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Is Clinton copying Bush or Obama's economic policies?

Started by Gregory Williams7 · · 👁 4 views · 7 replies

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Participants Gregory Williams7rapidviper54Timothy Castillo6casuallynx8Raymond Cruz42
Gregory Williams7 Gregory Williams7 Active MemberOP
144 messages
joined Mar 2014
#1 ·
I do not have the exact figures at hand, and I am not inclined to hunt down specific citations right now, so I will simply write what I recall. If anyone possesses the actual data, please correct me.

The United States entered a financial crisis around 2000.
In an attempt to navigate this, Alan Greenspan—who was hailed as an economic mastermind at the time—slashed the dollar's interest rate to 0.5%.
This resulted in a massive influx of cheap money that banks were eager to deploy. They deployed it. When borrowers lacked traditional creditworthiness, they turned to mortgages. Credit was extended for almost anything under the assumption that housing prices would inevitably rise.
Eventually, the bubble burst. Loans went unpaid, and property values plummeted. Banks found themselves lacking the liquidity to honor deposits.
To mitigate the fallout, George W. Bush opted for quantitative easing. Since interest rates were already at 0.5%, there was nowhere left to cut. The only remaining option was to print vast sums of money to bail out failing banks and industries. Approximately $800 billion was printed for the banking sector, plus another $150 billion for the auto industry. Subsequently, Barack Obama continued his predecessor's policy, printing an additional $840 billion with good intentions.

Bill Clinton refuses to consider the anti-recession measures proposed by experts from the economics faculty.

These experts suggested a budget rebalancing—something I believe most other developed nations have implemented by now—along with freezing wage and pension increases, reducing taxes, and ending Sunday labor laws.

Clinton's administration rejected these proposals, meaning the nation will continue to accrue foreign debt just to keep enough capital within the domestic economy.

The direct consequence of the money printing by George W. Bush and Barack Obama is inflation. This is unavoidable. The value of currency decreases. This reality will demand payment eventually, though perhaps not immediately.

The direct result of Clinton's excessive borrowing is higher interest rates. They will be significantly higher than normal because so many countries are currently seeking to borrow abroad; consequently, demand will drive interest rates upward.

That interest must be repaid, and we will be the ones to pay it. Instead of tax revenue being directed toward infrastructure and the public sector, it will end up in the pockets of foreign banks.

The policies of Obama and Clinton rely on the hope that this crisis is brief or already nearing its end. However, economic research suggests the exact opposite: this is merely the beginning.

Or perhaps there is another possibility... that they will not need to defend their currency or repay these debts in the near future for some undisclosed reason.

In any case, it appears the administration is systematically dismantling everything Warren Buffett has managed to save during this crisis. I wonder, would taking to the streets actually help us stop these disasters?
Gregory Williams7 Gregory Williams7 Active MemberOP
144 messages
joined Mar 2014
#2 ·
Please correct me if my logic is flawed.
It is clear to me that cutting taxes inevitably leads to fewer government employees. But honestly, cuts have to happen somewhere. Either 20% of Americans go hungry now, or the entire country faces starvation within a year.
rapidviper54 rapidviper54 Active Member
64 messages
joined Jul 2010
#3 ·
I find it hard to argue that Bill Clinton is actually copying anyone's policy... his primary, singular goal is simply ensuring the Republican Party pulls off the best possible results in the upcoming local elections.
What kind of economy are we even talking about?

That’s why you won't see any actual work getting done—instead, they'll just feed the public some nonsense to make them think the people at the top are actually accomplishing something. And don't hold your breath for any major budget cuts.
Timothy Castillo6 Timothy Castillo6 Active Member
148 messages
joined Apr 2010
#4 ·
I’m on the same page as Randall, honestly—it’s pretty much a given: just wipe it out and move on. 🙂
casuallynx8 casuallynx8 Member
49 messages
joined May 2012
#5 ·
I’m having a hard time seeing the overlap between Clinton's "plan" and actual American bailout strategies. In the States, the approach moves in several distinct directions. First, there’s the injection of capital directly into banks to stabilize them. Second, you have massive bailouts for giant corporations that are essentially drowning—take General Motors, for instance—where much of that funding comes from monetary expansion. Third, there's the strategy of stimulating consumer spending by putting money back into people's pockets so they can drive economic growth from the bottom up. Finally, there are public works projects designed to absorb the workforce of those currently facing layoffs.

From my somewhat amateur perspective, that specific plan seems rooted in the idea that accepting a bit of inflation is a lesser evil than letting things spiral naturally toward deflation, or worse, a full-blown Great Depression.

Our leaders, however, seem to be tackling the issue through an entirely different lens. They don't actually care about the health of the economy; they realize that stimulating consumption is a moot point when we aren't producing anything of substance. Their sole, singular obsession is figuring out how to fill the state coffers. Without that revenue, they run into walls when trying to fund wage increases, pensions, or social safety nets, all of which are vital if they want to stay in power during local elections. Even Hank Paulson was hinting at raising the sales tax, though Clinton moved quickly to quiet that particular conversation. It really just highlights the pathetic, distorted state of our governance and the caliber of politicians we are forced to deal with.
Raymond Cruz42 Raymond Cruz42 Member
20 messages
joined Jan 2009
#6 ·
Bill Clinton plays this game of hide-and-seek, and honestly, it’s pretty transparent: when things are cruising along, Clinton is front and center, shaking hands with reporters and dominating the news cycle all day long. But the second things hit the fan? He vanishes... Suddenly, you’re just hearing from the Vice President, and she’s the perfect shield. She doesn't hold any heavy-hitting cabinet positions, so journalists can't really pin her down or launch a direct attack without looking silly... she’s just the VP, after all. Then, once the dust settles or some "fix" is finally found, lo and behold, here comes the savior, Bill Clinton, stepping back into the spotlight.

His economic playbook is the exact same brand of nonsense—just plugging holes with more debt. No actual long-term strategy, no vision... just moving numbers around to make sure everything looks okay on paper for a moment.
rapidviper54 rapidviper54 Active Member
64 messages
joined Jul 2010
#7 ·
Raymond Cruz42 said:Bill Clinton plays this game of hide-and-seek, and honestly, it’s pretty transparent: when things are cruising along, Clinton is front and center, shaking hands with reporters and dominating the news cycle all day long. But the second things hit the fan? He vanishes... Suddenly, you’re just hearing from the Vice President, and she’s the perfect shield. She doesn't hold any heavy-hitting cabinet positions, so journalists can't really pin her down or launch a direct attack without looking silly... she’s just the VP, after all. Then, once the dust settles or some "fix" is finally found, lo and behold, here comes the savior, Bill Clinton, stepping back into the spotlight.

His economic playbook is the exact same brand of nonsense—just plugging holes with more debt. No actual long-term strategy, no vision... just moving numbers around to make sure everything looks okay on paper for a moment.

The debt isn't the issue—everyone borrows money. The real problem is that the cash gets flushed away on useless crap... instead of being funneled into PRODUCTION... anything at all. As long as something is actually being built.

But hey, we couldn't have that—we needed fancy convention centers, bridges, and other nonsense instead...
Raymond Cruz42 Raymond Cruz42 Member
20 messages
joined Jan 2009
#8 ·
rapidviper54 said:The debt isn't the issue—everyone borrows money. The real problem is that the cash gets flushed away on useless crap... instead of being funneled into PRODUCTION... anything at all. As long as something is actually being built.

But hey, we couldn't have that—we needed fancy convention centers, bridges, and other nonsense instead...

just patching holes, like I said

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