granny getting a tiny monthly check and a few pills did not.

[Elwood P Dowd]

8. Republican tax breaks for the rich and the giant corporations

has caused a massive revenue shortage. Republican trade/outsourcing policies have shipped millions of jobs out of the country, causing even fewer jobs and even more revenue shortages. The combined budget and current account deficits starting with Reagan now exceed 20 trillion dollars! Cutting spending will create even more job losses as less money is available to spur demand. The cycle will eventually end in a ful-blown depression.

[taught_me_patience]

9. The deficit/debt is also a problem

And the fact that it is so huge is hampering our ability to ignite the economy.

[erodriguez]

10. Sorry, I'm not buying it.

When politicians and the media continue to throw out the "shared sacrifice" meme in order to destroy public safety nets, reduce the taxes on the rich and make war, I know it is BS.

We do have problems in the long term but don't fall for the shock doctrine nonsense. It is all about one thing, greed.

[obxhead]

11. No, the economy is being hampered by big business

hording capital, outsourcing jobs, and stagnant wages while the cost of living has skyrocketed.

[EstimatedProphet]

15. Not true

[Starry Messenger]

12. k&r

[Chris_Texas]

13. No

Not exactly. See, there is no one problem. There are problems, and the deficit is a huge one.

While it can be argued that the outsourcing of American jobs contributed to these deficits, there is more to the story than just that, and even where those jobs to return (and they never will) the added tax revenue would not be nearly enough to cover the spending we have done over the last twenty years.

Let's put this into perspective. Bill Clinton was, for his day, one of the biggest borrowers in history. Over his eight years in office he wracked up an incredible 1.5 trillion in new debt. And while the boom of the dot-com bubble allowed him to end his presidency with a somewhat balanced budged, the fact remains that the amount of debt he added was incredible.

Then we had Bush, who made Clinton look like an amateur when it came to borrow and spend. Bush borrowed more money then every President in history, including Clinton, combined. And that's only counting what he put on budget. He added all kinds of new spending, mega-spending, that was never even funded. He left that mess for his successor to deal with. The result is that Obama inherited an economy in complete collapse and a 1.2 trillion deficit (if I recall the Jan CBO report correctly). Obama has, of course, added to this with his own programs (though in truth, his additions have been comparatively modest).

The problem is this: We are now 1.5 trillion plus in the red every year forever and climbing. And this is with unsustainably low interest rates. When the rates we are forced to pay go up, and they will, the interest on our debt will rapidly become the single largest expense, and the amount we will be forced to try and borrow will explode. This is not some doomsday fantasy, it is real and it is here now.

Obama cannot hire you. He can't get you a job. The government, state and local, is broke. The global mega-corporations have all the cash and they are not going to give it back. And when it all comes crashing down the "Black Muslim Socialist" and the labor movement is gonna get the blame. It's fucked up, it makes me absolutely furious, but there it is. Our kids, or in the case of some reading this, grandkids, are inheriting a second-world nation drowning in debt. They will face a future in which hunger is a way of life, healthcare something that they get when the doctors from other prosperous nations fly in, slave labor conditions, child labor, poluted air and water, and slums.

And they will look at the baby boomers alive today and they will say, "They inherited the greatest nation in the world, unimaginable wealth, and they used every bit of it throwing a party for themselves."

[EstimatedProphet]

17. Obama could hire people, if he tried

The fact is, we are not at the point that we are cut off, not by any means. If the federal government were to put a hiring program in play right now, it would not be stopped by borrowing from other countries. We still have good credit. What would happen is that we would have more people back to work, which means more people that have a taxable income, and therefore more tax revenues. An expanded federal workforce right now would be a good thing in comparison to what is currently happening to the economy, because it would be promising to those countries who have lended us money.

The only thing really stopping Obama from hiring people en masse is the repubs and the teabillies - and neither of them want such a thing, for different reasons.

[EstimatedProphet]

14. More jobs equals a smaller deficit

That's the math. More people working means more people paying taxes, which means more tax revenues. That's why a government hiring program works, regardless of what the teabilles say. More working people pay more taxes, and things start to balance out.

[Chris_Texas]

22. no

Respectfully, this is as silly as the teabagger "tax cuts for the rich always pay for themselves!" nonsense. Every dollar that the government spends must either be borrowed or taken from someone (even if the government just prints the money it is still simply taking it from everyone who currently holds a dollar).

I fully support a massive government works program, but please let us leave fantasy to the teabaggers.

[EstimatedProphet]

24. Yes

More people working provides more money flowing through the economy, plus more people who have an income for taxable purposes, all other things being equal. Now, of course full employment at minimum wage versus only half the working population employed at $1 million per year means less revenue, but if the rate of pay remains the same, more people employed will mean higher revenues in taxes.

BTW the government doesn't simply "take" people's money. It bills them for services they use. Different thing entirely.

[HEyHEY]

16. Can't it be both?

[OhioChick]

18. Someone gets it n/t

[DefenseLawyer]

19. In the long run our problem is low wages

In the short run unemployment is too high, but really it's stagnant wages for the last 40 years that has crushed demand, destroyed savings and put everyone in debt for life.

[jtuck004]

20. "In Harmony" n/t

[old mark]

21. K&R- THe GOPers are merely repeating the cut all government and taxes

theme that has been their entire program for several decades. And the democrats have been saying "Me, too"! for just about as long.


mark

[defendandprotect]

23. Both are the problem ... wars are bankrutping the Treasury .... MIC bankrupting us!!