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Originally Posted by
O-Mac 
Were people really expecting the Obama Administration to totally revamp the economy and fix all the country's problems within seconds of taking power?
No one expects Obama to fix the economy instantly, but when someone is taking the wrong direction instantly no amount of time passing will make it right.
It is akin to arguing that you can't criticize eating a gallon of Rocky Road ice cream a day while buying a new XBOX360 to train for your upcoming marathon can't be criticized because it hasn't been given enough time yet and can't work instantly.
It isn't that it won't work instantly, it is that it won't work EVER. You don't train for a marathon that way.
Our economy was suffering from lack of savings, excesses of debt (especially ridiculously easy credit terms) and over-consumption. Obama proposes to fix this by doubling the national debt and making the U.S. government the consumer of last resort since the general population can no longer consume to the same degree and he wants the government to make up the difference.
That will never work. The timeframe has nothing to do with it. We can disagree about whether it will work and you can contend that it will stimulate and work but the point to be understood is that a fundamentally wrong answer does not need an amount of time to pass to prove it wrong. It is wrong from the get go. It is also wrong even if the other party did it too.
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I saw some slogan that said "You can't blame Bush anymore." What's a response to that?
Is the Obama Administration just full of hot air as some bumper stickers want you to think?
People have engaged in a lot of reflexive thinking and they still are engaging in it. Our government constantly running in the red, our trade deficits, our lack of savings are not the result of just George W. Bush. Likewise they will not be cured by him being out of office. Something and someone either addresses the problem or they don't.
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Are there Republicans out there who hate the Democrats and/or Obama and their ideals so much that they would rather watch the country go deeper into oblivion than do something to fix all these problems? The same goes for Democrats because contrary to popular belief, there are rich Democrats too.
Two points, one sometimes you do have to hit rock bottom to stop the half-solutions so yes I do believe there are people out there hoping for the worst. Second, I'm not being sarcastic but when you focus on personal motivations like "hate" then you automatically get to eliminate people from the discussion and thus aren't really interested in including them in discussions.
I look outside and note the weather. It is a fact. I don't have to hate the weather, the weatherman, or hate myself if the weather is not what I want it to be.
America has a problem in that it does not produce as much as it consumes. People distract from this fact by noting that consumption and production might not be their definition of equitable. However regardless of that fact as a country we need to produce more and consume less.
I've had this discussion often when discussing minimum wage. People declare it should just be raised "because it is right to do so." The job either can generate that amount of value or it can't. If it can't it will be replaced by automation. No one will hire people at a loss. They don't hate the people but you can't lose money to hire someone.
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Are there people who really believe that Obama caused this mess? The way some people talk on the street and on tv, you'd think the new administration messed this country up.
What is the root cause of people's dislike/disdain on BOTH sides. Democrats on Republicans and Republicans on Democrats and Independents on everything.
And here's the hard part.
Try answering any of these questions without sarcasm or being condescending.
Look if you take a look in the mirror one day and decide you are 50 lbs overweight, there is one way to address that and it is eat less and do more. We can explore the motivations of the people telling you that advice (they hate me, the poor, Obama, they are fat themselves.) We can look at the timeframe (It's only been a month and this took 8 years (or more) to happen.) However what we can't do is more of the same and call it a change. That is delusional.
Obama called Bush a spender and said we were suffering economIcally because of tax cuts for the rich and the war. His solution was supposed to fix our lack of investment and our spending problem. Instead his budget is making the problems much, much worse. CBO estimates having him doubling the national debt in 5 years and tripling it in 10.
