Pres. Obama's Weekly Address of Aug. 20, 2011

[Skilero]

...

Now I'm out here for one reason (in Atkinson, Illinois):
I think Washington, D.C. can learn something from the folks in Atkinson, Piesta (?), and Cannon Falls; I think our country would be a whole lot better off if our elected leaders showed the same kind of discipline, and integrity, and responsibility that most Americans demonstrate in their lives every single day. Because the fact is: We're going through a tough time right now. We're coming through a terrible recession. A lot of folks are still looking for work. A lot of people are getting by with smaller paychecks or less money in the cash register. So we need folks in Washington: The People whose jobs it is to deal with the country's problems - the people who you elected to serve - we need them to put aside their differences to get things done.



There are things we can do right now that would mean more customers for businesses and more jobs across the country:

We can cut payroll taxes again, so families have an extra thousand dollars to spend.

We can pass a road construction bill so construction crews who are now sitting idle can head back to the work site rebuilding roads and bridges and airports.

We've got brave, skilled Americans returning back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Let's connect them with businesses that could use their skills.

And let's pass trade deals that can level the playing field for our businesses. We have Americans driving Hyundais and Kias - well I want to see folks in Korea driving Fords, Chevys, and Chrystlers. I want more products sold around the globe stamped with three words: Made in America.

These are common sense ideas; ideas that have been supported both by Democrats and Republicans. The only thing holding them back, is politics. The only thing preventing us from passing these bills is the refusal by some in Congress to put country ahead of party. That's the problem we have right now. That's what's holding this country back. That's what we have to change. Because for all the knocks we've taken - despite all the challenges we face - this is still the greatest country on Earth. We still have the best workers and farmers, entrepreneurs and businesses, students and scientists. And you can see that here in (?) Alford; you can see it along the country roads that connect these small towns, and farmlands.

Now some of these days I've been seeing little kids with American flags; grandparents in lawn chairs; I've shaken hands with folks outside machine shops and churches, cornerstores and farms; it reminds me of why I got into public service in the first place. Getting out of Washington and spending time with the people of this country; seeing how hard your working; how creative you are; how resourceful you are - how determined you are; that only makes me more determined to serve you as best I can as President. And it only makes me more confident in our future.

That's why it's so important that folks in Washington put country before party. That's why it's so important that our elected leaders get past their differences to help row the economy, and put this nation back to work.

Because in (?) Alford, it couldn't be more clear. And if we can come together, there is no stopping the United States of America. There is no doubt that our future is bright.

...

Feel free to comment.

[animeyay]

I don't know much about economics or politics or business, so I can't comment on Obama's ideas and proposals. But I think we've bashed Obama aplenty., or I have, at least. (Where I live, when I say something negative about Obama, people automatically choose not to comment because most of them are ardent Obama fans.)

I agree. Although Obama doesn't exactly have much to boast, our Congress is one ugly mix of hell soup. All politicians promise bipartisan cooperation to improve the state of our nation in the beginning, and then, 2 weeks late, voila, each chamber of the Congress becomes divided into two factions again, and everything becomes partisan as expected. Both Parties are holding the economy hostage for political gains, no it's no surprise that our Congress' approval ratings fell to a historical low: 13%, this week. Boehner? Reid? Pelosi? McConnell? They all suck.

[Wio]

Obama is essentially whining that there exist a group of people who are worried about U.S. finances rather than simply spending the country into an oblivion.

I'm so tired of the Keynesian bull crap. The government shouldn't be making any investments that aren't necessary. Infrastructure investment should be made when it is truly useful, not simply to stimulate the economy. The other day Krugman was saying that it'd be nice if we got attacked by aliens, so that the government could stimulate the economy with even more military stimulus. Can you believe it? Our economy would improve by investing in goods and services of no benefit to society. How does an economy improve without producing something of actual value? It's faux economic grown.

You see, even Keynes knew that his own economic philosophy was disastrous in the long run. When challenged on it, he said that we're all dead in the long run. All of the stimulus has to be financed at some point in time. The financing, whether done through taxes or inflation, must be done eventually. The harm done by financing is worse than any benefit that would come out of stimulus. It's a pipe dream to expect the government to raise taxes sufficiently during an economic boom anyway.

Also, inflation is much worse than what the CPI tells us. If you compared sound money, as opposed to phony fiat, to various goods and services, you'd realize that most of these goods are dropping in price due to technology making the cost of production lower. True inflation would be measured by this decrease in addition to inflation measured by the CPI. The problem is that we don't have sound money, so we can't make such a measurement. The closest thing we have to sound money is precious medals, which have been doubling/tripling in the past few years. Consider that all the gold in Fort Knox used to be able to account for our entire money supply. Consider the current market price of gold and how big our money ought to be and how massive it actually is. That disparity is printed money.

What do we have to show for all of this malinvestment? An economy that sucks and a lot of useless infrastructure.