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Welcome to the legacy of the Bush Administration when the Republicans were voted the majority of the House, and the Senate for Bush Jr. in 2004. The Republican dream to wipe out the labor unions (just like the communist economic model), create the oligarchs and peasants to serve them (just like the communist economic model) and recklessly expand trade (letting them pirate/copy/steal our intellectual property) with the communist Chinese regime. The Republican majorities then gave Bush Jr. a rubber stamp to recklessly expand trade agreements with China, India, Russia, etc. to further create the Republican led American communist economic model or New World Order as pronounced by the Republican President Bush Sr. Now American workers have to compete with 2 billion Chinese and Indians who get little or no retirements, wages, etc. If those 2 billion only take 100 million of our good paying jobs where will our unemployment rate be? Bush and the Republicans crushed the American manufacturing sector, and now we are left with the people building the cars, dryers, dishwashers, etc. unable to purchase the products they make (or a new house) because their wages are too low. Nobody can buy the products and so eventually nobody will be employed to build the products. Can the immeasurable damage from Bush and the Republicans and their anti-union pro-communistic anti-American economic model be changed? Who knows. The bottom line is either we create a viable vibrant manufacturing sector in America again or we don't. It is as simple or impossible as that.
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VirginiaHoldem2 | 13 |
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Vermeer, on a lighter note, you definitely have one of the coolest avatars on Covers. It's so XXX dirty (every man's fantasy), yet so PG rated. hehe : ) We should still all be glad that we have the freedom to debate openly on the web in the USA, unlike many other countries around the world.
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sasquatches1 | 75 |
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Hitler outlawed all labor unions in Germany shortly after instituting his total dictatorship. Why was it so important for Hitler to immediately outlaw all labor unions in Germany my fellow Republican? Please, study up on your history my fellow Republican.
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sasquatches1 | 75 |
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Yeah, you buy a stock now and you're guarenteed it's going down. Oh, how we are doing so much better after the Republican Bush Jr. years.
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sasquatches1 | 75 |
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The problem isn't really whether C stock goes to zero. Isn't that a for drawn conclusion at this point? The problem is more about how far will the balance sheet with 40 to 1 leverage keep falling? Yeah, the Chinese communists are doing better than we are thanks to the Republicans and Bush Jr. Bush Jr. still hasn't found religion and admitted any trade agreement, war, etc. mistakes. Forever loyal, biased, and devoted anti-union (just like the communists) Republicans. You gotta love 'em.
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sasquatches1 | 75 |
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The last 8 years with the Republican administration and a Republican majority in both the House and Senate at one time has resulted in exploding record trade deficits, exploding record federal deficits, wars that could be fought more cheaply and effectively, where are the Iraqi WMD? Forever devoted biased Republicans. Gotta love 'em.
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sasquatches1 | 75 |
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I remember the Clinton years were quite good on my job wages, pocketbook, house price, etc. What are there about 150 million Mexicans for Americans to compete with in wages, retirement, healthcare, etc? Hillary admitted that NAFTA was a mistake. How many billions of Chinese, Indians, etc. are there competing with American wages, healthcare, retirements, etc. from the Bush trade deals? The numbers aren't even comparable, just like the banks take from the government compared to the relatively measly GM loan that you Republicans always have to mention. All the Republicans can argue now is that it wasn't just the Republicans fault, even though the Republicans had the Presidency and administration over the last 8 years when all of this shit changed and happened. Biased, anti-labor union (just like the communists, Third Reich, dictatorships, etc.), Republicans. Gotta love 'em.
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sasquatches1 | 75 |
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It's not Citibank, Lehman, AIG, or any of the other countless banks who took (stole) trillions from the US Government. Let's blame it all on GM for having retirees and needing some billions after the banks helped create this debacle. My Republican friends tell me it's the damn labor unions who are at fault as well. Let's all be anti-union like my Republican friends. Let's all be anti-union like my Republican friends, the communists, the Third Reich, or any other dictatorship throughout history. My Republican friends always tell me it will be better for all of America when no more middle class Americans have unions, pensions or healthcare when they "retire". Our sorry state of the present US economy has a whole lot to do with the Republican President Bush Jr. almost single-handedly (after the Republican majorities in the US Senate and US House at the time) gave the Republican Bush Jr. a rubber stamp to recklessly "negotiate" any and all new world trade deals with China, India, Russia, Brazil, Ukraine, etc. without even having to re-visit Congress. It has a whole lot to do with the Republican dream of a "New World Order" as talked about by Bush Jr.'s daddy when he was President. Our sorry economy has a whole lot to do with the Republicans forcing the US labor force to compete with billions of Chinese, Indian, etc. laborers slaving away for dirt cheap wages, little or no retirements, little or no health care. My Republican friends still say the blame lies with US labor unions, pensions, GM retirees, etc. Throughout history those who had the highest manufacturing output per citizen enjoyed the highest standards of living, the highest property vaklues, etc. Thanks largely to the Republican Bush Jr.'s reckless expansion of trade agreements with China, India, South Korea, etc. many American laborers can no longer afford to buy the new car they manufacture, the new house, etc. Who's going to buy the new American cars? The non-unionized underpaid Mexican laborers? Will the non-unionized underpaid Chinese laborers buy our new cars? So, here we are with our deflation, our fake service sector based economy and our fake credit bubble "wages". Thank you Republican Bush Jr. and the Rebublican majorities in Congress at the time for freely giving away our American intellectual property and making Americans compete in wages, pensions, health care costs, etc. with the billions of slave wage laborers from around the world who can freely copy/pirate our products at will. Thank you Republicans for your dream and realization of the New World Order as spoken about by daddy Bush.
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sasquatches1 | 75 |
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Throughout history those who had the highest manufacturing output per capita enjoyed the highest standard of living, highest property values, etc. The USA 's manufacturing output per capita has been steadily declining for years. Blue collar America has also been on the decline (due to the fake credit bubble many of us just didn't know it). Now we have the American workers who build the car, but can't afford to buy the car, new house, etc. Are the even lower paid Chinese, Hispanics, etc. going to buy the new automobiles that they manufacture? No matter how much the federal government pumps up the deficit with stimulus, rate cuts, etc., what will Americans buy (what jobs will be created) with the extra stimulus? Sending more dollars to China on another new television, sending more dollars to Japan on another new car, etc. How does that help in the long run? The stimulus certainly seems necessary to try to stave off rising US unemployment temporarily, but ultimately, America will either increase manufacturing output per capita (with American worker wages that can afford to buy the products they produce, a new house, a new automobile, a college savings fund for their kids, etc.) or we won't. We will either increase the American middle class standard of living with real wages and not just some pumped up fake credit bubble, American service economy or the American middle class standard of living will continue to decline. In the long run, it is either as simple or as impossible as that. If America collapses entirely economically, what will that do to the entire world economy? Probably not to good for anybody in the world, whether rich or poor. Hopefully, President-elect Barack Obama and the current leadership in America can lead us in a better direction (we, as a nation certainly can't keep going in the same direction with the same old policies, attitudes, and practices that got us here can we?) , and not just the government for the corporation, by the corporation, of the corporation, etc. Their certainly is a place in capitalism for honest, efficient, well run, longer term profits thinking corporations, but please tone down some of the excessive corporate greed, before we are all doomed as a planet from the very significant contribution by this one of seven deadly sins.
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Sherman79 | 10 |
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Sold my USO today at 37.30 for a little profit (bought at 36.05 on December 16th). I originally wrote long term, but I just can't resist taking a little profit trading after it has had such a run up recently. I wish I had waited and bought lower.
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sasquatches1 | 75 |
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I just hope we start building stuff in the USA again with workers who can afford to buy the products they build, buy a car, and buy a house for their family. It will be worse for all of us if it all falls down. It is definitely falling, but who really knows if it will all fall down? Here's a pleasant thought. The USA increased the manufacturing output per capita after the Great Crash and the Great Depression with WWII which eventually brought the manufacturing per capita USA economy back better than ever. Great, just great (sarcasm, of course) ! One other point, since the thread is about California going bankrupt. Why is their incentive for the illegal aliens to have 10-12 kids per unmarried couple to draw freebies from the system, which is going bankrupt? How about one child can be put on wellfare for an unmarried mother, even if she is/has been living with her employed boyfriend for the past 10 years or more (which is many times the case while working the system). The second child and beyond , support them yourself, once again since the system is going bankrupt and the entire country/system might eventually collapse? When too many people are on the land and the land can no longer support/feed them all, bad things usually follow for all. When food gets too expensive because there are too many people for the land to support (overpopulation) too many people starve, too many people get desperate, governments get toppled, genocide, etc. People are living longer than ever, infantry based armies with an overabundance of young prime fighting men are not needed to defend the land like they were for thousands of years. Throw in some climate change (if that is happening or just naturally changing Earth cycles), unprecedented droughts, food shortages, Revelations, etc. Scary stuff and difficult to talk about without being perceived as some sort of racist. Really, it is probably just more pragmatic for people to start talking about such difficult subjects? We haven't even mentioned the terrorists (mostly porous border security on this side while being mostly controlled by drug lords on that side of the border, Al-Qaida/Bin Laden, why again hasn't he been brought to justice by now?) wanting to strike on American soil to cause the maximum American economic damage and a possible bankruptcy/system wide collapse? When? If? Possible? Unfortunately, it certainly seems possible?
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KOAJ | 41 |
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Merry Christmas to all
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FriedShrimp | 10 |
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There have been significantly less and less labor union members in the USA almost every year, and CEO pay and wallstreet bonuses continue to rise (until the catastrophe this year) to even more obscene levels, when compared to CEO's compensation in most other countries around the world. When less and less of the blue collar workers producing the product can afford to buy the product that they are producing ( a new car or a new house) with real wage growth and not just some temporary inflated credit bubble purchasing power, this is where we end up. How many Hispanic blue collar workers in Mexico (or workers from around the world) can afford to buy the new automobile, etc. that they produce? My Republican friends (with whom I usually try to avoid talking politics with) always try blame it on the rapidly dwindling collective bargaining labor unions. Excessive CEO pay (legal robbery in many cases) seems to have nothing to do with it. Yeah, illegal aliens sapping the California system and working practically for slave wages (and knocking down the wages, retirements, health care, etc. of blue collar Americans who are locked in a losing competitive wage war with them and workers from around the world from world trade, globalization, etc.) that make them so they can't afford to buy the product they are producing (again, a new car or a new house) has nothing to do with it either? The unsinkable, best the world has ever known, etc. Titanic is sinking (possibly even mortally damaged, time will tell if we start expanding our declining manufacturing capacity per capita in the USA or not), but not yet sunk. The captian at the time (the anti-labor union, anti-collective bargaining, anti-real wage growth and benefits for blue collar workers, anti-blue collar health care, anti-blue collar retirements, pro New World Order as told by Republican President Bush Sr., pro let the illegals flood in through the porous border security, pro recklessly expand the trade agreements with China, India, Russia, etc. to knock the blue collar workers of America down to their level of compensation, Republican Bush Jr. Administration) is running for his lifeboat. The real blue collar wages, real blue collar benefits, and real blue collar retirements (oh, that's right my Republican friend told me that I shouldn't have a retirement anymore because I can just use my 401K for retirement and count on the biggest rigged gambling casino ever devised "Wallstreet" instead for retirement someday) sure have taken a beating under the Republican administration the last 8 years haven't they? Now, here we all are, Every single last one of us, those who are to blame, and those of us who are not to blame (but a victim of the circumstances none-the-less). It's too bad that there aren't enough lifeboats on the sinking and greatest of all time Titanic for all of us who are just hard working, law abiding, and innocent Americans!
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KOAJ | 41 |
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I hope the Lions make history next week by going 0-16. They will probably never win a Super Bowl in my lifetime. Is that any reason to just give up? Probably, but many Lions fans do not just quit or give up on their team despite the mostly horrendous play of the team. Many still care because they are obviously very loyal, not fair weather, devoted, and deserve better. That's who cares.
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amd | 163 |
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How could I not mention Joe Montana and the 49ers?
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amd | 163 |
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Ok, humor aside. The Detroit Lions drafting a QB and linemen still has merit. Let's think about past Super Bowl Champions, and their quarterback draft picks. Quarterback Eli Manning drafted by the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Quarterback Peyton Manning drafted by the Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts. Quarterback Ben Rothlisberger drafted by the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburg Steelers. Quarterback Tom Brady drafted by the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. That's six of the last seven Super Bowl Champions who won it with a quarterback that they themselves drafted. Do all quarterbacks drafted turn into winning and successful NFL quarterbacks? Heck no. Are a lot of quarterbacks a "wasted" draft pick? Of course, just like every other position on the field. Usually when teams draft the right quarterback, they generally keep them. Teams usually only trade or release quarterbacks that they feel are not the right quarterback, injured, etc. in their opinion to win the Super Bowl. To continue Kurt Warner was undrafted but was signed by the Rams as a free agent. John Elway was drafted by the Broncos. Troy Aikman was drafted by the Cowboys. Brett Farve was drafted by the Packers. Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, etc. Some Super Bowl winning quarterbacks were highly touted draft picks out of college. Other Super Bowl winning quarterbacks were drafted by their winning teams as lower draft picks, but by an overwhelming margin, Super Bowl winning teams drafted their own Super Bowl winning quarterback. It takes a great team to win a Super Bowl, but it also takes the right quarterback usually acquired through the NFL draft.
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amd | 163 |
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I don't know, but Buffet might have just been trying to instill some confidence and protect the entire economy/markets when he bought shares where he did. I don't know for sure if any of us know exactly what he was thinking (he still might be right, time will tell?). During the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929, bankers/invetors did much the same thing and got together to try to make some buys and stop the bleeding of their entire portfolios and the entire economy. It only worked temporarily (market forces eventually ruled), but what did they have to lose by trying, because they were already losing so much anyways.
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cd329 | 149 |
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I'm sure most of us would agree that it is a bigger problem if we wait until oil is $140+ again to at least try to do something about American energy independence. Can our best and brightest scientific minds develop a cost efficient alternatibve to the fossil fuel combustible engine for automobiles? With oil at these levels probably not. Time will tell, or oil will just rise until the new technologies are just as cost efficient by default. Then again, the masses still have to be able to afford to buy the new technologically advanced automobiles. It still seems like the sooner we get started on the Picken's Plan, or some semblance of it for energy independence, the better.
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cd329 | 149 |
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Our economic furture was a heck of a lot brighter until Bush and the Republicans recklessly expanded all of these "Globalization" and "World Trade" deals with China, India, Russia, Korea, etc. Shouldn't fair trade be about 10 billion dollars worth of goods goes to China from the USA, and 10 billion dollars worth of goods comes back from China. I dare any Republican in here to personally trade with me at the same exact ratio that the USA trades with China now. I will give you $10,000 and you give me $100,000 and we'll keep trading like that year after year, and then we'll see quite quickly who will be going to the poor house. Any Republican "World Trade," "Globalization," "Free Market Economy" thinkers out there that want to trade with me? Anyone? Throughout history those who had the highest manufacturing output per capita enjoyed the highest standard of living, the highest property values, the most capable military, etc. Now if we just continue to follow the Republican ideals and let the free market globalization economies take care of themselves (which is exactly what Japan, Russia, China, etc. do not do) , we just compete globally wiith all of the other peasants who work for slave wages of the world and the American blue collar workers all make 7 dollars per hour (while the American CEO's make all 700 dollars per hour) with very little health insurance for the American blue collar workers and their families, very little in retirements for the older American blue collar workers, etc. (which is what most Republicans that I talk to seem to want) who is left to buy the new houses, the new cars, etc. that are produced? So why are we heading towards the worst deflation since the Great Depression. Oh that's right, the Republican led death of the American middle class and globalization, the Bush SR. New World Order Doctrine, and suprise, suprise, here we are. It should be noted for the Republicans who wonder why the U.S. Government tries to feed people who are starving? Because when too many people are starving and desperate they sometimes tend to band together and start revolutions, government overthrows, military coups, etc. Buy American is a great idea, but you can't really even tell what is made in America on the labels (or is it made in the city of Usa, China? What a dirty little trick) Why can't I look at the label on a car and know what percentage of the car (in dollar value) was made in the USA, made in Mexico, etc. Why can't I just look down a Wal-Mart aisle and see which shelving price labels are Red, White, and Blue, (with black price ink printed on them) and which labels are yellow (with black price ink printed on them). If we do not start buying American and boost American manufacturing output (with real wages gains for blue collar workers, so that the American middle class worker can once again afford to buy a new car, a new house, etc. without just some failed globalization experiment USA service economy propped up only by temporary credit bubbles) again in the USA, Then our standard of living will just keep dropping and evidently, the rest of the world will just keep falling down with us. What is one of the biggest manufacturing items? Ther answer is automobiles, but how many American blue collar production workers can actually afford to buy the very same car that the are producing? Some can, but many can't, especially at the parts suppliers and sub-contractors. How many Mexican blue collar workers can afford to buy the very same automobile that they are producing parts for? So here we are staring into the abyss with the death of the American middle class standard of living that has taken place under Bush Jr., the New World Order (as talked about by Bush Sr.), the Republican rubber stamped reckless expansion of trade agreements (when the Republicans controlled the U.S. House and U.S.Senate with Bush Jr.) given to Bush Jr. for China, India, Russia, Korea, etc. Hopefully, we can recover. The leadership vacuum in the mostly overpaid corporate American board rooms is a terrible problem. The corruption and greed is becoming more rampant in the public and private. One can almost only imagine the arrogance and corruption of the Roman aristocracy right before the fall. One can only imagine the lack of enforcable checks and balances on unbridled power in America on a daily basis. Could we have equal treatment and justice for white collar (which is obviously growing in America, evidently because the punishment and enforcement is not sufficient) crime in America so as to not collapse the whole system under it's own weight? What about the ideas coming from Warren Buffet, Carl Icahn, T. Boone Pickens, etc? It should be noted that soon to be President Barack Obama does listen to Warren Buffet, as well as many others, on occasion. He seems to have a completley different Presidential approach than the Bush Jr./Rove/Cheney/Rumsfeld ego trip. That, in and of itself, is some cause for hope.
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cd329 | 149 |
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Good question, emerging market countries without much extra money per customer (hell I could even be talking about the USA the way we are going) are going to burn 40,50,60,70,80,ect. dollar oil. The developing energy plays are more for electrical means and the power grid (not for instantly replacing the fossil fuel combustable engine), but who can afford, or wants to pay $40,000 for a GM volt, 7 or 8 grand for a natural gas fill up car modification kit, Car companies still like fossil fuel combustable engines partly because electrical automobiles have less moving parts to replace, less to repair, ect. a seperate parts industry for fossil fuel combustible engines is an important employment generating, tax revenue generating, ect. industry in and of itself. How much will natural gas increase in price (be less cost competitive with oil at 70 dollars a barrel or gas at 2.50 per gallon) when we drive our cars with natural gas, power our plants with natural gas, heat our homes with natural gas, ect. ? Why is GM temporarily suspending the GM volt engine development? Because they need oil and gas at $3.50 and above for it to be cost competitive enough for consumers to even consider it. It all boils down to cost efficiency. Talk about $150 a barrel oil, and gas at $4.50 a gallon and then alternative energy versus the combustible engine is much more cost efficient. Oil is so cheap right now, people are not forced to change their habits in the US (nor can many of them afford it) yet alone the emerging markets, China, India, ect. which have much less cash (or credit) per customer. Hopefully a "Manhattan Project" comes along to make the alternative automobile technology at a cost competitive basis, but capitalism and profits are going to burn this cheap oil until it goes high enough to once again become cost competitive and painful at the pump IMO. Market forces will drive oil up again, but right now on the way down oil is temporarily at the mercy of the hedge funds, just like it was at $140+. Oil has been the most efficient fossil fuel for combustible engines for around 100 years for good reason. That can't be changed overnight, again, for good reason. Henry Ford thought alcohol was the answer, but we can see that creating alcohol burns lots of oil to harvest it, electricity to create it, oil to ship it, ect. Everything has it's price, and that's why oil has always won because it was always at the cheapest price especially at 40,50,60,ect. dollars a barrel.
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VirginiaHoldem2 | 148 |
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