What BeoWolfe said.

It's not debatable, communists just don't care about the falling dollar and standards of living.

Why not talk about how he's a trashy human being and corrupt leader? The thread's about him.

You don't know the difference between huge banks and credit rating agencies. Please, give us your opinions.

I love how a lot of people are talking about guns as if they're responsible for tragedies like this.

Newsflash: The technology of semi-automatic weapons has been around for a century. The technology of 6-shooters has been around another half-century before that.

People have had the technology (guns) to commit horrible crimes like this for a very long time. Yet there are absolutely no instances of anything remotely like this any time before very modern history.

This behavior did not develop along with the technology. It came much, much later. To blame technology and not examine what else is going on is absolutely ridiculous.

Do you know where shootings like this don't happen? Everywhere people have guns.

Of course I agree with everything that's been said about personal responsibility. There's just no substitute for it, and many people today sadly lack it.

What efforts did it make to avoid a probable depression?

Dodd-Frank makes the systemic banking problem (which government is responsible for via Fed policies) which caused the meltdown worse. Now big banks get cheaper rates because they're more likely to be bailed out, making "too big to fail" worse and even encouraged by our government.

QE just enriches bankers. Sure, stocks are buoyed for a time; but far more wealth is lost to the inflation caused by these policies than is preserved in those stock prices.

"Stimulus" has been a colossal failure. The list of hundreds of billions in waste is literally too long to post here. All of the wasted money is money taxed out of the economy, one way or another, and not spent rewarding the productive and innovative.

And why are you ignoring the fact that this is the slowest recovery in the history of our nation (slower than every recovery without government "help")?
http://www.cfr.org/geoeconomics/quarterly-update-us-economic-recovery-historical-context/p25774

So... what exactly are you crediting government for? Which actions do you believe prevented a depression? I know they tell you that everything they do is necessary. But that's how we've reached 16 trillion in debt, invaded foreign nations which were absolutely no threat to us, and lost many civil liberties over the years. Because they lie to you. And you believe it.

What has government done to help you over this period, other than make everything you buy more expensive and reduce growth/hiring? Oh wait, that's not helpful to a recovery; that harms it.

Government spending and taxation has harmed our recovery. What, specifically, do you give them credit for which has aided it? What indicators do you look at in arriving at the conclusion that current government taxation and spending is beneficial to our recovery? (as opposed to the lovely graphs I have referenced) Do you have other examples of central planning benefiting economies? I'll wager I could find a few examples of it failing and hurting people.

twosidedeath,

This is the slowest recovery the USA has ever experienced. The argument that big government bailouts and central planning are beneficial to economies is laughable.

And the New Deal saved us from the Depression! Hahahahahahaha! Good one.

"Outrageous HSBC Settlement Proves the Drug War is a Joke"
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/outrageous-hsbc-settlement-proves-the-drug-war-is-a-joke-20121213

As always, Xeno's accusations are vague and meaningless. Banks are withholding dignity from the middle class? Could you outline more specifically how they manage that? Banks are withholding rights from people? What rights do people have that require banks' involvement? How are banks denying people's rights? And why do banks owe people money?

You're not arguing against the Fed and actual theft, you're just ranting vaguely because you feel entitled and nobody is taking care of you.

That these criminals are not being prosecuted in the least (slight delay on bonuses, ohnoes!) is a problem of government corruption. This story in no way involves banks infringing on middle class rights or stealing from them.

By the way, in your OP, you said something about government raising "taxes on the poor and middle class rather than the rich." We have a graduated/progressive tax system. The rich pay the vast majority of taxes in the USA. The notion that the poor are being overtaxed as a means of exploitation by the rich is laughable and absurd. Again you have to be extremely vague to even make the claim, and your accusations are completely baseless.

This isn't my opinion. This is basic math.

If you served in the 101 and saw combat, my name is Miles Davis.

There are obviously a lot of people here who wouldn't even attempt to defend themselves. Some people just hate freedom. What do you have to defend yourself from when you're a willing slave?

END THE FED

FYI, Republicans support this theft, Einstein. Not a single party leader has any intention of ever touching the Fed, let alone ending its theft and tyranny. VERY few members will even talk about it, let alone dissent with leadership.

They believe in democracy? Then why do they consistently vote against it in Amerika? I don't think the sheeple believe what they're told they believe.

The "new left" is mostly the old left not lying as much about their endgame. Their votes attest to this.

You're over-analyzing people's political philosophies. People are not as sophisticated as you give them credit for.

Arbolio3,

In your first example, why do you credit the union with employees agreeing to take cuts in pay and benefits? How exactly was the union necessary for that? Are we glossing over the part where unions contributed to those uncompetitive wages in the first place, resulting in all of those layoffs?

Your second example, similarly, was merely competent management making good decisions. The union was in no way instrumental in what happened. Such a policy should be demanded by voters, and unionization of certain service employees has absolutely nothing to do with leaders enacting such policies.

Nobody has argued that all unions, and voluntary union support, are terrible and always cause harm. But we're yet to see ANY examples of unions benefiting people in recent history. Neither of your examples were of unions doing good; they were merely examples of unions not causing [more] harm.