What is Digg?333 Comments
- GrandmaSheila, on 03/23/2008, -15/+257Privatize the profits, Socialize the losses. Your tax dollars at work: trillions for the warcrime in Iraq, billions for the pillaging bankers who have destroyed the economy, and "***** you" for the despoiled, bankrupted, people who pay for it all
- flavioribeiro, on 03/23/2008, -2/+85Not only is the US deep in debt, but American financial institutions have used borrowed money to enter extremely speculative contracts that could only succeed if the market kept rising. They would've made insane amounts of money if the bubble didn't burst.
Banks such as Bear Stearns used their assets (worth $80 billion at best before they went bankrupt) as collateral in order to control about $13 TRILLION.
Here's an article with more details: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/m ...
Don't ever expect the American media to report how big the problem is. And don't think for a minute that this is going away. A lot of people on CNBC are calling a market bottom, but they're LYING. The financial system is built on fraud, and they want to perpetuate the fraud. - bossm4n, on 03/23/2008, -13/+74The problem is plain and simple. People have been trying to live beyond their means for years. Everybody wants more than their neighbors--bigger houses than they need, expensive cars, every new gadget that hits the street. Not only are people not saving for their future, they are spending their future. The problem is an addiction. Credit card companies and mortgage companies are the enablers.
- verusdies, on 03/23/2008, -5/+59"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price."-Ronald Reagan
Depressing how ***** repeats itself - GhostyBoy, on 03/23/2008, -2/+47It's too bad none of the presidential candidates brought this up and offered a solution as part of their platform....oh wait....
- rolf, on 03/23/2008, -12/+56As a long-time Ron Paul supporter, this is one thing I've been keenly aware of. While the rest of digg is indirectly supporting more spending (by cheering candidates who support more spending). Go on, look up your candidates position -- they will keep or increase the current spending through a bunch of wonderful programs they want to push. None of the mainstream (officially sanctioned) candidates are talking about reducing spending. Not one democrat or one republican.
- Hangly, on 03/23/2008, -0/+36This isn't repetition, it's the same damn crisis. Now it's 10x bigger, has the mobility-1 promotion, and is coming after our asses.
While reagan talked the talk, he deficit-spent more than any present that came before him.
1989 - Hooray, we spent the USSR into oblivion and won the cold war!
2008 - *****! We spent ourselves into oblivion too! (Shut the ***** up Russia, I can hear you over there giggling.) - ralphthemagi, on 03/23/2008, -4/+40Yes. Clearly all of the country's problems can be attributed to anal sex. I just read a report in The Economist the other day about the correlation between butt sex and debt. Good to know there are people like you out there trying to fight the good fight. Carry on.
- trghpy, on 03/23/2008, -4/+39Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. - Will Rogers
The problem is people are stupid, corporations are greedy, and the government is too encumbered to do anything useful. - leubstop, on 03/23/2008, -0/+28my 3 year old was pre approved for a visa with a 5,000 limit.. 3.
- DangerCollie, on 03/23/2008, -1/+25Actually, it was a "So?" for the despoiled, bankrupted people who pay for it all. I think that sums up the White House attitude toward us all very well.
- sapo916, on 03/23/2008, -4/+25What's up with you idiots and leaving. Always leave leave leave, only a pussy leaves when things get hard. Men fix the ***** and ***** up people like you.
- airwalkery2k, on 03/23/2008, -0/+21Just like a credit card, it's all fun and there seems to be no downside until the bill collectors start calling and you aren't able to apply for any new cards.
- blast_flame, on 03/23/2008, -4/+25Reagan had a lot of good quotes. Too bad he didn't put them into action when he got elected.
- inactive, on 03/23/2008, -5/+24People are told that they can and that they "deserve" to live better by the brainwashers from Madison Avenue. The fact that eveery household has a TV that is disseminating mind control 4 or 5 hours a day makes it very hard for Americans to make good decisions.
- withears, on 03/23/2008, -1/+18republicans decry "tax and spend" Democrats, yet the republican approach is "borrow and spend."
Yoo hoo! It has to be paid back eventually. - inactive, on 03/23/2008, -10/+27Dont let the door hit your worthless ass on the way out.
- inactive, on 03/23/2008, -2/+18I have the grandest idea.. write off all the debt by crediting it to Bush's personal account! I'm sure he still got extra $ to spare...
- mOdQuArK, on 03/23/2008, -1/+15I think the plan is that the RICH Republicans won't have to pay back any of it, just everyone else. The poor Republicans are just gullible & easily-manipulated morons.
- Look4Truth, on 03/23/2008, -0/+13It's ok though, the Fed will save us. They'll just whip out more printing presses and bail out all the banks, things will be fine. Never mind that we'll pick up the tab for it all, at least the banks will be saved.
- JimmyRyan, on 03/23/2008, -2/+15Watch The Money Masters (its on Google Video), This is only the beginning of whats wrong with the economy today.
- yaddayaddayoda, on 03/23/2008, -0/+13The problem is that the Democrat politicians don't want to impeach because they are afraid that corruption on both sides of the aisle will be exposed.
- Gerz1219, on 03/23/2008, -2/+15Wise, eloquent words. It's unfortunate that Reagan used such rhetoric to fool people into voting for a series of borrow-and-spend policies that have bankrupted our country, by allowing Republicans to cut taxes, raise spending, pay no political price for their malfeasance, and demonize anyone who objects as a "liberal". Without Reagan's intellectual dishonesty and misleadership, Bush could never have gotten away with his rape of our country.
- kazamx, on 03/24/2008, -0/+13@Omis,
I think he means when he was elected in Texas (for 10 years?) he lived by the rules that he preaches. For example he doesn't take state pension, and gives a % of his money back each year to prove that other members are wasting theirs. - inactive, on 03/23/2008, -1/+13Start learning Chinese...
- elliotys, on 03/24/2008, -1/+13The American Public is just as much to blame. Fiscal responsibility has been ***** on by the majority of the baby boomers. The attitude turned from "buy only what I can afford and only what I need", to "I want it now". We went from the "American Worker", to the "American Consumer" without even batting an eyelash. Shame.
- rolf, on 03/23/2008, -4/+16Wow, I guess you showed me through your deep analysis and convincing logic the flaws in Ron Paul's loony positions.
I know when I'm thoroughly whipped.... so I guess I'm sorry I ever thought any of Paul's stances were any good. A tip of my hat to you, good sir. Thank you for showing me the light. - scamper22, on 03/23/2008, -0/+11Cosmo Kramer: It's a write-off for them.
Jerry: How is it a write-off?
Cosmo Kramer: They just write it off.
Jerry: You don't even know what a write-off is.
Cosmo Kramer: Do you?
Jerry: No, I don't.
Cosmo Kramer: But they do, and they're the ones writing it off. - inactive, on 03/23/2008, -1/+12Sue. Those. Reponsible.
Conduct a full investigation. Drag open even cesspit. And then TAKE BACK every penny taken illegally or corruptly and SEND TO PRISON every single crook who broke the law. If you americans DONT this will go on and on and on for a long long time. This is the time to end this way of doing business. This is the moment to demand an accounting in full. - sfacets, on 03/23/2008, -1/+12Who gave the wife the bloody Credit Card?
- americangoy, on 03/23/2008, -4/+15bonddad?
i think i remember him from daily kos - his were one of the few articles posted there that didn't make me gag on the partisanship...
i could be mistaken here - going from memory, but possibly same guy.
GOOD article, DUGG - Cattywampus, on 03/23/2008, -0/+11Hope you're not going to England or Spain, their housing markets are also deep in the crapper. Their overall economies will probably be pulled into the downturn.
- TopherT, on 03/23/2008, -2/+12the enablers don't deserve ANY blame? Hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing would suggest that people are at least to some extent malleable and it is to that extent that the competition of these companies for consumer dollars is to blame for unrealistic and unsustainable consumer spending. Of course the opaque lending practices of credit card and mortgage companies also bear part of the blame, for lending to people who don't understand the situation they're getting themselves into. The accruing of short term interests in this country has come at the cost of long term planning.
- sentinel106, on 03/23/2008, -1/+11American debt isn't anything new, as a matter of fact it's one of the biggest issues in the elections...
- ralphthemagi, on 03/23/2008, -1/+11You think this is a joke? Teh buttsecks was the #1 cause of bankruptcy in 2007.
- sangjmoon, on 03/24/2008, -0/+10Do you know what is taking the biggest chunk of our government spending dwarfing the Iraq War spending? It is the corrupt and totally inefficient Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. Those parasitic programs take up half our tax dollars alone, and it will only grow exponentially as the bulk of the baby boomers retire. These are prime examples of how the government is the worst allocator of resources. They are abused both by health care practitioners and patients, so they no longer provide the people who need the help the help they need. Instead of forcing the programs to become more efficient, the fiscal liberals on both sides of the aisle have just continued to pump money into its bloat year after year because none of them have the political balls to tell the American people that they have to be fiscally responsible. It makes sense. This generation doesn't have the balls to stop piling the fiscal burden on our children by cutting government spending.
- inactive, on 03/23/2008, -1/+11Can't stop laughing. Thanks.
- TheAwakenedOne, on 03/23/2008, -3/+13The plans for our system were laid down during the post WWII era. When our interstate highway system was designed during the Eisenhower administration we were totally self sufficient (i.e. we did not rely on foreign oil). Essentially our nation is built around transportation hubs. First it was the railways, then the US Highway system, followed by the Interstate Highway system.
Unfortunately there was a bug in the ointment. The plan did not consider future consumption and existing reserves. The plan for Urban sprawl suggested that everyone invest in their houses. Using IRS tax incentives and government supported Fannie Mae loans, everyone was encouraged to buy a home, then sell it for a larger one. We kept on building bigger and bigger and farther apart just like our Urban Assault Vehicles the H2.
Now we have these monstrosities that look more like hotels than family homes, and we are spread so far apart that the overhead of consumption is eating us alive. To solve the problem, we must have new forms of transportation that do not rely on fossil fuels, or have much more condensed living arrangements like they do in Europe, where home, work and shopping are all within walking distance. Much of this activity was fueled by the expanansion of our military indurstrial complex which Dwight Eisenhower warned us about in his final address. To correct the problem we must pull the plug on military, eliminate the national debt and trade deficit, cut spending at all levels and focus on the economy.
For more information on the solution, the problem, and why we act this way see my blog at http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog. ... - inactive, on 03/23/2008, -9/+18The US deserves a USSR collapse by now. I am deeply enjoying this and I will get seriously hard nipples the more I'll be dug down. C'mon I'll be able to score at least a -100.
- odigity, on 03/23/2008, -0/+9Corporations with government are infinitely more dangerous than corporations without government. Without government, a corporation cannot coerce, they can only engage in consensual trade, or fraud, in which case they won't last long. The problem is corporations + government, which is what happens when you try to use government to regulate industry. It's called http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture.
- pja7, on 03/23/2008, -1/+10It's a big ***** sandwich, and we're all going to have to take a bite
- SilverBlade2k, on 03/23/2008, -0/+9If a regular citizen has to be forced from their home, forced to return merchandise, or forced to sell off possessions in order to pay debt, then why can't the same be done on a federal level? Why do the banks and other countries continue to lend money to the U.S, damned well knowing that it can't be repaid? And why does congress keeping approving more spending at the will of the President?
- DBNKR, on 03/23/2008, -1/+10This fact is by far the most weird thing about Americans. I will NEVER understand how the usage of a CREDIT card can become almost the norm... A culture, the thing to do. Its beyond me. I've always said no to credit card offers from my bank. I just do not understand why I should use it for anything. Why not just save money for ***** you want instead? "The waiting is the best part" my mom always said. Save money for a new phone instead of borrowing money for it. While you wait, maybe there'll come a new model?
- nickerbocker, on 03/23/2008, -1/+10They don't care. Bush is banking on the $4/gallon gas that he didn't hear about.
- york2600, on 03/23/2008, -0/+8Just a quick stop by the Department of Labor website and you can see that the minimum wage was 1.00 in 1956 and 6.55 this year (7.25 next year). Then we head of to the Bureu of Labor Statistics to find a CPI inflation calculator. Pop in 1.00 in 1956 spending power and out comes....$7.78 in 2008 dollars. So even next year the spending power of minimum wage will be the less then it was in 1956. Minimum wage isn't out of control. It's barely kept up with inflation. Before it was raised people were really getting screwed compared to inflation.
- DangerCollie, on 03/23/2008, -0/+8For a lot of years we were financing our lifestyles on credit card debt. Then the housing market came along made it possible for people to finance their lifestyle with home equity, and sometimes to pay their credit cards with their home value. But when the housing and credit markets collapsed there's nothing else to tap. Real income has been stagnant ever since the Republicans took power, so the average household loses ground even if they spend within their means. Coupled with the eroding dollar and exploding wheat and gas prices, the squeeze hit hard and fast. A perfect economic s**t storm and the same people who picked an Arabian horse guy to head FEMA are calling the shots.
And this is just the beginning. It hasn't really started to get bad yet. You think you got it tough now, there are many corners yet to turn. The good news for people who have cash are the many things people will do when they're desperate for cash. - inactive, on 03/23/2008, -2/+10Unless Obama alters the current debt-based private central banking system, nothing will really change. We'll still be in severe debt (over 9 trillion dollars at the moment), we'll still borrow money at interest from the Federal Reserve to pay for war and social welfare programs (adding to the debt), and we'll still need taxes to cover the interest charges on our debt.
Becoming independent of foreign oil will help to some extent, but hurt in other ways. In particular, if America is no longer buying oil from other countries, those countries are going to be less likely (and able) to buy American products. Also, since the US dollar is essentially backed by oil, countries will be more likely to switch to buying and selling oil in other currencies (the Euro in particular). The value of the dollar will *really* fall then, as countries shed their stockpiles of US Dollars they currently hold to be able to purchase oil.
Obama is appealing in many ways, but I don't think that any of the three remaining viable candidates will institute the type of "change" required to fix our system. - nickerbocker, on 03/23/2008, -3/+11Duh
- kazamx, on 03/24/2008, -0/+8LOL at the idea of a load of Russians drinking vodka and giggling like schoolgirls.
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