Man what was with TDS kissing butt to the Rethug stimulus

[Johonny]

Interesting interview all the same. It helps you see what exactly Rethugs are pushing in the senate and probably why Obama is ignoring them. That fat guy kept dishing out bad republican ideas and Jon kept eating them up. I was waiting for Jon to pounce on them but he was rolling with the ideas more than I would have liked. The guy wants to cut payroll tax. The tax rolled up by Ronald Reagan. OK says Jon but then we need to remove the cap to do that. Then came the bomb. Oh noes says fat man. We just roll them back 6 points in payroll tax and give up future payroll tax benefits. So apparently the Republican solution to the economic problem is to give up the new deal? Trade more tax dollars in your pocket today for an end to all the working class promises of the new deal in the future. WOW WHAT A FREAKING GREAT IDEA! Jon really didn't challenge this well. Is it no wonder McCain has been pushing this idea the last few days. Never though have you heard the catch. We have to give up something. That something being all the social programs attached to payroll taxes, cept medicare says the old very fat person(I wonder why not medicare?). There were other mystifying programs mentioned. Rolling back bank loans to 4 %. On what, all mortgages? Since the number of loans in default isn't that high and almost all loans are above 4 % wouldn't that basically bankrupt all the banks? Or only those with insane ARMs in the contract? That makes more sense. Still who qualifies? This guy was an expert. Rolling bank loans is an idea, but what's the policy that makes the idea an actual working economic policy. Got me. I doubt this guy knew either. It sounds good though. Typical Republican policy. A sounds good idea that has no working policy plan behind it. Jon seemed more into his fantasy forgive everyones debt idea. Yes Jon reward people that lived above their means with tax money from the people that didn't. That's a great idea. I'm not sure why people would like that anymore than rewarding the bad bank executives? If you want to know the new but very shallow policies being pushed as stimulus I think the show is well worth a watch.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

1. No idea. I stopped watching when I saw him. nt

[underpants]

2. Lindsey formulated W's tax cut but got fired for his prediction on the war cost-which was still low

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lindsey



The comparison of costs for Big Three auto makers flying to DC and their "burn rate" of expenses was stupid

Gore has proposed rolling back payroll tax for years. Lindsey and his kind have systematically ignored that idea...until now

The joke about the basketball guy saying "Who is this FICA guy?" must be an inside joke with them. "Friends" did the same joke and it was about as funny as when Lindsey said it

Stewart's idea was not that bad.

Lindsey was wrong-the problem isn't mortgages. That is trivial in reality-it was the buying and selling of bundled mortgages and no loss investing (you get paid if you are right but you don't lose anything if you are wrong.)

I don't know who Lindsey thought was making loans and telling the loanee that they didn't really need to pay it back (blaming the poor/uninformed)

"Most of the capital in this country" is not owned by all of us

[Johonny]

3. I laughed at the FICA story

Basketball players make so much more than the FICA cap do they really notice it? The story is usually a high school kid and his first paycheck. Out of touch much?

Stewarts idea is very bad. It still rewards people that spent themselves into debt. I do not think trickle up economics like that will make people any less angry at the people getting the money. People are angry hearing about bank execs super bowl party on the TARP money. How angry will they be knowing the neighbor who put in a new pool, bought 2 huge SUVs, took out his equity in his home to redo the bathrooms, kitchen and TV room just got bailed out. While you didn't do any of this, live within your means and saved your money. I think you are going to be even more PISSED because you know that guy and you don't think he deserves to be saved by Jon's trickle up economics.

[underpants]

4. Okay that is a good point

I have to admit that I flinched when I heard him reference "basketball"
I know what that means to a lot of the Republican world-it is code for "black"

[lib_wit_it]

6. That's a great point. Not just that we'd be angry, but that we'd be angry for the same reason we're

angry about the bailout bacchanals--because it's massively unfair.

[peacetalksforall]

5. It exposes more about the peripheral of the theft and the solution.

By theft I mean the tricks and manipulations and the high riding arrogance of banks and wall street.

Because there was no one (hardly anyone) policing the banks and no one raising a squeaky voice to warn us - the banks tripped by accident or intent and broke the fire extinguisher alarm.

They said they needed it by x date or else and banks failed anyway.

No one allowed time to think through it.

In principle there is potential for trickle up, but it takes time to unravel the loopholes and cover them from the beginning.

We learned that the banks and wall street can't be trusted - they stole big time with the help of political leaders.

They tell us that the people can't be trusted.

There was an acute situation through obfuscation and looking away.

The banks handed the leaders a scalpel and said operate.

The people got screwed and are still getting screwed.

If your representative and my representative lean toward the banks and wall street, there is very little choice. All long to longish term while everone screamed and still scream. AND THERE IS NO OVERSIGHT.

Whether Obama is working on it now - the reality is that our leaders failed us in the past. How clean will their turnaround be?