Political Viewer Blog

Someone recently asked me if I thought President Obama was doing the right thing with the massive spending, bank bailout, the automakers and homes. They also wondered if McCain and Palin had won the election, if we'd still be in this recession.

Follow up:

I know to my very core that if Mccain & Palin had won, we would go into a great world wide depression unless Mccain and the Republicans did exactly the opposite of what they think should be done..

The parallels between the great depression of the 30's and now is scary. Thru massive deregulation of big business, tax cuts for the rich and unethical leading/credit and politicians, a "do nothing" government (Hoover), and the rich became the ultra rich and the middle class/poor became poorer. The housing industry fell, banks failed, people horded their money and the flow of income stopped. Even when Hoover could of stopped it, he didn't. He left it for Roosevelt (who had no idea what to do) and he tried several things. Some worked, some didn't. What did work was massive government spending to create jobs, and taxing the richest folks in America and the war of course.

It was a massive redistribution of the wealth. Exactly what McCain/Palin warned about throughout their failed campaign, but it's what worked. The tax cuts for the rich and deregulation of businesses, (what the Republicans claim will work) is basically what got us into the great depression (along with a horrible drought in the heartlands, and greedy businesses) and the recession we are in now. President Obama is doing exactly what needs to be done, and hopefully he also won't be pressured by the right wing to cut spending and try to balance the budget in the middle of this recession as happened to Roosevelt while the economy was rising and healing, and which stopped the improvements and prolonged the depression.

Republicans and right wing conservatives keep complaining about bailing out the banks and auto industries, but not doing so would be a bigger disaster than saving them would be. Remember, in a recession/depression people start losing their jobs and stop spending money. The flow of money stops and businesses die. As more businesses die, there are more people out of work and like dominoes, the unemployed increases, businesses fail, the economy dies and takes the world's economies with it. Somebody has GOT to fill the void of no spending and the government is the only one rich enough to save our economy through spending (supporting) businesses and the middle class until people have more confidence to spend.

The Republicans are running a fear campaign similar to the McCain/Palin campaign, hoping to frighten people in a scary time to stop supporting President Obama so they can continue doing the same things (like tax cuts for the rich), or in hopes of causing the president to fail ( just as was done to President Roosevelt by the same groups), which the Republicans somehow think would be a good thing. Maybe for them, but not for us! They are using a very old (and worn out) playbook with outdated ideas and no solutions. Divide and conquer. They truly are the party of no new ideas and don't seem to want to help the middle class and poor... Only the richest Americans.

Now, I'm talking about the Republican party leaders and not the guy/gal on the street Republican. It's the Republican leaders that are playing politics while we go from bad to worse!

To say we are bailing out people that bought houses they couldn't afford is a Republican talking point, and not true. The President is trying to save the housing industry and the people who are losing their homes. This is why this Republican talking point is another senseless attack against our President, but is typical of complaining with out offering any solutions. If we are just rewarding a few people that couldn't afford their home, then we shouldn't help the legitimate people on the verge of losing their homes? Which begs the question... How does anyone know who or how many people should not be helped? If the President is doing everything wrong as the Republicans claim, then should we do nothing at all and let everyone lose their homes, jobs, life savings, employment and let them live on the streets? Whats the alternative to anything the President is doing? Let more businesses collapse, and create double digit unemployment?

I agree that the automakers are way out of touch with reality (as are the Republican leaders) and they should have been doing the hybrids and alternative fuel cars long ago, but that's our fault. We LIKE gas guzzlers, and they are only filling a need. If the American people had demanded fuel efficient cars years ago and we refused to buy hummers and suv's, we wouldn't be dependent on oil, period. And no one would be listening to "Drill, baby drill".....

What is happening to us was caused by Us and Them, or better known as the greedy business owners that offered easy loans (at first anyway) that were a road map to failure (and all for a profit) and us because so many people are greedy for and want the American dream of a nice home they own, new car and college for their kids. In fact several homes such as John McCain owns.... Of course the big business deregulation by the government didn't help at all.

I also heard someone say that they listened to the president's speech but didn't hear anything about the specifics of getting our economy back on track...

The specifics of the Presidents plans to save the economy and the middle class was the reason NO Republicans voted for the first "leg" of the recovery stool. It's also laid out on the new transparency government websites! Basically he wants to do all the things that worked for President Roosevelt to solve the great depression while ensuring we don't end up in this situation again in the future by spending to fill the cash flow and credit bottleneck, and regulate the greedy banks and companies that show up to government hearing in private jets and keep spending the people's money for more fun and games while we suffer.

I'd like to point out that during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Roosevelt created the New Deal to provide relief for the unemployed, recovery of the economy, and reform of the economic and banking systems. President Obama is trying to do the same thing now. If what Roosevelt did to bring us out of the depression was wrong, he wouldn't have served even one term, let alone FOUR terms in office (he's the only one to server more than two!), so he must have been doing something right.

Still, the same political games are going on with the Republicans, right wing conservatives and newspapers. They were all screaming about the spending and and nit picking every detail of what President Roosevelt was trying to do. Thankfully, he got his way and the economy and everything steadily improved (except when he listened to the critics).

If Republican leaders get their way, we WILL go into a worldwide great depression. If President Obama continues doing the right things, we will NOT go into a world wide depression smile

Just my opinion and I hope I haven't offended any Republicans out there!

best,

Jan