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Fred Thompson expains the bailout

Reverend Rick

Frubal Whore
Premium Member
Rick, let me ask a slightly different question now. What do you think will happen if people increase their savings rate at this time, while we're in a recession -- specifically, will it tend to ameliorate the recession or deepen it? Once again, I'm not interested in arguing here. Just in understanding where you're coming from.

I'm not wanting an argument my friend. I'm going to answer your question further, please explain your position on the bailout as well OK? You where for it, then changed your mind, right?

Additional personal savings will hurt the economy right now but help the individual personally get through the bad time. Pretty selfish, but effective. People are paying down their plastic with their stimulus checks, should we cancel this stimulus idea knowing what we know?
 

Reverend Rick

Frubal Whore
Premium Member
There is absolutely no way I could ever believe McCain would have been better for our country. Not a fat chance in hell.

Where did you come to this conclusion? The election is over. McCain will be too old to run again, so this is water under the bridge. We have fought enough over the election.

What I just said was that Conservatives may come to like Obama. How did that become anything about McCain?
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
...please explain your position on the bailout as well OK? You where for it, then changed your mind, right?

I've been against the bailout because it amounted to little more than throwing money at the problem with little or no effort to see a return on it. Then, for a short while, I had hopes that Obama had worked out a marginally acceptable deal. But even Obama's list of conditions were not enough because they were paid lip service and then ignored. As it stands right now, the 350 billion spent has gotten us little or nothing except in further debt. To say the bailout has been "mismanaged" is like saying rape is merely a misunderstanding between two people.

Additional personal savings will hurt the economy right now but help the individual personally get through the bad time.
Yes.

People are paying down their plastic with their stimulus checks, should we cancel this stimulus idea knowing what we know?
I'm pretty much of the opinion stimulus checks are a waste of money. [sarcasm]Nice politics though.[/sarcasm]

EDIT: When I say I'm against the bailout -- I mean the Paulson bailout.
 
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Buttercup

Veteran Member
Where did you come to this conclusion? The election is over. McCain will be too old to run again, so this is water under the bridge. We have fought enough over the election.

What I just said was that Conservatives may come to like Obama. How did that become anything about McCain?
Because you make it sound as though there's an alternative that would have been a better choice to get us out of this mess.....is that not your thought? If not, why bring Obama into the conversation at all?
 

Reverend Rick

Frubal Whore
Premium Member
Because you make it sound as though there's an alternative that would have been a better choice to get us out of this mess.....is that not your thought?

There is no alternative. The damage is done! Our Donkey is in the ditch. If we ever expect people to pay their mortages in the future, they will have to have some skin in the game. If people have a negative net worth and want to correct the situation, they are going to have to spend less and save more which hurts the economy.

There are no simple answers. We have spilled milk and everyone is trying to figure out how to get it all back in the glass. We can cry for free milk, but free milk comes at a price increase later. All this bail out money is going to cause inflation which is great for people who can ride the inflation train. They will make more money and find it easier to pay off their old debt. Being in debt is good in inflationary times. You pay back your loan with inflated dollars. If you are retired on a fixed income inflation is the kiss of death.
 

Buttercup

Veteran Member
There is no alternative. The damage is done! Our Donkey is in the ditch. If we ever expect people to pay their mortages in the future, they will have to have some skin in the game. If people have a negative net worth and want to correct the situation, they are going to have to spend less and save more which hurts the economy.

There are no simple answers. We have spilled milk and everyone is trying to figure out how to get it all back in the glass. We can cry for free milk, but free milk comes at a price increase later. All this bail out money is going to cause inflation which is great for people who can ride the inflation train. They will make more money and find it easier to pay off their old debt. Being in debt is good in inflationary times. You pay back your loan with inflated dollars. If you are retired on a fixed income inflation is the kiss of death.
Can't argue with any of that. :)
 

lunamoth

Will to love
What I find frustrating, from my admittedly naive view, is that we can't simply SAVE enough money to retire. We live quite debt-free and have a very good savings account, but to pay for things like college for the girls and retirement takes investment. All I can say is I'm glad the girls are still in elementary school, and retirement is looking further off than ever.
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
The underlying problem with Fred Thompson is not so much Fred Thompson as it is the eduction system in this country. Folks can graduate high school or even college without knowing enough economics to be critical thinkers and responsible citizens.
 

YmirGF

Bodhisattva in Recovery
Folks can graduate high school or even college without knowing enough economics to be critical thinkers and responsible citizens.
So, in effect, in your opinion, the vast majority of the American population do not know enough about economics to be critical thinkers and are therefore irresponsible citizens? Are you in the elite group, which understands enough to be a critical thinker in economics and therefore a responsible citizen, Sunstone? Personally, I think you are making a connection where in fact no connection is necessarily present. Do you have any facts to backup this "rational" assertion?
 
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Jeremy Mason

Well-Known Member
I love it! Only problem is the Federal Reserve Bank, that thing that makes our money doesn't belong to the government/us, it belongs to privately owned international bankers. What's sick is that they make that money with debt/interest attached to it. Which begs the question, what pays the debt/interest of the money the FRB makes? Your right, the FRB has to make more money with (you guessed it) debt/interest and so on and so forth. Thank you Woodrow Wilson!
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
So, in effect, in your opinion, the vast majority of the American population do not know enough about economics to be critical thinkers and therefore responsible citizens? Are you in the elite group, that understands enough to be a critical thinker in economics and therefore a responsible citizen, Sunstone? Personally, I think you are making a connection where in fact no connection is necessarily present. Do you have any facts to backup this "rational" assertion?

There's nothing wrong in my opinion with folks knowing something more about economics than you do, Paul. If you call that "elitist", well, that's only from your perspective. By the way, can you identify the factual error you made in representing my opinion? Or is asking you to understand what you are criticizing asking you to reach beyond your capabilities?
 

YmirGF

Bodhisattva in Recovery
There's nothing wrong in my opinion with folks knowing something more about economics than you do, Paul. If you call that "elitist", well, that's only from your perspective. By the way, can you identify the factual error you made in representing my opinion? Or is asking you to understand what you are criticizing asking you to reach beyond your capabilities?
I do not have a problem with people knowing more about economics that I do, Phil. All I am trying to say is that the current financial fiasco has shaken my trust in economists, to the core, and I am a bit wary of trusting solutions coming from the very people who helped create the present situation. A joke I heard recently sums up my thinking fairly well. “If you put three economists in a room, after thirty minutes the only thing two of them will have agreed on is that the third one is crazy.”

In regards to your statement; it is true that you use the word ‘can’ and not the word ‘will’. There is an important difference, to be sure, but nevertheless your statement remains an evocative one. I would agree that people need more education in regards to economics, but anyone who has studied economics would have to agree that it is not the most riveting of topics. I think what offended me, overall, was the idea that those who have not had the inclination or ability to study economics to a level of your satisfaction has the potential to make those people irresponsible citizens. I am confident saying that the eyes of the average working stiff will glaze over after a few minutes of going over RRSP option (in Canada) and 401K options (in America). Talk about anything more advanced than that and the average mortal is at a severe disadvantage. No doubt this is why we have left finance in the hands of the ‘experts’.

I think what rankled me was your inference that without training in economics your fellow citizens may not have the requisite capacity for critical thinking to be responsible citizen. If you are not implying that, Phil, or do not mean to imply that, then I beg you to clarify your point.

I have also noted that my retort to you contained both a spelling error and a grammar error which skews the intent - a tad.
 
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