Progression or Stagnation

We will create jobs if we know what tax policy is going to be over the next several years. We will create jobs if we know that benefit packages of employees is not going to increase 25% or more due to government mandated policies. We will create jobs if we are certain Cap and Trade will not continue and fuel costs go artificially high due to government intervention. We will create jobs if the dollar is fairly valued and other countries don't have a trade advantage (think yen and Japanese Automobile industry).

Basically we will create jobs if government discontinues it's business bashing.

Since you now list yourself as a potential Green party or Populist party candidate I worry about your judgement. Fringe groups are basically defined by 1 or 2 issues that consume them. Fringe group members are radical in my definition scheme. But....I will try one last time to educate you on taxes.

Most small business have S-Corps or LLC's or Limited Partnerships. Those business structures are flow through income to the owner. Therefore, the small business income is reported by the individual. So if the small business makes more than $200,000 a year President Obama and the Democrats are insistent on raising those taxes. Therefore, President Obama - the Democrats and you want to raise taxes on successful small business. If that is off the table, successful small business will start to hire. Logic dictates that unsuccessful business don't hire people. Therefore, keeping their taxes the same gains very little.

So Mike - the Republicans have a plan that will work. If the Senate and the President get in the way then it gets worse.

The ball is in the Democrats court. Unfortunately, the last 2 years have shown that the Democrats lack any judgement in creating and maintaining any sort of economic system that isn't Socialist or Communist based.

"So Mike - the Republicans have a plan that will work."

What's the plan? I haven't heard anything but cutting taxes (which didn't work the last time) and repealing health care.

"The ball is in the Democrats court. Unfortunately, the last 2 years have shown that the Democrats lack any judgement in creating and maintaining any sort of economic system that isn't Socialist or Communist based."

Unfortunately this statement has no basis in fact. Which surprises me, you are an educated person and you have fallen for the malarkey that is anything in the last two years was socialist or communist based. It should be pointed out that a lot of what the Democrats passed in the 111th Congress were Republican ideas. Republicans may have voted against their own ideas but they got the amendments in. The 111th Congress has been called by some the do-nothing Congress and when you consider all the blocking of nominees and the record number of filibusters by the Republicans you would be correct. What the Democrats were actually able to do despite the obstructionism was actually quite extraordinary.

Although one thing does confuse me. The Republicans now have control in the House and yet you are going to sit there and say that it is still up to the Democrats. To me it sounds like the groundwork for no matter what the Republicans do all the focus will still be on the Democrats for the 2012 election.

"Since you now list yourself as a potential Green party or Populist party candidate I worry about your judgement. Fringe groups are basically defined by 1 or 2 issues that consume them. Fringe group members are radical in my definition scheme. But....I will try one last time to educate you on taxes."

Okay let's start with the first part of this paragraph has nothing to do with the second half. But let's focus on the first half. I find it interesting that someone who I assume is a member of the Republican Party would see someone that does not subscribe to the two party system as fringe (better not let a TEA Party member hear you say that since you can solely thank them for the Republican Party gaining one of the houses). Let's look at what your definition though of both parties. You see them as on 1 0r 2 issue fringe parties that are consumed with those issues.

You obviously don't know anything of the Green or United States Populist Party. I would encourage you to do a little research into both groups, before passing such a kneejerk reaction

Well if Sunday's shows told us anything about the Republicans plans once they take power in January is that it will be more of the same.

I'm not really shocked. But we shall see the truth come January.

"Since you now list yourself as a potential Green party or Populist party candidate I worry about your judgement. Fringe groups are basically defined by 1 or 2 issues that consume them."

Since Wallis, you know all, I invite you to specifically visit the website of the United States Populist Party and tell me the 1 to 2 issues that are consuming them.

I will even give you the direct link to them so you do not have to look for them:

http://populistparty.us/

Mike,

Do you ever get tired of talking to yourself?

I'm actually kind of curious where the millions of jobs from the tax cuts we are looking at reincorporating are?

They don't exist. The "tax cuts leads to jobs" line is a slight of hand that Republicans like to play. There is no direct correlation between tax cuts and job creation (trickle-down). In fact, both times that this has been tried the unemployment rate went up not down.

You know with all the talk on here on the ruin that is California by the liberals (though conservatives have controlled the state legislature and governor's office throughout much of the budget crisis, but remember real facts don't matter, only made up unverifiable facts do) there has been hardly any talk about the the worsening budget crisis in Texas.

You know Texas, the conservative dreamland where conservatism has truly shown how it's supposed to work. It turns out, though, that the budget crisis that Texas is currently going through makes California's crisis look minuscule in comparison.

So go ahead, continue to (wrongly) point out the liberalism has ruined California, just remember everything's bigger in the land of true conservatism, Texas, especially the budget crisis.

For the last 12 years Democrats have controlled both houses of the state legislature. We got in a mess when Democrat Gray Davis was governor, that is why he was recalled and we now have Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Now the Democrats have both houses and Jerry Brown.Hopefully we won't have to recall him. They also passed prop. 26 that the majority rules and not 2/3, so they can pass anything they want.

I thought Texas had a surplus in there budget. I know they did a few years ago of about 11 billion. Please educate me.

It is between 24 and 25 billion dollars in the hole now which accounts for about 25% of current spending.

"So if the small business makes more than $200,000 a year President Obama and the Democrats are insistent on raising those taxes. Therefore, President Obama - the Democrats and you want to raise taxes on successful small business."

I don't know, Wallis, if you are just mistaken or once again making up information and claiming that is fact. The number is $250,000 not $200,000. The plan is to get rid of the tax cuts for the top 1 to 2% of Americans, not to raise taxes. Though, I am sure you subscribe that the group that despite all the facts for them to see, still somehow come to the conclusion that taxes have actually gone down over the last two years and not up, it's easy to see how you can get your information mixed up.

"We will create jobs if we know what tax policy is going to be over the next several years. We will create jobs if we know that benefit packages of employees is not going to increase 25% or more due to government mandated policies. We will create jobs if we are certain Cap and Trade will not continue and fuel costs go artificially high due to government intervention. We will create jobs if the dollar is fairly valued and other countries don't have a trade advantage (think yen and Japanese Automobile industry).

Basically we will create jobs if government discontinues it's business bashing."

That's a lot of ifs and strangely enough none of that seems to be a big concern to the incoming Republicans. They seem right now to be more obsessed with repealing entire programs (which are all fairly popular).

It is interesting, and a leading Democrat called them out on it, but many of the Republicans who are calling for a repeal of a "government takeover of health care" are themselves on government insurance programs. If they so want to get rid of government controlled healthcare, they should drop their coverage as well.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/11/eat-all-the-twinkie...

This is amazing, I felt the need to share.

So, the Republicans have found a program that they can cut to save American taxpayers money. They are planning to cut Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Contingency Fund, or TANF Emergency Fund.

There is just one small problem. The program has already expired and it will save taxpayers nothing. Good start boys.

I'm still waiting on this great plan the Wallis says the Republicans have to turn around the economy. I haven't heard anything from the Republicans except for giving rich people more tax cuts and apparently investigating Obama on everything possible. Neither one will produce jobs.

I asked Wallis, specifically what the Republican plan was but he, as usual, has gone silent when asked to explain what he has said.

So, anyone else want to explain the great GOP plan to create jobs and save the economy?

I have explained many times what must be done to create jobs. That process can't begin until we throw out the current House.

Wallis

I do have a serious concern. I am "predicting" that oil is going to rise to $125-145 by the middle of next summer and to $225 by the end of 2012. If this rise happens it could be a disaster. Also remember, I am predicting that the stock market will peak in the December - March time frame - consolidate for 6 months than come within 10% plus or minus on the 2009 lows.

The reason for this is the policy of the Obama admin. His admin has no concept of anything that is real. He has stopped offshore oil drilling. Offshore production accounts for 1.5 MMBO of our domestic 5.5 MMBO of oil production a day. His admin has killed coal production. Coal accounts for half of our electricity generation supply. He is still considering allowing taxes to increase on successful LLC, S-Corps and Limited Partnerships. He has successfully passed a Health Insurance Plan that is going to raise the costs of most business. His failed stimulus package along with yearly Trillion dollar deficits is going to contribute to a declining dollar over time which is going to cause dollar denominated commodity inflation.

I am now convinced that Obama has pulled a "Carter" and this thing has just started. He is going to stand in the way and fight and things are going to get worse.

Remember - I have had my market "crash" forecast for a while. I have also had my bullish call on oil for a while.

P.S. My S&P target from 1064 was 1225-1250 which was met. We might make an assualt toward 1364 but we need to make a bottom. 1150-1164 should hold with this "wave 4" correction.

Wallis

That's your plan Wallis. I'm asking what the current GOP House plan is.

It seems that the more things change the more the stay the same.

Andy Harris, a newly elected Republican Congressman who ran on an anti-Obamacare platform is very upset that he is not going to be getting his government-run healthcare that all Congressmen get until February 1st.

Hypocrisy abounds. Naturally this will be ignored, because well Republicans aren't hypocrites they just can't seem to remember the past and what they have said or done very well.

Cut taxes, repeal Health Care, Strip the EPA of some power, cut taxes again, limit spending, bury Cap and Trade, lower the capital gains tax and lower corp taxes.

That will create jobs and fix some of this mess.

We still have a big problems with fannie and freddie.

I have been thinking about GI and his/her multiple alias. It was an interesting idea. Be a Dem and Rep on the same site but to the extreme. It would be interesting to see who supported the wacky left character and the righty wingnut character.

Please explain how any of this will create any jobs, fix any mess, and most importantly erase the deficit. All the tax cuts will only raise the deficit because that money has to come from somewhere.

How will repealing Health Care solve anything? Most Americans favor most of the bill. So repealing something that most Americans favor would be doing something against the people's will, which is all we have been hearing the Democrats did for the last two years.

You do know that the Republicans don't have the votes to repeal health care, don't you? If this is their top priority then they really will not get anything done.

In the end, none of this will create jobs. Trickle down doesn't work. I would have thought that the 2000s would have shown you that (I know, I know, I am no longer supposed to talk about anything that happened in the 2000s).

I think the better question would be, what has the Democrats, who've had COMPLETE control of congress for four years, not to mention the White House for the past two, done to help our Economy? Unemployement has gone up since 2006, and almost doubled under Obama's watch.

Actually Bison, unemployment hasn't gone up since 2006, it actually dipped until late 2007 then skyrocketed when the housing bubble exploded.

This past month was the first in several that unemployment actually went up. From January 2009 to now the trend in unemployment has been down not up.

So to answer your question they have done some but not nearly enough.

You're right Mike, 2006 unemployment peaked at 4.8 then trended down until Dems took control of congress in January of '07. It has essentially continued to go up since then. It may not have gone up for the past couple of months, but it hasn't really gone down much either. Regardless we are quite a bit higher now then at any point when Republicans were in power. We all know what the housing crash did to this economy, and no rational person expected Obama to magically fix anything right away. Two years in and we have seen little, if any improvement.