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Our leaders are completely awake and always have been. They and their friends have made billions transferring wealth from the lower and middle class US to the business and investor class THEM. Rising oil prices are good for commodity traders. So are falling prices. As far a self financed retirements funded by stock or real estate investments are concerned, they are likely to be devastated by the inevitable crash in the next couple of years. This will be no problem for THEM but a big problem for most of US.
Right, but Chilean table grapes can be abandoned by Americans. Oil, at least at this point in time, cannot.
Well, you could always cut back on grapes to just once a month, and a sage person could also take steps to cut down on his oil and other energy use. What might be nice actually is if we had a national energy policy that recognized the problems that we have with a continuing oil dependency and seriously looked toward getting alternative energy programs up and running. Now that I think of it, we actually had that going on back in the late 70's, but then a certain Mr. Reagan came along and said all that was for wussies. Did away with the whole thing...even the tax credits for using alt-energy. One day, you could call up Sears and they'd come over and install solar panels on your roof, and between the tax credits and electricity savings, you were never out of pocket more than $0. The next day, the line had been disconnected. That whole burgeoning industry simply disappeared with the stroke of a pen. No use crying over spilt milk though. So maybe even 30 years too late, it's time we got to work on dissing oil altogether?
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Originally Posted by AnesthesiaMD
Right or wrong, this is why I called oil a hard currency. Because it is something that everybody needs, and the price is set internationally, free from any individual currency value.
You think oil is bad, try dealing with water. At least there are alternatives to oil.
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Originally Posted by AnesthesiaMD
Also, Bernanke didn't speak much because he didn't really have any other answers besides "thats congresses job", "thats not my mandate", or "I agree". He managed to give long, thought out answers to the other congressmen. When questioned by Paul, the cat suddenly got his tongue.
Don't know, just watched the clip, and from what I saw, Bernanke wasn't given too many openings. This was mostly speechifying by Rep. Paul. And you have to take into account that almost everything Paul says on this score could be from 110 to 120 years ago, and that he's so far out of the mainstream as to be in the class of the Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on your door. They're obviously sincere and concerned, so you hate to just insult them. All you can really do is sort of nod and hope that they're done soon so you can thank them but say you're not really interested.
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Originally Posted by AnesthesiaMD
I know emerging economies play a significant role, but that is what everyone seems to focus on. Nobody ever talks about the falling value of the dollar and it's inflationary effects.
Well, there are those who would rather talk about stimulating exports and creating new jobs -- neither of which is actually happening -- but among realistic people, the inflationary effects of falling exchange rates are quite well understood. If they aren't talked about, it's because there really isn't much left to say.
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Originally Posted by AnesthesiaMD
I feel like our government just wants to pretend it is not a factor. The "red herring" comment was just to jolt people out of that mindset, and focus on the devaluation of the currency for a minute. Besides, I liked the way RED herring flowed with China.
Well, we don't talk so much about the Red Chinese anymore, and certainly not about the Chicoms. I think you'd have to classify them as a growth economy now rather than an emerging economy, and the fact that such has better than 1.3 billion people in it means that whatever growing it does will have significant effects. Revaluation of the dollar meanwhile isn't going to come until demand for them picks up, and that's not likely to happen as long as we keep dumping bushel baskets of them all over the place. See the above re tax increases and replacing free trade with fair trade as some ideas.
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Originally Posted by AnesthesiaMD
What makes you so sure Obama is the person thats going to bring on this "international lovefest" as opposed to either of the other 2 candidates?
There would be I think a positive bounce internationally with Hillary, but not like what I suspect would happen with Obama. If he's elected, he could fly to places and draw crowds like the Beatles did. McCain? More like Gerry & The Pacemakers (<<< deliberate age reference)...
HOWEVER, everyone here forgot one key component here...It's called HEALTH INSURANCE. Basically, prices of US goods have to go UP every year, a lot, to cover costs of EVER increasing HI costs.
Both health and pension costs are making it more difficult for companies to compete internationally, and it would be good if we could simply get both of those obligations off of corporate books. If we don't, they'll just disappear by attrition. Companies simply won't offer health or pension benefits anymore. Everyone below the Board of Directors level will turn into an independent contractor. That will have obvious negative effects on society, so we had probably just better nationalize the both of them. Lower unit costs and greater assurance of benefits. Higher taxes of course, so you lose the taxophobic vote right there, but we don't have a lot of alternatives out there. Eventually of course, even China and India will run into eras of rapidly rising labor costs, but we may not be able to wait around for that day to come, and we may not be able to do that much to speed it up. Better I think to try to get our own house in order first...
I am sure that business would love to have healthcare off their backs but are they willing to raise wages like in european countries. Shifting the burden of healthcare to the government means higher amount of money going to government to pay for it.That means higher taxes and fees from everybody;not just the rich.That means alot of fees like in europe like road sue fees;fees to enter big cities with high roadway cost.It also means high prices becuase government is going to tax business more including small business and they are passed on to the comsumer. I doubt anyone wants to rasie corporate taxes that are the second highest in the world and causing business to move there operations even into europe.Our regualtion have meant that many corpostions have left the NYSE to be listed in places like the UK exchange.We have to realise that we are not the growing market in the world but china and india are.Business will move there if we keep pushing them and manufacturing is no longer americas strangth in the market. Our economy is shifting with the times just as it did from a agraicultural economy.Working a low eduction manufacturing job will not be a middle class income job more and more.
Both health and pension costs are making it more difficult for companies to compete internationally, and it would be good if we could simply get both of those obligations off of corporate books. If we don't, they'll just disappear by attrition. Companies simply won't offer health or pension benefits anymore. Everyone below the Board of Directors level will turn into an independent contractor. That will have obvious negative effects on society, so we had probably just better nationalize the both of them. Lower unit costs and greater assurance of benefits. Higher taxes of course, so you lose the taxophobic vote right there, but we don't have a lot of alternatives out there. Eventually of course, even China and India will run into eras of rapidly rising labor costs, but we may not be able to wait around for that day to come, and we may not be able to do that much to speed it up. Better I think to try to get our own house in order first...
I agree 100%.
As for higher taxes... i'm already worse off here than back in Europe.
To me, premiums, daycare, Uni etc. are also costs which families bare.
The trick with USA is that there are federal, state, property(many countries don't even have those, or they are of symbolic amount). Add to that HOW much premiums cost, and you've lost more of your income, than if you paid 80% tax in income.
That is, if you're lucky to have a good paying job at all. If not... then it's good night or working 3 jobs just to buy food.
Yes, its shocking to know that EVEN with 2nd highest corporate tax in the world(!!), AND when you combine income and property + loads of "other" taxes US taxes are actually extremely high(even higher than in Europe).
Even considering this, there is no UHC, no maternity leave etc. no nothing.
It all just means that taxes aren't going where they should... ie someone is becoming more and more rich, on the backs of middle class sliding into poverty.
At the same time, other western countries are doing everything to improve standards of everyone, even middle class, poor(wages double MIN salary in usa) etc.
Middle class is being killed off... it's a sad day.
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Originally Posted by texdav
I am sure that business would love to have healthcare off their backs but are they willing to raise wages like in european countries. Shifting the burden of healthcare to the government means higher amount of money going to government to pay for it.That means higher taxes and fees from everybody;not just the rich.That means alot of fees like in europe like road sue fees;fees to enter big cities with high roadway cost.It also means high prices becuase government is going to tax business more including small business and they are passed on to the comsumer. I doubt anyone wants to rasie corporate taxes that are the second highest in the world and causing business to move there operations even into europe.Our regualtion have meant that many corpostions have left the NYSE to be listed in places like the UK exchange.We have to realise that we are not the growing market in the world but china and india are.Business will move there if we keep pushing them and manufacturing is no longer americas strangth in the market. Our economy is shifting with the times just as it did from a agraicultural economy.Working a low eduction manufacturing job will not be a middle class income job more and more.
It all just means that taxes aren't going where they should... ie someone is becoming more and more rich, on the backs of middle class sliding into poverty. .
Our taxes are going right where they should be going - and right where they are specified to go.
You would have to be sure that dollar for dollar, the money is being shifted from the insurance company to the worker, and then you could raise taxes to pay for health care. My big fear is that taxes will go up and the corporations will pocket the money. Then we will REALLY be in a recession, maybe even a depression.
As someone who deals with the insurance companies on a regular basis, I can tell you this will NEVER work as long as they play a role. There would truly need to be a single payer system. One with no stockholders to please, no red tape, no employees hired to approve and disapprove claims and fight with doctors offices, and no CEO's bank account to funnel health care dollars... which I don't think any of the 3 candidates has proposed. The insurance lobby to too strong. Hillary is doing her best to keep them in the game under her plan, Obama..I dont really think I know his plan, and McCain wants the status quo. I think if you could get the insurance companies out of the health care business, it could be sold to most docs. Our expenses would be less, we would know if something is or isn't covered, and how much we will get paid for the procedure , so we wont need as much staff, and our hours would be better. Of course, you have to do something about malpractice insurance as well. You cant have the government paying us a fraction of our salary, while malpractice premiums are so astronomical. For an OB or surgeon, there would literally be nothing left to live on. There needs to be a plan for that.
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