is it me or does Rick Santorum......

[dgreet77]

Re: is it me or does Rick Santorum......

We're trying to tackle several topics here all at once, but as far as the economy basically it boils down to one side thinking Keynesian economics + government has got us this far so its going to keep working, and the other side thinking that Keynesian economics + government is flawed. Now on to it...

To be honest, California itself is bloated. Its housing is bloated, its government is bloated, its debt is bloated, its ego is bloated, all because of Californias failing economy and housing bubble.

Replace California with the Federal Government in all of those sentences and you've still got the truth. The only reason it seems to look better at the D.C. level is because the feds can print money to buy its own bonds or, as in the case of Quantitative Easing, private mortgage backed securities and/or equities. If California had this ability, they'd just print money to keep interest rates low to "stimulate" growth and keep things looking fine just like the Fed does; and it would work so long as people accepted that California's currency and paper were the best in the world.

Its the same basic shell game as Credit Default Swaps, but as soon as a few people (Governments, Private entities, etc) decide they want their money at the same time it'll all fall apart just like housing did. The only reason this probably won't happen is that we're the largest holder of our own debt, which is basically your right hand owing you're left hand money, but instead of working for it and paying it back it just keeps writing more checks.

The answer really is probably somewhere in the middle of economic thinking (government run vs. free market), but we've moved so far one direction and government is so involved in everything, that IMO, we've got to go back the other way a little bit and actually solve some of these issues instead of having government prop up a failing system.

[Mogobs30th]

Re: is it me or does Rick Santorum......

I usually compare our debt, economy, housing, and other factors with other countries around the world. Fact is, our economy is still number 1, but barely hanging on a thread, with China breathing down our neck. We've managed to intertwine ourselves in this global economy, and not everyone involved is playing fair. Its hard to compete with a country that forces its labor to 16+ hour working days for just a few dollars a day. Standard of living is terrible in comparison to what we have to compete with.

Free market has allowed this unbalanced and unfair competition to be introduced. Surprisingly, it was Clinton that allowed it. The part that scares me is that our government was created with a system of checks and balances, but major global corporations have no such rules. We're going to turn into China, not overnight, but at the pace and direction we're going, I can see it in the next 50 years.

[2.8 Bird]

Re: is it me or does Rick Santorum......

To be honest, California itself is bloated. Its housing is bloated, its government is bloated, its debt is bloated, its ego is bloated, all because of Californias failing economy and housing bubble. Ive seen the prices of houses out there, its ungodly outrageous. No wonder people out there can't make ends meet. It has NOTHING to do with your government, which in itself is a useless waste of mass itself. But your state is screwed because of its economics. You've all outpriced yourselves until demand said no more.

California's problems are from issues arising in California. Has almost nothing to do with whatevers going on in D.C. Not saying IL is much better, but atleast its still affordable. If I wanted to, I could afford to live in the city itself fairly cheaply. I couldn't come CLOSE to LA unless I was making a 6 digit income. Your economy has fuct itself, don't blame the feds for that one.

Yes, I agree. And no I don't blame the Fed. gov at all.

[dgreet77]

Re: is it me or does Rick Santorum......

I usually compare our debt, economy, housing, and other factors with other countries around the world. Fact is, our economy is still number 1, but barely hanging on a thread, with China breathing down our neck. We've managed to intertwine ourselves in this global economy, and not everyone involved is playing fair. Its hard to compete with a country that forces its labor to 16+ hour working days for just a few dollars a day. Standard of living is terrible in comparison to what we have to compete with.

Free market has allowed this unbalanced and unfair competition to be introduced. Surprisingly, it was Clinton that allowed it. The part that scares me is that our government was created with a system of checks and balances, but major global corporations have no such rules. We're going to turn into China, not overnight, but at the pace and direction we're going, I can see it in the next 50 years.

As was stated before, since California is the 8th largest economy in the world, I don't see how its an apples to oranges comparison. Its not as difficult to compete in the global economy if you stop sending more and more regulations down the pipes to every single sector of the economy.

Global Corporations are not the reason jobs get shipped overseas and the Chinese are going nuts. The price of labor, basic materials, manufacturing, etc are the reason jobs go to cheaper places. Those aren't expensive because they're rare, they're expensive because we have to follow a zillion little rules and write a million little papers explaining why, how, and what we're doing. We can't go build a new power plant, or refinery, or drill a well, or build a road, without YEARS of studies and paperwork. Thats what slows an economy.

Wanna know why China is where China is? Cause they get **** done, they don't care how or what it affects, they just get it done. I'm not saying thats where we need to be, I don't think so at all. They're going to regret what they're doing after a while, because you do need SOME rules. We're never going to be China, we're headed in almost the EXACT opposite direction that they are. They're moving closer to capitalism and a free market, and we're moving closer to a socialist idea where the government provides everything.

[Heywood]

Re: is it me or does Rick Santorum......

I vote for the guy who will do the job right.

If you find any candidates that match that description let the rest of us know... We're still looking for one.

[4thgenowner]

Re: is it me or does Rick Santorum......

Since this thread has turned political let me quote the late great George Carlin.

"Now, there's one thing you might have noticed I don't complain about: politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain't going to do any good; you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here... like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There's a nice campaign slogan for somebody: 'The Public Sucks. Fucck Hope.'"