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This is the latest poll from Rasmussen about this subject. I think that you will find that, of course, Republicans voted in the highest numbers compared to Democrats, but the most interesting thing in the poll is that 79% of the Independents in the survey agreed with that thread title. This is something that Democrats need to look at and think about.
At some point Barry needs to wake up and realize that he only got into office thanks to independents. Barry currently has a MAJOR problem with how he is viewed by independents. You would think he would be smart enough to connect the dots.
Well that's a dumb question. Obviously his policies have driven up the deficit. Why did 29% say "no"?
Bush's TARP spending and Obama's bailout of the auto industry were both designed to shift debt from private hands into public hands. That means higher deficits.
Neither one of them had a lot of choice. The confidence of the financial industry was nearly shattered and action needed to be taken to prevent this recession from becoming a disastrous depression. Stimulus plans were announced by all of the OECD nations and Obama couldn't exactly buck the trend considering that the problem started in the United States (and the U.K. financial sector was a mess too).
Let's wait and see if Obama does as much damage to the deficit as Reagan did.
Question: The auto industry is not rescued and dies. Millions lose their job (from manufacturing to transportation, garages and dealerships). How does it help reduce deficit and the economy?
PS. Not necessarily pointed at you Fred Derf, you seem to understand it. But feel free to respond.
Why do you need a poll for something that can be read from the budget?
Who cares about opinion when the facts are readily available?
Of course his policies have driven the deficit up - the stimulus wasn't free, but added only $150 billion this year.
A more interesting poll would be to see how many people have an accurate idea of how much of our deficit belongs to Obama (roughly 15%).
Another neat poll would be to see how many people know that iraq+afghanistan were not included in the deficit for the last 8 years, and that it is being included in the deficit now.
Yeah, that last point really burned my b*tt. There was NO logical or reasonable reason the Bush administration should leave the cost of those wars off the official budget aside from the fact that they were simply trying to hide how bad the deficit had become.
Obama is at least honest in that regard. One of the first things he did regarding the budget was to make sure the costs of those wars was included in the official budget - instead of keeping off the books the way Bush did.
At some point Barry needs to wake up and realize that he only got into office thanks to independents.
At some point, the right-wing doofus brigade needs to wake up and realize that their heroes damn near destroyed the place. They were fortunately voted out, maybe in the knick of time. Obama is only doing what can be done to repair the colossal amounts of damage done by his predecessors through eight years of shameful error and neglect. Rational people only wish him well in that work...
Question: The auto industry is not rescued and dies. Millions lose their job (from manufacturing to transportation, garages and dealerships). How does it help reduce deficit and the economy?
PS. Not necessarily pointed at you Fred Derf, you seem to understand it. But feel free to respond.
Well, if the auto industry had failed there would be repercussions for the deficit (less tax revenues and more expenses for all of those out of work ex-employees) but it still would have been less than the billions that were given to the auto industry. If you work out the cost of the bailout per employee you'll find it surprisingly high.
The auto industry wasn't necessarily saved because it made economic sense. The auto industry is concentrated in specific areas (notably Detroit) and the results would be devastating to those areas. But the auto industry is also a symbol of American industry and international competitiveness. It is a bit of a lightning rod and almost an issue of national security. If the auto industry crashed and burned and we were to all drive "imports" from now on there would be a feeling of vulnerability in America. A sense that nothing was safe. It would be like taking the apple pie out of America. I'm not sure I'm making my point but it is important for symbolism to keep the public confident that the nation is on the right path. So much of the economy is based on perception. If people start to worry about what is next then they won't spend and things won't get better.
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