Thread: Some Indications of the State of The Nation (U.S.)

It was an interesting video, though I wouldn't entirely abandon Bernanke's view on account of it. Understanding where he's coming from is an important part of understanding where we're coming from on current policy.

Originally Posted by Taosaur

It was an interesting video, though I wouldn't entirely abandon Bernanke's view on account of it. Understanding where he's coming from is an important part of understanding where we're coming from on current policy.

Where do you think he is coming from? Do you think his warnings about what would happen if the fed were to be audited are valid?

Even after the President promises no higher than 8% unemployment if the trillions of dollar-bailouts come through, we skyrocket up and up in unemployment. And those numbers do not take consideration of all the people without jobs. It is much higher than that. Sad, really. And the bit about Bush being the worst, sure he was bad but... remember Carter the peanut farmer? One of the worst in recent memory.

Originally Posted by Xaqaria

UIts funny to scroll through it and watch it steadily climb from Nixon through Bush senior, Then steadily drop to 30 year lows Through Clinton, and then turn back up the moment GW steps into office.

Congress makes federal laws, not the president.

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

Congress makes federal laws, not the president.

That is true. Do you think that the executive administration's policies have any effect on unemployment rates(which is what the bit you quoted was referring to)?

that is, while techically correct, quite silly UM. The presiden has veto power, pushes for bills, has the vice president kicking it in the senate for those tight votes and serves as an ambassador to the people. While the congress writes them, it is always with an eye to how the current administration will react to it except for those rare bills where there is broad enough congressional support to overturn a veto. In that case, the president would be stupid for vetoing it in the first place.

A second count on which that fails as a refutation of xaqaria's point is that it is the executive that enforces the laws. The president appoints many of the people in charge of doing so and business will very quickly get a sense for where the administration and their appointees stand on issues.

A good argument would be to say that clinton was running shit during the 'pax' americana of the nineties that reagan/bush 1 delivered to him on a silver platter. Being an unchallenged military/cultural superpower of the world is apparently good for the economy so long as you don't take your position of power for granted and let it decay.