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The America of 2013
American Thinker ^ | 01/03/2013 | Steve McCann

Posted on 01/03/2013 7:12:04 AM PST by SeekAndFind

Americans take great umbrage whenever they, as a society, are portrayed by the residents of other nations as self-centered, avaricious and overbearing. While an egregious exaggeration in the past, is it an accurate description now? Who are the American people today and what sort of country is the United States in 2013?

How does one describe a society wherein a majority of the people, and their elected leaders, have embraced the following mindset?

a) The United States can commit to unlimited government spending as the long-term future of the nation is immaterial and will take care of itself.

b) Based on 66 years of unprecedented economic growth and prosperity, the good times will never end and America will under no circumstance experience massive national adversity as there is a bottomless pit of money to be siphoned from an equally bottomless pit of wealth.

c) Since the dollar is the international reserve currency, the United States, in order to cover massive budget deficits, can arbitrarily create trillions of dollars out of thin air regardless of any consequence for the nation or global economy.

d) There are no limits to personal behavior and the arcane concepts of decency, honor and integrity are from a bygone era.

In just four years the United States has accumulated nearly $6 Trillion in debt. The national debt is now $16.5 Trillion or 32.5% of the world's total indebtedness (the U.S. accounts for 5% of the global population and 20% of the annual Gross World Product). Further, the total unfunded liabilities (state, local and federal) of the U.S., as of 2012, exceed $238 Trillion, or 3 times the annual Gross World Product (total economic activity of all the countries on earth). The United States is, today, the most indebted and bankrupt nation in the history of mankind.

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


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 113th; 2013

1 posted on 01/03/2013 7:12:11 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

All right enough, here is what the GOP needs go-forward:

1) Bring back US jobs.
2) Lower taxes.
3) “No” to all new gun control.

Do that, and we would win not only elections, we would win back a huge section of Dems.


2 posted on 01/03/2013 7:16:04 AM PST by Cringing Negativism Network
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To: SeekAndFind

America 2013? Two kinds: makers and takers. Guess who just won the last election.


3 posted on 01/03/2013 7:18:04 AM PST by kjo (+)
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To: Cringing Negativism Network

RE: 1) Bring back US jobs.

How to do that short of outlawing outsourcing?


4 posted on 01/03/2013 7:22:17 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Close border and actually enforce hiring laws.
Cut EPA budget to nothing.
Actually start talking about a revamp of tax code, e.g. flat tax.
Stop QE.


5 posted on 01/03/2013 7:24:49 AM PST by Resolute Conservative
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To: SeekAndFind

I’m going to play “Nosterdummass” and predict that “they” can keep the balls in the air until about September 2015,

then they’ll all slip off to their “retreats” and let all the balls come crashing down.


6 posted on 01/03/2013 7:27:02 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: SeekAndFind

That is certainly one way.

There are plenty of others.

My point is not to argue the “how” at this point.

If you would care to, by all means though.

:D


7 posted on 01/03/2013 7:28:24 AM PST by Cringing Negativism Network
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To: Cringing Negativism Network

I am with you on points #1 and #3. Embracing something like the Ross Perot platform on global trade would give the GOP an immediate shot of energy.

Not sure about #2 though. Most of the public sadly seems to be all for soaking that Eeeeeeeevil 1% or 2%.

If the Dems persist on gun control it will absolutely blow-up in their faces.


8 posted on 01/03/2013 8:06:19 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Cringing Negativism Network

Not arguing about ‘how’, is what congress, talking heads, just about everyone that can speak already does...it accomplishes nothing. We all pretty much can say...”this is what we need to do”

We really do need to know how...and that entails ‘arguing’ about it


9 posted on 01/03/2013 8:54:20 AM PST by stuartcr ("Everything happens as God wants it to, otherwise, things would be different.")
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To: SeekAndFind

RE: 1) Bring back US jobs

How to do that short of outlawing outsourcing?

To the extant possible, we need to create the preferred environment in which to do business. We will never compete with China’s slave labor. But many manufacturing processes prefer motivated workers who will take initiative.

1. Industry should be encouraged and supported, not attacked and demonized. Companies which make a profit are not the enemy. Profit is not evil.
2. Union strangleholds which depict the Company as the enemy should be eliminated.
3. Industry should act in a responsible concerning the environment, safety, etc. But government agencies should not proceed from the assumption of guilt, rather with the intent of finding the simplest, cheapest way of fixing a such a problem, (because these problems will occur.)
4. Taxes should be low. Friedman favored no Corporate income tax, because such a tax passes through as expense to the consumer in any event.
5. Concerning international trade, the US government should vigorously defend the interests of US companies against nations such as China which tilt the playing field in their own favor.
6. A stable fiscal policy would help.
7. NO corporate welfare or bailouts. Choosing winners always discriminates against the more efficient enterprise, who would have won in a free market.
8. Tort reform. Everyone is afraid of US court system. Employees and activist groups should not get rich through extortion of legitimate enterprise.

Hardly a complete policy list, but the idea is to allow industry to compete without legal interference or favoritism.


10 posted on 01/03/2013 8:56:48 AM PST by LucianOfSamasota (Tanstaafl - its not just for breakfast anymore...)
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To: Cringing Negativism Network

Utilize our nation’s natural national strengths. We have great ports on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. We have tremendous natural resources. We have a fairly favorable climate.
Get the government and environmentalists out of the way. If we keep paying people to not work, we are going to have a lot of people not working. People not working have too much time on their hands. We don’t train people to be deep thinkers, so all these unemployed sit around thinking about how unhappy they are.


11 posted on 01/03/2013 8:58:49 AM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: SeekAndFind

I now believe that Americans are too stupid to govern themselves. They have departed from their Judeo-Christian roots and drunk the Kool-Aid of Progressivism and bought into the Democrat’s vision of an ersatz heaven on earth. The results will be disastrous and fatal for many. The wages of sin is still death.


12 posted on 01/03/2013 9:04:40 AM PST by bopdowah ("Unlike King Midas, whatever the Gubmint touches sure don't turn to Gold!')
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To: Cringing Negativism Network

“All right enough, here is what the GOP needs go-forward:
1) Bring back US jobs.
2) Lower taxes.
3) “No” to all new gun control.”

Well, based on their track record for item #2, how should we expect them to do on items 1 and 3?


13 posted on 01/03/2013 9:38:04 AM PST by Road Glide
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To: SeekAndFind

All the suggestions that have or will come forth on this thread are useless until the obama is gone, and only then if some son-, or daughter-, of-a-bitch just like him isn’t “elected” to succeed him.

We have seen that evil in control of executive orders can thwart any effort to do the right thing.

Following all that, there needs to be the election of some people who will actually do “the right thing.” They are awfully thin on the ground, right now.


14 posted on 01/03/2013 9:46:21 AM PST by RobinOfKingston (Democrats--the party of Evil. Republicans--the party of Stupid.)
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