Mc-Brain Economics II

Obama is the true financial r****d. Raising taxes in this time of economic uncertainty is absolutely stupid. So is limiting free trade.

 

Oh this is rich. So the Republicans are all riding the short bus while the Dems are oh so smart, right. If you believe that the world is really that simple, perhaps it is not half the country that has an IQ deficiency.

There are polls stating that it is a statistical dead heat. I cannot fathom how you can say that there is no way in hell a person can win a statistical dead heat.

See Carter, Jimmy and Bush, George W.

 

I think its only fair to have a Democratic TJ and Bigtexxx on this board. Maybe shore has a brother too?

 

yeah, Economics isn't his strong point. I see this as a strength. McCain knows he's not great at Econ so he surrounds himself with people that are. Instead of someone that thinks they know what to do and doesn't listen to their advisors. Like Bush and Colin Powell...

 

free trade? so you want free trade?

so you want cheaply-made imported products to flow over our borders into our stores and have people buy them instead of american products? that basically means that we're spending our money to buy goods from other countries' factories? or in other words, you want money flowing OUT of the US?

raising taxes? raising taxes on the rich, to cut down on luxury expenditures, to in turn spend on general public benefits, to increase disposable income for the middle and lower classes, to stimulate consumption from the bottom up... you're saying that's bad?

economics? what the hell are economics anyway, who needs them when you can make unjustified statements.

 

There are significant losses associated with both trade restrictions and taxation. Basically, any time you move away from what the market would do naturally, you can expect the nation as a whole to lose out because producers and consumers are no longer acting in their best interests. This, of course, is assuming that the market's equilibrium is optimal, that one person's decision to buy or produce a product doesn't affect others. There are some cases where certain trade restrictions can be said to benefit a country (for instance, a country large enough to affect prices can manage a net gain from a tariff), but these gains are counteracted by other costs (such as retaliation by other countries).

There's a lot more to say, but I don't have time right now. Basically, economics is important, and it has answers to a lot of your concerns. I'm saying this as someone who certainly qualifies as a "liberal", and who probably shares some of your aims for society (more equality, for instance).

In general, I think far too many voters make decisions on economic issues without really understanding the economics of those issues. On the left, there are people who only see the negative effects of trade. On the right, there are those who fail to see the problems of negative externalities. I think perhaps some economics should be required in public schools, or at least integrated into the 12 years of social studies that everyone takes.

 

Raising taxes => balancing the budget => making the dollar stronger => making gas relatively cheaper => people will have more $$$ in their pockets to spend at Walmart => economic recovery.

Stupid is as stupid does.

 

W in 2000 (and arguably today) was weak in foreign affairs, so he made Cheney his VP. How did that turn out?

 

Or, another way of looking at it:

Raising taxes=>people will have less $$$ in their pockets=>economic slowdown.

Not saying that's necessarily the case. Some economists are advocating a gas tax hike; I'm not sure how many are siding with McCain on lowering taxes on gas. However, taxes in general have a way of cooling the economy.

 

I am for balancing the budget, but there are other ways to balance the budget than raising taxes. Thanks for the kindergarten analysis, though.

preciate it, brah

 

The whole raising taxes thing is boogey man. The taxes that either Democratic candidate would raise would not be on anyone making less 250K a year. In other words the people who already aren't having problems having money to spend on the economy won't have to worry about it. They can pay taxes like they did in the 90's and still have cash to spend.

 

i agree, a better education for most would be great. i'd definitely take more time to brush up my understanding if i could.

my stance on free trade is that with china and india ramping up, we need to revitalize our manufacturing... we've got the capacity, but our goods and efficiency simply aren't up to snuff. in a world where our middle and lower classes are struggling, we need to protect and provide job security to stimulate bottom consumption, and i think a significant improvement would be to stiffen our trade borders to encourage american-made goods, and to penalize businesses for outsourcing and seeking cheaper foreign resources. otherwise, we'll get overrun by the sheer manpower from Asia, despite the influx of EU money because of their trade advantage. my 2c.

 

sounds good to me. it could be a combination of raising taxes on the rich, and cutting spending on useless things like wars (offense, it's not really "defense" now, is it? )

 

You would be wrong. And, gasp, not for the first time.

If you are of the opinion that the federal gov can reduce spending, then pass what you are smoking around. It obviously some very good *****.

You have mistaken my analysis with those from the current White House. Remember the tax cuts like the Iraqi Occupation will pay for themselves.

 

If we want to stay competitive with the rest of the world, we need our infrastructure to stay top notch.

Roads, aging power plants, fuel costs (though our energy is still cheapest in the world) water availability (essential to growth in western US cities) and even the airlines are all facing challenges that no politician seems too serious about.
We have great health care but it adds a burden to manufacturers and we need to attack the issue from two sides. It must be made more affordable without crippling the current system, and help manufacturers with reduced transportation and energy costs relative to the rest of the world. Our great infrastructure is the "force multiplier" of the economy and we ignore it at our own peril.

If we solve the energy problem, or simply make real progress vs the world, the U.S. could again lead the world in steel and aluminum production for example... and not having to ship it across the world makes it cheaper to build things here, etc.

This rant has strayed from the topic at hand lol.

 

You attack someone without providing any type of solution. I don't think raising taxes is good. I would prefer to cut the defense budget 80%. We would still be spending more that anyone in the world, but at least we wouldn't be spending as much as the whole world combined.

 

If you owned a business manufacturing some item (shoes for example), why on earth would you pay an American laborer $20 per hour to work in an expensive factory with tons of regulation, when you could pay someone overseas to do the same job, work longer hours, have cheaper facilities and pay them only $2 per hour or less. If the American economy is dependent on manufacturing and we do not make ourselves more competitive in the labor market, then we are doomed.

Instead, Americans need to get jobs that cannot be easily outsourced (primarily services), and benefit from cheap imports to keep prices low.

 

I agree(I only read the first line saying we need to maintain a top notch infrastructure) but don't forget technological infrastucture as well. The internet is a highway tooo!!!

 

assuming raised taxes mean raised tax revenues. that's not a perfect correlation.