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Comment on Obama’s Dilemma: Jobs by Obama's Dilemma: Jobs « Rich McSheehy's Weblog | Costarica Today

Obama's Dilemma: Jobs « Rich McSheehy's Weblog | Costarica Today — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:24:40 +0000

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Comment on Obama’s Dilemma: Jobs by Ben

Ben — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:47:25 +0000

Business abhors uncertainty. Right now, it doesn’t know what to expect from Obama’s programs. It finds them unsettling and creating more questions than answers.

Businesses are saying they cannot assess the full impact the health care bill will have on their business models. Even the health care insurance companies are struggling to determine its impact.

Then there is the upcoming Cap and Trade fiasco waiting in the wings. This creates even more uncertainty about how it will impact their profit margin. All they know is that it will be negative. Whatever the costs, they will be passed to their customers. That means we will have less disposable income and means another negative impact upon the economy.

With so much uncertainty, business is waiting for these bills to become reality (better yet, fiction) while they are cut costs in anticipation.

On the senate docket is the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill—aka the American Clean Energy and Security Act, ACES, H.R. 2454. That’s going to hit business structures, new homes, existing homes and transportation. It’s just another source of uncertainty about costs and what it means to business and another source of negative impact upon the economy.

Consumers are pulling back, saving their money, paying off bills but not spending it on the economy at normal rates. This creates more problems for businesses trying to weather the storm. It causes them to batten down the hatches even tighter. It’s no wonder employment rates are at historic levels.

It appears the problem affecting the economy is Obama himself. His brand of change creates fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Fixing the economy would then appear to be simple. Since he won’t resign, Obama should sit down and shut up.

If Obama were to do anything at this time, it would be to call for a press conference to announce he will not sign this version of the health care bill, that he will not sign the American Clean Energy and Security Act and that he will not sign the Cap and Trade bill. In addition, he should announce he will cut taxes for both business and individuals and will support legislation to force the banks to begin loaning to business and consumers.

Comment on 9/11: Why Did Al Qaeda Attack the United States? by Allan Innes

Allan Innes — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:54:10 +0000

How terrifying it is that the American public was never given any real insight into the reasoning and rationale behind Al Qaeda’s attacks on September 11, 2001. Shouldn’t this absence of clarity from the U.S. government reveal to us that something is unjust in our actions? Furthermore, how troubling is it that intelligent, free-thinking people are content to assume that there is nothing more to Al Qaeda than that of them being “terrorists”? We define peoples and cultures different from our own as “others” and as less than human. Many of these situations require looking through different lenses in order to comprehend how people outside of the United States view us. The other notion which fails to sink in is that much of the United States’ economic policies (which allows us our luxurious lifestyle) are so exploitative that they have become the equivalent of economic warfare. Whether someone is shot in the face, or locked in a room with no food, the end result is the same: death. It is easy for those, untouched by these economic policies, to not see them as warfare. A current example is the situation involving Somali “pirates”. Anyone with basic literacy skills could, given the care to do so, look at the history of Western exploitation in that region and come to an understanding of who the real pirates are.

Comment on Will the Real Perpetrators of the Meltdown Ever Be Prosecuted? by Kaosu

Kaosu — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:35:51 +0000

Doubtful that anything will be done about this — the current administration has been very clear about the fact that they have no interest in prosecuting the previous one.

In fact, many of the people who staffed the previous administration (and also the Clinton administration, which by the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act contributed in a major way to the meltdown;) are still calling the shots in the current regime.

Comment on 9/11: Why Did Al Qaeda Attack the United States? by Kaosu

Kaosu — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:31:31 +0000

I just thought you should know that is one of the most sane discussions of 9/11 and the motivations behind the attack that I've found. Your discussion of the tactic of suicide bombing was particularly astute --- have you by any chance read "Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism"? It makes many of the same points you do, notably that suicide as a tactic is usually only employed when one side in a conflict is disproportionately smaller or weaker than the other (which frequently leads to desperate tactics).