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10 people who led us to the ‘fiscal cliff’
Marketwatch ^ | Nov. 21, 2012, 12:55 p.m. EST | Rex Nutting

Posted on 11/21/2012 10:50:23 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Commentary: From Laffer to Obama, they fed our greed and guilt

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — With our political leaders locked in a fiscal struggle that threatens to throw the economy off a so-called cliff and into recession, you might be wondering how we got to this place.

Remember that this supposed fiscal cliff is the direct result of two contradictory impulses in American life: Greed and guilt. Greed for low taxes, a strong military, a strong safety net and lots of government spending for everyone. And guilt that we weren’t paying our way. Read “Stop calling it a ‘fiscal cliff’”

All of us (or almost all) had a role in this melodrama, either benefiting from the spending or from the lower tax rates. Despite our culpability, it took strong national leaders to foster the heady mix of greed and guilt that brought us to this spot.

Here are the 10 people most responsible for bringing us to the edge of the fiscal cliff:

(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: economy; fiscalcliff; laffercurve
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; Perdogg
Oh yeah? Why didn't he say this brilliant stuff that was on the same web-page today? Huh???
41 posted on 11/21/2012 2:23:48 PM PST by SierraWasp (Welcome to the next 50 months of an unprecedebted lame duck session!!!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; Grampa Dave; tubebender; budwiesest; NormsRevenge; dixiechick2000; ...

Whatever happened to the old and much better descriptor “cliff-hanger” that alla us ol timers rememmer? Wasssup wid dat???


42 posted on 11/21/2012 2:28:06 PM PST by SierraWasp (Welcome to the next 50 months of an unprecedebted lame duck session!!!)
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To: Sherman Logan; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Grampa Dave; BOBTHENAILER; Anybody; Everybody; All
Conservatives and liberals both often seem to think the LC says that reductions in tax rates will always result in increases in revenues. This is inaccurate."

It, the Laffer Curve, has worked every single time it has been tried and that's why the libs hate it!!!

This completely liberal author is a hold-over from when MarketWatch.com was known as CBSMarketWatch.com. This entire piece is a gigantic steaming pantload to put it mildly IMO!!!

43 posted on 11/21/2012 2:41:00 PM PST by SierraWasp (Welcome to the next 50 months of an unprecedebted lame duck session!!!)
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To: xzins; Grampa Dave; tubebender; NormsRevenge; Carry_Okie; dixiechick2000; budwiesest; ...
I wish it were possible to find that profound cartoon from 1978 that showed Jimmy Carter yanking on the tiller of our ship of state that was headed right for the rocks in a monsterous wind storm under full sail. Some guy was yellin at him from the shore "FURL THE SAIL... FURL THE SAIL... FURL THE SAIL!!!"

The sails had "SPENDING" writ large upon each one of them.

44 posted on 11/21/2012 2:51:39 PM PST by SierraWasp (Welcome to the next 50 months of an unprecedebted lame duck session!!!)
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To: SierraWasp
That seems to be the predominate opinion....

But sometimes it is useful to see what some of the leftist on market watch are posting....

I think there is one on MW that is further left than this guy....I have forgotten his name I'll remember it when I click on one his creations though.

45 posted on 11/21/2012 2:53:15 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ((The Global Warming Hoax was a Criminal Act....where is Al Gore?))
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To: SierraWasp
1978,....that was ancient history.....how could that have any relevance to our modern age....it is nearly as ancient as that piece done by those WHITE GUYS called

THE CONSTITUION


46 posted on 11/21/2012 2:57:27 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ((The Global Warming Hoax was a Criminal Act....where is Al Gore?))
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To: TChris

How about just fix the system doing triplets....


47 posted on 11/21/2012 3:00:08 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ((The Global Warming Hoax was a Criminal Act....where is Al Gore?))
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To: Armando Guerra; SierraWasp

but the Laffer Curve itself is indisputable.

**************************************************

You mean the Leftists won't dispute it ?

48 posted on 11/21/2012 3:04:51 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ((The Global Warming Hoax was a Criminal Act....where is Al Gore?))
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To: SierraWasp
Well....so you are a twinkie lover....didn't know that....

ROFL!

49 posted on 11/21/2012 3:06:57 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ((The Global Warming Hoax was a Criminal Act....where is Al Gore?))
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; Grampa Dave
Easy big fella! I don't think any comment on this thread was aimed at you for posting it. MarketWatch.com has been a favorite site of mine for many years, except for most of the lame brained liberal commontators (deliberately mis-spelled).

I saw it and without thinking of you in particular, wished I'd had the time to post it as a pinyada, yada, yada!!! (smirk)

The guy is as stupid as the people who are trying to put Americans on a guilt-trip over our totally and purely American Holiday of Thanksgiving to God for surviving another year.

I just watched the Ken Burns series on PBS about the phenominal dust storms during the depression and even those people gave thanks to God for still one more chance in case the drought broke.

The liberals show themselves as simply maddening godless maniacs on a constant, continuing basis. Their mental illness knows no bounds as they perpetually blast the standards that made America the envy of Earth!!!

50 posted on 11/21/2012 3:09:34 PM PST by SierraWasp (Welcome to the next 50 months of an unprecedebted lame duck session!!!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
I just thought the idea of a "Twinkie Bailout" was hysterically funny until you think about how futile the wildly expensive bailouts have been, when chapter 11 bankruptcy would have been so much better.

Now we have Bernacke and tiny Tim "crying wolf" like Paulson did about the so-called "fiscal cliff" in '08 that stampeded "W" into prematurely pulling the ripcord fearing that if he didn't, he and the Repellicans would forever be branded as the worst since 1929!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, my FRiend and don't forget to count your blessings as liberals don't believe in it. They've already collected all the piddly little blessings the "makers" can provide the "takers!!!"

God bless you and your CONSTITUTIONAL belief system!!!

51 posted on 11/21/2012 3:20:20 PM PST by SierraWasp (Welcome to the next 50 months of an unprecedebted lame duck session!!!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Click on this. The last one stopped about 2 years before Mrs. Waspman and I were born!!!
52 posted on 11/21/2012 3:26:36 PM PST by SierraWasp (Welcome to the next 50 months of an unprecedebted lame duck session!!!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

The core economy wreckers are Dodd, Frank, the deceased killer of Mary Jo, Pelozi, and any other tax and spend Socialist who has spent DECADES as an elected member of the Legislature.


53 posted on 11/21/2012 4:57:17 PM PST by VRWC For Truth (Roberts has perverted the Constitution)
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To: SierraWasp

If the US income tax rate was reduced to a flat 1%, would it result in an increase in tax revenues?

Of course not. It would probably result in a huge economic boom, but government revenues would drop by 95%+.

The Laffer Curve is always accurate, IMO. But whether a reduction in rates causes an increase in revenues depends on where you start on the curve.


54 posted on 11/21/2012 5:27:15 PM PST by Sherman Logan
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
The author is wrong about almost everything he says. He knows nothing about economics and just says stupid things.

Real 10 people.

1. LBJ- Combined social security revenues with the general fund and ensured social security would be unsustainable. Created social programs with no thought of how spending would increase and how to pay for it.

2. Democrat congress of 1970’s- created budget process that prevented president from controlling spending. Made budget process ensure budget would not be balanced.

3. Jimmy Carter- Began first deficits during periods of prosperity. Deficits started in mid 1970’s as president lost control. Carter created huge deficits and brought social security close to insolvency. Promoted loans to Communist and 3rd world countries that were not repaid and caused other problems. Created a legal and regulatory climate that crippled American industry and brought about an uncompetitive situation in the late 1970’s when U.S. industries could no longer compete.

4. Speaker Wright, Tip O'Neil and others- fought attempts to control Federal spending and get entitlement spending under control.They also promoted S and L fraud which required billions of taxpayer money to bail out.

5. Bill Clinton - Began interpreting and enforcing the Community Investment Act to require banks to make bad loans. The so called Clinton Surpluses never existed in real life. They were a result of the short-term Dot.com stock bubble that created huge capital gains tax revenue.

By 2007 the budget deficit was a small percentage of GNP the economy could have produced a balanced budget.

6. Barney Frank and the others - encouraged bad mortgage loans and prevented the regulatory oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which created billions in sub prime and fraudulent mortgage loans which went bad.

7. Nancy Pelosi - Became speaker in 2007 and immediately began destroying the economy increasing spending. In less than 2 years the economy was dying.

8. Harry Reid- Prevented fiscal responsibility since he became Senate leader in 2007. Did not complete a single budget since 2008.

9. Barack Obama - Created the first multi-trillion dollar deficits in history. Increased Federal spending dramatically. Created an anti-business environment that made economic growth impossible.

10. George Soros - Backed the Democrat Party and pushed for irresponsible spending. Undermined the American Economy.

The so-called fiscal cliff is just the Democrat Party and the government “running out of other peoples money” to paraphrase Mrs. Thatcher. The fiscal cliff is just the irresponsible spending of the last several years becoming unsustainable.

55 posted on 11/21/2012 10:08:16 PM PST by detective
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To: TChris

I have no idea why that posted THREE times! I only clicked on the post once. That is really weird! When I have double posted before, it’s because I thought it did not post and clicked on the post more than once, but this time I know that I definitely did not do so!


56 posted on 11/21/2012 10:19:32 PM PST by srmorton (Deut. 30 19: "..I have set before you life and death,....therefore, choose life..")
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Have you been to the Site and signed in for free and looked at the wildast comments to this article. Makes FR look kinda tame!!!


57 posted on 11/23/2012 2:18:53 PM PST by SierraWasp (Welcome to the next 50 months of an unprecedebted lame duck session!!!)
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To: SierraWasp

Agreed!

Mark Twain is the source of my new tagline. I think it’s fitting.


58 posted on 11/24/2012 12:18:41 AM PST by dixiechick2000 (Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.)
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