President Obama: "I've never believed that government's role is to create jobs or prosperity"

[Better Believe It]

Does anyone still doubt that President Obama has a conservative economic philosophy? BBI

(Excerpt)

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 08, 2010
Remarks by the President on the Economy in Parma, Ohio
Cuyahoga Community College West Campus, Parma, Ohio


"Now, we have a different vision for the future. See, I’ve never believed that government has all the answers to our problems. I’ve never believed that government’s role is to create jobs or prosperity. I believe it’s the drive and the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs, our small businesses; the skill and dedication of our workers -- (applause) -- that’s made us the wealthiest nation on Earth. (Applause.) I believe it’s the private sector that must be the main engine for our recovery.

I believe government should be lean; government should be efficient. I believe government should leave people free to make the choices they think are best for themselves and their families, so long as those choices don’t hurt others. (Applause.)"

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/08/remarks-president-economy-parma-ohio


The Obama Administration won't lift President Reagan's ban prohibiting direct WPA type federal jobs programs. President Obama believes it's not the governments role to lead this nation out of the Great Recession by creating useful public works jobs and demand. A "lean government" stays out of the way and lets Wall Street and corporate America perform their magic.

Some magic.

Well, they did make almost 10 million jobs disappear. BBI


Excerpts from two articles by Alec MacGillis -

By Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 8, 2009 and
Monday, November 9, 2009

Why has a White House that talks so much about boosting employment steered clear of the most direct strategy that could keep Americans on the job? .... aside from a small summer employment program for young people, it has not sought to create jobs on the public payroll, something the country did in the 1930s and 1970s.

President Richard Nixon gave jobs programs another go in the doldrums of 1973-74 with the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA).

The program withered under President Ronald Reagan, who added prohibitions against public service employment (except for summer programs and natural disasters) that endure today. That the Obama administration shows little indication of lifting this taboo is a sign of how free-market tenets persist even when financial turmoil has called them into doubt, said John Russo, co-director of Youngstown State University's Center for Working-Class Studies.

As for direct job creation: there's a real nervousness about setting up anything that looks like a WPA-style jobs program. It's that reluctance that my piece is calling into question -- after all, is it really more politically damaging to be seen as doing a jobs program than to be facing double-digit unemployment?

.... we had direct job creation programs in place throughout the '70s, as my article recounts. It was called CETA, and it ramped up under Nixon in '73-'74 recession. Reagan ended the program, and implemented a new federal restriction against federal jobs programs, with exception for summer youth programs and national emergencies.

The Labor Department does have various job training programs in place, such as Job Corps. But the federal government is prohibited against doing direct jobs-program style hiring a ban that Reagan put in place and that the Democrats so far have balked at trying to lift.

Read the full articles at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/06/AR2009110601900.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/11/06/DI2009110603214.html

[RandomKoolzip]

1. Well that's pretty far away from what I believe, and I'm a Democrat.

So one of us is bullshitting, and it's not me.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SugarShack]

59. If not, then what was all the "hopium" for???????

[whathehell]

122. The "hopium" was hokum....smoke and mirrors so that you'd believe he was a real democrat.n/t

[valerief]

2. It's just the government's job to write laws so that Americans lose jobs. nt

[Octafish]

56. How true that is.

Some even got tax breaks for selling their factories to China, the Foreign Investment Tax Credit.

Caligula Jr signed it into law. His Uncle Prescott made bucks on the other end, as head of the US-China Chamber of Commerce.

USA. USA. USA.

[awoke_in_2003]

108. I give us 30 years...

before our sovereignty as a nation ceases.

[Javaman]

114. You are overly optimistic.

I give us less than 10 at the rate we are going.

[awoke_in_2003]

138. You may be right...

I do try not to be quite so pessimistic, but it is getting harder and harder to do. Who knows, maybe the Brits will take us back- at least we could get good health care (and fish and chips)

[Javaman]

139. as long as those are included. :)

sadly, I think once the next repuke comes in, we're done. Because they will have the senate, the house and the supreme court. Game set match.

[awoke_in_2003]

141. I think we are one terrorist event...

from ceasing to exist. How hard is it to get a pilots license, rent a Cessna 172, and fly it into a stadium on a football Sunday? Yeah, at the most a few hundred would die. But I think that is all that is needed to push this country fully over the edge.

on edit: before someone says "don't give them any ideas" I have to say- they are not stupid. They have already thought out all scenarios.

[mmonk]

3. Yes, plenty do.

[hifiguy]

4. As if more proof were needed

that we were all scammed three years ago, this seals the verdict. This is repuke bullshit of the highest order.

[wtmusic]

5. "...so long as those choices don’t hurt others."

Sounds Democratic to me.

[Amonester]

69. Agreed.

And since millions of these "others" have already been hurt by these choices (job losses, home losses, and on, and on) and apparently will be hurt again as soon as the TeaRRorist$ will win another hostage-taking opportunity, I wonder how long it will take him to respond to that depression with a good-enough stimulus.

[DocMac]

83. Corporations are people.

So they are people harming people when they do create harm.

[eShirl]

6. Why did he become a Democrat?

Seriously.

[Divernan]

14. The Illinois GOP never nominated blacks to the US Senate

His only route to national office, AT THE TIME HE FIRST RAN FOR POLITICAL OFFICE, was through the Democratic party.

There have been only 4 black US senators since reconstruction.

The first and only GOP black senator was Ed Brooke from Massachusetts. Since he was defeated for re-election in 1978, there have been no GOP Senators nominated(to the best of my research findings), let alone elected.

The other three black senators were all Democrats and all from Illinois.
Carol Mosley Braun (one term)
Barack Obama (one term)
Roland Burris appointed to fill the remainder of Obama's term.

Obama picked the right state and the right political party to suit his ambitions.

[Melissa G]

35. Good post!

:thumbsup:

[cui bono]

66. Interesting.... explains a lot. n/t

[Chimichurri]

96. interesting.

[ladjf]

31. Because he would have known that the Republicans would not

have nominated him. nt

[katnapped]

97. Yup!

That's what I'd been thinking for quite some time.

[Bluebear]

147. +

[Karmadillo]

7. I keep waiting for you to type "Psych!" and tell us this was from the Onion.

How sad for a Democratic president to promote such a policy.

[fascisthunter]

8. He's now trying to Obsolve Himself from Failing

to help create jobs. How pathetic...

[proud patriot]

9. I wonder if he still feels this way

[treestar]

10. He's talking up the entrepreneurs

The government does not create the jobs. It may try to help. This is being disingenuous.

[leftstreet]

12. The Govt doesn't create jobs? With 700+ military bases worldwide?

:rofl:

[treestar]

22. Wait, I thought that was bad?

I thought military jobs would be ones even the left would want cut.

[roguevalley]

27. considering millions of people do government work I wasn't aware

that this was so. What a champion of the little man. Wait ...

[lib_wit_it]

45. Yeah, because we'd rather the government jobs do something for us, like improve our infrastructure,

rather than to support the military industrial complex.

[RaleighNCDUer]

115. like this -

http://hooverdam.travelnevada.com/history.aspx

[WinkyDink]

88. Not the point, which is: OBAMA'S denial of the obvious.

[yardwork]

100. You thought wrong.

There's a big difference between recognizing that defense spending is ridiculously out of control and wanting no military. Probably somebody somewhere thinks that all military should be eliminated but most of us on "the left" are a little brighter than that.

[MessiahRp]

118. Talk about disingenuous.... How about all the contracts for public works?

How the fuck do roads and infrastructure get made? The Government doesn't pay for that? What about actual government jobs like working at government offices? What about public schools where the government pays those teachers?

You attacked a teacher in another thread by saying you didn't really believe the anti-public schools and anti-teacher unions policies of this President hurt the OP or any other teachers. Between that and this I would say your paid shilling has gone overboard here.

Rp

[kenfrequed]

126. A ridiculous, specious counter.

Seriously, I think we all deserve more than mere snipping snippets. Do you really mean to suggest that government should create no jobs? Does that mean you don't want an EPA? Do you want any federal regulators at all? Last I checked... wait a minute... yes. Those are definitely jobs.

In fact there are many things that need doing, that can only reasonably and affordably be done directly by the federal government that would require workers and therefore be considered jobs.

With your opinion I question whether or not you are even on the right message board.

[TheKentuckian]

21. Why doesn't the government create jobs?

[treestar]

24. It creates bureaucratic jobs

And I'm not pissing on that.

It creates jobs when it spends.

But then someone starts a business somewhere. The President in this quote is buttering up people who start businesses. OP tries to make that something terrible.

[roguevalley]

28. given that 'entrepreneurs' aren't paying taxes and get corporate

welfare, I still say they can all kiss my ass. He likes the big money. To hell with making the WPA or the CCC's for the 99'ers who are left for dead along the gold paved highway to his world.

[OneGrassRoot]

48. Most entrepreneurs are really, really small businesses....

Definitely not Wall Street types, definitely paying taxes (the self-employed, like myself, pay taxes to BE self-employed), and get no corporate welfare.

I think we need to be careful when we're talking about businesses. To me, a simple difference is Main Street versus Wall Street.

Most entrepreneurs that Obama is appealing to, and that are usually discussed, are the Main Street very small business type of entrepreneur.

:hi:

[JDPriestly]

29. Businesses are not hiring.

I know a couple of people who ran small businesses before the 2008 bust.

They mortgaged their homes to keep paying their staffs.

And then, the whole economy went bust.

People who run small businesses are either run out of business or running scared.
That's why the government needs to hire.

As for the bureaucrats, when the economy improves thanks to the stimulus of the government jobs programs, the erst-while bureaucrats will have learned the skills to run small businesses.

I learned a lot about running a business from working in the administration of a non-profit that was, in fact, a small business. The skills -- setting goals -- budgeting -- purchasing -- handling personnel -- organizing work and workers -- accounting for results -- working as a team. Those skills are the same whether you are working for the government or in private business.

People who are unemployed or underemployed are not able to develop the skills that we need in our economy, in our businesses, whether private or public, to bring prosperity.

So, when all else fails (and it appears that all else has failed), direct government employment in WPA-type programs is useful to kick-start private business.

The WPA programs did not, in general, do the sort of work that private enterprise does. Rather, the WPA built infrastructure at low cost. (My dad worked for it at one point. He was not paid much, and what he earned was sent home to his parents to help them weather the Depression.)

Here in LA we see many bridges and other public infrastructure that was originally built in the 1930s.

We could use 21st century infrastructure now. And there are only two ways to get it -- a WPA-like program for jobless people run by the government or taxing the rich to hire private companies to do it.

Either way, it means higher taxes and pooling resources. Obama and the Republicans are not going to succeed with their free market theories right now.

[RaleighNCDUer]

117. Bureaucratic jobs -

"Constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation in the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s, Hoover Dam was the largest federal project of its time. Building the dam was hot, dirty and often dangerous work, but more than 20,000 men were happy to be working..."

[yardwork]

101. It does.

[RaleighNCDUer]

116. is that a fact?

http://hooverdam.travelnevada.com/history.aspx

"Constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation in the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s, Hoover Dam was the largest federal project of its time. Building the dam was hot, dirty and often dangerous work, but more than 20,000 men were happy to be working..."

[Maven]

11. and the "entrepreneurs" need more TAX CUTS, right O?

That'll solve our problems! Austerity all the way!

[OHdem10]

13. I am sorry but this is what the KYlLEs McConnells, and other

GOP preach as Gospel.

I am sorry I did not understand this part of Obama's
Philosophy before I voted for him.

If I had wanted Republican, I woud have voted McCain.

[area51]

36. +1

Saw a car today with "Impeach Obama" on the back; I can't understand why they feel that way since he's doing the republicans' work for them.

[Hydra]

40. Because frankly

"There are two types of Republicans: Billionaires and Suckers"

The Republicans you see outside of DC and Wall Street don't even know what the Republican party stands for. This is the guy with the sign saying "Get your gov't our of my Medicare!"

The Suckers look for people to point them in a direction(Like Rush Limbaugh) and they go in it, regardless how stupid it is.

Scary, isn't it? It's probably why the WH is annoyed with us- they think we're the democratic equivalent.

[SusanaMontana41]

78. That sticker would appeal to some Democrats, too. n/t

[frebrd]

15. Don't remember hearing him say that..........

during his campaign.

Anybody?

[in_cog_ni_to]

20. There's a video at the link. The quote is from the WH web site.

[frebrd]

63. I was referring to his 2008 campaign...

The WH website quote is from 2010.

[WinkyDink]

89. SO?

[Javaman]

119. Makes ya crazy, doesn't it?

they question the source then don't like the quote when it doesn't fit their very narrow parameters of reality.

Cheers. :)

[frebrd]

120. Had I known in 2008 that he held those beliefs........

I could not have voted for him!

He did a great job of hoodwinking the liberal Democratic voters.

[amborin]

16. his choices support that: Summers=reaganomics; Geithner=deregulation, etc....

[CleanGreenFuture]

17. But he's going to "fight" for jobs now though. He said so the other day.

[KG]

18. i'm SO relieved!

:P

[girl gone mad]

19. Now that it's essentially impossible to get anything done.

[QC]

23. He is going to be a fierce advocate for jobs! n/t

[Duncan Grant]

60. Now there's a scary thought. (nt)

[SammyWinstonJack]

32. He was for job creation before he was against job creation before he was for job creation...

:crazy:

Just say any old thing, Obama.

You're a master of that.

[yardwork]

142. If it's anything like his fierce advocacy for other things, don't hold your breath.

[JDPriestly]

25. Does anyone still believe that voters will re-elect a president

who admits to that belief?

[Proles]

30. I remember when I first heard of Obama, I thought he was a republican.

Then I learned he was actually a contender for the Democrats.

Turns out I wasn't so wrong the first time.

[Autumn]

33. Then why is it governments job to bail out

crooked fucking bankers with our tax dollars, you know the ones got us in this position?

[DerekG]

34. One of the great con-artists in American history.

Unbelievable.

[Bluebear]

37. So when he says he will fight for jobs...he doesn't believe in that?

[woo me with science]

38. Great post. K&R

[bluestate10]

39. The President is right. Government has never created jobs.

The role of government is to be the incubator for industrial and scientific progress, because for profit companies don't fund promising projects that don't have the possibility of immediate profit. Your hatred for President Obama simply blinds you to a fact that has existed in this country since it's founding.

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[KG]

43. the gov't doesn't create jobs with contracts for roads, ports, airports, military facilities, etc?

:eyes:

[jtuck004]

51. Too bad they didn't see a profit in I-35 before it collapsed and sent people to their death.

You are correct, one of the roles of the government is to be the incubator for industrial and scientific progress. But it can't stop there if the government is doing what it is capable of. The president is wrong. Of course government creates jobs. Maybe not forever jobs, certainly not for profit. Government not only creates jobs, it has a damn duty to do so, for the security of the country.

It provides vital and important jobs in a capitalist economy. Where is the profit in public parks, funding of hospitals, feeding the poor, teaching children in inner-city schools, repairing the war machines? To say the government doesn't create jobs is to absolve those who turn their back on their neighbors because it is more profitable...for a while, even though it will weaken this country. Any argument that capitalism does not require government jobs, that government jobs don't provide a necessary function, that under such a system government doesn't create jobs, is ludicrous. (I also see a role for those people elected to government in feeding the hungry, providing some housing and healthcare. But that's another post).

The real wealth of this nation has been, and always will be, what people accomplish. That requires investment. And when business would rather make excuses the government must step in, even temporarily. Refusing to acknowledge such a government responsibility is akin to burying your wealth under a rock and watching it erode over time, or shooting yourself in the foot then reloading and doing it again. (The latest debt-reduction legislation is and will be proof of that - see Bernie Sanders letter as to the effects of removing government spending on our neighbors - HERE).

Government also stimulates the creation and growth of for-profit corporations. (Not so easy to see today because business appears to be staffed by treasonous bastards who see profit overseas instead of in their neighbors, the people from whose labor and death they profited. They are abrogating their responsibility.)

Without the government there would be no GM, (again), and tens of thousands of jobs would never have existed. That investment has been the impetus for millions of jobs, directly tied to government spending and investment. The conservative fools and cowards who ignore that in our history and decry it in the media are liars and frauds.

Another example:

From Wiki - "Led by Sanford Moss, GE introduced the first superchargers during World War I, and continued to develop them during the Interwar period. They became indispensable in the years immediately prior to World War II, and GE was the world leader in exhaust-driven supercharging when the war started. This experience, in turn, made GE a natural selection to develop the Whittle W.1 jet engine that was demonstrated in the United States in 1941. Although their early work with Whittle's designs was later handed to Allison Engine Company, GE Aviation emerged as one of the world's largest engine manufacturers"

Without government help that company would NEVER have grown to the number of jobs it has/had.

I don't hate Obama, (that's a teabagger past-time, and besides, he's probably a great guy to play ball with) but under his watch we have now 45 million people on food stamps (a number that is growing), 24 million unemployed, underemployed, and dis-spirited people who want to work even though there are not enough jobs, 3 million homes in inventory and 5-7 million (minimum) that will be lost to foreclosure over the next few years. And now we have a "new deal" that will hack thousands of people from payrolls, remove seniors from housing and deny them food, reduce primary health care in a nation that now has 50 million people without health care - it was about 35 million in 2008). I know he didn't start it, but while "It Wasn't Me" is a fine title for a song, excuses only get one so far.

He took office after the loss of 4.5 million jobs. Another 4.5 million were lost in the first year of his presidency. Had he pursued policies that were moderately practical like getting jobs going again by pushing a jobs program, sending some of the trillions that were shoveled into bank vaults to worker's pockets, instead of playing chess and sending the health insurance companies 44 million customers who are compelled to purchase their product, these discussion would be far different. (Some people didn't like it when I said that 3 years ago, probably won't like it now. That's ok, I hope they got what they needed).

I voted for Obama because I thought he believed in the same Democratic principles I have for decades, and I thought he would use his power as an orator, as well as the power that would have come from 9 million people having lost their jobs to pursue a strategy that would lead us into the future. I no longer think so, but I don't hate him, and throwing that at Democrats is usually inaccurate. It can be convenient and a winning strategy to blame the victim (ask any defense attorney at a rape trial) but it's wrong, and thinking people realize the fault lies with the aggressor. Similarly, it's not the critics of the policies that are the problem. The critics are often the victims these days. The policies are wrong-headed, and a sober evaluation of them seems to lead most people I talk with to that conclusion.

[libmom74]

98. +1

[RaleighNCDUer]

121. You said it all

and without cussing, too.

[jtuck004]

140. I apologize if my cursing offends you. Sometimes I just get too worked

up, forget to think. On occasion I use it as punctuation, but perhaps too much ;)

[RaleighNCDUer]

143. Oh, not at all - I was just commenting on how I would not be able to

say it WITHOUT cursing.

[jtuck004]

145. Yeah, not that easy sometimes... /nt

[Cali_Democrat]

55. "Government has never created jobs"

:eyes:

[Better Believe It]

58. So who is paying President Obama and his staff?

:eyes:

[WinkyDink]

91. Jesuitical nonsense. The "incubator" = contracts. See: NASA. See: GE. See: Halliburton. See: Boeing.

[yardwork]

102. The U.S. government employs millions.

[KurtNYC]

104. So who is fighting our wars? unpaid volunteers? and the TSA?

Does the Hoover dam sound familiar. It wasn't built by Hoover vaccuum cleaner company.

[Taverner]

41. Then fucking quit. Because that's why we fucking hired you.

[inna]

75. no kidding. i think part of the plan is to see how much the american people can

actually put up with, before all the illusions are gone.

and then... well, clearly, the whole thing has been well thought through in advance, to say the least.

[WillyT]

44. Jesus... Fucking... Christ !!!

:wtf::wtf::wtf:

:nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke:

:banghead:

[TK421]

46. I know, I know...it's enough to really make you bang your fucking head against a wall

actually..try and find the funny side in this! BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!!

[woo me with science]

50. +1

[COLGATE4]

90. K&R. Says it all better than words ever could.

[MissDeeds]

107. Yep

That about says it all.

[JVS]

47. And it shows.

[indepat]

49. Government's job is to promote vast income inequality, promote accumulation of most of the nation's

wealth among a relatively precious few, keep MIC spending on par with that of the rest of the world so global hegemony can be exerted, and eviscerate social security, Medicare, and Medicaid so the uber-wealthy can continue their feverish 30+ year sucking frenzy at the public welfare teat. If not their job, this is nonetheless what government does best. :patriot:

[loyalsister]

52. He's not taking an absolutist position

Yes he's using conservative language but, guess what...

Illinois to receive influx of money for high-speed rail projects.....
http://www.wbez.org/story/illinois-receive-influx-money-high-speed-rail-projects-90143

He and Joe Biden have talked about transportation quite often.

[Raine]

53. I wish I had known that BEFORE I supported him

he certainly wouldn't have been my pick. At least with Hillary I would've known what I was getting.

[Blue_In_AK]

68. That's exactly why I caucused for Hillary

when it came down to those last two, even though I had no real enthusiasm for either of them. Hillary at least we knew; Obama was such an unknown quantity. In the end, the "hope and change" thing played well, and we got steamrolled by the "new Democrats." A pity.

[sabrina 1]

54. Homeland Security is a huge Government Agency

The CIA

The FBI

ICE

The US Military

Law Enforcement

Federal Employees such as Judges and their staff.

Congress

The State Dept.

Various Govt Agencies like the DOJ, EPA etc.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but if Government doesn't create jobs, who is hiring all these people?

And what shape would this country be in if the Neo/Liberal/Con/New Democrat/Third Way/Libertarian/Republican philosophy he's talking about were to be taken seriously. All these people would be working for private Corps??

Aside from anything else, that is a silly thing to say since Government DOES create jobs, hundreds of thousands of them and always will.

What does he mean by that?

Since Government already creates all these jobs, what's wrong with it creating some more that are badly needed, to rebuild infrastructure, eg? What do they have against a few more Govt. Jobs?

[Better Believe It]

57. "What do they have against a few more Govt. Jobs?" That money should go to the rich in tax cuts!

[workinclasszero]

61. Nice to know our democratic president is looking out for the best interests of workers

in China, India, South America, Mexico, etc with all the damned free trade agreement he can ram through congress.

But screw American workers eh Mr Obama? We are on our own!:argh:

I'm so damn glad I voted for and supported this republican-lite pol for president!:banghead: :grr:

[Better Believe It]

64. What makes you think President Obama is looking out for the best interests of workers anywhere?

[SusanaMontana41]

79. True dat. Cheap labor is exploited labor, wherever it is. n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

67. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I don't think Obama is up to the job.

[blkmusclmachine]

62. This is a joke, right?

:scared:

[progressoid]

72. It's certainly not very funny.

[Creideiki]

65. It could be worse

He could actually advocate a Public Works Administration program.

[B Calm]

70. Boy when you listen to republicans talk about Obama's Socialist Agenda

you'd think they were talking about somebody other than Obama.

[pokerfan]

71. He's a small government, trickle down conservative?

That's not the change I was hoping for...

[GeneStoney]

76. He's playing the Republicans like an instrument

I think he's just saying it to distract his opponents because he's certainly not into "small government" or "hands off" approaches. Obama has taken several strong steps to try and consolidate the party's position over the long term with the drive to improve access to welfare and laying the foundation for a private military force through the TSA.

We need to hold back judgement and have a little faith. He's fighting a battle against the Republicans and sometimes that means he needs to "play the game" by saying one thing and meaning another.

[inna]

77. Do we still have DUzies??? Man, that was some uncontestedly HILARIOUS shit

[QC]

92. Has any person ever inspired so much magical thinking as our prez? n/t

[Lorien]

95. Just the author of "The Secret"

and perhaps his pal Oprah.

[QC]

109. The Oprah connection is interesting, considering how hard she pushed Obama

*and* The Secret.

[Bluebear]

82. Oh my god

[yardwork]

103. He's playing chess!!!11111

[L0oniX]

127. ...and using us as pawns.

Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy. - Henry Kissinger

Now it's not just military personnel.

[pokerfan]

136. Just think of him as Bobby Fischer

The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/08/obama-as-chess-master-think-of-him-as-bobby-fischer/243139

[Lorien]

94. That's no longer a question. nt

[Liberal Fiscal Hawk]

73. A public works ban?

How did Reagan manage to pull that off, with a Democratic House of Representatives? That's astonishing, I had no idea such a horrific ban existed.

[inna]

74. the whole MO could not possibly be any clearer, it's only the little details that remain somewhat of

a mystery. :shrug: well, we'll find out out, soon.

[blindpig]

80. Quite simply, that is libertarianism.

In truth there is not much difference between liberalism and libertarianism, the difference lies in what rank and file liberals think liberalism is.

[RaleighNCDUer]

123. Huh?

The very basis of liberalism is the concept of the power of the state being used for the benefit of its people - and that is diametrically opposite to libertarianism which says the state should have no power other than to field the military - a volunteer military.

In liberalism, the state is beneficial. In libertarianism, the state is an impediment. In conservatism, the state is malevolent.

Which of those is not like the other two?

[blindpig]

130. Like I said about the rank & file....

That is the public side that liberal politicians profess, the legacy of the New Deal, it is such effective politics. The attributes which you assign to liberalism are those of the New Deal, an expedient to save capitalism now being dismantled by the party that created it.

Liberalism is more innovative than conservatism, more willing to throw a little carrot in with the stick if deemed necessary, but both parties are capitalistic and answer to that power. Libertarianism is whole cloth bullshit created when members of the ruling class became alarmed at what liberals were doing (Keynsenianism), it's all ruling class priorities.

Liberalism in the USA is now returning to it's pre-Great Depression form, if you want the kind of party that you imagine you'll have to start your own.

[RobinA]

81. That Mystery Solved! nt

*

[tk2kewl]

84. 'nuff said.

show him the door.

[MilesColtrane]

85. Keep that drumbeat up, Obama's still ahead of every specified Republican in the polls.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/president_obama_vs_republican_candidates.html


You must do better.

[ElboRuum]

86. Actually, there is nothing wrong with taking that stand...

So long as you understand that it IS the government's role to put a leash on practices which stand in the way of prosperity when they occur in the private sector. Getting this one half right has the same effect as getting it totally wrong.

[WinkyDink]

87. Pro-Reagan; anti-FDR. End of story. End of dream.

[Lorien]

93. Obama: worst excuse for a "Democrat" ever

We can't afford another four years of this Third Way to ruin bullcrap.

[AzDar]

99. I have had enough of this shit. Paging Dr. Dean...

:grr:

[mochajava666]

105. Heck of a job, President Hoover. Laizzez-faire and Ayn Rand!

Never heard this kind of shit from 2008 candidate Obama. Now that guy was someone that you could believe in...where did he go?

[Jakes Progress]

106. We used to call them reagan democrats.

[orbitalman]

110. A short-sight ass. n/t

[trud]

111. I thought I was reading the Onion

Go court those Repugs, Obama. Your base is gone.

[RaleighNCDUer]

112. ...Promote the general Welfare...

It's right there in the national mission statement.

I thought he was supposed to be a constitutional scholar.

[hulka38]

113. One can believe that this statement is true,

"I’ve never believed that government’s role is to create jobs or prosperity. I believe it’s the drive and the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs, our small businesses; the skill and dedication of our workers", and believe just as strongly that there are times when massive government stimulus is necessary to help the economy back to health.

[DeSwiss]

124. So I guess you were just bullshitting us before, huh???

- Well you didn't lie about one thing. You have definitely brought change to America. We now have a one-party system......

K&R

"....create jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow. Jobs that will help us end our dependence on foreign oil and may save the planet in the process. Rebuilding our crumbling roads and schools and bridges...." "....so we can have a new electricity grid and bring renewable energy to population centers here in Indiana and across America. Build an American infrastructure for the 21st century." - Barack Obama, 2008

"....that tired, worn-out old theory that says, that says we should give more to billionaires and big corporations and hope that prosperity will trickle-down on everybody else. The last thing... the last thing we can afford is four more years where no one in Washington is watching anyone on Wall Street because politicians and lobbyists killed common-sense regulations. Those are the theories that got us into this mess. They haven't worked and it is time for change, and that's why I'm running for President of the United States of America." - Barack Obama, 2008

"...bailout Wall Street banks. As President I will insure the financial rescue plan helps stop foreclosures and protects your money, instead of enriching CEOs. And I'll put in place the common-sense regulations that I've been calling for throughout this campaign. So that Wall Street can never cause a crisis like this again. That's the change we need." - Barack Obama, 2008

"It is absolutely true that NAFTA was a mistake." - Barack Obama, 2008

"It's been a long time coming. But tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America." - Barack Obama, November 4, 2008

All above quotes were excerpted from Barack Obama campaign speeches and interviews as shown in the documentary http://vimeo.com/20355767">"Lifting the Veil: Obama and the Failure of Capitalist Democracy"

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

129. So, let's let the country completely fall apart before a single government job

is created. That includes jobs created by contracts with private companies to fix the infrastructure.

It reminds me of the two Teabaggers Colbert had on his show. He gave each of them the same hypothesis concerning a medical outbreak that was killing all of the children, but it could be stopped if everyone paid just one more dollar in taxes.

They both avoided the question (surprise!) and talked about how the free market, yadda-yadda-yadda...

My thought is that if the country's economy completely collapses then the corporations can rebuild it in their own image. It'll be Indentured Servitude 2.0

[L0oniX]

125. No. It has been the gov's job to give away our jobs thru trade agreements.

Fuck'n assholes.

[deviant24x]

128. What the hell?

This sounds like a speech that could have come from Reagan. In fact it has many of the same themes.
A New Deal type jobs program is one of the only things that could have helped this economy, but here's President Obama endorsing supply side voodoo economics again.

[democracy1st]

131. welcome to DU this admin has been exposed for quite a while now!

[Romulox]

132. It's too late--this admin is an abject failure. nt

[paparush]

133. Which one of these promised rising tides is going to lift my boat?

I've lived through, oh, I dunno, 10 or so promised rising economic tides.

[Rex]

134. If you don't believe it, then we will never recover.

[paparush]

135. Wait . . this is NOT from the Onion?????

Well is it's still govt's role to enforce a tax and trade policy?

If so, can we make American companies stay in America and hire American workers? Pay real taxes? Close a few loopholes?

[Scottybeamer70]

137. SO, all those taxes people are required to pay.........

just exactly what are they for........and where do they go?
I guess if the govt. no longer needs those taxes, then............

[Divine Discontent]

144. Imagine if he had said this to Sen. Clinton in one of the debates...

[Better Believe It]

146. She would have agreed with him.