Is this the future of America? City of Scranton lowers wage for all city workers to minimum wage

[kingblaze84]

American economics is turned on its head already.

Being frugal and responsible with money isn't taught or encouraged in this culture. Too many people are encouraged to get loans for things and to get credit cards and very few people understand what interest rates and all that shit is and how its manipulated or enforced.

Until we can get some solid economics education and training people will always fall into the traps.

I saw on TV where a union boss said that people should stop spending money, he was called an economic terrorist by FOX News. I saw where people where closing their accounts en masse at banks and the tellers started having people arrested.

That's how America works now I guess. Its completely wrong to tell people that consumers hold the power in a consumer culture and that the people hold the power over government but both schools of thought are frowned upon by the media and politicians alike.

Yeah sad what a police state America is now in so many ways, and also sad in how a country that's sold it's own people out to the bankers and debt continues to bail out the rich and leave everyone else behind. Not much real leadership in DC, none that satisfy me at least

 

[heyslick]

IMO

When people learn HOW to manage there monies & not spend beyond there means,then maybe the picture will change for the better? Keeping things simple isn't all that complicated,but of course some people are always gonna want to ignore that reality and live in la la land & then complain about what they haven't got & how the system is trying to break them.

Being in debt, in and of itself is bad enough - but to just keep on keeping on with the same mindset is SO STUPID & legalizing marijuana WILL NEVER address this problem -- IMO if educated people et al can't manage there funds, HOW the fuck are they gonna do it all stoned. Just what this nation needs another generation of pot heads - FUCK!! How about we have a leader that instills some REAL hope in people instead of one who wants to transform America into HIS vision of what America should be - DAMN egotistical ideologue!! practically everything he does turns to shit or goes bankrupt & he has NO regrets - WOW!

Legalizing marijuana is a bad idea for you to raise revenue, ok cool.....what's your idea to grow the economy? If you even dare to say extend tax cuts for the rich.....

Like I said above - instill some REAL hope in people - MORE than 50% of the country has LOST its direction because they never know what THIS administration is gonna do next - the job creators and those who have already created jobs are burdened with new and troublesome regulations and fines for not insuring there employess - this President has destroyed the aspirations of many and disillusioned others from wanting to help themselves - fuck any tax cuts for the really wealthy - this man HAS GOT TO GO...period. BTW get ready for all the new taxes and its gonna hurt those middle class folks - President Obama has really got so many fooled & he claimed otherwise for so damn long.

Obama is a failed president in several ways true, but it's not because of taxes. These "burdensome" regulations have still seen an increase in jobs over the last 12 plus months, and while job growth is slow, it's still an improvement from 2008 when we were losing 300k a month. And have you forgotten about the high job growth under Bill Clinton's 39% tax on the rich? How do you explain that??

I'm NO fan of draft dodgers. Clinton is a very charismatic type individual & they can get things done - btw you should do a little research to understand the real depth of what those type of individuals can do. Now back to reality, President Obama in my opinion is an egoistical maniac/radical ideologue & that doesn't inspire folks or make others wanna follow - this MAN HAS GOT TO GO...period!! I can't STAND blatant liars.

 

[kingblaze84]

IMO

When people learn HOW to manage there monies & not spend beyond there means,then maybe the picture will change for the better? Keeping things simple isn't all that complicated,but of course some people are always gonna want to ignore that reality and live in la la land & then complain about what they haven't got & how the system is trying to break them.

Being in debt, in and of itself is bad enough - but to just keep on keeping on with the same mindset is SO STUPID & legalizing marijuana WILL NEVER address this problem -- IMO if educated people et al can't manage there funds, HOW the fuck are they gonna do it all stoned. Just what this nation needs another generation of pot heads - FUCK!! How about we have a leader that instills some REAL hope in people instead of one who wants to transform America into HIS vision of what America should be - DAMN egotistical ideologue!! practically everything he does turns to shit or goes bankrupt & he has NO regrets - WOW!

Legalizing marijuana is a bad idea for you to raise revenue, ok cool.....what's your idea to grow the economy? If you even dare to say extend tax cuts for the rich.....

Like I said above - instill some REAL hope in people - MORE than 50% of the country has LOST its direction because they never know what THIS administration is gonna do next - the job creators and those who have already created jobs are burdened with new and troublesome regulations and fines for not insuring there employess - this President has destroyed the aspirations of many and disillusioned others from wanting to help themselves - fuck any tax cuts for the really wealthy - this man HAS GOT TO GO...period. BTW get ready for all the new taxes and its gonna hurt those middle class folks - President Obama has really got so many fooled & he claimed otherwise for so damn long.

Obama is a failed president in several ways true, but it's not because of taxes. These "burdensome" regulations have still seen an increase in jobs over the last 12 plus months, and while job growth is slow, it's still an improvement from 2008 when we were losing 300k a month. And have you forgotten about the high job growth under Bill Clinton's 39% tax on the rich? How do you explain that??

I'm NO fan of draft dodgers. Clinton is a very charismatic type individual & they can get things done - btw you should do a little research to understand the real depth of what those type of individuals can do. Now back to reality, President Obama in my opinion is an egoistical maniac/radical ideologue & that doesn't inspire folks or make others wanna follow - this MAN HAS GOT TO GO...period!! I can't STAND blatant liars.

You didn't really address my point though. Obama (supposedly) wants to raise taxes on the rich, which is a good thing. The govt needs the revenue to help pay down some debt and help bail out states that need the funds, why is that a bad thing? Clinton raised taxes on the rich and the economy boomed, much of it due to the increased revenue that helped create more govt jobs, jobs that also helped give the federal govt a SURPLUS of money. What's so bad about raising taxes now, as you think is so bad? I'm no fan of Obama by any means, I just wana know why raising taxes on the rich is so bad to you. Dwight Eisenhower had a 60% tax rate on the rich in the 1950s and guess what the unemployment rate was back than under his watch? 4%.

 

[janklow]

You didn't really address my point though. Obama (supposedly) wants to raise taxes on the rich, which is a good thing. The govt needs the revenue to help pay down some debt and help bail out states that need the funds, why is that a bad thing?

because it's not going to accomplish much and so the unfairness factor can be argued to be relevant

 

[kingblaze84]

You didn't really address my point though. Obama (supposedly) wants to raise taxes on the rich, which is a good thing. The govt needs the revenue to help pay down some debt and help bail out states that need the funds, why is that a bad thing?

because it's not going to accomplish much and so the unfairness factor can be argued to be relevant

What makes you think raising taxes on the rich won't accomplish much? The last time America did that, America saw a budget surplus and an actual increase in revenue from taxes. Since when are these things NOT good for the country??

 

[heyslick]

You didn't really address my point though. Obama (supposedly) wants to raise taxes on the rich, which is a good thing. The govt needs the revenue to help pay down some debt and help bail out states that need the funds, why is that a bad thing?

because it's not going to accomplish much and so the unfairness factor can be argued to be relevant

What makes you think raising taxes on the rich won't accomplish much? The last time America did that, America saw a budget surplus and an actual increase in revenue from taxes. Since when are these things NOT good for the country??

Just keep on over taxing the job creators,then watch and see where all the jobs go. Even now many business owners are Leary/reluctant to hire because of the pending tax increases and the uncertainty in general about all the new policies coming down the pike.

 

[Grahf]

Just keep on over taxing the job creators,then watch and see where all the jobs go. Even now many business owners are Leary/reluctant to hire because of the pending tax increases and the uncertainty in general about all the new policies coming down the pike.

This is very slightly reminiscent of what happened to Japan at the tail end of high-flying 90's. They had the 2nd largest economy in the world for being such a small nation largely devoid of natural resources. The trifecta of tech, banking, and real estate bubbles crashed hard (sound familiar?). What did the Japanese govt do? Like what the US would do: increase govt transfers (medicaid, unemployment ben, cut taxes for middle/increase for wealthy) and accrue debt. They thought giving a little extra disposable income each pay cycle would lift them up from their recession. In addition to that, Japan began probably the largest public works projects in the last 1,000 years, spending $1.4 trillion to pave its way back to prosperity to prop up aggregate demand. High public sector debt has made that country go limbo for the last two decades with nonexistent growth. Even exhausting all their fiscal options, their govt used monetary policy to drive down their interest rates, all the way down to zero bound status. Didn't work.

Look, we are NEVER going to get some of our manufacturing jobs back. You want to thrive in the global economy, you better not major in some crap like history or multidisciplinary studies. The little startups that form in Harvard and Stanford dorms, Houston, Santa Clara County, some kid's basement somewhere: those are the ones that gonna drive this knowledge economy. They get bankrolled by other tech billionaire titans (Andreeson, etc). We will still need infrastructure like roads being built, but the companies of the future aren't going to be dreamt up by some kid who wants to work at a latex or textile factory when he grows up. Up your math skills up if you want to compete. Kill yourself if you over 30 and can't at least do Precalc. My 16-year-old cousin is taking that shit now. Let me post that incomplete number of billionaires who were computer science or engineering majors.

Grahf wrote: »

...Bill Gates - studied computer science at Harvard (going to Harvard equivalent to graduating any state school) ....worth $59 billion

Sergey Brin - B.S. computer science at University of Maryland..Stanford PHD candidate...started Google...worth $16.7 billion

Larry Page - B.S. computer engineering University of Michigan...Stanford PHD candidate...started Google...worth $16.7 billion

Carlos Slim - world's richest man...studied engineering at National Autonomous University of Mexico...worth $63.3 billion

Larry Ellison - Studied computer engineering and design...founded Oracle...worth $33 billion

Charles Koch - B.S. engineering....Masters in mech engineering at MIT...worth $25 billion

David Koch - B.S. and Masters in chemical engineering at MIT....worth $22.5 billion

Jerry Yang - B.S. Standford in engineering...founded Yahoo!...worth $1.3 billion

Pierre Omidyar - B.S. computer science at Tufts....founded Ebay...worth $6.2 billion

Eric Schmidt - B.S. electrical engineer at Princeton University...worth $6.3 bilion

Michael Bloomberg - B.S. electrical engineering at Johns Hopkins worth $19.5 billion

Jeff Bezos - B.S. computer science....founded Amazon...worth $18.1 billion

Mark Zuckerberg - studied computer science at Harvard...founded Facebook....worth $17.5 billion

Paul Allen - studied computer engineering at Harvard....worth $13.2 billion

got some more...

Bernard Arnault - Europe's richest mofo...B.S. engineering at Ecole Polytechnique....worth $41 billion

Eike Batiista - studied metallurgical engineering at University of Aachen...worth $30 billion

Alexei Mordashov - studied engineering at Leningrad Engineering-Economical Institute...worth $18.5 billion

Mukesh Ambani - B.S. chemical engineering at Institute of Chemical Technology...worth $ 27 billion

Stefan Persson - MSc metal engineering at Siberian Metallurgic Institute....worth $24 billion

Vagit Alekperov - B.S. engineering at Azerbaijan State Oil Academy...worth $13.9 billion

Viktor Vekselberg - B.S. engineering at Moscow Transportation Engineering Institute...worth $13 billion

Azim Premji - Engineering at Stanford....worth $16.8 billion

 

[janklow]

What makes you think raising taxes on the rich won't accomplish much?

because we're not talking about raising taxes in general, we're talking about raising taxes on a specific segment of taxpayers, and everyone that crunches the numbers doesn't get much of a revenue increase from it, hence the common resort to the "this is about fairness" argument.

The last time America did that, America saw a budget surplus-

if we're talking about Clinton raising taxes on the rich as it being the last time, let's not pretend it CAUSED the budget surplus in the manner you seem to be.

-and an actual increase in revenue from taxes.

obviously raising ANY taxes results in an "actual increase in revenue from taxes." but if the amount of taxes brought in goes up $10, that ALSO would count as an "actual increase in revenue from taxes."

also, note that you're ditching the second half of my post: "because it's not going to accomplish much and so the unfairness factor can be argued to be relevant." if the revenue increase was INCREDIBLE, you could argue easily that it might be unfair, but it's necessary because blah blah blah. but if the revenue increase is negligible (which it would probably be) and you're already thinking too much money is being spent on something you don't think it should be (which is what the average guy who says raising taxes on the rich would claim), then you see the tax increase as a bad thing. you asked why, that's an answer.

 

[kingblaze84]

You didn't really address my point though. Obama (supposedly) wants to raise taxes on the rich, which is a good thing. The govt needs the revenue to help pay down some debt and help bail out states that need the funds, why is that a bad thing?

because it's not going to accomplish much and so the unfairness factor can be argued to be relevant

What makes you think raising taxes on the rich won't accomplish much? The last time America did that, America saw a budget surplus and an actual increase in revenue from taxes. Since when are these things NOT good for the country??

Just keep on over taxing the job creators,then watch and see where all the jobs go. Even now many business owners are Leary/reluctant to hire because of the pending tax increases and the uncertainty in general about all the new policies coming down the pike.

Huh??? I just told you that Clinton raised taxes on the rich, and we saw an INCREASE in jobs in the 1990s. Same with the 1950s under a Republican president, Eisenhower. The jobs are leaving the country now because of greed, plain and simple. Bush lowered taxes on the rich and guess what happened? Jobs STILL kept getting outsourced overseas. It's all about greed and partly, the lower power of the dollar here in America. Still though, the rich are doing very well, so this is mostly irrelevant to them, it's mostly about greed. Taxes have nothing to do with it.

 

[kingblaze84]

What makes you think raising taxes on the rich won't accomplish much?

because we're not talking about raising taxes in general, we're talking about raising taxes on a specific segment of taxpayers, and everyone that crunches the numbers doesn't get much of a revenue increase from it, hence the common resort to the "this is about fairness" argument.

The last time America did that, America saw a budget surplus-

if we're talking about Clinton raising taxes on the rich as it being the last time, let's not pretend it CAUSED the budget surplus in the manner you seem to be.

-and an actual increase in revenue from taxes.

obviously raising ANY taxes results in an "actual increase in revenue from taxes." but if the amount of taxes brought in goes up $10, that ALSO would count as an "actual increase in revenue from taxes."

also, note that you're ditching the second half of my post: "because it's not going to accomplish much and so the unfairness factor can be argued to be relevant." if the revenue increase was INCREDIBLE, you could argue easily that it might be unfair, but it's necessary because blah blah blah. but if the revenue increase is negligible (which it would probably be) and you're already thinking too much money is being spent on something you don't think it should be (which is what the average guy who says raising taxes on the rich would claim), then you see the tax increase as a bad thing. you asked why, that's an answer.

Yes I'm aware that revenue from raising taxes on the rich won't be a whole lot, but I believe it is still in the tens of billions of dollars. It's better than nothing, considering states could use bailouts of one billion or more. Tens of billions of dollars would make a difference to any state needing help. Obviously, raising taxes on the rich is not the only way to get a budget surplus again in this day and age. Legalizing medical marijuana and ending the wars overseas would go a long way into generating and saving more money too......

My basic point is, raising taxes on the rich isn't a bad idea, and as the 90s and 50s prove, does not necessarily create a bad economy. But we must find new ideas for revenue, and I think my ideas are a good step.

 

[kingblaze84]

Just keep on over taxing the job creators,then watch and see where all the jobs go. Even now many business owners are Leary/reluctant to hire because of the pending tax increases and the uncertainty in general about all the new policies coming down the pike.

This is very slightly reminiscent of what happened to Japan at the tail end of high-flying 90's. They had the 2nd largest economy in the world for being such a small nation largely devoid of natural resources. The trifecta of tech, banking, and real estate bubbles crashed hard (sound familiar?). What did the Japanese govt do? Like what the US would do: increase govt transfers (medicaid, unemployment ben, cut taxes for middle/increase for wealthy) and accrue debt. They thought giving a little extra disposable income each pay cycle would lift them up from their recession. In addition to that, Japan began probably the largest public works projects in the last 1,000 years, spending $1.4 trillion to pave its way back to prosperity to prop up aggregate demand. High public sector debt has made that country go limbo for the last two decades with nonexistent growth. Even exhausting all their fiscal options, their govt used monetary policy to drive down their interest rates, all the way down to zero bound status. Didn't work.

Look, we are NEVER going to get some of our manufacturing jobs back. You want to thrive in the global economy, you better not major in some crap like history or multidisciplinary studies. The little startups that form in Harvard and Stanford dorms, Houston, Santa Clara County, some kid's basement somewhere: those are the ones that gonna drive this knowledge economy. They get bankrolled by other tech billionaire titans (Andreeson, etc). We will still need infrastructure like roads being built, but the companies of the future aren't going to be dreamt up by some kid who wants to work at a latex or textile factory when he grows up. Up your math skills up if you want to compete. Kill yourself if you over 30 and can't at least do Precalc. My 16-year-old cousin is taking that shit now. Let me post that incomplete number of billionaires who were computer science or engineering majors.

Grahf wrote: »

...Bill Gates - studied computer science at Harvard (going to Harvard equivalent to graduating any state school) ....worth $59 billion

Sergey Brin - B.S. computer science at University of Maryland..Stanford PHD candidate...started Google...worth $16.7 billion

Larry Page - B.S. computer engineering University of Michigan...Stanford PHD candidate...started Google...worth $16.7 billion

Carlos Slim - world's richest man...studied engineering at National Autonomous University of Mexico...worth $63.3 billion

Larry Ellison - Studied computer engineering and design...founded Oracle...worth $33 billion

Charles Koch - B.S. engineering....Masters in mech engineering at MIT...worth $25 billion

David Koch - B.S. and Masters in chemical engineering at MIT....worth $22.5 billion

Jerry Yang - B.S. Standford in engineering...founded Yahoo!...worth $1.3 billion

Pierre Omidyar - B.S. computer science at Tufts....founded Ebay...worth $6.2 billion

Eric Schmidt - B.S. electrical engineer at Princeton University...worth $6.3 bilion

Michael Bloomberg - B.S. electrical engineering at Johns Hopkins worth $19.5 billion

Jeff Bezos - B.S. computer science....founded Amazon...worth $18.1 billion

Mark Zuckerberg - studied computer science at Harvard...founded Facebook....worth $17.5 billion

Paul Allen - studied computer engineering at Harvard....worth $13.2 billion

got some more...

Bernard Arnault - Europe's richest mofo...B.S. engineering at Ecole Polytechnique....worth $41 billion

Eike Batiista - studied metallurgical engineering at University of Aachen...worth $30 billion

Alexei Mordashov - studied engineering at Leningrad Engineering-Economical Institute...worth $18.5 billion

Mukesh Ambani - B.S. chemical engineering at Institute of Chemical Technology...worth $ 27 billion

Stefan Persson - MSc metal engineering at Siberian Metallurgic Institute....worth $24 billion

Vagit Alekperov - B.S. engineering at Azerbaijan State Oil Academy...worth $13.9 billion

Viktor Vekselberg - B.S. engineering at Moscow Transportation Engineering Institute...worth $13 billion

Azim Premji - Engineering at Stanford....worth $16.8 billion

Science and math are definitely the way to go these days. But let's keep it real, most people will never be able to go into these fields. It's not something most people have interest in, but our schools have to find a way to make it more fun and accessible to kids, since many kids these days really don't want to learn and would rather learn their favorite Lil Wayne song than study after school to get better in math and chemistry. But even for kids who do wana learn, math and science aren't for everyone, so we need a more accomodating economy where everyone can benefit and contribute too.

 

[Wild Self]

That is some fascist shit. Lowering wages like that while still paying high ass food, electricity, and mortgage?

 

[kingblaze84]

That is some fascist shit. Lowering wages like that while still paying high ass food, electricity, and mortgage?

This is going on all over the country, in the private sector and the public sector. I worry deeply for America's future. Most older people I know tell me this country is fucked, I used to argue with them 5 years ago that it wasn't. Now, all I can do is shake my head and hope their wrong.......the best days of America are for sure behind us, the cost of living is going up and wages are not even close to catching up for the avg person. If city workers are getting drastic pay cuts, I hate to see what the private sector is planning in the next few months. Unemployment claims are up sharply today too, so I don't know what America's future holds at this point. I'm not apathetic at this point, just very disappointed with the leadership in today's govt.

 

[kingblaze84]

Anyone here work in state govt? Are you guys doing the jobs of 3-5 people like the case workers I know?

 

[heyslick]

That is some fascist shit. Lowering wages like that while still paying high ass food, electricity, and mortgage?

This is going on all over the country, in the private sector and the public sector. I worry deeply for America's future. Most older people I know tell me this country is fucked, I used to argue with them 5 years ago that it wasn't. Now, all I can do is shake my head and hope their wrong.......the best days of America are for sure behind us, the cost of living is going up and wages are not even close to catching up for the avg person. If city workers are getting drastic pay cuts, I hate to see what the private sector is planning in the next few months. Unemployment claims are up sharply today too, so I don't know what America's future holds at this point. I'm not apathetic at this point, just very disappointed with the leadership in today's govt.

Yet so many refuse to believe this administration's policies has anything to do with that situation -- so many wanna believe that once his policies do kick-in things will improve - NO they won't. This President hasn't instilled hope or change,what he has done is instilled fear and skepticism,ALSO he has insulted those who may have thoughts of starting their own business. So now people have to rely on the government to take care of them & only the government can do that - so much for free enterprise in this once great country. THANKS mister egotistical maniac U have transformed America alright - btw for the worse.

 

[janklow]

Yes I'm aware that revenue from raising taxes on the rich won't be a whole lot, but I believe it is still in the tens of billions of dollars.

yes, it is not NOTHING. i am not arguing it shouldn't be done because it's so unfair, just stating one way this argument goes. however, i AM arguing it's a sop to make political hay while not actually doing much. i will settle for "we can raise these taxes if we don't pretend it's a real accomplishment."

My basic point is, raising taxes on the rich isn't a bad idea, and as the 90s and 50s prove, does not necessarily create a bad economy.

however, off the top of my head, this is misleading because the 1990s didn't have a good economy because of whether or not the taxes were raised on the rich.

 

[kingblaze84]

That is some fascist shit. Lowering wages like that while still paying high ass food, electricity, and mortgage?

This is going on all over the country, in the private sector and the public sector. I worry deeply for America's future. Most older people I know tell me this country is fucked, I used to argue with them 5 years ago that it wasn't. Now, all I can do is shake my head and hope their wrong.......the best days of America are for sure behind us, the cost of living is going up and wages are not even close to catching up for the avg person. If city workers are getting drastic pay cuts, I hate to see what the private sector is planning in the next few months. Unemployment claims are up sharply today too, so I don't know what America's future holds at this point. I'm not apathetic at this point, just very disappointed with the leadership in today's govt.

Yet so many refuse to believe this administration's policies has anything to do with that situation -- so many wanna believe that once his policies do kick-in things will improve - NO they won't. This President hasn't instilled hope or change,what he has done is instilled fear and skepticism,ALSO he has insulted those who may have thoughts of starting their own business. So now people have to rely on the government to take care of them & only the government can do that - so much for free enterprise in this once great country. THANKS mister egotistical maniac U have transformed America alright - btw for the worse.

Obama has been very business friendly for the most part, did you know corporations under Obama have made more money than even under the Bush years?? Come on man do some research, the rich are doing just fine in this economy. Their cutting back, just as they did back in the last Bush years, but that's not cuz of Obama, it's cuz of GREED. I work for a lawfirm that is all about greed, it rakes in hundreds of thousands a month a guess what? Me and every other employee there are doing the work of 5 people. It's sickening seeing how common this is nationwide, but again, greed is the American way these days.

If you're gonna blame Obama for the bad economy, I don't blame you, Obama hasn't had many good ideas so far. That's why Romney is gaining momentum lately, and even beating Obama in some polls now. But in all seriousness, what are YOUR ideas to better the economy? You love to criticize but what is your idea??!!!!!

You will likely say Obama should lower taxes on the rich but Bush did that and the economy still hit a bad recession.........

 

[kingblaze84]

Yes I'm aware that revenue from raising taxes on the rich won't be a whole lot, but I believe it is still in the tens of billions of dollars.

yes, it is not NOTHING. i am not arguing it shouldn't be done because it's so unfair, just stating one way this argument goes. however, i AM arguing it's a sop to make political hay while not actually doing much. i will settle for "we can raise these taxes if we don't pretend it's a real accomplishment."

My basic point is, raising taxes on the rich isn't a bad idea, and as the 90s and 50s prove, does not necessarily create a bad economy.

however, off the top of my head, this is misleading because the 1990s didn't have a good economy because of whether or not the taxes were raised on the rich.

Raising taxes on the rich is good, and here's a link that shows why.......BLAHHHH I'm hungry and I gota eat, I'll post up the link soon

 

[janklow]

Raising taxes on the rich is good, and here's a link that shows why.......BLAHHHH I'm hungry and I gota eat, I'll post up the link soon

worst post of 2012

 

[heyslick]

That is some fascist shit. Lowering wages like that while still paying high ass food, electricity, and mortgage?

This is going on all over the country, in the private sector and the public sector. I worry deeply for America's future. Most older people I know tell me this country is fucked, I used to argue with them 5 years ago that it wasn't. Now, all I can do is shake my head and hope their wrong.......the best days of America are for sure behind us, the cost of living is going up and wages are not even close to catching up for the avg person. If city workers are getting drastic pay cuts, I hate to see what the private sector is planning in the next few months. Unemployment claims are up sharply today too, so I don't know what America's future holds at this point. I'm not apathetic at this point, just very disappointed with the leadership in today's govt.

Yet so many refuse to believe this administration's policies has anything to do with that situation -- so many wanna believe that once his policies do kick-in things will improve - NO they won't. This President hasn't instilled hope or change,what he has done is instilled fear and skepticism,ALSO he has insulted those who may have thoughts of starting their own business. So now people have to rely on the government to take care of them & only the government can do that - so much for free enterprise in this once great country. THANKS mister egotistical maniac U have transformed America alright - btw for the worse.

Obama has been very business friendly for the most part, did you know corporations under Obama have made more money than even under the Bush years?? Come on man do some research, the rich are doing just fine in this economy. Their cutting back, just as they did back in the last Bush years, but that's not cuz of Obama, it's cuz of GREED. I work for a lawfirm that is all about greed, it rakes in hundreds of thousands a month a guess what? Me and every other employee there are doing the work of 5 people. It's sickening seeing how common this is nationwide, but again, greed is the American way these days.

If you're gonna blame Obama for the bad economy, I don't blame you, Obama hasn't had many good ideas so far. That's why Romney is gaining momentum lately, and even beating Obama in some polls now. But in all seriousness, what are YOUR ideas to better the economy? You love to criticize but what is your idea??!!!!!

You will likely say Obama should lower taxes on the rich but Bush did that and the economy still hit a bad recession.........

If your thinking I'm gonna lay out some great game plan? NO I'm not. Its real simple and to the point - If Obama is re-elected? in my opinion the economy will continue to be VERY sluggish or worse. This man has created SO much skepticism and fear about the future people will not take those chances IE starting there own business.and others will not expand or hire new employees. Obama has got to go! he has proven that the black man can succeed in this country in spite of what others say. FYI I don't love rich people or envy anyone for their success - just how much should any rich person pay in taxes,? before they take there business/& jobs else where - aka outsourcing.