In what we believe is a master stroke, Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney selected Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate. The Vice President candidate brings financial expertise, youth, and conservative stripes to a campaign that needs the latter two attributes.
Of course, the Democrats are going to focus their attention on the Ryan Budget which passed the House but did not even get a hearing in the Senate. It is tough medicine, however, is that not what is needed? We believe so.
The country cannot continue down the path it is currently on. If things are not changed, we will become the next Greece and our country will never ever be the same as it has been. Our economy is running out of steam, we have borrowed too much, provided too many benefits to those who do not work, and have tried to provide programs for every imaginable problem. This cannot continue.
It will be the job of the Republicans to communicate the dire nature of the country's financial issues and to promote the necessity to make changes now before tragedy hits and not to wait until there are no options. We think they can do it.
We wish the Romney-Ryan team the very best.
Conservative Tom
Of course, the Democrats are going to focus their attention on the Ryan Budget which passed the House but did not even get a hearing in the Senate. It is tough medicine, however, is that not what is needed? We believe so.
The country cannot continue down the path it is currently on. If things are not changed, we will become the next Greece and our country will never ever be the same as it has been. Our economy is running out of steam, we have borrowed too much, provided too many benefits to those who do not work, and have tried to provide programs for every imaginable problem. This cannot continue.
It will be the job of the Republicans to communicate the dire nature of the country's financial issues and to promote the necessity to make changes now before tragedy hits and not to wait until there are no options. We think they can do it.
We wish the Romney-Ryan team the very best.
Conservative Tom
Just looking at the politics of it, I think Romney would have picked somebody like Portman or Pawlenty if he were not trailing in the polls in most of the swing states. The Ryan budget is not popular with seniors because of the Medicare voucher idea, but Ryan is more popular with the Republican base than are guys like Pawlenty or Portman. He needs Ryan to fire up the base to get out the votes even if Ryan costs him some ground with some of the 8% so-called "independents" or "low information voters" whom the experts say will decide the election.
ReplyDeleteIn any event, so long as neither party controls 60+ votes in the Senate, we are going to have -- with Romney or Obama -- more gridlock right up to the time that the banks crash the economy again. Then, they will be forced to do something.
Give me your prediction for what happens in the lame duck session as "fiscal cliff" looms. Assuming Obama wins, will the Republicans hold out for no tax cuts on the 1%, or will the Democrats "blink" in the game of chicken and extend the Bush tax cuts for them, or will they not do the defense spending cuts? I don't know, but I find this more interesting than the election (unless one party takes over the presidency, House, and 60+ Senate -- which seems improbable).
--David
P.S. Unemployment is now up to 8.4%. Are you ready to concede on our bet that BLS will rig the data?
I am surprised that BLS has not adjusted the numbers yet, however, we are not in November yet so we will see. Maybe I still will win!! (Don't start counting the money until election day.)
ReplyDeleteI heard a prediction a couple days ago that there would be a major economic problem before the elections, this might have a big effect on the vote.
As far as the elections, today, Romney is either slightly behind or tied with Obama in the popular vote and is behind in electoral college. Of course if you look at the last time there were major economic problems, Carter was leading Reagan and you know how that worked out.
As far as the "fiscal cliff" question, I am not so sure that the Republican leadership in the House and Senate has the ability to lead a moral argument.; We should cut spending and taxes on all people! We could confiscate all the wealth of the 1% and it would only run the government for less than a year. Get a grip, the 1% already pay nearly 90% of the taxes. Why are we trying to kill the golden goose?
Nobody is talking about taking the top marginal rate back to 90%. It would only increase by 3%. Their effective tax rate is only around 15%. Not only can the 1% easily afford to pay a little more in taxes, the revenue is needed to balance the budget. The reason they pay so much in taxes (in absolute dollars, not as a proportion of income) is that they have a higher proportion of the income and wealth any time since the last time this happened back in the Great Depression….
ReplyDeletehttp://rwer.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/top-1-income-share-in-usa-from-1913-2008/
The Wall Street banks are not the "golden goose." They are the crooks who blew up the global credit markets for personal gain. All independent economic analysts agree that the budget deficit can't be eliminated just with spending cuts, especially since you won't cut defense by any significant amount. This discussion we are having precisely illustrates why Congress will continue in gridlock.
I doubt unemployment will get below 8%. Most economists think GDP will bump along around the 2% level unless Europe totally implodes.
--David
You could increase the taxes to 100% and it would not make a difference. Your argument does not make any sense in balancing the budget.
ReplyDeleteBanks should be restricted to banking and be forced to sell their insurance, investments (i.e. Merrill Lynch and B of A) and other non-banking business. If they do, then we will get back to what occurred from the Great Depression to the 1990's.
I think the economy is headed for another dump by the end of the year. 2% might look like the 'good ole days.'