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10 people who led us to the ‘fiscal cliff’
Marketwatch ^ | Nov. 21, 2012, 12:55 p.m. EST | Rex Nutting

Posted on 11/21/2012 10:50:23 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Commentary: From Laffer to Obama, they fed our greed and guilt

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — With our political leaders locked in a fiscal struggle that threatens to throw the economy off a so-called cliff and into recession, you might be wondering how we got to this place.

Remember that this supposed fiscal cliff is the direct result of two contradictory impulses in American life: Greed and guilt. Greed for low taxes, a strong military, a strong safety net and lots of government spending for everyone. And guilt that we weren’t paying our way. Read “Stop calling it a ‘fiscal cliff’”

All of us (or almost all) had a role in this melodrama, either benefiting from the spending or from the lower tax rates. Despite our culpability, it took strong national leaders to foster the heady mix of greed and guilt that brought us to this spot.

Here are the 10 people most responsible for bringing us to the edge of the fiscal cliff:

(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: economy; fiscalcliff; laffercurve
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To: FerociousRabbit

>> I saw Art Laffer listed and stopped reading further.

I saw that rather than a simple article, it’s yet another one of those “click through ten damn pages so we get more advertising $$$” and closed the page immediately.


21 posted on 11/21/2012 11:21:52 AM PST by Nervous Tick ("You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.")
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To: FerociousRabbit
Same here.

Anyone posting Laffer as #1 and Obama is just trying to appeal to populists across the board.

Plus this guy is jockeying for ad revenue by putting them on 10 different pages.

22 posted on 11/21/2012 11:24:50 AM PST by what's up
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

This is DRIVEL!


23 posted on 11/21/2012 11:26:06 AM PST by US Navy Vet (Go Packers! Go Rockies! Go Boston Bruins! See, I'm "Diverse"!)
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To: TurboZamboni
The reason why default is never mentioned as a possibility by the Socialist media, is because default will destroy U.S. gubmint credit, making it impossible for gubmint to borrow. Maybe it would force balanced budgets for a generation?

Default would also kill Progressivism. All Progressive programs depend on a strong central/Federal gov't giving top-down mandates, AND using money to back it up. Imagine a Bankrupt Federal Gov't (I know, they have printing presses). How would the EPA, NPR, ACORN, SNAP, etc. etc.. survive?

They wouldn't!

24 posted on 11/21/2012 11:29:35 AM PST by PGR88
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
A website article that has one paragraph per page in order to maximize their ad revenue by having you "view" all of those ads on all of those pages coupled with Art Laffer as villian #1 and saying "There’s only one problem: Laffer’s ideas didn’t pan out in practice: Tax cuts don’t pay for themselves. Tax cuts are a major cause of our $16 trillion national debt."

What a joke. I didn't read past there.....

25 posted on 11/21/2012 11:35:50 AM PST by SW6906 (6 things you can't have too much of: sex, money, firewood, horsepower, guns and ammunition.)
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To: Armando Guerra

As you are no doubt aware, this is just a variant of the basic principle that when selling a product there is a price that maximizes net profit.

Lowering price will generally increase number of units sold, but will by definition reduce profit per unit. At some point, one begins losing money on each unit sold. No, at that point you cannot make it back in volume!

OTOH, raising the price always increases the profit per unit, but normally will decrease the number of units sold.

In a monopoly system, which of course taxation is, there is always a specific point where these two factor balance out and the greatest total profit (or tax revenue) is generated.

One can argue about where that point is, but I find it really difficult to imagine anyone could seriously contend the point doesn’t exist.


26 posted on 11/21/2012 11:48:53 AM PST by Sherman Logan
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Anyone who thinks that the Congress is going to arrive at an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff. Barring an EO from zero that circumvents the Congress (AGAIN!), they will not agree on the measures necessary to avoid the looming economic disaster in 2013.

If the Senate hasn’t produced a budget in 3 years, they aren’t going to be able to do this in 5 weeks . . . . . . . . unless Boehner cries and caves . . . . . . AGAIN!!

(Boehner is a primary reason that I no longer support the RNC. BUT - he’s only one of many!)


27 posted on 11/21/2012 11:49:22 AM PST by DustyMoment (Congress - another name for white collar criminals!!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
The author is nuts. Cause #1 for the fiscal cliff is the legally responsible party.

That would be Congress.

Starting with the loss of Congress in Bush's presidency until now Congress has spent like a payday soldier at Octoberfest.

It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.
It's the spending, stupid.

28 posted on 11/21/2012 11:51:44 AM PST by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! True supporters of our troops pray for their victory!)
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To: everyone

Sure

29 posted on 11/21/2012 11:58:04 AM PST by onyx (FREE REPUBLIC IS HERE TO STAY! DONATE MONTHLY! IF YOU WANT ON SARAH PALIN''S PING LIST, LET ME KNOW)
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To: Wiser now

I agree with that Dodd and Frank should be at the top of the list. I also nominate Pelosi and Reid. They had a majority for four years and ran up the numbers with no hesitation.

For that matter, all democrat Senators and Congressmen as well as their voters share large blame in this. Where did we get the idea that the Federal Treasury was Santa Claus with an infinite bag of goodies. What percentage of recipients don’t need all of what they are taking and/or have lived irresponsibly causing their own downfall?

I had stopped reading any article with Nutting’s mugshot on it, but this article just looked too ridiculous to pass.


30 posted on 11/21/2012 12:03:04 PM PST by Sam Clements
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Greed for ... a strong military

Being in favor of a strong military is now considered "greedy"? How can anyone write that sentence and not realize that they are a complete idiot?
31 posted on 11/21/2012 12:31:38 PM PST by jjsheridan5
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To: US Navy Vet

The leftists love the list....


32 posted on 11/21/2012 12:34:31 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ((The Global Warming Hoax was a Criminal Act....where is Al Gore?))
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To: onyx

LOL!


33 posted on 11/21/2012 12:35:39 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ((The Global Warming Hoax was a Criminal Act....where is Al Gore?))
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To: cruise_missile

Great post.


34 posted on 11/21/2012 12:48:12 PM PST by lonestar67 (I remember when unemployment was 4.7 percent)
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To: FerociousRabbit
Me too! The left has never given credit to Reagan for the job his tax cuts did in getting us out of the nightmare economy that Carter's administration left. The sad thing is that the right has never properly articulated Laffer’s theories either! I also got tired of having to go click on another page just to see the name of the next person on the list.
35 posted on 11/21/2012 12:56:21 PM PST by srmorton (Deut. 30 19: "..I have set before you life and death,....therefore, choose life..")
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To: FerociousRabbit
Me too! The left has never given credit to Reagan for the job his tax cuts did in getting us out of the nightmare economy that Carter's administration left. The sad thing is that the right has never properly articulated Laffer’s theories either! I also got tired of having to go click on another page just to see the name of the next person on the list.
36 posted on 11/21/2012 12:56:21 PM PST by srmorton (Deut. 30 19: "..I have set before you life and death,....therefore, choose life..")
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To: FerociousRabbit
Me too! The left has never given credit to Reagan for the job his tax cuts did in getting us out of the nightmare economy that Carter's administration left. The sad thing is that the right has never properly articulated Laffer’s theories either! I also got tired of having to go click on another page just to see the name of the next person on the list.
37 posted on 11/21/2012 12:56:21 PM PST by srmorton (Deut. 30 19: "..I have set before you life and death,....therefore, choose life..")
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To: srmorton; Jim Robinson
JimRob, FR feature request:

It seems like it shouldn't be too terribly difficult to code something that checks each post against the poster's last one. If it's an exact match, then drop it.

Just sayin'

38 posted on 11/21/2012 1:04:22 PM PST by TChris ("Hello", the politician lied.)
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To: Wiser now

Lefty white guy wth a beard talking about the economy. It is Krugman without the smugness.

After Bill Clinton, I thought it would be Greenspan. Bang! Stopped reading after that.


39 posted on 11/21/2012 1:18:26 PM PST by EQAndyBuzz (George W. Bush is the Emmanuel Goldstein of the modern era.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

somebody forgot the /s switch...


40 posted on 11/21/2012 1:43:11 PM PST by mo (If you understand, no explanation is needed. If you don't understand, no explanation is possible.)
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