Fiscal Cliff Showdown

[LEP]

So things in the US remain the same, so does this set
up a fiscal cliff showdown like the debt ceiling
embarrassment or does the recent vote mean we
should all just get along?

[freewheat]

It means kumbaya. No drilling, no
pipeline, hug a tree, drive off the debt
cliff. This guy has added 6 TRILLION in
debt in his first four years.

VERY happy to be Canadian. I am shocked
they gave this loser another chance to
wreck their country. SHOCKED!!!

[bucket]

freewheat

Most americans think Bush created the problem. He probably helped and along with a few previous administrations.

Americans think obama is correcting it by the latest couple of reports.

If they believe life is getting better they don't change.

I agree with you freewheat but romney seemed too smug.

You are a people watcher what was your opinion of Romney?

[ALLFARMER]

To his credit he didn't start any wars. But ya a
semblance of financial managment to the US
books mitt offered would have be a huge
improvement.

Not sure what way I would have voted down
there.

[mustardman]

Every Empire that has fought wars around the world (Britain,Roman empire)HAS had to raise taxes. G.W Bush was fighting 2 wars at the same time and he Lowered taxes! W.T.F

The nite of the Inauguration in 2008 the republicans Met and agreed to BLOCK every bill. Is it any wonder that their is gridlock in Washington?

The republicans HAVE TO GET RID OF WING NUT TEA PARTIERS. THEY controlled the Primary Process and consequently the candidates HAD to show how crazy right they were before they could get the nod.

IF Romney could have stayed the moderate Mitt that governed Mass. he Would have been Elected.
Voters don't like RADICALS

[HappyFarmer]

The debit ceiling showdown is going to pail in comparsion to what we are going to see in the fiscal cliff showdown. Remember you have automatic tax increases and social program cuts commings if we fall off the cliff. How do you think dems and the GOP will like that? This is going to be a painful battle. All be it at least we are going to attempt to resolve it since obama has been elected. Had Romeny got in, would have a lame duck session until he got inaugurated which whould have been far worse imo.

[mustardman]

The bigget Laugh is that Obama is socialist. He is FURTHER RIGHT than Richard Nixon.
I guess compared to the tea party who is so far in Right field that they are outside the FENCE,- anyone normal appears socialist in their eyes

[cottonpicken]

The original tea party was hijacked by some nuts who
doomed the movement.

It was about trying to bring fiscal sanity back.

The actual deficit last year using acceptable
accounting measures was around 5 trillion dollars,the
unfunded liabilities are over 100 trillionish ?

Think about the fact that there is no solution to these
problems.

Qe is a desperate last resort measure that should be
giving everyone nightmares.

The only questions are when does it break and what
does it look like after.

One probability on the timeline is that europe and
japan will hit the wall ahead of the us which give a
short term flow of capital into north america which
will help us muddle along.

[rhoff]

Mustardman your claim about what the
republicans did in 08 is wrong. They didn't have
the ability to block anything till 2010 as well the
tea party didnt show up till 2010. Obama has
proven that extreme Keynesian economics will
never change unemployment but create
stagflation. You can rightly blame the bush admin.
for his over spending on war,but you have to
acknowledge that Obama has racked up a deficit
the equivalent of 10 wars!

[bobofthenorth]

It is amusing to me that the mainstream media has everyone so brainwashed that you think the tea party members are kooks. They are the voice of reason - the only voice of reason in the babel of DC. Sooner or later the American public will have to listen to them.

Any of you Canadians remember when those whacko REFORMERS showed up in Ottawa? Look at them now.

[liberty]

Bill O'Reilly made a good observation about the reasons for Romney's loss last night on Fox News. Basically, when Romney won the first debate, a deliberate decision was made to take zero risks after that and to make no controversial statements on any subject, the objective being to coast to victory on sheer momentum. Then along came Hurricane Sandy which took Romney out of the public eye for several days while putting Obama front and center. That was enough to slow Romney's momentum and it cost him the election. But to blame the loss on the Tea Party is absurd. Romney spent much of the campaign distancing himself from the Tea Party so thoroughly that by the third debate he was agreeing with Obama so much you'd swear they were twins.

If Americans reject the Tea Party so much, how did they ever make so many gains in the 2010 mid-term elections?

Far too many Americans are more interested in preserving their unsustainable entitlements than they are in preserving their liberty. Same goes for Canadians. We've morphed into a consumption-crazy family that refuses to consider the possibility that we are headed for bankruptcy.

[cottonpicken]

Mustard tell me what you think of this nut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKsZM181bSk

[liberty]

If you want to know why our economies are on the brink of disaster, engage a recipient of a government subsidy (tuition, medical care, farm aid etc.) on the subject of subsidies. Ask them if they would be willing to go without their subsidy in the interests of debt reduction. Almost invariably, they will tell you that everyone else can do without their subsidy but not them. Obviously, if most recipients feel this way and vote accordingly, there's no way out of this situation. National bankruptcy is the only option.

I still run into people who are bitter about subsidy cuts enacted by Chretien in the 1990's. For that matter, I've met people from New Zealand who still complain about spending cuts enacted there in the 1980's. As if there was some other alternative. As if the economic growth that resulted from a smaller state sector could have been achieved in some other way. Sorry, folks, there was no "other" way. The spending cuts could not have been "slowed down" somehow. When you go bankrupt, it usually happens quickly. You lose the luxury of time when you live beyond your means.

[Fransisco]

I agree with the statement that Republicans decided to try and coast to victory instead of going hard right to the end.

As far as the tea party influence goes, I don't see a the negative backlash from that. If anything the tea partiers made gains in this election.

What I do see however is social conservatives unnecessarily costing Republicans the senate at the last minute with ridiculous comments about **** and abortion.

[cottonpicken]

I agree with that liberty.

Reading my wife's Facebook page and so many happy
happy people that the devil wasn't voted in based on
some idiotic social subject like abortion,which should
have nothing to do with anything and being
completely in dark on the economic reality of what
awaits us.

9 years ago i started following some very bright
analyst's who got me into gold based on whats
happening today,we are in a totally predictable
situation.

Yesterday i heard a horrifying,but
predictable/probable,scenario where it will be
impossible for anyone to protect their wealth,even the
ones who had the brains to buy gold.

Long story short,horrible tax laws like france's 75%
tax on wealthy people and complete monitoring of all
transactions will bring the hammer down on
everyone.

It doesn't take much imagination to see priminister
trudeu handing out a resource tax to western canada
when the next crisis hits.