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Keep in mind that, if America is to succeed, Obama's agenda HAS to fail.
If Obama's agenda succeeds, America WILL fail.
If Obama's agenda fails, American CAN succeed. Of course, its success is not guaranteed if Obama's agenda fails, but America's failure is guaranteed if Obama's agenda succeeds.
Think of Obama's policy positions. They are bad for the country: bigger Government, more spending and debt (which weakens the currency), higher taxes, Government run Healthcare, more regulations, more unions, weak Energy policy that opposes increases drilling, refining, nuclear and coal, weak immigration enforcement, weak counter-terrorism....
We have been around for a long time. Obama's agenda has been tried and is being tried. Even within our nation, Obama's plan has been tried and failed in: California, NJ, IL, NY and many other cities and states that are in bad shape.
When Romney ran against Ted Kennedy in the 1990's someone was showing him around a part of Boston they referred to as 'Kennedy country.' Romney said something along the lines of 'sure looks like it' as the neighborhood was run down and had been losing jobs and declining for quite some time.
Some people just do not see that if Obamas agenda works, we are in deep trouble in America.
We are ALREADY in deep trouble. An outgoing GW Bush LEFT US in Deep Trouble. In fact, he left the WHOLE WORLD in Deep Trouble.
Where have you been?
Ken
and let me guess, the dems who controlled all of congress for the 2 yrs before he left office (ironically not long after they took over the economy started to fail) had absolutely nothing to do with it? keep in mind GWB has crappy ratings but the dem congress had WORSE.
people seem to forget that congress is the one who makes the budgets, and people also seem to forget that the dems held congress for the 2 worst years of bush's second term. those same dems that are in office now making budgets.
i was not a fan of the bail outs, regardless of whos idea they where. the left blames bush for them, the right blames obama for them but ultimately there is only one common denominator, CONGRESS!
i say set term limits (never happen) and get some fresh blood in there!
and let me guess, the dems who controlled all of congress for the 2 yrs before he left office (ironically not long after they took over the economy started to fail) had absolutely nothing to do with it? keep in mind GWB has crappy ratings but the dem congress had WORSE.
people seem to forget that congress is the one who makes the budgets, and people also seem to forget that the dems held congress for the 2 worst years of bush's second term. those same dems that are in office now making budgets.
i was not a fan of the bail outs, regardless of whos idea they where. the left blames bush for them, the right blames obama for them but ultimately there is only one common denominator, CONGRESS!
i say set term limits (never happen) and get some fresh blood in there!
This was not a problem that started when the Democrats took Congress - it was an ongoing issued that had been building for nearly a decade. Here's an article from Jan of 2007 - the Democrats had barely taken Congress at that point and trouble was already in place awaiting them when they came in (and had been even the year before).
"The sale of existing housing dropped 8.8% in 2006, it's biggest drop in 17 years. Then today we hear that more than 1.2 million homes were foreclosed in 2006, up 42% over the previous year. With interest rates now rising, the situation becomes rather interesting."
Does any of this sound familiar? What happened after the Democrats took Congress was just a continuation of what had been going on BEFORE the Democrats took Congress. Do they share responsibility for not stopping it? Of course they do, but the fact is, there was already a crises brewing BEFORE they took control of Congress - this didn't just start up when they took power, it was ALREADY there.
Here's another article on the subject - this one from December 2006 (while the GOP still controlled Congress). Clearly, real estate - the instigator of the economic collapse of last year - was ALREADY in BIG TROUBLE (again, this was BEFORE the Democrats took control of Congress).
true things where already having issues.
as to your links, (1st link) that is california, one of the most liberal and expensive markets in the usa. this all started on the local level not the national level, so i throw that in with "dems had control", and 2006 was one of the biggest years in recent history for new home sales so it only makes since that existing home sales are going to drop. cant have it both ways.
(2nd link) look at the area they are speaking of, it is all the north east coast, again VERY liberal areas.
(the map http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/for...ate/index.html). if you notice the more conservative areas where very strong while the more liberal areas where failing.
again this all starts on a local level not national. although the bush haters will tell you their house got foreclosed on because bush didnt regulate things when it was clintons admin that took those regulations and peed all over them.
see the blame game can keep going back and back and back, ultimately it has NOTHING to do with which president did or didnt do what, it is what is the president going to do NOW besides point fingers, play golf, jet set, campaign, and hand things off to his corrupt and ignorant congress. 2010 is coming fast and the dem congress is in for a HUGE wake up call.
true things where already having issues.
as to your links, (1st link) that is california, one of the most liberal and expensive markets in the usa. this all started on the local level not the national level, so i throw that in with "dems had control", and 2006 was one of the biggest years in recent history for new home sales so it only makes since that existing home sales are going to drop. cant have it both ways.
(2nd link) look at the area they are speaking of, it is all the north east coast, again VERY liberal areas.
(the map http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/for...ate/index.html). if you notice the more conservative areas where very strong while the more liberal areas where failing.
again this all starts on a local level not national. although the bush haters will tell you their house got foreclosed on because bush didnt regulate things when it was clintons admin that took those regulations and peed all over them.
see the blame game can keep going back and back and back, ultimately it has NOTHING to do with which president did or didnt do what, it is what is the president going to do NOW besides point fingers, play golf, jet set, campaign, and hand things off to his corrupt and ignorant congress. 2010 is coming fast and the dem congress is in for a HUGE wake up call.
LOL
FIRST you try to point the blame at Congress, then - when I point out that the problem was ALREADY in place BEFORE the Democrats took control of Congress THEN it's suddenly not a national issue, but instead a local issue and that the problem started with the areas of the country that are traditionally Democratic. Talk about flip-flopping and dodging responsibility?
Yeah, I know the problem hit the traditionally Democratic markets first - that's because THOSE areas were generally the ones where the housing markets had heated up the most and prices climbed the highest and the fastest. In essence they became the areas most overpriced - and they didn't become over priced because they were UNDESIRABLE - in fact, just the opposite was true. They became overpriced because they were SO DESIRABLE. People moved to places like California, Las Vegas and Miami because their economies were strong and their weather generally good (by most people's standards). They avoided the Midwest because the weather is cr*ppy (hot/humid in the summer, bitter cold in the winter) - hence that market didn't generally overheat the way the markets I mentioned did.
The fact is, the markets that led the way into the stratosphere regarding prices, also led the way the into the depths - for the simple reason that they were the places that had appreciated in prices the fastest and the most. If you are making the claim that somehow these areas prices led the way downward because they were generally Democratically controlled, then you really should acknowledge that they led the way upward (potentially for that same reason as well).
1st
my response was solely to your posts which had absolutely nothing to do with congress or the president but the housing markets.
2nd, you are WAY OFF on where the housing markets where the best and heated up. the south (especially texas and arizona) where far and away "hotter markets" then california, or the east coast. texas has been the number one market despite our hot humid and generally "crappy" weather. people and companies have been coming to texas for the job markets not only now but before the melt down, not to mention texas has no state income tax (because we are a conservative state that believes the people should have their own money do with as they please). you should really do some research on housing before and after the economic crash. i also do not believe anyone said those areas where not desirable, so you can try putting words in someone elses mouth next time. i also find it laughable that you put "bitter cold" on the midwest and yet you completely avoid the north east which was the topic of the 2nd link you sent, as if NY doesnt get nasty cold or would that ruin your point? try again.
i do say those areas had a HUGE part in the crash and a large part of that is due to the liberal ways they are run. i will not say they where also leading the way in the good times as that would be completely false. once again go do some research on real estate and home construction and you will find that states like texas (very conservative) have been leading the way for more then a decade. hell texas has a $9,000,000,000 "rainy day fund" right now that is not even touched, we are not hurt like other states or the country as a whole. where is bankrupt california at? how about NY? or mass?
2nd, you are WAY OFF on where the housing markets where the best and heated up. the south (especially texas and arizona) where far and away "hotter markets" then california, or the east coast. texas has been the number one market despite our hot humid and generally "crappy" weather. people and companies have been coming to texas for the job markets not only now but before the melt down, not to mention texas has no state income tax (because we are a conservative state that believes the people should have their own money do with as they please). you should really do some research on housing before and after the economic crash. i also do not believe anyone said those areas where not desirable, so you can try putting words in someone elses mouth next time. i also find it laughable that you put "bitter cold" on the midwest and yet you completely avoid the north east which was the topic of the 2nd link you sent, as if NY doesnt get nasty cold or would that ruin your point? try again.
i do say those areas had a HUGE part in the crash and a large part of that is due to the liberal ways they are run. i will not say they where also leading the way in the good times as that would be completely false. once again go do some research on real estate and home construction and you will find that states like texas (very conservative) have been leading the way for more then a decade. hell texas has a $9,000,000,000 "rainy day fund" right now that is not even touched, we are not hurt like other states or the country as a whole. where is bankrupt california at? how about NY? or mass?
Really?
Sure, Texas was a "hot" state in regards to sales and rising prices - but that "heat" came relatively late - long after California prices had ALREADY gone into the stratosphere. It's also noteworthy, that as fast as the prices in Texas were rising, they were still VERY LOW compared to prices in California. They were simply rising fast because they were so low to begin with and were essentially playing "catch up" to California and the Northeast.
Take a look at this list of "most expensive markets" from back in September 2066 - just around the time home prices started their nationwide collapse. Look at the most expensive 25 cities.
See which state DOMINATES? - California.
Where is Texas in that list? No where - not a single Texas city in the top 25. In fact, there is not a SINGLE city in "GOP land" ANYWHERE on that list. NOT ONE.
Sure Texas was hot in the sense that it prices were rising fast, but the fact is Texas NEVER reached the point where it's home prices were anywhere NEAR what the prices were in California - mainly because it started it's climb so much later than California (which led the way upward). Prices in Texas NEVER approached prices in California - hence they had never heated up as much as prices had in California - and thus were not as overpriced. As I said, California prices fell the furthest because they had climbed the highest.
Look at the home prices on this chart that runs from 2000 to 2007. Where is Dallas on this chart? - down near the bottom
Where are the LA & San Diego on this chart? - at the top.
And again, California didn't get that way because it's economy was bad - house prices don't rise to those kinds of heights if the economy is in the toilet. California had a super hot economy and people were flooding into the state at the time (and for many decades prior to that). California is a perfect example of "the bigger they are the harder they fall". Earlier in the decade both the economy AND housing market in California were BOOMING. California led the way into the housing boom and it led the way into the housing bust - as did Phoenix in Arizona and Las Vegas in Nevada.
Ken
Last edited by LordBalfor; 10-28-2009 at 11:35 AM..
see you are mixing expensive with booming. heck i can go down to the river oaks area of houston and see 3-4-10 million dollar homes all day long, do you know when the last one was built? 5-10 yrs ago maybe.
so your saying that because i could go to NYC and buy a $5,000,000 apartment that NYC is booming? laughable.
because something is expensive doesnt mean it is better or growing more (hell why buy banana republic when you can get gap, why buy gap when you can get old navy, its all the same company)
california got expensive because of a population boom sure, but that boom was WAY WAY WAY back, decades. and california's people are taxed to death which also drives prices and costs up on everything.
Quote:
CALIFORNIA
Sales Taxes
State Sales Tax: 8.25% (food and prescription drugs exempt. Tax varies according to locality. Can be as high as 10.25%)
Gasoline Tax: * 39.9 cents/gallon
Diesel Fuel Tax: * 44.5 cents/gallon
Cigarette Tax: 37 cents/pack of 20 plus an additional surcharge of 50 cents per pack, bringing the total to 87 cents.
Personal Income Taxes
Tax Rate Range: Low - 1.0%; High - 10.3%. For 2010 the state has enacted a 0.25 percentage point increase in each of the state's income tax brackets. A tax credit for dependents was reduced.
Income Brackets: ** Lowest - $7,168; Highest - $1,000,000
Number of Brackets: 6
Tax Credits: Single - $99; Married - $198; Dependents - $309; 65 years of age or older - $99
Standard Deduction: Single - $3,692; Married filing jointly - $7,384
Medical/Dental Deduction: Same as Federal taxes
Federal Income Tax Deduction: None
Retirement Income Taxes: Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits are exempt. There is a 2.5% tax on early distributions and qualified pensions. All private, local, state and federal pensions are fully taxed.
Retired Military Pay: Follows federal tax rules.
Military Disability Retired Pay: Retirees who entered the military before Sept. 24, 1975, and members receiving disability retirements based on combat injuries or who could receive disability payments from the VA are covered by laws giving disability broad exemption from federal income tax. Most military retired pay based on service-related disabilities also is free from federal income tax, but there is no guarantee of total protection.
VA Disability Dependency and Indemnity Compensation: VA benefits are not taxable because they generally are for disabilities and are not subject to federal or state taxes.
Military SBP/SSBP/RCSBP/RSFPP: Generally subject to state taxes for those states with income tax. Check with state department of revenue office.
Property Taxes
Property is assessed at 100% of full cash value. The maximum amount of tax on real estate is limited to 1% of the full cash value. After taxes have been paid, homeowners 62 and older who earn $35,051 or less may file a claim for assistance on 96 percent of property taxes, up to $34,000 of the assessed value of their homes. Call 800-852-5711 or visit for details. Homestead exemptions are handled at the county level. Under the homestead program, the first $7,000 of the full value of a homeowner's dwelling is exempt. The state has a property tax postponement program that allows eligible homeowners (seniors, blind and disabled residents) to postpone payments of property taxes on their principal place of residence. Interest is charged on the postponed taxes. For more information, click here or call 800-952-5661.
Inheritance and Estate Taxes
There is no inheritance tax. However, there is a limited California estate tax related to federal estate tax collection.
For further information, visit the California Franchise Tax Board or the California State Board of Equalization.
* Does not include 1 cent local option.
** For joint returns, the taxes are twice the tax imposed on half the income.
or
Quote:
TEXAS
Sales Taxes
State Sales Tax: 6.25% (food, prescription and non-prescription drugs exempt); local option taxes can raise the rate to 8.25%.
Gasoline Tax: 20 cents/gallon
Diesel Fuel Tax: 20 cents/gallon
Cigarette Tax: $1.41 cents/pack of 20
Personal Income Taxes
No state personal income tax
Retirement Income: Not taxed.
Property Taxes
Property tax is imposed by local taxing units. Click here for details. For homeowners 65 and older, $10,000 (in addition to the regular $15,000 homestead exemption) of the property's assessed value is exempt from school taxes and $3,000 is exempt from other local taxes. Once an over-65 homeowner qualifies for an over-65 homestead exemption for school taxes, that owner gets a tax ceiling for that home on school taxes. If the homeowner improves the home (other than normal repairs or maintenance), the tax ceiling is adjusted for the new additions. School district taxes are frozen for seniors (65 and older) and disabled persons at the level imposed on the residence the first year that the taxpayer qualified for the residence exemption. Counties, cities, towns, and junior college districts are permitted to establish a tax freeze on homesteads of those age 65 and older or disabled. For more information on exemptions, click here.
Inheritance and Estate Taxes
There is no inheritance and the estate tax is limited and related to federal estate tax collection.
i think im sticking with my low taxes in texas
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saw my first....
