The EU "super power"

“In another thread last week, some guy was trying to claim that the EU is a super power that rivals America. Let's examine this claim, shall we??

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Eurozone unemployment edges up in December
Document Actions 01/02/2005

The unemployment rate in the 12-nation eurozone edged up in December, to 8.9 percent compared to 8.8 percent in November, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday. The rate in the zone which shares Europe's single currency was unchanged compared with December 2003.

In the whole 25-member European Union, unemployment was stable compared with November at 8.9 percent, but was down from 9.1 percent in December 2003. The highest rate was in Poland at 18.3 percent, followed by Slovakia at 16.9 percent, Spain at 10.4 percent and Germany at 10 percent. The lowest rates were in Ireland (4.3 percent), Luxembourg (4.4 percent) and Austriapercent).

http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/050201150220.x6fvyyeq

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Gosh, they are doing so well over there!

Almost TWICE the unemployment of the US!


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Eurozone posts growth of 2.0 per cent in 2004

Document Actions 15/02/2005

The 12-nation eurozone's economy grew by 2.0 percent last year, up sharply from 0.5 percent in 2003, but is now relapsing into yet another slowdown, according to figures out Tuesday.
Growth in the fourth quarter of 2004 registered 0.2 percent, down from 0.3 percent in the previous three months, the preliminary figures by EU statistics agency Eurostat showed.
At the same time, the European Commission cut its eurozone growth forecasts for both the first and second quarters of 2005 to a range of 0.2-0.6 percent from its earlier estimate of 0.3-0.7 percent.
The figures make unwelcome reading for EU governments hoping that last year marked a decisive turnaround from a three-year slowdown in the eurozone.
Commission spokeswoman Amelia Torres said the report was "less positive than we had hoped". She said part of the reason was weaker-than-expected growth in the last quarter of 2004.
"And then the figures that we have compiled in the last couple of months are rather mixed, and they lead us to be rather more modest in our forecasts than we were able to be some weeks or months ago," she told reporters.
While last year saw the eurozone rebound from 2003, evidence of a slowdown towards the end of the year has now strengthened.
In the third quarter of 2004, output in the 12 countries using the single European currency slowed to 0.3 percent from 0.5 percent in the second, and from 0.7 percent in the first.
Eurostat said that for the whole 25-nation European Union, growth in the final quarter was 0.3 percent, unchanged from the previous three months.
In 2004, the EU economy expanded by 2.3 percent from 0.9 percent in 2003.
The "flash estimate" survey was based on figures covering 89 percent of the eurozone's gross domestic product (GDP), and 83 percent of the full EU's including its five biggest economies.
For the whole of 2005, the European Commission is predicting eurozone GDP growth of about 2.0 percent.
Many economists have more gloomy predictions than that with the eurozone struggling afresh.
The euro's record-breaking rally against the dollar in particular, it is feared, will dent growth in European exports by pricing them out of world markets.
Economists polled by AFP subsidiary AFX News had forecast quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.4 percent in the final three months of 2004.
Torres noted that EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia had only recently reiterated his expectation of eurozone growth of about 2.0 percent this year.
"And at this stage we don't have any grounds for changing our forecast in that respect," she said.
In the commission's latest quarterly report released on December 20, Almunia said that while "downside risks have not abated", the eurozone can cope with the euro's rally.
He said the currency was not out of line with economic fundamentals, and the region was benefiting from stronger retail sales and new industrial orders.
However, EU officials acknowledge that consumer spending is not strong enough for sustained euro-area recovery, owing to fears about job and income prospects.

http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/050215100424.n7m5g8l8

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Less than half of the growth rate of 4.4% that the US had last year!!!!


And it's predicted TO GET WORSE!!!!!


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Euro-area experts cut growth forecasts for 2005, 2006, ECB poll shows
Document Actions 10/02/2005

A regular survey of professional economic forecasters conducted by the European Central Bank showed that experts have downgraded their growth forecasts for the eurozone economy for both 2005 and 2006.
In its February monthly bulletin, the ECB said that in its regular quarterly "Survey of Professional Forecasters" the experts had revised downward their growth forecast for 2005 to 1.8 percent from 2.0 percent previously. And the eurozone economy was expected to grow by 2.1 percent in 2006, instead of 2.2 percent as previously anticipated, the ECB said.

http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/050210091949.bhyfmqko


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Meanwhile, here in the country that is no match for the mighty EU:


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Economy Grows Better Than Expected


Email this Story

Feb 25, 8:35 AM (ET)

By JEANNINE AVERSA

(AP) The slight increase had been expected given that weekly claims had been declining in recent weeks....


WASHINGTON (AP) – The economy grew at a solid 3.8 percent annual rate in the final quarter of 2004 - stronger than previously estimated- and an encouraging sign that the business expansion was firmly entrenched at the start of the new year.

The new reading on gross domestic product, released by the Commerce Department Friday, was better than the government's initial calculation made a month ago. That estimate showed the economy growing at a 3.1 percent pace.

The improvement reflected more robust spending by businesses on capital equipment and to build up inventories of goods. The trade deficit also was less of a drag on fourth-quarter growth than initially thought.

GDP, the broadest barometer of the country's economic health, measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States.

The new fourth-quarter GDP figure also was better than the 3.5 percent growth rate that economists had forecast in advance of Friday's release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Although economic growth in the final quarter of last year was a bit slower than the 4 percent pace measured in the third quarter, the performance was still solid.

For all of 2004, the economy expanded by 4.4 percent, the best showing in five years. This annual estimate was the same as first reported last month.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050225/D88FIJC00.html

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Yeah, the EU sure has America pinned down by its economic might! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

“Hi Mutt!”

“Hey cat!”

“tree, I don't think this is mutt.
He hasn't called you a 'blissninnie' yet. ;-)”

“Notice that Ireland has the lowest unemployment rate?

Wonder why?

TAX CUTS!!!!!!

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In 1986, Ireland slashed spending in areas such as health expenditures (6 percent), education (7 percent), agricultural spending (18 percent), roads and housing (11 percent), and the military (7 percent), and completely abolished other agencies, such as the National Social Services Board, the Health Education Bureau, and regional development organizations. In 1987 Ireland followed those moves up with the largest budget cuts in 30 years. Overall current spending was cut 3 percent and capital spending was slashed by 16 percent. Over a five-year period Ireland dramatically decreased the size of its government in the economy. Government noninterest spending declined to 41 percent of GNP by 1990; down from a high of 55 percent of GNP in 1985.

Following the dramatic cuts in government spending Ireland began reducing taxes on both individuals and corporations. They were able to do this while keeping inflation low and actually reducing government debt with surplus funds. The reduction in government spending and freeing of the Irish economy produced miraculous results. Over a 13-year period, Ireland’s standard of living rose from 63 percent of the United Kingdom’s in 1987 to best Britain’s per capita income by 2000. Yearly economic growth rates averaged higher than 9 percent from 1995 through 2000.

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0309k.asp

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Gee, Bush cut our taxes and our economy is growing. Hmmm….lesson to be learned here?”

“tree, I don't think this is mutt.

Ah, now I get the mutt reference, I think.”

“Maybe they got a ride on the "tech bubble".......good for them.

I'm prejudiced though, I love Ireland.
last edited: 3/01/05 8:19:27 AM”

“That would be a giveaway, Stovie. I knew he couldn't stay away...”

“This Ain't Ireland

But the principle is the same: cut taxes and the economy grows. When the economy grows, there's a larger tax base, and the government actually rakes in more revenue.

BUSH RIGHT AGAIN!!!!”

“Sounds like a good plan.....but too simple.

Life's not always simple.”

“A little off-topic, but more proof Bush has an excellent foreign policy:

Mubarak Pushes Egypt to Conduct Freer Elections
NY Times ^ | February 27, 2005 | NEIL MacFARQUHAR

http://www.nytimes.com


CAIRO, Feb. 26 – President Hosni Mubarak asked Egypt's Parliament on Saturday to amend the Constitution to allow for direct, multiparty presidential elections this year for the first time in the nation's history.

On the face of it, the unexpected proposal from Mr. Mubarak, a former Air Force general who has ruled Egypt unchallenged since 1981, represents a sea change in a country with a 50-year history of one-party governments.

"The president will be elected through direct, secret balloting, opening the opportunity for political parties to run in the presidential elections and providing guarantees that allow more than one candidate for the people to choose from with their own will," Mr. Mubarak said, speaking live on television before an audience at the University of Menoufiya in the Egyptian delta.

Some opposition politicians and other analysts hailed the proposal as heralding a new political era for Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation, while skeptics said they wanted to await the details to be sure that the eventual constitutional amendment would not create only the appearance of democracy, a common problem in the region.

Proponents said the measure was the first, central step in reviewing Egypt's entire Constitution and answered both vocal domestic demands for increased democracy as well as stepped-up pressure from the Bush administration. The announcement also follows historical elections in Iraq and Palestine as well as the first limited nationwide municipal polls in Saudi Arabia, leaving the region bubbling with expectations for political reform.

While bringing democracy to the region has been a major theme for Mr. Bush, the administration reacted with caution on Saturday, saying more details were needed to assess the step. [Page 4.] In Egypt, Mohamed Kamal, a political science professor who serves on an advisory committee of the country's ruling party, called the move a major decision. "You are talking about the structure of the political system in Egypt," he said.

Other analysts, however, sounded notes of doubt, pointing out that Egypt's Parliament, dominated by the National Democratic Party, planned to take some two weeks to work out the details of the constitutional amendment. Other countries, like Tunisia, allow a few hand-picked opposition members to run, but the president gets virtually all the publicity and racks up an overwhelming majority in each election. Egypt's Parliament has a long history of diluting reforms, critics noted, and may yet announce rules on candidacy that would create the aura of democracy while preventing any real change. Also, the president only mentioned amending the constitutional article on how the president is chosen, No. 76, not No. 77, which provides for unlimited terms.

"This is a way to improve his image with the Americans and to please them with some formal changes," said Ibrahim Eissa, a columnist and political analyst. "While at the same time he is keeping everything else unchanged, like the emergency laws, imprisoning the opposition, the state controlling the media and political parties existing just on paper. This is deception."

Essam el-Eryan, a leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, a fundamentalist group that is banned as a party, noted that the revised amendment might limit the choice of candidates by barring those not endorsed by a legal political party.

The new secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, called off a trip to the region on Friday basically to protest the continued imprisonment of a jailed opposition leader that she had also criticized previously.

Ayman Nour, head of Al Ghad, a newly approved political party, was imprisoned on Jan. 29 on allegations of forging some 2,000 signatures to gain a license for his party last year. He denies the accusation, and government critics note that his continued detention seems to undermine the president's commitment to greater democracy.

"The only credible candidate against Mubarak is lying in prison on trumped up charges," said Hisham Qassim, a newspaper editor and vice president of Al Ghad. On Saturday, Mr. Nour's wife, Gamila Ismael, said he had called Mr. Mubarak's call for multiparty elections "an important step towards the party's and the Egyptian people's demand for extensive constitutional reform," Reuters reported.

Supporters of the measure called it an important step, believing it comes in response to marked internal changes in Egypt over the past few years, with growing anger over the political system. Even during the small street demonstrations permitted to express solidarity with the Palestinians, for example, demonstrators quickly changed to shouting slogans against the long rule of the 76-year-old president

Over the past few months a tiny opposition movement has held a number of street demonstrations against President Mubarak, shouting "Enough!" - an unprecedented step here. At his annual meeting with intellectuals in January, virtually all of them spoke out about the need to amend the 1971 Constitution, which includes socialistic rules that now seem somewhat quaint, like reserving half the seats in Parliament for farmers and workers.

President Mubarak, who assumed office after President Anwar el-Sadat's assassination, has never faced an opponent during four referendums that allowed Egyptians to vote either yes or no on his continued rule. His announced tally was always more than 90 percent.

He was expected to stage a fifth such referendum in September, rejecting calls to amend the Constitution. Three political gadflies had announced plans to run as independents, but nobody took them seriously.

During his speech before the university audience on Saturday, the president said his proposal came from "my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." The proposed change is expected to be put to a public referendum within nine weeks.

The old system had become something of an embarrassment. During speaking engagements around the country, Mr. Mubarak's son Gamal, 41, head of the ruling political committee, faced pointed questions from students like whether he planned to run for president and, if he did, whether he would win with the same astonishing margins his father received.

There had been some speculation that the elder Mr. Mubarak might try to pave the way for a nationwide election that would see Gamal elected to succeed him, but the manner in which he proposed the changes on Saturday seemed to contradict that.

Rather than announcing that the changes emerged from the party's political committee, which Gamal Mubarak heads and which is ostensibly pushing for reform, President Mubarak chose the unusual step of announcing it in a dramatic speech from his hometown. That lent it the aura of a personal initiative rather than winning his son national points as a proponent for change.

Egyptian analysts were divided over the degree to which American pressure played a role in introducing the change. President Bush singled out Egypt, which receives some $2 billion in American aid annually, for its slow pace of reform during his State of the Union address.

"To promote peace and stability in the broader Middle East, the United States will work with our friends in the region to fight the common threat of terror, while we encourage a higher standard of freedom," President Bush said. "The great and proud nation of Egypt, which showed the way toward peace in the Middle East, can now show the way toward democracy in the Middle East.

Mona el-Naggar contributed reporting for this article.


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Afghanistan. Iraq. Israel. Lebanon. Saudi Arabia. Egypt.

All of those nations held or are going to hold democratic elections in one form or another.

I finally can agree with something liberals love to say. It's all America's fault!”

“Oh yeah: BUSH RIGHT AGAIN!!!!!”

“Yeah, Saudi Arabia. What a beacon of democracy!

Hey, for a guy who ran for president saying that he wants nothing to do with nation building, we got a leader who is sure as f_ck enjoying being the world's cop (a role we took in the Vietnam era that i can not exactly say was our proudest moments). Too bad you have your head up Bush's ass so far. it's covering your ears, Oryx!

To each his own, I guess...”

“9/11 happened, Treebeard. It's interesting that when presented with the facts all you can muster up is "you have your head up Bush's ass".

Typical!”

“Yes, I am as aware of it as you are. I was here, mutt. Or are you going to start jumping up my ass on that point again?”

“I love this thread!”

“Even Middle Eastern leaders are giving Bush credit for the spread of democracy in the Middle East. The leader of the Lebanese resistance movement, no fan of Bush's, btw, gives Bush the credit for the new Lebanese democracy movement:

Beirut's Berlin Wall

By David Ignatius
Wednesday, February 23, 2005; Page A19

BEIRUT -- "Enough!" That's one of the simple slogans you see scrawled on the walls around Rafiq Hariri's grave site here. And it sums up the movement for political change that has suddenly coalesced in Lebanon and is slowly gathering force elsewhere in the Arab world.

"We want the truth." That's another of the Lebanese slogans, painted on a banner hanging from the Martyr's Monument near the mosque where Hariri is buried. It's a revolutionary idea for people who have had to live with lies spun by regimes that were brutally clinging to power. People want the truth about who killed Hariri last week, but on a deeper level they want the truth about why Arab regimes have failed to deliver on their promises of progress and prosperity.


A crowd was still gathered at Hariri's resting place well after midnight early yesterday. Thousands of candles -- many bearing Christian icons, others Muslim designs -- flickered in a semicircle around the grave and melted together into a multicolored patina of wax. Mourners have written angry messages in Arabic on a nearby wall denouncing Syria, whose troops occupy Lebanon and which many Lebanese blame for Hariri's murder. "The Ugly Syrian," says one. "Get Out of Here," says another. For people who have been frightened even to mention Syria's name, it must feel liberating just to write those words.

Over by the Martyr's Monument, Lebanese students have built a little tent city and are vowing to stay until Syria's 15,000 troops withdraw. They talk like characters in "Les Miserables," but their revolutionary bravado is the sort of force that can change history. "We have nothing to lose anymore. We want freedom or death," says Indra Hage, a young Lebanese Christian. "We're going to stay here, even if soldiers attack us," says Hadi Abi Almouna, a Druze Muslim. "Freedom needs sacrifices, and we are ready to give them."

Brave words, in a country where dissent has often meant death. "It is the beginning of a new Arab revolution," argues Samir Franjieh, one of the organizers of the opposition. "It's the first time a whole Arab society is seeking change -- Christians and Muslims, men and women, rich and poor."

The leader of this Lebanese intifada is Walid Jumblatt, the patriarch of the Druze Muslim community and, until recently, a man who accommodated Syria's occupation. But something snapped for Jumblatt last year, when the Syrians overruled the Lebanese constitution and forced the reelection of their front man in Lebanon, President Emile Lahoud. The old slogans about Arab nationalism turned to ashes in Jumblatt's mouth, and he and Hariri openly began to defy Damascus.

I dined Monday night with Jumblatt in his mountain fortress in Moukhtara, southeast of Beirut. He moved there for safety last weekend because of worries that he would be the next target of whoever killed Hariri. We sat under a portrait of Jumblatt's father, Kamal, who was assassinated in 1976 after he opposed the initial entry of Syrian troops into Lebanon. With me was Jamil Mroue, a Lebanese Shiite journalist whose own father was assassinated by Arab radicals in the 1960s. It was an evening when the ghosts of the past mingled with hopes for the future.

Jumblatt dresses like an ex-hippie, in jeans and loafers, but he maintains the exquisite manners of a Lebanese aristocrat. Over the years, I've often heard him denouncing the United States and Israel, but these days, in the aftermath of Hariri's death, he's sounding almost like a neoconservative. He says he's determined to defy the Syrians until their troops leave Lebanon and the Lahoud government is replaced.

"It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq," explains Jumblatt. "I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world." Jumblatt says this spark of democratic revolt is spreading. "The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it."

Where will this amazing Lebanese intifada go next? The answer may lie partly with the Shiite militia, Hezbollah, which is probably the most powerful political organization in the country. Hezbollah officials and leaders of the opposition have been trading signals this week about whether they can form a united front. What's clear is that the Lebanese are fed up with the status quo and that Hezbollah -- like all the other parties -- must adjust to change.

The circle of mourners around Hariri's grave was two and three deep when I visited yesterday afternoon. Many people were weeping, more than a week after his death. In every face you could see that same emotion: Enough!

davidignatius@washpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45575-2005Feb22.html”

“Good thread. ;-)”

“I love this thread!

I hear you, Nigal. It's always fun to shoot down liberals' doom-n-gloom with solid evidence that Bush's economic and foreign policies are working!”

“Actually, you may be right. This could be fun to watch Mutt talk to himself here...

And declare victory!
last edited: 3/01/05 8:59:45 AM”

“This could be fun to watch Mutt talk to himself here...

LOL - yeah, I've been talking to myself because in the face of the facts Liberals have no rebuttal!!! Your attempt to paint me "troll" or whatever is proof enough of that.”

“I'm not painting you anything. I made one point. I can't reply to the EU items as I admit I am not very knowledgeable in that area. Nor do I think the point of EU vs. America will enlighten me too much. I will let it suffice to say that I agree to disagree with you because I really don't have the time and inclination right now to get into another foreign policy debate on here. I have had my share on TT and I don't think my feelings on it are any secret. Enjoy yourself, dude. I think I am going to watch for a few minutes and then get back to work here...
last edited: 3/01/05 9:06:02 AM”

“At least you admit your ignorance, Treebeard. That's unusual for a Liberal.

But your intellectual surrender on these issues is duly noted...”

“I take your little "take that with you as you exit" jab.

Now, I could say:

Typical, for a snotty, uppity conservative and you will still be one up on me in the name calling department!

But, I will just let it go...”

“It's not name-calling when it's true! LOL!”

“This isn't Mutt. Mutt would have started bashing NYC long ago.”

“Any other insults?

Would you like to go back to calling me fat? You were always good for one of those...”

“Oryx, that wasn't nice.
Victors should show grace when they 'win'.”

“If this isn't Mutt, then wwe are in trouble because they are cloning the little suckers!


“At least you admit your ignorance, Treebeard. That's unusual for a Liberal.

But your intellectual surrender on these issues is duly noted...”
Oryx”

“Oryx, that wasn't nice.
Victors should show grace when they 'win'.

I'll show grace in victory when I receive grace from the losers! Until then, BUSH RIGHT AGAIN!!!!!

LOL!”

“BTW, Stovie, since when do you "win" when you express an opinion?

He's just doing a bit of "self-gratification"

Mutt was always good for that!”

“since when do you "win" when you express an opinion

When you have solid facts to back up your opinion and the other side doesn't, you win!

Simple.”

“He spunky but he ain't Mutt. Mutt didn't like Bush that much.”

“Y'all have fun!
I'm stepping away from the pissing contest for a few minutes. ;-)

Name call away!”

“It's a one-sided argument here. So's the name calling. Stove, get your facts straight and direct your comments where they belong...”

“Bush's spending is the only real complaint I have, but it was fairly necessary during the recession. Future spending cuts coupled with more tax cuts will ensure American economic superiority for the rest of this decade.”

“Do you honestly believe that the middle class and average folks of this country aren't going to get the brunt of those "spending cuts", Oryx?”

“The "middle class and average folks" will strongly benefit from a strongly expanding economy. Everyone benefits from reduced spending and lower taxes.

Simple.”

“Not so simple. Come and live where I do and see where Bush's budget cuts have directly affected us adversely. I have no doubt that you have a lot of contempt for New Yorkers. Say what you want. But, we don't forget too easily. That's why he isn't too popular around here. His priorities have not exactly been overly kind to us so far!”

“WOW !!!

This guy's a seer!!

He know's it's all gonna work out, therefore........he win's!!!!!

Whoopee!!

There is not need to question anything anymore.

It's all over.

Buddy, I want some of what Oryx is smokin'!!”

“Way to contribute there Grandpa. LOL!”

“Treebeard, someone will always be "hurt" when the Pres cuts spending, but the economic benefits overall more than make up for it. Lobby away if you feel you were wronged.”

“Way to contribute there Grandpa. LOL!

Yes, MarkO is a good example of how when presented with facts, Liberals handwave them away with an appeal to emotion, or a strawman, or an ad hom, etc etc etc.”

“Were you this optimistic during the 1990's? I mean, whether you liked the powers-that-be or not, it was the most prosperous times in recent history...”

“Treebeard, we can thank Ronald Reagan for the prosperity in the 1990's - even GHWB's tax hikes didn't dent it. It took Clinton nearly a decade to undo the good times.”

“Ok, Oryx. I am done here. I honestly can't get into debate with people like you. And, that is not meant as an insult. You are simply from another world than I am. You will never hear a word I say, no matter what it is. I think we are better off not conversing. Again, not an insult. Later...”

“Treebeard, if you had facts to back up your opinion, I'd listen and learn from you. The trouble is, you don't. The fact is, Bush's foreign policy is working and his economic policy is working. BUSH RIGHT AGAIN!!!!”

“Mutt - Again you misinterpret things to go off on your own little rant.
I wasn't comparing economic growth in the EU with that in the US. Most of the major European economines, particularly France and Germany, need restructuring. There's no denial of that.
Ireland. MarkO is right - they benefitted hugely from the tech boom, and have managed to ustain this. All while providing little things like healthcare. So you're saying you'd be happy with the present Irish tax rate as an example huh?
No-one has ever denied that America is the wealthiest, biggest (most arrogant ;op ) nation on earth. Overall the EU is bigger than America, in wealth, largely because it has a greater population. I wasn't daring to compare it in that way to Bush's America, I was just mentioning that as a power, in everything but military terms, it is potentially the equal of the US. Europe may never be as wealthy as the US, but most Europeans are prepared to give up a percentage point or two of growth for the knowledge that should grandma get ill, there is some provision for her. Or that anyone can go to the doctors should they get sick. Many. They also don't work as many hours as Americans. Many EU countries have attempted to improve quality of life, rather than judging themselves by how much money they have. I'm not necessarily criticisizing America for that, it's the country I like and I live in, but I don't thinkgs it's a Utopia.
Ok. Bush's economy. Yes the rich are indeed getting Richer while the rest of America gets more squeezed. CEO salaries climbed 10% last year, the middle class saw 3.5%. I hope you're a CEO Mutt.
Foreign policy. Yes it looks good for democracy in the middle east this week. It's been a good week. Though tell that to the 106,000 dead Iraqis. Or to the families of the 100 or so who died yesterday.
We talked about the war being more about America's strategic interest. I simply called it a very rsiky strategy, though one with potentially high rewards. The odds for a positive result moved fractionally in Bush's favor this week, but the game is not over yet.”

“The US government takes in a certain amount of money each year from taxpayers.

When the government funds all of its programs, has money left over and returns it to taxpayers, that is a tax cut.

When the government spends all of the money and then decides to give everyone an extra $500 or $1000, that is a spending increase.

The "tax cuts" were a mirage. They were a semantic trick.

We have incurred over a quarter of our national debt during the past 4+ years.

Last week, a Korean banker made a comment that he was mulling a move to decrease holdings of US Treasuries - the source of funding for the deficit/debt.

The stock market dropped 150+ points, on a comment from a South Korean. What happens if China decides they want to really mess with us?

We can FEEL safe because Lebanese are protesting in the streets. But American national security will not be guaranteed on the streets of Beirut.”

“Mutt - I thought it was the tech boom that helped Clinton, I with you extreme righties would make your mind up what was responsible for that prosperous time.
last edited: 3/01/05 9:57:59 AM”