President Obama

'Scope wrote:

Same sh*t over here RFFB. Here's your lead story on Yahoo today: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090126/ap_on_bi_ge/economy

This guy comes in & immediately announces forthcoming tax cuts yet starts spending like he's a women on a shopping spree @ Louis Vuitton
He announces another stimulus package handout (last one was a failure btw.....), set's an unrealistic time line withdrawal from Iraq & now announces an immediate troop increase in Afghanistan?? The guys been in office for a fuggin week & he's already got Upscope in a hissy.....

Seriously, you want to jump start the economy?? How bout instead of bailing out the auto industry & the credit card company's.....you know the same people that have gotten rich by conning their own people....yeah that's right, instead of slinging billions their way why don't you divide that UP & distribute it to the American taxpayers?? You want the economy moving??

Try this out for size. If that 700 billion that was used to bailout the auto industry was instead used as a stimulus package to the American taxpayers than each would receive a check for $225,000 You want to see an economy move?? Put $225,000 in Upscope's mailbox!!!
You want to see foreclosures stop?? Cars payed off?? Vacations?? Department stores packed?? Restaurants full?? Movie theaters sold out. Stocks bought?? Bonds?? IRA's?? Aggressive 401K?? Tourism helping out other countries?? Casinos booming?? In other words, you want to move an economy, bail out it consumers not the fugging crooked auto industry!!

The US economy effects the whole world. It is the #1 priority at this time.

'Scope

^^^^^^^
THIS

Well said UP!! I couldnt agree more.

'Scope wrote:

Try this out for size. If that 700 billion that was used to bailout the auto industry was instead used as a stimulus package to the American taxpayers than each would receive a check for $225,000
You want to see an economy move?? Put $225,000 in Upscope's mailbox!!!
You want to see foreclosures stop?? Cars payed off?? Vacations?? Department stores packed?? Restaurants full?? Movie theaters sold out. Stocks bought?? Bonds?? IRA's?? Aggressive 401K?? Tourism helping out other countries?? Casinos booming?? In other words, you want to move an economy, bail out it consumers not the fugging crooked auto industry!!

The US economy effects the whole world. It is the #1 priority at this time.

'Scope

Never thought of it that way before but a bloody good point!

So here's what everybody's hero is looking to do first. This is what he thinks is MOST important!!!

............................"The House measure includes about $550 billion in spending and roughly $275 billion in tax cuts in hopes of spurring the economy and helping those directly affected. Much of the spending would be for items such as jobless benefits, food stamps and other programs that benefit victims of the downturn."...............................


So let's see if Upscope understands this correctly. Obama comes into office & the first thing he looks to concur is making sure that those that aren't working receive "jobless benefits" & "food stamps??"
Now granted many jobs have been lost over the last year but one of the biggest burdens on this country has always been the fact that there are too many people not willing to work because the government ALREADY offers them "jobless benefits" & "food stamps"......For years & years the attitude has been 'why work a dead end job when the government (cough cough taxpayers) will pay you the same amount NOT to work!! Hell, they will even give you food stamps to eat on!!'

Upscope's not a politician nor is he an economist, but something doesn't look right here?? Wouldn't it make more sense to take that $825 BILLION & create job opportunities for these people?? Seriously, do you really believe that handing out over $800 BILLION in jobless benefits & food stamps is going to "spur the economy" as he states??

'Scope

'Scope wrote:

So here's what everybody's hero is looking to do first. This is what he thinks is MOST important!!!

............................"The House measure includes about $550 billion in spending and roughly $275 billion in tax cuts in hopes of spurring the economy and helping those directly affected. Much of the spending would be for items such as jobless benefits, food stamps and other programs that benefit victims of the downturn."...............................


So let's see if Upscope understands this correctly. Obama comes into office & the first thing he looks to concur is making sure that those that aren't working receive "jobless benefits" & "food stamps??"
Now granted many jobs have been lost over the last year but one of the biggest burdens on this country has always been the fact that there are too many people not willing to work because the government ALREADY offers them "jobless benefits" & "food stamps"......For years & years the attitude has been 'why work a dead end job when the government (cough cough taxpayers) will pay you the same amount NOT to work!! Hell, they will even give you food stamps to eat on!!'

Upscope's not a politician nor is he an economist, but something doesn't look right here?? Wouldn't it make more sense to take that $825 BILLION & create job opportunities for these people?? Seriously, do you really believe that handing out over $800 BILLION in jobless benefits & food stamps is going to "spur the economy" as he states??

'Scope

OH MY GOD. I wanted to say this exact thing before but I didnt wanna piss anyone off. This shit fumes me to no end. What the fuck?
I thought Obama was gonna create jobs anyways...now he's not? Im so looking forward to paying off all the multi-billion dollar loans until the day I die. You and I will be paying for it, not these people who are gonna get paid to continue to sit on their asses all day...Im so pissed right now...Im not gonna say anymore cus I dont wanna get banned from THIS board!! LOL

And BTW, he is not MY hero.

And one more thing. If I WERE to lose my job, I cant get benefits anyways. In South Carolina, they have rules that you have to a child in order to recieve food stamps, medicaid etc. the ONLY thing I would get from the government is unemployment, which isnt much. I guess Im screwed if I lose my job...how nice.
Where is MY bailout?

Your bailout is going to the others that don't/won't work Mary.

'Scope

Mary1234 wrote:

In South Carolina, they have rules that you have to a child in order to recieve food stamps, medicaid etc.

Wow, that suck's!

'Scope wrote:

Your bailout is going to the others that don't/won't work Mary.

'Scope

I thought thats what my tax dollars went to!?!?!

Now you see THIS is exactly why I asked the question. As good as the UK TV news is you can't get the real TRUE feelings of the people on the street in a 5 minute news item slot. Seriously, I find this fascinating. So far there has been very little negative things said about Obama and his policies. The main news has focused on his decisons that affect the global stituation (The wars & the economy) but not really anything about what you guys are talking about! The things that are taking place in the USA itself. Guys, keep it coming...please.

Now I'm gonna throw a cat amongst the pidgeons tho! I hear what you're saying about the unemployed and those not wanting to work. There's scroungers everywhere, screw them, but is it so wrong to help out those who have worked for years or all their life and due to a situation not of their making, them suffering?

Somebody once said you should judge a country by how well it helps the less fortunate in their society. Can't remember who but it was someone important!! Are you saying these people should just be left to fend for themselves?

Just throwing things out there, not trying to stir anything up...just playing Devils Advocate.

Like I said, keep it coming guys!

Mary1234 wrote:

And one more thing. If I WERE to lose my job, I cant get benefits anyways. In South Carolina, they have rules that you have to a child in order to recieve food stamps, medicaid etc. the ONLY thing I would get from the government is unemployment, which isnt much. I guess Im screwed if I lose my job...how nice.
Where is MY bailout?

That is really shit, Mary. out of curiousity how much is unemployment benefit in the US? In the UK it's £56 per week (around $80) if you are a single person with no kids. If you have kids it's A LOT more!!! But you can also apply for what's called Housing Benefit which, if you are renting a property, you will get most if not all your rent paid for you. The £56 has to do everything else food, bills the lot. How does that compare to the US? Is it right benefits in the US run out after a time also?

RFFB wrote:

Mary1234 wrote:

And one more thing. If I WERE to lose my job, I cant get benefits anyways. In South Carolina, they have rules that you have to a child in order to recieve food stamps, medicaid etc. the ONLY thing I would get from the government is unemployment, which isnt much. I guess Im screwed if I lose my job...how nice.
Where is MY bailout?

That is really shit, Mary. out of curiousity how much is unemployment benefit in the US? In the UK it's £56 per week (around $80) if you are a single person with no kids. If you have kids it's A LOT more!!! But you can also apply for what's called Housing Benefit which, if you are renting a property, you will get most if not all your rent paid for you. The £56 has to do everything else food, bills the lot. How does that compare to the US? Is it right benefits in the US run out after a time also?

Each state is different. In South Carolina, they give you half of what you brought home each week...regardless of kids or no kids. You have the option of paying taxes on it or not. If you choose not to, then come tax season, which is right now, you have to pay taxes on all of your unemployment benefits. I dont know if they have a program to help you pay your mortgage or not. They do however have government owned apartments. You have to apply for it and the waiting list can be years before you can move into one. They base your rent off of how much you make. If you dont work then you basically live for free.
Unemployment benefits are given to people who quailfy for 16 weeks and that whole 16 weeks you have to prove you are looking for work. They make you call in every Sunday and answer questions. Then every month or so they call you in for a meeting and you have to show them proof of your job search.. To qualify, you have to have lost your job by no fault of your own. All employers pay into the unemployment benefits pot, so if one of their employees loses a job, then there is money there to pay them.
I ahve heard though, that unemployment benefits are running VERY low all across the US.

Mary1234 wrote:

Each state is different. In South Carolina, they give you half of what you brought home each week...regardless of kids or no kids. You have the option of paying taxes on it or not. If you choose not to, then come tax season, which is right now, you have to pay taxes on all of your unemployment benefits. I dont know if they have a program to help you pay your mortgage or not. They do however have government owned apartments. You have to apply for it and the waiting list can be years before you can move into one. They base your rent off of how much you make. If you dont work then you basically live for free.
Unemployment benefits are given to people who quailfy for 16 weeks and that whole 16 weeks you have to prove you are looking for work. They make you call in every Sunday and answer questions. Then every month or so they call you in for a meeting and you have to show them proof of your job search.. To qualify, you have to have lost your job by no fault of your own. All employers pay into the unemployment benefits pot, so if one of their employees loses a job, then there is money there to pay them.
I ahve heard though, that unemployment benefits are running VERY low all across the US.

16 weeks!!... And that's it!!! What if you haven't found a job in that time!? What happens next!!

As long as you can show you are actively looking for work when you sign on every 2 weeks you can claim pretty much as long you like here. Rarely are benefits taken away but there has been talk of limiting it to try and get more people back into work. Like 'Scope said some people just don't want a job as they are better off not working when you total up all the benefits they are claiming. That sucks.

Upscope is an idiot!!!

Today while at work he had a few questions for the person that originally proposed the theory Upscope had for jump starting the economy. Upscope admits that he stole the idea while eavesdropping on a conversation at work. It was brought to his attention that he misinterpreted what was actually said. In reality it was not $225,000 but rather $22,500!! And it was not per/tax payer it was rather per/household.

Upscope should pay more attention, especially if he's going to relay any information. Sorry for any confusion. However, $22,500 is still nothing to sneeze at??

'Scope

RFFB wrote:

Now I'm gonna throw a cat amongst the pidgeons tho! I hear what you're saying about the unemployed and those not wanting to work. There's scroungers everywhere, screw them, but is it so wrong to help out those who have worked for years or all their life and due to a situation not of their making, them suffering?

Somebody once said you should judge a country by how well it helps the less fortunate in their society. Can't remember who but it was someone important!! Are you saying these people should just be left to fend for themselves?

Just throwing things out there, not trying to stir anything up...just playing Devils Advocate.

You raise fair questions RFFB. And this is one of the reasons the Obama administration has his hands full with some VERY tough problems to tackle. Does he help those that have lost their jobs or does he leave them to "fend for themselves" as you say??

Upscope is no expert on the matter but he is interested in learning just what it is that is going on. Like for example: the plan Obama is trying to pass calls for spending on "jobless benefits" & "food stamps?"......... Well, if you were one of the unfortunates that have been hit with a job loss during the recession you are no doubt eligible for unemployment & those unemployment funds have already been allocated. There's no need to offer "jobless benefits" or "food stamps" to these people. They are already being taken care of through these allocated funds.
Upscope believes that you can actually draw unemployment for 18 months not 16 weeks?? And just as Mary said, it typically is in the neighborhood of half of what you were earning before you were excused. So as you can see those that have recently lost their jobs aren't actually left to "fend for themselves." In reality they are afforded an adequate amount of time to rebound & are reasonably compensated in the meantime.

With the Obama plan it appears to Upscope that he is looking to spend an ABSURD amount of the taxpayers dollars to support the jobless with even MORE "benefits" & even MORE "food stamps?" Now, here's the question Upscope raises if he reads this situation correctly......Just how much is it that the government is willing to help those that are jobless?? Their already receiving half of what they were when they were working + free food. If you give them more then eventually you put them in a situation where there is absolutely no incentive for them to actually attempt to get a job?? Who wants to work for say $600/week when the government is willing to pay you $400/week NOT to work??

Upscope believes that it's the governments responsibility to help the "less fortunate" as well. The difference is Upscope doesn't see the above people as "less fortunate." He sees the handicapped as "less fortunate." He sees children in foster custody as "less fortunate" & those w/ life deteriorating health issues as "less fortunate."

Those UNABLE to work are "less fortunate." Those ABLE yet UNWILLING to work are FAR from "less fortunate."

'Scope

In response to UPscopes question...in South Carolina you get unemployment for 16 weeks. If you have not found a job in that time then you can apply for an extention, which you may or may not get.
Where did you come up with 18 months?

Mary1234 wrote:

In response to UPscopes question...in South Carolina you get unemployment for 16 weeks. If you have not found a job in that time then you can apply for an extention, which you may or may not get.
Where did you come up with 18 months?

Upscope was laid off in '02....He was eligible for unemployment in the state of California for the next 18 months

'Scope

'Scope wrote:

Mary1234 wrote:

In response to UPscopes question...in South Carolina you get unemployment for 16 weeks. If you have not found a job in that time then you can apply for an extention, which you may or may not get.
Where did you come up with 18 months?

Upscope was laid off in '02....He was eligible for unemployment in the state of California for the next 18 months

'Scope

Wow. Thats pretty good!! South Carolina sucks.....in more ways then one. We are looking to get the hell out of here soon.....

Upscope collected the entire 18 months as well. Difference was he wasn't living off of the government. He was living off of the company's allocated unemployment fund. An unemployment fund that Upscope contributed to for 5 years.

'Scope

These are some scary times!

Holoflash wrote:

These are some scary times!

Indeed....& their getting scarier daily.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090129/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy

'Scope

Here's another link...


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28903962/?GT1=43001

Not good! Not good at all!
I will admit, I am seriously seeing the crunch and am indeed nervous about it!

Holoflash wrote:

Not good! Not good at all!
I will admit, I am seriously seeing the crunch and am indeed nervous about it!

Earlier this week...Monday I think it was, approx. 55,000 people lost their jobs at 4 or 5 BIG companies...and that was on the news. This is not including various other folks who were laid off.

Oh my fucking God!! THIS right here is why this country is fucked beyond belief. Why am I pissed?

Read the second paragraph...


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28916936