What contributed most to our debt? One word......Obama!!!!
Paul - 13 years ago
We have dug ourselves so deeply into a hole that we cannot climb out. This is not a current phenomenon. I see this as the fault of our elected misrepresentatives over the last 40 or so years. Decades of 'kicking the can down the street' for the next bunch of legislators to cope with.
Global indebtedness, global overpopulation and global depression were the engines of WWI and WWII. Brace yourselves...after all the excuses have been exhausted, here comes WWIII !
JIM Corbin - 13 years ago
CUTTING SPENDING CAN'T HELP MUCH UNTIL OBAMA AND BERNECKE ARE STOPPED
FROM PRINTING WORTHLESS DOLLARS.
OBAMA IS OUR ENEMY AND SHOULD BE IMPEACHED.
ITS EASIER TO FILL THE BUCKET AFTER THE LEAK IS PLUGGED.
JIM CORBIN
Rick Crawford - 13 years ago
My view is that the system is broke. Too many career politicians that keep getting elected by promising more benefits for the masses. Unfortunately, many amoung us actually believe they can receive free services for life on the back of the hardworking citizen's. They vote for big government to steal from the achievers and then re-distribute the wealth. Unfortunately, the re-distribution is now larger than the achievers can earn and so we have massive debt and money printing! The scary part is that the free loaders are now over the 50% level.. That is the beginning to the end of a democratic society. Welcome to America the land of the freeloader!
Dave in LV - 13 years ago
Change Defense spending to War spending, add Corporate bailouts and Tax giveaways for the super-rich to the list and, most important of all, ask the voter how much he thinks the item of his choice adds to the deficit in dollars.
Then take a recount and compare the voters' numbers to the real numbers. Could be highly educational for everybody, including yourself.
Richard Lowry - 13 years ago
Your list of choices left off in my opinion the most obvious reason USA is in trouble.
I admit that my following is a generality with more dynamics occurring, that being the USA
went SOCIALIST and
WRONGLY thinking GLOBALISM issues are more important then USA Domestic issues.
This is only true as to global business; but not so for the average citizen if every country.
Those for a global economy attempt to influence the world politics, resulting in wars and unbalance, now the current situation across the planet shows this to be a failure for ALL.
THIS GLOBAL ATTITUDE of the globalist RESULTED IN
destroying the basic internal economy within the USA per the following over the years:
1 USA imports more then it exports THUS A BIG USA DEFICIT and
2 Government mismanagement, being basically a socialistic government which is
actually ANTI little guy citizen who is labor too, and anti privately owned small business,
this as it is currently going, will destroy the globalist big business concept in the long run.
3 The false belief encouraged by a socialist government that one need not be concern about supporting self,
THAT ALL SHOULD GET THE SAME PAY REGARDLESS OF THEIR PERFORMANCE
or on the other end
DENYING TO LABOR AT THE LOWEST PAYING JOBS an ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT that will assure one with at least a high school education the ability to be self supporting
NOW the socialist
want the government to address AND support everybody ills,
denying that the average citizen TAKEN COLLECTIVELY IS THE GOVERNMENT
FORGETTING everybody is the government, SO who will be supporting whom?
This situation of socialism and its ills all are caught up if one likes it or not
Government should only enforce the concepts of the above SEEKING BALANCE
4 Thus the socialist deny that one has to to take care of self, while
the very wealhy deny for allowing an environment for the average to earn a decent living;
with the Powers At Be allowing GREED, out right lies, and false accusations to be on top.
5 Those, who blame capitalism to be at cause of #4 when it is not, while actually NOT holding one to be accountable for their acts has happen all across the USA. We do not need new laws, the citizens need to demand that their USA Constitution be followed and enforced; currently the courts and supreme court are not following the Constitution, following the $$$.
Richard Lowry - 13 years ago
BELIEVE IT OR NOT:
You left off your list the REAL core cause:s of the problem to select from, being:
USA has gone socialist, starting about 1913 and big time since 1932 and FDR;
USA imports more then it ever exports a deficit needed to be added to the budget to run USA;
USA global policies destroyed average American standard of living to be able to self support;
USA GLOBALIST destroyed the economic environment within USA, lowering the standard of living for Americans, that would allow the average person with a high school education to be the sole wage earner; and be able to support a family of 4 without any government assistance.
Henri - 13 years ago
Deficit spending principally on Military hegemony caused the National Debt to rise so dramatically. 75 % of this debt came under Reagan, Bush & Bush. The FED and Treasury department have piled on more debt trying to avoid the liquidation that should have taken place when the housing bubble burst. This then caused the RISE in interest payments on the national debt. In this case the egg (debt) really did come before the Chicken ( interest payments). The bottom line is an old one. Governments over spending on military hegemony resulting in the fall of empire: Rome, Spain, Holland, France, Germany, England and now the USA. Medicare and medicaid are two other main expenses that need to be cut. Humans have a limited life span. To spend billions and billions to prolong lives by a year or two in nursing homes is INSANE. We would not put our pets through this. People need to eat better and stop ingesting so many processed chemical filled cancer causing nutrient deficient foods.
MARINE - 13 years ago
ALL OF YOUR COMMENTARY WAS WELL RECEIVED LEAPAZ. "STOP allowing Banks & Wall Street to ruin us through corruption, deception & greed. We Americans have a BROKEN SPIRIT and need a rebirth. Time to declare a new Constitution and clean house on the present one. Wake up Congress! We need new leadership that we can be proud of and not shame & fear".
I'M GOING TO ADD CORRUPTION, DECEPTION AND GREED GOES MUCH DEEPER THAN THE BANKS AND WALL STREET, WHICH YOU DID INDICATE. YOU ARE SPOT ON ABOUT FEAR. THERE IS A PERVASIVE UNDERLYING CURRENT WE ALL FEEL. LET'S NOT MAKE A "NEW" CONSTITUTION, BUT UPHOLD THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT, WRITTEN BY OUR FORESIGHTED FOUNDERS, OF THIS REPUBLIC. A FEW AMENDMENTS THOUGH ARE IN ORDER. TERM LIMITS WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO START.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
JOHN ACTON
Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.
Niccolo Machiavelli
Leapaz - 13 years ago
We are top heavy with Congress & Political Reps that are egotistic, complacent and self serving who think they are celebs. Republicans = heavy bullies and Democrats = Jackass. One President elect cannot clean up a barnyard filled with poop left behind with a teaspoon by his or herself. The Bush administration ran amuck and ignored the needs of the American tax payers.
Lincoln and Kennedy were eliminated for less in the name of "progress". As for Social Security, We paid our dues with hard work and the Federal Government squandered those deposited funds and diverted them into their "special interest" pots. These deposited and trusted funds were to be secured for the retirement during the years following our "unproductive" years.
As for the wars...who the hell are we to judge how another country develops or runs it's own country, unless it is a direct threat to the U.S.? If they have to fight for their own democracy, like our founding fathers did, they would find a way to run their own country. Besides, after all the smoke clears and bodies counted, they will all have to sit down and talk it out. So, why are we so arrogant to think we have all the answers when we can't even address our own issues? If America is to be a world leader, we need to EDUCATE our own children and not have open enrollment for every other foreign country. Flogging & humiliating jobless tax payers by foreclosures is an American disgrage when job losses were created internally. Who will house anf feed and medically take care of these people? STOP allowing Banks & Wall Street to ruin us through corruption, deception & greed. We Americans have a BROKEN SPIRIT and need a rebirth. Time to declare a new Constitution and clean house on the present one. Wake up Congress! We need new leadership that we can be proud of and not shame & fear.
Health care needs a deep purging to get rid of all the Medicare and Medicaid scammers who sell worthless services such as the "scotters" and excessive tests that disclose little and cost lots. If Doctors fail to diagnose patients accurately, it is because they don't take the time to LISTEN or just push drugs & receive a kick back. Prevention should be explored through proper nutrition and the financial ability to access it. Majority of illness is from poor nutrition and ignorance of how our bodies function properly with the right nutrients. More health clinics, less drugs and unnecessary and expensive tests. Doctors are drug pushers with a license.
R Green - 13 years ago
Get rid 0f the two G Bush's tax cuts and back to the way Bill Clinton almost had the USA debt a thing of the past. Leave taxes high until we are less in the red
mickey mouse - 13 years ago
CAUSE OF DEBT CRISIS (FED DEFICIT)
1. Arrogance.
2. Entitlements.
3. No Business Plan!
arthur krause - 13 years ago
The root casuse of the debt is the federal goverment..
1) Globilization -buying all selling nothing.. The "trading partners" buy only what they can't make untill they can make it then stop buying..so much for "exports" who in his right mind will import from a country paying $40 an hour for labor-when you can make it at home for $10??
2) Tax policy.. Make it easy for big corporations to import everything rather than make it here..
3) I could reverse this in a month.. BUT it would cut off all my campaign contributions !!
4)I get sick when I hear how "exports" will save us .... say what dummie??
Look around- if globilization were the answer why are we in free fall..Jobs will only return when our wages match the asian counterpart-tell that nasty secret to our union workers..
arthur krause - 13 years ago
The root casuse of the debt is the federal goverment..
1) Globilization -buying all selling nothing.. The "trading partners" buy only what they can't make untill they can make it then stop buying..so much for "exports" who in his right mind will import from a country paying $40 an hour for labor-when you can make it at home for $10??
2) Tax policy.. Make it easy for big corporations to import everything rather than make it here..
3) I could reverse this in a month.. BUT it would cut off all my casmpaign contributions !!
4)I get sick when I hear how "exports" will save us .... say what dummie??
Look around- if globilization were the answer why are we in free fall..Jobs will only return when our wages match the asian counterpart-tell that nasty secret to our union workers..
Ken Connell - 13 years ago
And the answer is? I love surveys, but I relish the comparisons of surveys with objective data (when available). Can someone provide a link to see how much each source in the survey has actually contributed to the annual deficits, and cumulative debt in recent years (at least back to 2ooo, but preferably back to the post WWII era (~ 1945 and forward)?
D. Doll - 13 years ago
I blame Obama's policies across the board, destined to overwhelm our financial stability. Throw in the Fed's policies and you have a recipe for disaster. You can just watch it unfold.
Grace - 13 years ago
The incompetent George W. Bush administration's policies and the banking, housing and loan debacle are responsible for the present state of affairs, in my opinion. May God help us.
Clarence W Crosby - 13 years ago
I voted other because this list is too simplified , all of these are involved but the question dose not take in or consider the waste , fraud and abuse involved in the administration of all these programs . Our founding fathers had the foresight to see this and that is why the constitution does not support the government doing any of it . No entity is less efficient than a government in handling the welfare of an individual , It is comparable to using a ten pound sledge hammer to repair a delicate watchworks , not even mentioning all the intentional theft and fraud from within as well as from without . The only solution is to remove from the fed anything not specifically assigned to them by the constitution . Of course , with the power they have given themselves and the gimmee society I do not think it can be done .
MARIO FERNANDEZ - 13 years ago
THIS CONTRY IS NOT A DEMOCRACY ANYMORE, BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE.
THE CONTRY IS RUN BY A FEW CORPORATION AND THAT IS CALLED PLUTOGRACY.
THE GOVERMENT NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON, LIKE THE PRICE OF GASOLINE.
MARIO FERNANDEZ - 13 years ago
THIS CONTRY IS NOT A DEMOCRACY ANYMORE, BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE.
THE CONTRY IS RUN BY A FEW CORPORATION AND THAT IS CALLED PLUTOGRACY.
THE GOVERMENT NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON, LIKE THE PRICE OF GASOLINE.
MARIO FERNANDEZ - 13 years ago
THIS CONTRY IS NOT A DEMOCRACY ANYMORE, BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE.
THE CONTRY IS RUB BY A FEW CORPORATION AND THAT IS CALLED PLUTOGRACY.
THE GOVERMENT NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON LIKE THE PRICE OF GASOLINE.
Dan Hohenstein - 13 years ago
ISN'T IT SAD THAT YOUR VIEWERS ARE SO MISINFORMED/UNINFORMED ABOUT THIS MATTER. IT'S NOT A MATTER OF OPINION. IT'S A MATTER OF FACT
If older people like me would quit saying I will have these tests and go to the doctor for no reason because it is free Medicare wouldn't go up so fast. I had gallbladder surgery which is the only surgery in 83 years. I do my own doctoring if I need too.
deltakat - 13 years ago
wildass spending by president and congress. YOU CANNOT BORROW YOUR WAY OUT OF DEBT
David Pack - 13 years ago
I started to vote for #1 with the interest on the national debt, but chose #other since the Gov't bailout for Wall Street wasn't included, nor war costs, or the real estate collapse (which I think is still ongoing). The Gov't increase in debt and interest would have to be #1 really. Followed by non-essential wars and their resultant costs, but benefits to the Military-Industrial Complex.
As far as interest and personal taxes. This is the first year I haven't paid any taxes due to extremely LOW interest rates. I made it about half-way to the poverty line. My real estate taxes took about 1/3 of that! End result? I'm cutting into principal.
James Asher - 13 years ago
There has been three wars since President Ronald Reagan left office that were not necessary since the national security of the United States was never threatened. Obama’s war with Libya was definitely unconstitutional as he never consulted Congress but our illustrious Representatives in Congress did not have the gonads to impeach him. The Constitution is being trampled on and the Executive Branch is steadily gaining power. It won’t be long at the rate we are going until the Constitution will have virtually no meaning at all… Sad commentary!!!!
Also, why are we spending billions on illegal immigrant’s to pay for their medical care and welfare payments? Why are we subsidizing big oil companies with billions of tax payers money. The rich in this country have all kinds of tax breaks that the average working stiff doesn’t have. The Bush tax cuts were designed to primarily benefit the rich.
The average tax payer is being taken to the cleaners and with only two major political parties that even have a chance of gaining power I see no hopes of ever straightening the situation out. The two major political parties are joined at the hip and they have taken action at the State level to virtually shut out any competition from any third party.
David Welenc - 13 years ago
Back to the basics - as my dad use to say - save your money now for future events and never pay finance charges on your credit card or I will will give you the scissors to cut it up. Don't spend today what you think you might have tomorrow! And, take what you eat and eat what you take. And finally, exercise caution was always there as well.
FDR put in to place a safety net and we now treat it as our retirement nest egg. If the legislators could have stayed away from mortgaging the Social Security stream of money, we would not be facing this IOU fracas!
Chuck Burton - 13 years ago
Look in the mirror.
The real culprit is the American people, who have let the politicians buy their votes with government giveaways, and those politicians who have taken advantage of this culpability.
larry whitcomb - 13 years ago
Too much higher education with insuffient learning. Early 20 century, 8th graders built the beginnings of the industry of U.S. The 18th graders are destroying it.
Changing the working of the U.S. Constitution without amendment.
Removing prayer from public spaces in 1962. Look at morals in U.S. since then. The things we don't want have increased dramatically like diviorce, family destruction, cheapening of life list goes on. The acceptance of lies from elected officials is obvious. Fifth commandment, thou shall no kill, is apparently replaced by having "hate crimes" in our laws. Thank you ACLU.
Geoff Marr - 13 years ago
Folks, with love and respect, I dont agree with much of your list AT ALL!! I dont even accept that ANY of the items listed was, or is, a major contributor to the current reality of the yankee zloty. So just what do I believe IS in back of all this? there is no one thing... in fact its a number of items.
First, as in most major occurances, the root is cultural. Too many people felt that they were so gosh darned clever, so rich, so special, so ENTITLED that they could in fact rort the rest of humanity in order to line ... and to continue to line...their personal pockets; and didnt they just scream bloody murder and demand special treatment when the gravy train was derailed? the same gravy train that THEY in fact just derailed? Let the markets decide, you say? so why is it that they wish to privatise profits, and socialise losses? markets are just like trains.... they run just great when they're well oiled, well maintained, have good people on the job, and the TRACKS are kept in good order. When the tracks are pulled up in the night and flogged off in order to make paperclips and razor blades, the train gets wrecked. The tracks... the rails... are the laws of the land. Why was nobody maintaining oversight?
Second, NOBODY WAS LOOKING TO SEE JUST WHAT THESE ********S WERE DOING! NOBODY KNEW WHO SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, OR NOBODY CARED WHO SHOULD HAVE CARED. NOBODY ACTED! Wall Street. The Republican Party. The Democrats. Goldman Sachs. Lehmann Bros. Where was the oversight? where was the regulation? where was the protection of the assets and wellbeing of the people? where was the helicopter view that should have forseen that this HAD to spill over into ALL sectors in ALL markets. In other places, in other times, the perpetrators would face the death penalty. I'd have Cheney et al in front of the wall. Then I'd have Bernanke et al serving life on the rockpile without parole. Thats AFTER 100% of their assets were seized.
Third. Sense of entitlement. You want MORE and MORE protection, special treatment, major works, health, defence, education (what do they teach you?? creationism? shopping? the US is a joke in very bad taste!) etc, and yet NOBODY believes its their responsibility to PAY for any of it! What is WRONG with you people?? The tax base of the US economy is a pathetic joke. Its not rocket science. Its like going to a restaurant. You only order what you can pay for; and even then, only if you can - and will - eat it. If you order, and you cant pay, then you face the consequences.
Fourth.... the US MUST wake up to the fact that, by allowing this to occur, they have forfeited the Great Game. This has been played since pre Roman times. The US handed cultural and economic victory to those who practice thrift, who study hard, and who work hard. US influence now rests on nuclear weapons (never a good look) and residual goodwill. Your dollar is gone. Sunk without a trace. Your leadership role has sunk with it. People USED to stop and listen out of both respect, admiration, and a hint of fear. Right now, fear is about all you have left. Moral authority is long gone. In my view, the US needs to do something to raise the RESPECT card higher. MUCH higher.
Fifth. You need to end global warming first, however, as otherwise its all moot. This in fact is the best place to start. You must LEAD in NON NUCLEAR clean baseload energy. QUICKLY. You must back this up with CLEAN TRANSPORT. Quickly. You must lead the world in clean water processes, and MAKE THEM FREELY AVAILABLE!! This one item will create a wellspring (pun intended) of goodwill. You need to get the creationist bullshit out of your classrooms before the rest of us have a hernia from laughing so damned hard. Quickly. You must reinvigorate the space program. Again, quickly.
Finally.. US defence must return to being defence... not ''strategic offence''. If the world wants a heavilly armed policeman, they'll ask for one. Diplomacy works when the sabre rattling is quelled.
Helen Updike - 13 years ago
War-time tax reductions for the richest Americans. Second, the wars themselves.
M W Baumeister - 13 years ago
Well, how do our opinions line up with reality?
mwb
Y. Barland - 13 years ago
You failed to include a question about Low Tax revenue, as well as circa 2000 Greenspan's musing whether budget surpluses were good for the economy. But of course the idea of government saving money in good times, must have been too. . . Keynesian for him!!!
Let's not forget that deficit or surplus, in the private or public sector, result from the same basic equation:
Revenue minus Expenses
In addition, the Fed current O% interest policy is equivalent to a 100% tax on savers, especially retirees, although it does not have the effect of raising Tax revenue, but quite the opposite: a 6% short term rate, even taxed at 50% would still leave the saver a 3% net, while increasing Tax revenue. Furthermore, high short term rates would help keep the long term rates as low if not lower than they are today, thus save the government money on financing the long term debt, without requiring QE 1 2 3 etc
Thus Fed policies only had one positive result: they did help the fiancial institutions pay $169 billions in bonuses last year. Talk about redistribution of wealth! Sounds like the Fed has a socialist mandate.
I know, the financial institutions we have been saving for the past 4 years thanks to the bailout and the 0% policy would sink . . . as they should have 4 years ago. But that's the way free market capitalism should work.
What contributed most to our debt? One word......Obama!!!!
We have dug ourselves so deeply into a hole that we cannot climb out. This is not a current phenomenon. I see this as the fault of our elected misrepresentatives over the last 40 or so years. Decades of 'kicking the can down the street' for the next bunch of legislators to cope with.
Global indebtedness, global overpopulation and global depression were the engines of WWI and WWII. Brace yourselves...after all the excuses have been exhausted, here comes WWIII !
CUTTING SPENDING CAN'T HELP MUCH UNTIL OBAMA AND BERNECKE ARE STOPPED
FROM PRINTING WORTHLESS DOLLARS.
OBAMA IS OUR ENEMY AND SHOULD BE IMPEACHED.
ITS EASIER TO FILL THE BUCKET AFTER THE LEAK IS PLUGGED.
JIM CORBIN
My view is that the system is broke. Too many career politicians that keep getting elected by promising more benefits for the masses. Unfortunately, many amoung us actually believe they can receive free services for life on the back of the hardworking citizen's. They vote for big government to steal from the achievers and then re-distribute the wealth. Unfortunately, the re-distribution is now larger than the achievers can earn and so we have massive debt and money printing! The scary part is that the free loaders are now over the 50% level.. That is the beginning to the end of a democratic society. Welcome to America the land of the freeloader!
Change Defense spending to War spending, add Corporate bailouts and Tax giveaways for the super-rich to the list and, most important of all, ask the voter how much he thinks the item of his choice adds to the deficit in dollars.
Then take a recount and compare the voters' numbers to the real numbers. Could be highly educational for everybody, including yourself.
Your list of choices left off in my opinion the most obvious reason USA is in trouble.
I admit that my following is a generality with more dynamics occurring, that being the USA
went SOCIALIST and
WRONGLY thinking GLOBALISM issues are more important then USA Domestic issues.
This is only true as to global business; but not so for the average citizen if every country.
Those for a global economy attempt to influence the world politics, resulting in wars and unbalance, now the current situation across the planet shows this to be a failure for ALL.
THIS GLOBAL ATTITUDE of the globalist RESULTED IN
destroying the basic internal economy within the USA per the following over the years:
1 USA imports more then it exports THUS A BIG USA DEFICIT and
2 Government mismanagement, being basically a socialistic government which is
actually ANTI little guy citizen who is labor too, and anti privately owned small business,
this as it is currently going, will destroy the globalist big business concept in the long run.
3 The false belief encouraged by a socialist government that one need not be concern about supporting self,
THAT ALL SHOULD GET THE SAME PAY REGARDLESS OF THEIR PERFORMANCE
or on the other end
DENYING TO LABOR AT THE LOWEST PAYING JOBS an ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT that will assure one with at least a high school education the ability to be self supporting
NOW the socialist
want the government to address AND support everybody ills,
denying that the average citizen TAKEN COLLECTIVELY IS THE GOVERNMENT
FORGETTING everybody is the government, SO who will be supporting whom?
This situation of socialism and its ills all are caught up if one likes it or not
Government should only enforce the concepts of the above SEEKING BALANCE
4 Thus the socialist deny that one has to to take care of self, while
the very wealhy deny for allowing an environment for the average to earn a decent living;
with the Powers At Be allowing GREED, out right lies, and false accusations to be on top.
5 Those, who blame capitalism to be at cause of #4 when it is not, while actually NOT holding one to be accountable for their acts has happen all across the USA. We do not need new laws, the citizens need to demand that their USA Constitution be followed and enforced; currently the courts and supreme court are not following the Constitution, following the $$$.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT:
You left off your list the REAL core cause:s of the problem to select from, being:
USA has gone socialist, starting about 1913 and big time since 1932 and FDR;
USA imports more then it ever exports a deficit needed to be added to the budget to run USA;
USA global policies destroyed average American standard of living to be able to self support;
USA GLOBALIST destroyed the economic environment within USA, lowering the standard of living for Americans, that would allow the average person with a high school education to be the sole wage earner; and be able to support a family of 4 without any government assistance.
Deficit spending principally on Military hegemony caused the National Debt to rise so dramatically. 75 % of this debt came under Reagan, Bush & Bush. The FED and Treasury department have piled on more debt trying to avoid the liquidation that should have taken place when the housing bubble burst. This then caused the RISE in interest payments on the national debt. In this case the egg (debt) really did come before the Chicken ( interest payments). The bottom line is an old one. Governments over spending on military hegemony resulting in the fall of empire: Rome, Spain, Holland, France, Germany, England and now the USA. Medicare and medicaid are two other main expenses that need to be cut. Humans have a limited life span. To spend billions and billions to prolong lives by a year or two in nursing homes is INSANE. We would not put our pets through this. People need to eat better and stop ingesting so many processed chemical filled cancer causing nutrient deficient foods.
ALL OF YOUR COMMENTARY WAS WELL RECEIVED LEAPAZ. "STOP allowing Banks & Wall Street to ruin us through corruption, deception & greed. We Americans have a BROKEN SPIRIT and need a rebirth. Time to declare a new Constitution and clean house on the present one. Wake up Congress! We need new leadership that we can be proud of and not shame & fear".
I'M GOING TO ADD CORRUPTION, DECEPTION AND GREED GOES MUCH DEEPER THAN THE BANKS AND WALL STREET, WHICH YOU DID INDICATE. YOU ARE SPOT ON ABOUT FEAR. THERE IS A PERVASIVE UNDERLYING CURRENT WE ALL FEEL. LET'S NOT MAKE A "NEW" CONSTITUTION, BUT UPHOLD THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT, WRITTEN BY OUR FORESIGHTED FOUNDERS, OF THIS REPUBLIC. A FEW AMENDMENTS THOUGH ARE IN ORDER. TERM LIMITS WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO START.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
JOHN ACTON
Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.
Niccolo Machiavelli
We are top heavy with Congress & Political Reps that are egotistic, complacent and self serving who think they are celebs. Republicans = heavy bullies and Democrats = Jackass. One President elect cannot clean up a barnyard filled with poop left behind with a teaspoon by his or herself. The Bush administration ran amuck and ignored the needs of the American tax payers.
Lincoln and Kennedy were eliminated for less in the name of "progress". As for Social Security, We paid our dues with hard work and the Federal Government squandered those deposited funds and diverted them into their "special interest" pots. These deposited and trusted funds were to be secured for the retirement during the years following our "unproductive" years.
As for the wars...who the hell are we to judge how another country develops or runs it's own country, unless it is a direct threat to the U.S.? If they have to fight for their own democracy, like our founding fathers did, they would find a way to run their own country. Besides, after all the smoke clears and bodies counted, they will all have to sit down and talk it out. So, why are we so arrogant to think we have all the answers when we can't even address our own issues? If America is to be a world leader, we need to EDUCATE our own children and not have open enrollment for every other foreign country. Flogging & humiliating jobless tax payers by foreclosures is an American disgrage when job losses were created internally. Who will house anf feed and medically take care of these people? STOP allowing Banks & Wall Street to ruin us through corruption, deception & greed. We Americans have a BROKEN SPIRIT and need a rebirth. Time to declare a new Constitution and clean house on the present one. Wake up Congress! We need new leadership that we can be proud of and not shame & fear.
Health care needs a deep purging to get rid of all the Medicare and Medicaid scammers who sell worthless services such as the "scotters" and excessive tests that disclose little and cost lots. If Doctors fail to diagnose patients accurately, it is because they don't take the time to LISTEN or just push drugs & receive a kick back. Prevention should be explored through proper nutrition and the financial ability to access it. Majority of illness is from poor nutrition and ignorance of how our bodies function properly with the right nutrients. More health clinics, less drugs and unnecessary and expensive tests. Doctors are drug pushers with a license.
Get rid 0f the two G Bush's tax cuts and back to the way Bill Clinton almost had the USA debt a thing of the past. Leave taxes high until we are less in the red
CAUSE OF DEBT CRISIS (FED DEFICIT)
1. Arrogance.
2. Entitlements.
3. No Business Plan!
The root casuse of the debt is the federal goverment..
1) Globilization -buying all selling nothing.. The "trading partners" buy only what they can't make untill they can make it then stop buying..so much for "exports" who in his right mind will import from a country paying $40 an hour for labor-when you can make it at home for $10??
2) Tax policy.. Make it easy for big corporations to import everything rather than make it here..
3) I could reverse this in a month.. BUT it would cut off all my campaign contributions !!
4)I get sick when I hear how "exports" will save us .... say what dummie??
Look around- if globilization were the answer why are we in free fall..Jobs will only return when our wages match the asian counterpart-tell that nasty secret to our union workers..
The root casuse of the debt is the federal goverment..
1) Globilization -buying all selling nothing.. The "trading partners" buy only what they can't make untill they can make it then stop buying..so much for "exports" who in his right mind will import from a country paying $40 an hour for labor-when you can make it at home for $10??
2) Tax policy.. Make it easy for big corporations to import everything rather than make it here..
3) I could reverse this in a month.. BUT it would cut off all my casmpaign contributions !!
4)I get sick when I hear how "exports" will save us .... say what dummie??
Look around- if globilization were the answer why are we in free fall..Jobs will only return when our wages match the asian counterpart-tell that nasty secret to our union workers..
And the answer is? I love surveys, but I relish the comparisons of surveys with objective data (when available). Can someone provide a link to see how much each source in the survey has actually contributed to the annual deficits, and cumulative debt in recent years (at least back to 2ooo, but preferably back to the post WWII era (~ 1945 and forward)?
I blame Obama's policies across the board, destined to overwhelm our financial stability. Throw in the Fed's policies and you have a recipe for disaster. You can just watch it unfold.
The incompetent George W. Bush administration's policies and the banking, housing and loan debacle are responsible for the present state of affairs, in my opinion. May God help us.
I voted other because this list is too simplified , all of these are involved but the question dose not take in or consider the waste , fraud and abuse involved in the administration of all these programs . Our founding fathers had the foresight to see this and that is why the constitution does not support the government doing any of it . No entity is less efficient than a government in handling the welfare of an individual , It is comparable to using a ten pound sledge hammer to repair a delicate watchworks , not even mentioning all the intentional theft and fraud from within as well as from without . The only solution is to remove from the fed anything not specifically assigned to them by the constitution . Of course , with the power they have given themselves and the gimmee society I do not think it can be done .
THIS CONTRY IS NOT A DEMOCRACY ANYMORE, BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE.
THE CONTRY IS RUN BY A FEW CORPORATION AND THAT IS CALLED PLUTOGRACY.
THE GOVERMENT NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON, LIKE THE PRICE OF GASOLINE.
THIS CONTRY IS NOT A DEMOCRACY ANYMORE, BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE.
THE CONTRY IS RUN BY A FEW CORPORATION AND THAT IS CALLED PLUTOGRACY.
THE GOVERMENT NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON, LIKE THE PRICE OF GASOLINE.
THIS CONTRY IS NOT A DEMOCRACY ANYMORE, BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE.
THE CONTRY IS RUB BY A FEW CORPORATION AND THAT IS CALLED PLUTOGRACY.
THE GOVERMENT NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON LIKE THE PRICE OF GASOLINE.
ISN'T IT SAD THAT YOUR VIEWERS ARE SO MISINFORMED/UNINFORMED ABOUT THIS MATTER. IT'S NOT A MATTER OF OPINION. IT'S A MATTER OF FACT
If older people like me would quit saying I will have these tests and go to the doctor for no reason because it is free Medicare wouldn't go up so fast. I had gallbladder surgery which is the only surgery in 83 years. I do my own doctoring if I need too.
wildass spending by president and congress. YOU CANNOT BORROW YOUR WAY OUT OF DEBT
I started to vote for #1 with the interest on the national debt, but chose #other since the Gov't bailout for Wall Street wasn't included, nor war costs, or the real estate collapse (which I think is still ongoing). The Gov't increase in debt and interest would have to be #1 really. Followed by non-essential wars and their resultant costs, but benefits to the Military-Industrial Complex.
As far as interest and personal taxes. This is the first year I haven't paid any taxes due to extremely LOW interest rates. I made it about half-way to the poverty line. My real estate taxes took about 1/3 of that! End result? I'm cutting into principal.
There has been three wars since President Ronald Reagan left office that were not necessary since the national security of the United States was never threatened. Obama’s war with Libya was definitely unconstitutional as he never consulted Congress but our illustrious Representatives in Congress did not have the gonads to impeach him. The Constitution is being trampled on and the Executive Branch is steadily gaining power. It won’t be long at the rate we are going until the Constitution will have virtually no meaning at all… Sad commentary!!!!
Also, why are we spending billions on illegal immigrant’s to pay for their medical care and welfare payments? Why are we subsidizing big oil companies with billions of tax payers money. The rich in this country have all kinds of tax breaks that the average working stiff doesn’t have. The Bush tax cuts were designed to primarily benefit the rich.
The average tax payer is being taken to the cleaners and with only two major political parties that even have a chance of gaining power I see no hopes of ever straightening the situation out. The two major political parties are joined at the hip and they have taken action at the State level to virtually shut out any competition from any third party.
Back to the basics - as my dad use to say - save your money now for future events and never pay finance charges on your credit card or I will will give you the scissors to cut it up. Don't spend today what you think you might have tomorrow! And, take what you eat and eat what you take. And finally, exercise caution was always there as well.
FDR put in to place a safety net and we now treat it as our retirement nest egg. If the legislators could have stayed away from mortgaging the Social Security stream of money, we would not be facing this IOU fracas!
Look in the mirror.
The real culprit is the American people, who have let the politicians buy their votes with government giveaways, and those politicians who have taken advantage of this culpability.
Too much higher education with insuffient learning. Early 20 century, 8th graders built the beginnings of the industry of U.S. The 18th graders are destroying it.
Changing the working of the U.S. Constitution without amendment.
Removing prayer from public spaces in 1962. Look at morals in U.S. since then. The things we don't want have increased dramatically like diviorce, family destruction, cheapening of life list goes on. The acceptance of lies from elected officials is obvious. Fifth commandment, thou shall no kill, is apparently replaced by having "hate crimes" in our laws. Thank you ACLU.
Folks, with love and respect, I dont agree with much of your list AT ALL!! I dont even accept that ANY of the items listed was, or is, a major contributor to the current reality of the yankee zloty. So just what do I believe IS in back of all this? there is no one thing... in fact its a number of items.
First, as in most major occurances, the root is cultural. Too many people felt that they were so gosh darned clever, so rich, so special, so ENTITLED that they could in fact rort the rest of humanity in order to line ... and to continue to line...their personal pockets; and didnt they just scream bloody murder and demand special treatment when the gravy train was derailed? the same gravy train that THEY in fact just derailed? Let the markets decide, you say? so why is it that they wish to privatise profits, and socialise losses? markets are just like trains.... they run just great when they're well oiled, well maintained, have good people on the job, and the TRACKS are kept in good order. When the tracks are pulled up in the night and flogged off in order to make paperclips and razor blades, the train gets wrecked. The tracks... the rails... are the laws of the land. Why was nobody maintaining oversight?
Second, NOBODY WAS LOOKING TO SEE JUST WHAT THESE ********S WERE DOING! NOBODY KNEW WHO SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, OR NOBODY CARED WHO SHOULD HAVE CARED. NOBODY ACTED! Wall Street. The Republican Party. The Democrats. Goldman Sachs. Lehmann Bros. Where was the oversight? where was the regulation? where was the protection of the assets and wellbeing of the people? where was the helicopter view that should have forseen that this HAD to spill over into ALL sectors in ALL markets. In other places, in other times, the perpetrators would face the death penalty. I'd have Cheney et al in front of the wall. Then I'd have Bernanke et al serving life on the rockpile without parole. Thats AFTER 100% of their assets were seized.
Third. Sense of entitlement. You want MORE and MORE protection, special treatment, major works, health, defence, education (what do they teach you?? creationism? shopping? the US is a joke in very bad taste!) etc, and yet NOBODY believes its their responsibility to PAY for any of it! What is WRONG with you people?? The tax base of the US economy is a pathetic joke. Its not rocket science. Its like going to a restaurant. You only order what you can pay for; and even then, only if you can - and will - eat it. If you order, and you cant pay, then you face the consequences.
Fourth.... the US MUST wake up to the fact that, by allowing this to occur, they have forfeited the Great Game. This has been played since pre Roman times. The US handed cultural and economic victory to those who practice thrift, who study hard, and who work hard. US influence now rests on nuclear weapons (never a good look) and residual goodwill. Your dollar is gone. Sunk without a trace. Your leadership role has sunk with it. People USED to stop and listen out of both respect, admiration, and a hint of fear. Right now, fear is about all you have left. Moral authority is long gone. In my view, the US needs to do something to raise the RESPECT card higher. MUCH higher.
Fifth. You need to end global warming first, however, as otherwise its all moot. This in fact is the best place to start. You must LEAD in NON NUCLEAR clean baseload energy. QUICKLY. You must back this up with CLEAN TRANSPORT. Quickly. You must lead the world in clean water processes, and MAKE THEM FREELY AVAILABLE!! This one item will create a wellspring (pun intended) of goodwill. You need to get the creationist bullshit out of your classrooms before the rest of us have a hernia from laughing so damned hard. Quickly. You must reinvigorate the space program. Again, quickly.
Finally.. US defence must return to being defence... not ''strategic offence''. If the world wants a heavilly armed policeman, they'll ask for one. Diplomacy works when the sabre rattling is quelled.
War-time tax reductions for the richest Americans. Second, the wars themselves.
Well, how do our opinions line up with reality?
mwb
You failed to include a question about Low Tax revenue, as well as circa 2000 Greenspan's musing whether budget surpluses were good for the economy. But of course the idea of government saving money in good times, must have been too. . . Keynesian for him!!!
Let's not forget that deficit or surplus, in the private or public sector, result from the same basic equation:
Revenue minus Expenses
In addition, the Fed current O% interest policy is equivalent to a 100% tax on savers, especially retirees, although it does not have the effect of raising Tax revenue, but quite the opposite: a 6% short term rate, even taxed at 50% would still leave the saver a 3% net, while increasing Tax revenue. Furthermore, high short term rates would help keep the long term rates as low if not lower than they are today, thus save the government money on financing the long term debt, without requiring QE 1 2 3 etc
Thus Fed policies only had one positive result: they did help the fiancial institutions pay $169 billions in bonuses last year. Talk about redistribution of wealth! Sounds like the Fed has a socialist mandate.
I know, the financial institutions we have been saving for the past 4 years thanks to the bailout and the 0% policy would sink . . . as they should have 4 years ago. But that's the way free market capitalism should work.