The State of the Country Under President Obama

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   VVanNessposted 10 years ago

   "With unemployment down and the housing market showing some good numbers. The second part of the health care bill taking effect and with spending up. The country is slowly moving in the right direction." -from another Hub (unnamed)
   
   I don't agree. Unemployment is actually higher now than it ever has been (citizens are just running out of unemployment eligibility and have stopped reporting it, like us), the fiscal cliff is making chaos out of the airline industry as airports all over the country are shutting down and taking all business and jobs with them, and the health care "reform" is destroying our current population of doctors, as many of them are quitting, none of them are taking new clients, and they are all worried about their jobs. How do you feel?

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      JaxsonRaineposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      We just have to get used to the fact that the unemployment figures post 2007 don't mean the same thing as the unemployment figures pre 2007. Our economy is now drastically different.

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         VVanNessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Do you believe that the country is getting better under President Obama, or incredibly worse?
         
         Is there anything you would change about the decisions being made?

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            JaxsonRaineposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I think, overall, we have been stagnating. I also think things are going to get worse as obamacare becomes fully active. It's going to add way too much burden to businesses which are already struggling.

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               JaxsonRaineposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Changes I would make:
               
               Eliminate corporate taxes.
               
               Item-by-item review of all regulations. If it doesn't prevent one entity from causing harm to another, it's gone.
               
               Cut government spending by 5% a year for 4-5 years.
               
               Implement an incentive-based program for identifying government waste. If you report waste or come up with an idea to increase efficiency, we'll give you a one-time check for 10% of what that waste equals over the course of a year(some folks could literally retire off of a program like that).
               
               Take benefits out of business, make them all personal. You get paid, shop for your own insurance.
               
               Just a small start to a list I could come up with.

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               1. 78

                  VVanNessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Wow! You've put a lot of thought into these. What great ideas! If the government just gave the citizens a chance to truly express themselves, I'm sure we would find an incredible amount of extremely innovative ideas and cost saving methods that would put us on the map. Very nice!

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               2. 66

                  innersmiffposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  You forgot about legalising the competing currency and saving us from inflation.

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                     JaxsonRaineposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     There are many, many topics that I simply have to acknowledge I don't understand enough about

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                     1. 66

                        innersmiffposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        This is a really good, short, and free, book on the subject:
                        http://mises.org/money.asp
                        
                        'What Has Government Done To Our Money?' by Murray Rothbard

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                           VVanNessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           Wonderful! I love the recommendation! Thanks!

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                     VVanNessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     What suggestions would you make if you had a say innersmiff?

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                        innersmiffposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        Firstly, legalise the competing currency. The Federal Reserve's inflationary policy destroys Americans' purchasing power, and pumps too much money into the financial sector.
                        
                        Dismantle the fraudulent fractional-reserve banking system so as to restore banks to their proper function: saving money.
                        
                        I agree with everything else Jaxson said except I would cut government spending by a lot more than 5% a year. Ron Paul's idea of a trillion dollars in the first year sounded tempting.
                        
                        End the war on drugs and restore the production of those things to the free-market. Cannabis and hemp production alone would create a boon in the economy, and the money saved from enforcing the law and imprisoning people can be put back into it.

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                           VVanNessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           Awesome. It's nice to know that there are citizens out there that are educated on what's happening and have ideas about how it could be fixed.
                           I really like Jaxson's idea on citizens being able to make suggestions to the government. If they were truly listening to the people living here, and actually taking their concerns and suggestions seriously, I believe real change could finally be made in this country for the better!

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                              Zelkiiroposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              It's a good idea in theory, but then you realize roughly half of the country is made up of inbred, ultra-Conservative Bible-thumping morons whose input would only turn America into a horrific crapsack theocracy like Saudi Arabia.
                              
                              It would literally be the end of America, and possibly the world.

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                                 JaxsonRaineposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                 Am I part of that half of the country? FYI I voted for Romney and Bush, and I think the 2nd Amendment is of utmost importance.

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                                    Zelkiiroposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                    The 1st Amendment is more important (hence it being the first), and the 1st Amendment says to keep nonsense like religion far away from the halls of legislation.
                                    
                                    Interesting Note: The FCC, which is basically a huge middle finger to the 1st Amendment, was instituted because of a complaint from a preacher. It figures a religious figure would be the first to try to kill the 1st Amendment.

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                                       JaxsonRaineposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                       Am I part of that half of the country or not? Yes or no?
                                       
                                       The 1st amendment says that Congress can't establish a national religion, it doesn't say what most people think it says.

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                                    VVanNessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                    You definitely are!

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                                       JaxsonRaineposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                       So you're saying I'm an inbred moron?

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                                       1. 61

                                          Josakposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                          Let's put it this way without any personal judgements on you (I don't even know you).
                                          
                                          As a first time viewer of the political landscape and abandoning all preconceptions which side of this debate do you think would be more likely to be correct.
                                          
                                          The side with far lower rates of higher education.
                                          The side with an average 7% lower income despite having eliminated any semblance of a minority vote from it's polls.
                                          The side who apparently by state are too dumb to control what they eat or wear a condom, with the highest rates of teen pregnancy and obesity in the developed world.
                                          The side who is largely composed of older people despite the fact that people actually become more liberal as they age: http://www.livescience.com/2360-busting … l-age.html
                                          The side that by state has the highest levels of racism in the US with upwards of 30% of their primary voter respondents from several of their key states believing interracial marriage should be illegal:  http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/03/ … e-illegal/
                                          A side who refuses to believe in proven scientific theory as basic as evolution and who wished to make teaching that scientific fact illegal.
                                          Where majorities believe that Obama, our president is not a Christian and where upwards of 40% think that the man who eats bacon and drinks beer is a Muslim.
                                          A side who power base supported, slavery and the segregation of schools and opposed civil rights and that now opposes same sex equality and as late as this decade had a power base state try and convict someone for the CRIME of sodomy.
                                          Amongst many other things.
                                          
                                          Would you really decide that these people have figured out economics and politics in general correctly when all the rest of the developed world has decided quite the opposite? Or would you decide they were an aging population clinging to outdated ideas who are rapidly being left behind both ideologically and economically.

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                                       VVanNessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                       Sarcasm. I tried with the smiley face but it didn't work. lol I wholeheartedly support your point of view and am happy that you posted your views here!

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                                          JaxsonRaineposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                          Oh, lol. I wasn't paying that much attention.
                                          
                                          

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                                 VVanNessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                 But if you made it specific like what Jaxson suggested, "Implement an incentive-based program for identifying government waste. If you report waste or come up with an idea to increase efficiency, we'll give you a one-time check for 10% of what that waste equals over the course of a year," you wouldn't have to take anyone's particular religious or political stance into consideration.
                                 By the way, I consider myself Conservative and Christian, and all I want for the United States is order, peace, fairness and what's necessary to keep us all grow and be successful. I know the two main speakers above feel the same way. We are not "against" any particular groups, but want to help all of America as a whole. I'm sure you feel the same way.

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