tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12897315.post1682687254386420445..comments2024-03-28T09:54:55.115-05:00Comments on Dad29: Too Big to Fail? Bear, Stearns and Hospital TaxesDad29http://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12897315.post-10869545852632811092008-03-18T10:37:00.000-05:002008-03-18T10:37:00.000-05:00No this is not only Bush’s fault, he’s just the le...No this is not only Bush’s fault, he’s just the leader the conservatives put in place to implement their wishes. The problem began with Gingrich and the neocons’ 1994 takeover of congress, and it’s been downhill ever since.<BR/><BR/>I benefited from the tax cuts too, but the country suffered. Converting a $300B surplus to a $600B deficit started the ball rolling. But then he got smart and proposed a tax cut for the little people who buy product, and even that was too late. We don’t need tax cuts, we need our jobs back. But the free marketers prefer unregulated globalization, so live with it. <BR/><BR/>Enron was a scam, yet it demonstrates that even scammers can get appointed to Bush’s inner circle to deregulate the energy market. There are some things that can be done with oil, but the far left and far right have to get out of the way. See http://tinyurl.com/yr2vfd <BR/><BR/>Certainly we are already paying for a national healthcare system, we just aren’t getting it. 31% of healthcare dollars are being siphoned off to satisfy the for-profit side of the equation, and until we get the money out of politics that’s the way it’s going to be. Healthy Wisconsin, which you hate, would eliminate the 31% waste and use it for patient care instead, but the free marketers won’t have it. So, again, live with it.Jack Lohmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10214373845549362680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12897315.post-26757739572724422892008-03-18T09:47:00.000-05:002008-03-18T09:47:00.000-05:00Actually, Jack, I'm surprised to read your post's ...Actually, Jack, I'm surprised to read your post's horrific errors in fact.<BR/><BR/>1) The tax cuts were VERY beneficial to me; you'll have to take my word that I am not "rich"--by a LONG shot. At the same time, I'll grant you that there is a legitimate argument about 'progressive taxation' to be had.<BR/><BR/>2) Enron was a scam, not created by GWB nor his predecessor. Enron was a bunch of crooks aided by Arthur Anderson (which also was shot in the street and left dead as a result.) How you paste that to GWB is a mystery to me.<BR/><BR/>3) Buying out 'the debtors' or 'the banks' is exactly the same--two sides of the same coin. Either way, 'the banks' benefit.<BR/><BR/>4) The overarching issue is "how many USDs are TOO many USDs?" If you like $150/bbl oil, you'll love Fed 'buyouts.'<BR/><BR/>5) Finally, the "free market" types are perfectly happy to have their asses rescued (or held harmless.) See the 'poor little Bear Stearns people' stories already spread all over the press.<BR/><BR/>Given the alternatives to GWB, your votes were correct. And if you think that "Too Big to Fail" Bear Stearns is a problem, wait until you get your National HealthCare...Dad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12897315.post-69358910776414369502008-03-18T08:07:00.000-05:002008-03-18T08:07:00.000-05:00I would sure hope that conservatives look carefull...I would sure hope that conservatives look carefully at (a) what got us into this mess in the first place (b) and how our moneyed political system is going to keep us there, at least for the foreseeable future. We cannot fix today’s problems with more of the same.<BR/><BR/>Bush started the ball rolling with his tax cuts for the wealthy, draining the U.S. of its surplus and starting the fall of the dominoes. And while this dummy voted for him twice, I think I’m smarter today.<BR/><BR/>Then the so-called “free market” gurus forced deregulation over sensible regulation, and the money people went wild. Witness the Enron and other collapses.<BR/><BR/>But now, instead of bailing out the little sub-prime borrowers, the Feds choose to bail out the big sub-prime lenders. Interesting how that works.<BR/><BR/>I happen to believe that “lending” money to bail out Bear Sterns was probably the right thing to do, so long as it is not ultimately "forgiven." But we have to go further and institute sensible regulations. <BR/><BR/>But money in politics does strange things, and at some point the free market types must put it all together and realize how much our corrupt political system is costing our country. <BR/><BR/>I bet you are surprised to hear that view, Dad29.Jack Lohmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10214373845549362680noreply@blogger.com