Comments about ‘President Obama seeks scaled-down 'fiscal cliff' agreement’

Frankly, I've seen better negotiating skills by elementary school kids on the playground, over a basketball, than by the politicians in Washington on EITHER side of the fiscal cliff argument. How about instead of calling their offices and offering.any support or thoughts, we simply tell them to GROW UP and learn to play nicely with each other or we'll take recess away.

Nicely expressed, Cincinnatus, but our chances to do that were on the first Tuesday last November and we didn't have thr fortitude to toss the "old guard" that has failed us time and time again.

Is anyone really surprised that the possibility of a comprehensive package of reform has dwindled to a possible "minimum action, to be worked on 'later'?" That's the way the US Congress does business. Look at illegal immigration, education, transportation, taxes, military restructuring, national security, jobs and economic incentives for prime examples. But they made sure that the vast majority of their little club were all re-elected, didn't they? Remember all the election rhetoric----how they each had "all the answers" to our nation's most vexing problems?

Anyone that follows the government's example of how to address serious issues would be summarily FIRED from their position with ANY company.

You can NOT trust Obama, and neither should Boehner, McConnell, or anyone else. And the acts of Harry Reid are offensive and have not done anything to move forward at all.

The big problem is spending, and there must be significant spending cuts-- actual FY2013 budget and appropriation cuts- not some vague "maybe next year will will be able to cut something" promises.

Phantom cuts, coupled with more spending on "stimulus" or benefits of ANY sort are simply digging the hole deeper, and burying our children deeper in debt.

We are so deep in debt that our nation is probably doomed to economic collapse already. But, if we cannot at least check our deficit spending, then we might aw well go over the cliff. "Pay me now or pay me later" is a concept that is being ignored. But, soon the Chinese will own everything in out country and we will be enslaved to them forever.

This time next year, we'll be at least eighteen trillion in the hole.

Greed, corruption, and lying caused this mess.

New guard, old guard, Obama, Romney, Reid, McConnell- you can't trust any of them. Unfortunately the way of Washington is to look out for what will fill their campaign warchests and line their pockets, and give them and their corporate sponsors more power. Republican or Democrat, it doesn't matter. What we should be doing is demanding a change to the election process so that money from the rich and the corporate class doesn't mean more than the votes of those that put them there.

@DN Sub2
I disagree with your comment that "We are so deep in debt that our nation is probably doomed to economic collapse already" and ask you to elaborate. I also disagree with your comment that "soon the Chinese will own everything in out country and we will be enslaved to them forever".

I believe these are ridiculous right-wing media talking points, with no economic reality supporting them, designed to strike fear into "low-information" listeners with no economic training.

By what specific mechanism are we already doomed to collapse? By what mechanism are the Chinese gaining ownership of everything in our country and enslaving us?

cpafred,

Why do you think the Chinese are lending us so much money? Just to be nice? Our debt is larger then all the money this country has.

Do you know that over twenty thousand businesses in this country are foreign owned. That includes banks, utility companies,etc.

China has the bait, and we're the fish.

@worf

"Why do you think the Chinese are lending us so much money? Just to be nice?"

Your implication that the Chinese lend us money out of a conspiracy to control us is paranoid ridiculousness. They buy US treasury obligations because they are the safest, best investment in the world.

"Do you know that over twenty thousand businesses in this country are foreign owned."

Yes. What does the fact that a tiny percentage of US businesses are foreign owned have to do with anything? Is this also part of the right-wing conspiracy paranoia nonsense?

You sound like you want to help out DN Subcriber 2 in answering my questions, but are unequipped to do so.

@worf
Do you know how much of our debt is actual controlled by the US and how much is actually controlled by China? Alarmist propaganda is not going to solve anything.

What worf is saying is that the politicians are all thinking short term. In fact, it has been decades since Washington has even considered the long game.
And they are all cheering about the DOW when it is just a manipulation by a bunch of people who only want it to go higher. Even the Fed works to pump up the bubble we call Wall Street.
They aren't serious about the debt or spending. They aren't serious about cutting spending. Obama's "tax the rich" is just symbolic.
Why take them seriously when they simply want to dupe us and cheerlead their way into stalling the inevitable?
Is it OK for us to simply say we do not wish to participate in this charade?

Re:NotoBO

What politicians are cheering about the DOW?

The fact is, Democrats are thinking longterm, but the Republicans aren't.

We need to re-balance our economy. Revenue as a percentage of GDP is at historic lows. If we embark on significant budget reduction, effective immediately, we will follow the path of Europe which is not recovering from the economic crisis due to austerity measures. We should reduce spending--in the longterm--providing time for unemployment to fully recover. I've not heard concrete proposals from Republicans where and how to cut the budget. We need specifics so the CBO can score the proposals to provide us with accurate, factual information about how their proposals will affect the economy and budget going forward.

The other problem is a short term focus by corporations and Wall Street. We have companies going into bankruptcy, passing pension costs to taxpayers, while the CEOs walk out the door with huge bonuses.

Our economic and tax policies over the past few decades have disproportionately benefitted those at the top, while hollowing out the middle class. Few people are buying the "trickle-down" theory anymore, but Republicans don't seem to have noticed that.

spring street,

According to a USA Today article a few yeas ago, Hillary signed an agreement with China, that if we cannot make payment on the loan, or interest on it, we'll allow them to take any part of this country they want.

Call it paranoid, or whatever, but I don't trust our commander. Sixty percent of our debt has come in the passed four years, and climbing.

That's nothing to be concerned about? Wow.

spring street

please explain how we control our debt, and how China doesn't.

Please explain, I may learn something new.

Actually having looked into who we really owe money to. I was very enlightened to learn that over 10 trillion of our governmental debt is owed to American Insuracne companies. Only 1.4 trillion is owed to China, and 1.8 trillion is owed to Japan. The rest of our debt is owed to smaller countries and corporations across the globe.

Makes you wonder doesn't it?

How much of Obamacare is directly manufactured by these insurance companies?
Like Auto insurance, health insurance is to be forced but because not everyone drives or owns a car, the cost of auto insurance is pretty affordable.. Unlike Auto insurance, we are unable to contain the cost of health insurance and everyone must have it. We are now to be forced by these influential massive corporations to make them richer and richer!