Will the Bush Tax Cuts be Extended?

[The Pearl]

I would hate to be a Demo right now. No matter how they vote, they're going to be killed....

Actually, if Obama were a stock, I would start buying. Two years is an eternity in politics. I would still put him above 50% for a second term.

 

[Deleted member 365]

Dems were handed opportunities to put bills on the floor to preserve the cuts for 98% of Americans and force Republicans to publicly vote to screw everyone else in favor of the top 2%. Instead the Dems caved. They deserve to lose.

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Exactly.

 

[VINYLONE]

Kicky,

The big screw up was the failure to seize the day on a once in a generation, the stars are perfectly aligned, for a massive coast to coast infastructure project financed at the cheapest 30 year borrowing costs since the 50's. The ROI from now to infinity would have been off the charts.

Or even better...bringing nuclear power to the forefront of energy conundrum. Granted, this doesn't solve the issues inherent with thermodynamics, but its definitely a start in the right direction.

Actually, if Obama were a stock, I would start buying. Two years is an eternity in politics. I would still put him above 50% for a second term.

I completely and utterly disagree. Obama will go down as the president that spurred America's lost decade.

 

[sirkickyass]

Kicky,

The big screw up was the failure to seize the day on a once in a generation, the stars are perfectly aligned, for a massive coast to coast infastructure project financed at the cheapest 30 year borrowing costs since the 50's. The ROI from now to infinity would have been off the charts.

As both a Keynesian and someone with half a brain I obviously agree.

I completely and utterly disagree. Obama will go down as the president that spurred America's lost decade.

Spurred is a bit strong. Obama isn't a but-for cause. There was a whole decade preceding him that created a bunch of these problems.

The "whose fault is it" will be fought about for decades to come.

 

[VINYLONE]

Spurred is a bit strong. Obama isn't a but-for cause. There was a whole decade preceding him that created a bunch of these problems.

The "whose fault is it" will be fought about for decades to come.

At at the very least two decades of garbage upon garbage decision making...decisions made from both sides of the aisle. They're ALL to blame. And don't get me wrong, Im not saying that Obama had anything to do with the current economic situation when he walked into office that first day, but he continued the same failed policies of the previous administrations. He stuck with the smartest guys in the room. Whether an individual, corporation or government does not matter. The mathematics always conquers. Always. At some point, servicing the debt, if the proverbial can is kicked down the road, will always lead to systemic failure if not dealt with.

 

[The Pearl]

Or even better...bringing nuclear power to the forefront of energy conundrum. Granted, this doesn't solve the issues inherent with thermodynamics, but its definitely a start in the right direction.



I completely and utterly disagree. Obama will go down as the president that spurred America's lost decade.

Agree totally with the nuclear power comment.


Here is the thing:

The outlier bet is a much stronger economy two years from now. These side shows are fun, but at the end of the day, every single presidential election depends on the economy. Period, end of story. Obama has timing, regression to the mean in the economic data, and history on his side. That and I believe we are potentially on the cusp of a significant multi-year rally in the US Dollar. Reverse engineer the collateral effects of a rising US Dollar and it does not bode well for the tea party or the republicans.

 

[franklin]

I would have had significantly less problem with the Bush tax cuts, even if they were exactly the same cost in that we sucked the same number of dollars out of the tax base, if 64.6% had gone to the bottom 80% (largely to the 2nd through 4th quintile given that the bottom quintile's tax burden is generally somewhat negligible) and the 35.4% had gone to the top quintile.

What you're asking for is not a tax cut. It is a hand out. Therein lies the problem and political pressure. Reducing taxes to zero is one thing (and badly misguided IMO), taking taxes further into negative territory is another. Policies that don't give a hand out for nothing are much more palatable (i.e. having a true safety net rather than an all encompassing social security system).

 

[VINYLONE]

Agree totally with the nuclear power comment.


Here is the thing:

The outlier bet is a much stronger economy two years from now. These side shows are fun, but at the end of the day, every single presidential election depends on the economy. Period, end of story. Obama has timing, regression to the mean in the economic data, and history on his side. That and I believe we are potentially on the cusp of a significant multi-year rally in the US Dollar. Reverse engineer the collateral effects of a rising US Dollar and it does not bode well for the tea party or the republicans.

Have you followed Frances decade long dabbling in the technology...Almost makes you want to be French.


Anyway, a rally in the dollar huh? **** man, I dont understand how you can see that happening. I think we're so close to the point of no return it's scary. It's either take the haircut now or lose your head in the near future..

Lunch time.

 

[franklin]

The outlier bet is a much stronger economy two years from now. These side shows are fun, but at the end of the day, every single presidential election depends on the economy. Period, end of story. Obama has timing, regression to the mean in the economic data, and history on his side. That and I believe we are potentially on the cusp of a significant multi-year rally in the US Dollar. Reverse engineer the collateral effects of a rising US Dollar and it does not bode well for the tea party or the republicans.

Don't say this too loud. The inflationistas are listening ya know.

 

[The Pearl]

Have you followed Frances decade long dabbling in the technology...Almost makes you want to be French.


Anyway, a rally in the dollar huh? **** man, I dont understand how you can see that happening. I think we're so close to the point of no return it's scary. It's either take the haircut now or lose your head in the near future..

Lunch time.

I hope these work:

Which one would you own for the next 5 to 10 years:

https://www.mrci.com/pdf/dx.pdf

https://www.mrci.com/pdf/gc.pdf

 

[franklin]

This tax-cuts for the rich debate is always over-simplified and narrowly focused on the wealth divide. We tend to forget that "the rich" are "the owners", while "the poor" own little to nothing and are generally in debt to "the rich". It's a resources problem. What progressives really want is for "the rich" to own less and "the poor" to own more. So why is it we're not only not talking in these terms, but we craft policy after policy that encourages "the poor" to consume more (from "the rich") and go into deeper debt (to "the rich"). The outcome from the stimuli, extended unemployment benefits, universal social security, and various housing initiatives is quite predictable.

It seems policies that encourages "the poor" to save more and "the rich" to spend their wealth would be much more effective and politically acceptable than a highly progressive tax policy.

 

[Duck Rodgers]

I hope these work:

Which one would you own for the next 5 to 10 years:

https://www.mrci.com/pdf/dx.pdf

https://www.mrci.com/pdf/gc.pdf

That dollar chart is awful. It basically says that if I didn't get myself in dollars in the late 90's and sell in the early 0's, I probably lost my ***.

I understand the inverse mentality, but come on, just based on the charts? No way in hell I would jump in the dollar. I would either buy gold or do nothing.

Now, a short term trade while the Euro is having problems - maybe.