Obama's Legacy

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Jiro said:
correct me if I'm wrong but voter turnout for presidential election was highest since 1960's and Obama's fundraising was the highest one (mainly donated by little guys).

America surely woke up at that time.
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I think they were in the process of awakening. However, some are in a lifelong state of unconsciousness.
 
jillio said:
I think they were in the process of awakening. However, some are in a lifelong state of unconsciousness.
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were? interesting. I'm under the impression America went back to sleep.
 
deafskeptic said:
were? interesting. I'm under the impression America went back to sleep.
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No, it is just a strange phenomenon...those who are unconsious somehow retain the ability to be extemely vocal!:giggle:
 
Remember that the unemployment rate is not "how many people don't have jobs?", but "how many people don't have jobs and are actively looking for them?" Let's say you've been looking fruitlessly for five months and realize you've exhausted every job listing in your area. Discouraged, you stop looking, at least for the moment. According to the government, you're no longer unemployed. Congratulations?

Since 2007, the percent of the population that either has a job or is actively looking for one has fallen from 62.7 percent to 58.5 percent. That's millions of workers leaving the workforce, and it's not because they've become sick or old or infirm. It's because they can't find a job, and so they've stopped trying. That's where Luce's calculation comes from. If 62.7 percent of the country was still counted as in the workforce, unemployment would be 11 percent. In that sense, the real unemployment rate -- the apples-to-apples unemployment rate -- is probably 11 percent. And the real un- and underemployed rate -- the so-called "U6" -- is near 20 percent.

There were some celebrations when the unemployment rate dropped last month. But much of that drop was people leaving the labor force. The surprising truth is that when the labor market really recovers, the unemployment rate will actually rise, albeit only temporarily, as discouraged workers start searching for jobs again.
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Wonkbook: The real unemployment rate is 11 percent - The Washington Post

Oh well...
 
In November 2008, over 500,000 jobs were lost, which marked the largest loss of jobs in the United States in 34 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in the last four months of 2008, 1.9 million jobs were lost. By the end of 2008, the U.S. had lost a total of 2.6 million jobs.

I don't think Obama could reasonably be expected to do a better job that he's been doing with the economy. Do you expect President Obama to flip a magical switch and completely erase all the job losses in 3 years as president, in spite of inheriting what was already the worst recession in US history?

You won't hear this from Republicans, though. They have already decided to bash Obama relentlessly. Facts, logic, and reasoning aren't going to stand in their way. For that matter, if they get their news from Faux News, they probably aren't even aware that the economy is improving.
 
There's not much a President can do when the Americans' self-entitlement forced the country's economy to go down the drain.
 
Banjo said:
There's not much a President can do when the Americans' self-entitlement forced the country's economy to go down the drain.
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Eh? That's a drop in the bucket compared to military spending.
 
Beowulf said:
Eh? That's a drop in the bucket compared to military spending.
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What led to the increase in military spending? Self-entitlement. They want this and that. It never ends.
 
Banjo said:
What led to the increase in military spending? Self-entitlement. They want this and that. It never ends.
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Yeah. Imagine those greedy combat soldiers wanting bullet-proof vests, IED-resistant vehicles, enough ammunition, and medical care for their wounds. All for doing nothing in return. :roll:
 
Reba said:
Yeah. Imagine those greedy combat soldiers wanting bullet-proof vests, IED-resistant vehicles, enough ammunition, and medical care for their wounds. All for doing nothing in return. :roll:
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we've already spent billions and it still wasn't going to their needs. that's what banjo was talking about.

it's a serious misallocation of our war funds.
 
Reba said:
Yeah. Imagine those greedy combat soldiers wanting bullet-proof vests, IED-resistant vehicles, enough ammunition, and medical care for their wounds. All for doing nothing in return. :roll:
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How dare they!
 
Jiro said:
we've already spent billions and it still wasn't going to their needs. that's what banjo was talking about.

it's a serious misallocation of our war funds.
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Exactly.
 
Reba said:
Yeah. Imagine those greedy combat soldiers wanting bullet-proof vests, IED-resistant vehicles, enough ammunition, and medical care for their wounds. All for doing nothing in return. :roll:
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Completely wrong.

A very, very very large portion of military funds goes to defense contractors R&D and eventually their contracts to produce the war machines they are basically funded 100% to develop. What is really the kicker is that a substantial amount of these projects never even make it to production and the battlefield, even after billions of taxpayer monies have been sunk into them: Osprey, Crusader Howitzer, etc. The military industrial complex is the vampire sucking the blood from the troops and from this nation.

U.S. Army Materiel Command has been chronically underfunded. They continuously get the short end of the stick while defense contractors like Lockheed, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrup Gruman, etc. get enough money each year to outweigh the GDP of many small nations.

How do I know all this? I edited the budget summaries.
 
15 Facts About Military Spending That Will Blow Your Mind

1 America spends more on its military than THE NEXT 15 COUNTRIES COMBINED

2. The total known land area occupied by U.S. bases and facilities is 15,654 square miles -- bigger than D.C., Massachusetts, and New Jersey combined.

3. By 2033 the U.S. will be paying $59 billion a year to its veterans injured in the wars

4. In 2007, the amount of money labeled 'wasted' or 'lost' in Iraq -- $11 billion -- could pay 220,000 teachers salaries

5.Defense spending is higher today than at any time since the height of World War II

6. America's defense spending doubled in the same period that its economy shrunk from 32 to 23 percent of global output*

7. The yearly cost of stationing one soldier in Iraq could feed 60 American families.

8. Each day in Afghanistan costs the government more than it did to build the entire Pentagon

9. In 2008, the Pentagon spent more money every five seconds in Iraq than the average American earned in a year

10. The pentagon budget consumes 80% of individual income tax revenue

11. Two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Defense Department still has more than 40 generals, admirals or civilian equivalents based in Europe

12. The amount the government has spent compensating radiation victims of nuclear testing ($1.5 billion) could fully educate 13,000 American kids

13. The Pentagon spends more on war than all 50 states combined spend on health, education, welfare, and safety

14. The U.S. has 5% of the world's population -- but almost 50% of the world's total military expenditure

15 . So where do they get all that money?

Read more: 15 Facts About Military Spending That Will Blow Your Mind
 
DeafCaroline said:
15 Facts About Military Spending That Will Blow Your Mind

1 America spends more on its military than THE NEXT 15 COUNTRIES COMBINED

2. The total known land area occupied by U.S. bases and facilities is 15,654 square miles -- bigger than D.C., Massachusetts, and New Jersey combined.

3. By 2033 the U.S. will be paying $59 billion a year to its veterans injured in the wars

4. In 2007, the amount of money labeled 'wasted' or 'lost' in Iraq -- $11 billion -- could pay 220,000 teachers salaries

5.Defense spending is higher today than at any time since the height of World War II

6. America's defense spending doubled in the same period that its economy shrunk from 32 to 23 percent of global output*

7. The yearly cost of stationing one soldier in Iraq could feed 60 American families.

8. Each day in Afghanistan costs the government more than it did to build the entire Pentagon

9. In 2008, the Pentagon spent more money every five seconds in Iraq than the average American earned in a year

10. The pentagon budget consumes 80% of individual income tax revenue

11. Two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Defense Department still has more than 40 generals, admirals or civilian equivalents based in Europe

12. The amount the government has spent compensating radiation victims of nuclear testing ($1.5 billion) could fully educate 13,000 American kids

13. The Pentagon spends more on war than all 50 states combined spend on health, education, welfare, and safety

14. The U.S. has 5% of the world's population -- but almost 50% of the world's total military expenditure

15 . So where do they get all that money?

Read more: 15 Facts About Military Spending That Will Blow Your Mind
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And people wonder why the US is in trillions of dollars worth of debt!! Thats some heavy spending!!
 
Jakey said:
And people wonder why the US is in trillions of dollars worth of debt!! Thats some heavy spending!!
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Sure it is. Perhaps DeafCaroline will do us all a favor and list the cost of all the entitlement programs heavy spending is done on.
 
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