Based On Fear?
I don't understand this modern way of saying some emotions are 'good' and some are 'bad', but the Democrats have been insisting that the Republicans have been campaigning based on "fear", which is an emotion that is apparently bad in itself.
Barack Obama claimed that if his stimulus bill was not passed the United States would enter a recession it would never be able to get out of again. I'm not sure what 'fear-mongering' is, but apparently we are supposed to believe this is not it.
Also: Obama is planning massive tax hikes on the rich while pushing his new socialization of medicine. Further details here and in President Obama's State of the Union speech on Monday.
Barack Obama claimed that if his stimulus bill was not passed the United States would enter a recession it would never be able to get out of again. I'm not sure what 'fear-mongering' is, but apparently we are supposed to believe this is not it.
Also: Obama is planning massive tax hikes on the rich while pushing his new socialization of medicine. Further details here and in President Obama's State of the Union speech on Monday.
posted by Matthew Canonicus at
4:21 PM
12 Comments:
The 'politics of fear', in my opinion, means that you are trying to get the public to vote for you (or support you) out of fear. For example, in 2004 with the whole "osama bin ladin would vote for Kerry" or "if we dont go to war RIGHT NOW terrorists probably will launch another attack on America and your family will never be safe again". If people are afraid, they will support the most outrageous ideas just to save themselves. While Obama's recent behaviour regarding the stimulus plan bears some similarities with this, I believe it is different because his dire warnings about the economy are mostly true.
I understand your point though, fear-mongering happens on both sides of Politics. Although I personally believe one party does it more than another, it's a problem with politicians in general and not just a specific party.
Hi Tim,
I agree: politicians are a crafty lot.
I believe Obama should alert Americans to the consequences he believes will come from not following his agenda. So much the better for him.
I don't think the media is right to accuse Republicans when they sound the warning bell and amplify the Democrats when they sound the warning bell.
And I don't like it that people are saying our emotions are capable of choosing the best legislation. That's the mob-mentality of the Democrats.
Obama has not offered much hope or the transparency that he promised but the change is coming fast, so fast that it overwhelms us. Added to this fealing of overwhelming change at a rate to fast to fully comprehend is the constant pounding by he and the media of financial armegedon. What better tool to make us unable to fight against the changes that are taking away our freedom bit by bit?
The power grab of the census is one example that slid right by because their is just too much at once.
If I could just hold up my hands and make everybody stop a minute, I'd like to ask, 'Hey guys, where's all this money coming from? The U.S. government doesn't have it. So, how can a bankrupt government bail out a brankrupt financial system by printing tons of paper and pretending that it is money?
Maybe there is no way to 'fix' it. Maybe we have to pay the piper but I hope we don't lose the ability that we the people have to rebuild this country, namely capitolism. I hope we don't lose our freedom looking for an easy way out.
Fear is a great motivator and all leaders use it. Period.
Problem that the Democrats are finding is that they are creating fear with investors who also are needed to stimulate the economy and the stock market is dropping because no one wants to invest in America. Why would you want to invest when the Pesident wants to tax you first and tells you not to make a profit!
Lady Lavendar said:
"Hey guys, where's all this money coming from? The U.S. government doesn't have it. So, how can a bankrupt government bail out a brankrupt financial system by printing tons of paper and pretending that it is money?"
A reasonable question; what will be the long-term effects of such a huge deficit? A couple of things though, you don't really call a government bankrupt because it doesn't operate the same way as a firm. Governments often go into deficit, and it's often a good thing, so long as they hit surplus when the economy is in boom to cancel the debt that accrued. Since the end of Clinton the US Government has been hitting deficit after deficit so while I wouldn't use the word bankrupt, their finances are in a bad state. Secondly, they aren't financing the deficit by printing money. That is an option for Governments, but it's widely recognised that it would result in massive inflation so is mostly avoided nowadays. They are borrrowing from creditors, and will eventually have to raise taxes or cut its budget (im hoping the military budget) to pay off the debt it has already accrued the past 9 years.
Timothy,
Many conservatives were upset by Bush's spending but a big part of that was the war. There is usually a deficit when we are involved in a war.
The U.S. has been borrowing from China but they will also be printing extra money. I saw a chart on television that I wish I could show you. It was of the amount of cash in circulation in the U.S. at the time we went off of the gold standard until present. At that time, many people were fearful of inflation but surprisingly, cash in circulation stayed pretty even until all of these bailouts began and then the chart shoots straight up and off of the chart. China only has so much money to lend and they also know that the American people are only good for so much. These are astronomical amounts of money, huge experiments that will put my grandchildren in debt. No one knows if this type of spending will work at all, especially in our system which is not like other systems in the world but there is a way to pull this capitalist country out of the trouble we are in and that is to use the approach that Ronald Regan used in the eighties.
Interesting also is that this current recession is not even close to being as bad as the mid to late seventies...but we are getting there through this insane spending benge.
Thanks for the correction, Lavendar, I probably should have checked if they were printing money or not before writing!
Timothy,
It wasn't meant as a correction, really, more clarification of what I was trying to say. Actually, my point of view is based more upon what I feel in this matter than what I know. Every time they start throwing around those big numbers and I try to imagine what my tax burden might be, I feel like I've been run over by a semi-truck!
Matt,
I had an interesting fact about fear to add to this. Today, I learned that only five states in the union are having sub-prime loans going into default. I knew my corner of my state didn't have any of those kind of loans but I was surprised to find out that the problem was so localized. I also heard an economist today say that we have, at least, 10,000 healthy banks in the U.S. He said that the big ones in trouble, such as Citigroup, are not to big to fail but instead, too big to manage. He said they need to be allowed to thoughtfully fail and that is what bankruptcy is all about.
Where are they taking us with all of this fear? Down the road to socialism and communism? It sure looks that way.
"only five states in the union are having sub-prime loans going into default"
yikes! you should post this stuff on the main page.
"are not to big to fail but instead, too big to manage. He said they need to be allowed to thoughtfully fail and that is what bankruptcy is all about."
Yes! Set these banks free and let them face bankruptcy. I like the "too big to manage" quote. 50% of our economy is small business for reasons like that.
Interesting conversation guys. I will say that governments can declare insolvency, which is basically bankruptcy. As soon as they can't pay the interest on their loans, their debt is no good. Companies and foreign investors will still lend to them, but at a much higher interest rate which we have to pay.
Matt,
My life is still crazy right now which is why I haven't been writing but I hope it settles down soon. In the meantime, I heard another juicy tid-bit on Covuto today. Remember all the talk about frozen credit? Well, the report was in today and it showed that lending was UP ALL FOUR QUARTERS!
Smoke and mirrors...
Yikes! Lending was UP??
I wasn't trying to criticise you for not post, LL. I just thought something that interesting shouldn't be hidden deep in these comments.
Thanks again for your insight into the economy.
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