Obama's just not that into you

[runeight]

OBAMA'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU

By RICHARD MORRIS

Published on TheHill.com on March 24, 2009

Does President Obama truly believe that he can castigate and condemn Wall Street on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and then secure its cooperation on the other days of the week?

Does he not understand that when he ignites a public furor over AIG bonuses and then incites Congress to pass a punitive tax, he sends shivers down the spines of every other corporate executive who makes a lot of money? <-which was his stimulus bill.

Does he seriously believe that Wall Street investors will not worry that their winnings, should they join the Treasury as partners in risky investments, would be subject to public abuse, publicity and confiscatory taxation?

Of course he realizes that his rhetoric makes it unlikely that his program will succeed. He obviously gets it that the entire concept of a public-private partnership is impossible amid a climate of waging class warfare, taxing the rich and heaping contempt on anyone who makes money. The president is quite bright and certainly understands that you cannot shake hands with your right while you launch a roundhouse with your left.

So why does Obama persist in his aggressive rhetoric? Why does he continue to treat Wall Street as something out of Dante's Inferno?

Because he's just not that into you! He doesn't really care if the public-private partnerships work out.

He sends Geithner out to announce the program because he doesn't want to make it his own. When he announces a stimulus plan or a new spending bill, it's Obama's moment before the teleprompter. But the public-private partnerships he leaves to his Treasury secretary to announce.

The most rational explanation for Obama's puzzling conduct -- sabotaging his own program by way of his own rhetoric -- is that he truly wants to be forced to nationalize the banks in pursuit of his ultimate goal of a socialist economy.

Obama has to oppose nationalization today in order to achieve it tomorrow. He has to show the country and the world that he is doing all he can to help the private sector to sort things out with government help. He must ostentatiously invite the hated demons of Wall Street to join him in rescuing the banks in order, later, to say that he did his best to avoid having to take over the banks. Only then will nationalization be an acceptable alternative -- when he has run out of other options.

Meanwhile, he makes sure the private sector won't play ball by going after their bonuses, sending an implicit message to the other executives on Wall Street that reads: Stay away.

Even when he takes over the banks, as he almost inevitably will, he is going to have to dress up the nationalization as a temporary measure forced on him by the economy and the previously unrealized depth of the problem. He will cite the example of Sweden, where the government nationalized the banks only temporarily and returned them to private hands quickly.

You can't be for nationalization. But Obama hopes to accomplish it nonetheless.

Already, in the TARP and TALF programs, we can see how eager he is to use government power to manipulate the once-private sector. Consider the mandates piling up on any financial institution that takes government funds: limits on executive pay, corporate travel and conferences; a strong Buy American recommendation; and aggressive action to get them to make consumer loans. Can affirmative action, low-income lending and diversity outreach be far behind?

If Obama can bring banks and the healthcare industry under government control, we will have de facto socialism. Is this Obama's goal? It is obviously where he is headed.

Is Obama a socialist? Rather than throw around labels, let's do the math. The best measure of whether an economy is government- or private sector-oriented is the percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) that flows through government expenditure.

Obama's stimulus package, alone, comes to about 6 percent of GDP, vaulting the United States past Japan. If we add in the extra spending in the supplemental appropriations bill and the likely increases for healthcare, the total government percentage will rise well past 40 percent and probably close in on the United Kingdom's 43.

That's pretty socialistic, but Obama has three more years to get us up around Germany and really ruin our economy!

Thank you Richard!

r8

[Mr Bogus]

Obama is taking us down a road we should not be traveling on....

Using the "Tax system" as a weapon against the very people he and his cronies handed over billions too?

this all by itself has pushed me to the tipping point.. I am aghast that the liberals are all standing in line cheering this on... As much as I despise the greed of the tards... Using tax rates and threats of such is so completely socialist/communist in nature that I can smell brown shirts..

I can see where these backers are totally ignorant of economics and will be the demise of our financial system.. (and our monetary system is toast after the trillions of USD's are printed..) I am just waiting for the fat lady to start singing...

The Europeans came out the other day and are condeming the USA as being "Socialists" this out of France? ouch....

[Revvv]

Obama is definitely offering a ROYAL SCREWING to the USA.

It's not on topic, but the cold stare, or glare he gave to the reporters asking questions about AIG was also out of line. He didn't show authority, he showed a dictator's attitude. He glared at the American people with out showing any respect at all as far as I could see.

If he shows intimidation in his facial expressions over small issues, you can guarantee that he is going to try and force his every idea without remorse or concern for reprecussion.

You're right, Obama isn't in office for America, he is in it for SELF.

[mike1180]

I'm just wondering how many are really surprised by what he is doing, or was it expected?

[runeight]

Originally Posted by Revvv

Obama is definitely offering a ROYAL SCREWING to the USA.

It's not on topic, but the cold stare, or glare he gave to the reporters asking questions about AIG was also out of line. He didn't show authority, he showed a dictator's attitude. He glared at the American people with out showing any respect at all as far as I could see.

If he shows intimidation in his facial expressions over small issues, you can guarantee that he is going to try and force his every idea without remorse or concern for reprecussion.

You're right, Obama isn't in office for America, he is in it for SELF.

Come on Revv. Liberals don't like tough questions. They don't like "being called out" on any subject.

They bob and weave on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

It's politics by deception.

r8

[Revvv]

Originally Posted by runeight

Come on Revv. Liberals don't like tough questions. They don't like "being called out" on any subject.

They bob and weave on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

It's politics by deception.

r8

That is apparently true.

I salute today's political officers with this

Then again, that may be the position they want us in. Or do they already have us there.

[runeight]

Here is a typical Liberal pinhead. Say one thing, drop the value of the dollar immediately then..wait..I really meant this.

Must of got a phone call from Chris Dodd.

Just shooting from the hip on a daily basis huh?

r8

YouTube - Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Now Says He Would Consider China's World Currency Idea

[Revvv]

We are screwed as a Country at the moment. I don't have any answers, but someone needs to develop some ideas quick.

This Country was founded to be independant. Now we are becoming slaves to one of the world's largest communist powers.

If that scares you, it should.

[runeight]

Originally Posted by Revvv

We are screwed as a Country at the moment. I don't have any answers, but someone needs to develop some ideas quick.

This Country was founded to be independant. Now we are becoming slaves to one of the world's largest communist powers.

If that scares you, it should.

Quite the opposite. People are becoming more aware, politicians are thinking twice about what they support and what they say. 12 Democrates do not agree with the current budget.

Talk radio is raking this Administration through the coals. You can see the Liberals going on a personal attack of anyone who defies them. Hannity, Limbaugh, Lavin etc.

Watch a press conference and see how the pinheads answer something they don't like.

r8

[99'busa]

I just got my new tax table and low and behold there are no cuts. On contrary NOW even if you only make $1.00 you are taxed 7.6%

before, if I remember right you could make up to $120.00 before taxed at all.

[Bosshound]

(CBXRIDER) Terry

[runeight]

Originally Posted by 99'busa

I just got my new tax table and low and behold there are no cuts. On contrary NOW even if you only make $1.00 you are taxed 7.6%

before, if I remember right you could make up to $120.00 before taxed at all.

If I could just get Turbo Tax to work I could verify above.

Timothy Geithner- Treasury Secretary

[BusaWhipped]

Originally Posted by 99'busa

I just got my new tax table and low and behold there are no cuts. On contrary NOW even if you only make $1.00 you are taxed 7.6%

before, if I remember right you could make up to $120.00 before taxed at all.

That's not entirely accurate. The tax tables are based on taxable income. So you only pay tax on that $1 if it is in excess of your deductions. The brackets also changed slightly between 08 and 09, so peope with a taxable income over $34,000 are geting a tax break. ooopppps, did I let something out of the bag?

I haven't estimated this years taxes and compared it to the withholdings shange that goes into effect in April since I haven't seen what the difference in withholdings is yet, but my gut feeling is that its the same deceptions that's been pulled in the past. Lower the withholdings to gain short term approval, then get stuck with a big payment at the end of the year because you've been under- withheld for 8 months.

[99'busa]

Originally Posted by BusaWhipped

That's not entirely accurate. The tax tables are based on taxable income. So you only pay tax on that $1 if it is in excess of your deductions. The brackets also changed slightly between 08 and 09, so peope with a taxable income over $34,000 are geting a tax break. ooopppps, did I let something out of the bag?

I'm referring to the withholdings table. I am to withhold taxes now starting with the first dollar someone makes.

[BusaWhipped]

gotcha. I thought you were referring to tax liability at the end of the year.