ANYBODY THINK THAT "OBAMA" IS DOING HIS JOB?

[liljp617]

It hasn't quite been long enough to fix it all, but don't you guys think that by now the unemployment rate should have started dropping again?

No, not at all and I wouldn't expect it to drop significantly within the next year either.  The economy is just now showing indications of improvement and upturn.  Unemployment is a lagging indicator on how good/bad the economy is...meaning even when the economy is improving, unemployment won't show the improvement for 6 months to a year (or longer). 

Thinking about it for just a few minutes tells you why this is the case.  You have firms that managed to survive the recession; they did this by, among other things, laying people off.  Why would a firm immediately rehire the unemployed people if they're managing well enough with their current labor force?  It would make no sense and would cost them more money.  But, when consumer expenditures begin to rise again (aka people start to buy more) and these firms need to produce more output, they'll need more labor.  This won't happen for some time, probably a year or so.  So unemployment stays relatively the same for a while even if the economy is said to be improving.

[humez555]

NO i think obama is a whole bunch of   

[dankasper]

Well he won the Nobel Peace Prize...I don't know ... I just want to make sure I am doing my job!!! So I have a job...

[DSBELL]

Onthe campaign trail he stated the low to middle income families would not be hit with higher taxes. Shortly after taking office, he signed the bills for tax increases across the board for the so-called sin taxes (Cigarettes,  alcoholic beverages, etc), luxury taxes (dining out, etc) not mention all of the other taxes that have been put on us. The bailouts for the banks and auto industry were a complete waste, as a lot of these have shut down. Where is the repayment on the bailouts going to come from now. This has created a bigger deficit for the country. As for his healthcare plan, I don't see this working for America. He will be putting his government run healthcare into competition with private insurers, which will force those companies to end up shutting down. I am not saying that we don't need a healthcare reform but we need a plan that will work. There are a lot of people out there that don't have healthcare or it is so expensive that they have to choose between seeing a doctor and getting medications filled and getting food or other essentials they need. I have seen this type of healthcare in other countries, and most of the time it was a bad stituation for the person needing help. Sure everybody pays the same amount for the coverage but it is not an effective coverage since their doctors are picked for them and someone else decides whether or not their situation warrants an appointment or if they need surgery, medications or whatever else is needed. I have seen this situation first-hand. I lived in Germany for 3 years and got a chance to see how this works.
With all the foreclosures on homes and jobs lost, it doesn't seem to be working. But on the other hand, I think he is trying to make changes to try and turn things around. No, I am not bashing him but I am not on the bandwagon until I can see turning around. This is not Bush's fault alone. This has been happening for a long time and it will not change overnight and get better, it will take time. But we should not be taxed to death either. I don't see increasing taxes so they can continue to throw good money after bad.
As for Iraq and Afghanistan, he said he would work on getting this settled and getting our military back home. He also said he would close Guantanamo Bay down. This has all changed after the elections. This is a very sore point for me. I have a son in the military. He has done 2 tours to Afghanistan and 2 tours to Iraq and is getting ready to go back to Iraq this month. I don't expect miracles, but I do expect him to keep the promises he made on the campaign trail. Talk is cheap. He needs to walk the walk and not talk the talk. He has a job to do and should do it to the best of his ability and stick to the promises he made. For the time being, the jury is still out on this until some changes for the better take  place.

[IAMCARBONDOG]

hes doing his job but just not all of it

[JessieKateRose]

I don't see how putting higher taxes on cigarettes and alchohol is at all a bad thing. The people who use those substances could ALL cut back, and if they end up spending all of their money on them because of the new taxes that's because THEY are stupid. Encouraging people to use them less in a way that gets money for the government is definitely a good idea.

[liljp617]

Where is the repayment on the bailouts going to come from now.

We have a national GDP of $16 trillion.  The bailouts were roughly $1.2 trillion.

This has created a bigger deficit for the country.

The deficit is expected to hit around $1.4 trillion at the end of the year.  Again, 1/16 of our GDP.

He will be putting his government run healthcare into competition with private insurers, which will force those companies to end up shutting down.

It will force those companies to stop charging outrageous prices, stop turning people down based on preexisting conditions, and will force them to provide a higher quality product for a lower price.  If they don't do that, yes, they will be shutting down.  If they refuse to provide a better product for a lower price then market forces will cause them to shut down...just as it would if they were competing with ANY other entity or company providing similar products.

I have seen this type of healthcare in other countries, and most of the time it was a bad stituation for the person needing help. Sure everybody pays the same amount for the coverage but it is not an effective coverage since their doctors are picked for them and someone else decides whether or not their situation warrants an appointment or if they need surgery, medications or whatever else is needed. I have seen this situation first-hand. I lived in Germany for 3 years and got a chance to see how this works.

Anecdotal evidence is of no use in this discussion.  You look at averages, you look at the quality of life, you look at the systems in numerous countries, you look at the rankings done by organizations such as the World Health Organization.  Do research on Japan and France, for example (I can't be bothered to do the research for you) and you'll see making a general statement that "these systems don't work" is plainly false.  If it's done correctly, it can work and it can be more effective than what we currently have.

[pageb83]

NO HE IS NOT BUT WE'LL BE OK.

[tuneit1967]

I dont agree with most everything (97%) he has done and/or plans to do.