It's funny that the 'get a job' crowd never actually seems to be working. I work 44 hours a week. GFY.

"Maybe Putin should move to Cuba or N. Korea to enjoy his ideology in practice. "

Jesus, you're a walking cliche of a conservative. "Get a job, move to Cuba". You forgot take a shower.

"I can't stand him but will still gladly vote for him over another 4 years of my house losing value, inflation on bills, high unemployment, and a soaring debt that our current President is clueless at best or careless to addrees."

Right, back to the good ol' Bush days. His and your Republican friends economic stewardship had no responsibility at all in putting us behind the 8 ball.

I indeed adore how you guys all of a sudden care about deficits. Where were you in 2000 when Bush proposed to gash our budget with massive tax cuts while fighting two wars?

44 hrs a week doing what?

I was and still am against the wars...Obama is only making Afghanistan worse. The tax cuts I am and will continue to be in favor of.

If you know all the answers why aren't you running for election? Council? House? Why are you content being the Comic book guy of this web site?

Working at a mental health institution with autistic children. Any other questions? Nothing but pathetic ad hominem attacks in lieu of an argument from you.

"The tax cuts I am and will continue to be in favor of. "

Then stop whining about the debt. Impossible to fix debts when people like you reject any raising of government revenue whatsoever. Even Raygun & Bush I knew the importance of raising revenue to get out of economic recessions.

"If you know all the answers why aren't you running for election? Council? House? Why are you content being the Comic book guy of this web site?"

Because I need to pay my bills and because it costs a fortune to run for office, especially under this plutocratic election financing system. Plus, I am perfectly content with my city government, which is all Democratic. I also don't claim to know all the answers. I only know that Republicans turn everything they touch to shit. Every single Republican administration this century save perhaps Eisenhower and TR has been a giant fuckup.

Govt. revenue has stayed at 20% of GDP as a constant for decades, regardless of tax rates. Look it up. Govt. spending has increased exponentially especially in the last 3 years. What do we have to show for it? Keynesian economics didn't work in the 30s, and it's not working now.

You can't spend $2 for every $1 for a long time without severe consequences. See Weimar Repblic, and Greece. Why do you think food, gas, utility bills, etc. have gone up? The price of gold is so high? Inflation is happening due to the excess printing of money by the Fed.

Not that I want to get involved in your argument but tj218, I don't get how you can attack putin with 'move to Cuba/North Korea' and then a few minutes later attack Keynesian economics as an attack on his views. Communist countries do not really follow Keynesian ideals, this leads me to think of your position as uninformed and/or a product of your cheap demagogue. Seeing as you favour free market and the republican party I will assume it is both.

No, actually for all the whining about imminent inflation doom that the goldbugs have been trying to scare us with, it hasnt happened. To the ectent which there are price increases, its due to oil speculators.

Oh and for the record, FDR wasn't a "Keynesian". He tried to balance the budget every year and had pretty low deficits considering the economic malaise. The economy went to crap again in the mid-late 30s because he listened to people like you who said he should slash the budget. Guess they don't teach you that information in Goldbug school.

"Govt. revenue has stayed at 20% of GDP as a constant for decades, regardless of tax rates.

"Govt. revenue has stayed at 20% of GDP as a constant for decades, regardless of tax rates"

No, not true. But even if true, that has nothing to do with spending vs taxes coming in. When taxes are cut, receipts plummet, or at least do not increase at the normal rate.

http://www.econdataus.com/taxcuts.html

Here's our skyrocketing rates of inflation:

2009: -.4
2010: 1.6
2011. 3.2
2012: 2.3 (averaged thus far)

Last years inflation rate of 3.16% was higher than any year of his predecessor's first term in office. And note that, until election year came around, every year it doubled or more the previous year and 2009 was negative inflation because the economy was crashing. Prices don't go up when everyone is desperate to sell cause no one has money to buy. The housing market being repressed affected overall inflation.

The real tell of the tape is consumable goods. Look at gas prices and staples like milk, bread, eggs, ground beef, and such. That is the *real* indicator of inflation because major markets crashing like the housing market abnormally influence inflation by virtue of their volume. A home that cost 225K suddenly going for 160K or worse has a huge influence over bread going up $.25 a loaf. But that $.25 a loaf is 10-20% inflation.

Keep cherry picking data affected by global fuel prices. You fools predicted hyperinflation. Didnt happen.

Putin, those rates don't include food or energy prices. You are the one cherry picking.

A few years ago the gov., I think it was in Carter's admin but it may have been Bush (Sr.) they changed the official measure of inflation to "core inflation" which excludes food and energy costs. When you factor food and energy costs in, our inflation rate is north of 9%.

How much has the price of gas gone up in the last 3 years? A carton of orange juice (notice they changed the size of the containers, you used to get 64oz, now 59oz). etc. Since food and energy prices make up about 60% (BLS stat) of the average family's budget, by saying there is no inflation just to make a political point only shows your talk about families struggling to make ends meet is only talk.

What does food & energy have to do with the Fed purchasing government bonds, like your theory insists happens? How come you have no interest in oil speculation, and even support a party which blocks any attempt to regulate it, if this is supposedly your big concern?

"Since food and energy prices make up about 60% (BLS stat) of the average family's budget, by saying there is no inflation just to make a political point only shows your talk about families struggling to make ends meet is only talk."

That's what the numbers say. Unlike you and your ilk I don't use personal anecdotes as the basis of my entire worldview.

You like a challenge guys, want to do the impossible them here we go:
'How do we solve a problem like Romney?'
It would be fun to try get him elected while he is busy pissing people off and trying to lose, hasn't he ever heard of Dale Carneagie .......