And for wider bumpers, you could add "Honk if I'm paying for your share of the stimulus package and Obama's new welfare state." Unfortunately, there'd be an awful lot of noise.
Jim, In Europe, we try to look after our fellow citizens. Sometimes, people just need a little extra help. And a lot of the time they get on their feet and can make a real economic contribution.
Simon, In Europe, you have a horrible history of butchering your fellow citizens, not looking after them. The US might not be perfect but we've at least been guided by some semblance of morality over the last 233 years. I'm sure a lot of people are "down and out" in Europe. Fortunately for them, until recently, they were always able to latch onto American ingenuity and progress. They could ride our coat tails on technological development and live freely under our security umbrella without having to pay the price. For the sake of hardworking and lazy Europeans alike, you should pray (a concept foreign to most Europeans) that America regains its snese of risk taking and innovation.
Jim W - The bumper sticker slogan was my wife's idea; I don' think I'd want to be responsible for road rage mixed with class warfare so feel free to make your own.
Tom T asks a good question and David C gives a good answer (minus the ad hominem bit.) I believe the markets are waiting for evidence of results. "Hope and change" are campaign slogans... once you get the job, it's all about results.
I don't think "hope and change" are just campaign slogans, just as words are not just, well, words. I think hope and change are the most substantive elements of political philosophy and Obama has commented on them eloquently and at length. By the time we get results, things will have changed anyway -- so you can't have results without change. QED
I noted today that the Rassmussen daily tracking poll shows that Obama's faborability rating has fallen from 65% / 30% at inauguration to a new low of 56%/43%, a loss of 22 percentage points. (see http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history) Also, several Dems have come out and suggested that Obama's ambitious budget is likely to get shot down. There are a lot of factors at work, including some silly musings by Vik Pandit that Citi will achieve profitability in the 1Q of 2009 (gee, what about the balance sheet Vik?) and a sense that the market was "oversold" (which is basically a condition that occurs prior to every runup in the market). However, just as the equity markets were weak in the first two years of Clinton's Presidency, they soared upon Clinton's repudiation in the historic 1994 midterm elections (when the Republicans took the House in a massive turnaround). My sense is that as Obama's popularity and power fall, equity markets will respond positively.
Where do I get this?
ReplyDeleteAnd for wider bumpers, you could add "Honk if I'm paying for your share of the stimulus package and Obama's new welfare state." Unfortunately, there'd be an awful lot of noise.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteIn Europe, we try to look after our fellow citizens. Sometimes, people just need a little extra help. And a lot of the time they get on their feet and can make a real economic contribution.
Simon
Simon,
ReplyDeleteIn Europe, you have a horrible history of butchering your fellow citizens, not looking after them. The US might not be perfect but we've at least been guided by some semblance of morality over the last 233 years. I'm sure a lot of people are "down and out" in Europe. Fortunately for them, until recently, they were always able to latch onto American ingenuity and progress. They could ride our coat tails on technological development and live freely under our security umbrella without having to pay the price. For the sake of hardworking and lazy Europeans alike, you should pray (a concept foreign to most Europeans) that America regains its snese of risk taking and innovation.
Michiel M
michiel,
ReplyDeletespeaking as a canadian i share your concerns.
I think the big question a lot of us have is "Why haven't the equity markets picked up on Obama's eloquent message of hope and change"?
ReplyDeleteTom T
Tom...Becasue equity markets have more brains than you do.
ReplyDeleteDavid C
Thanks for all the comments.
ReplyDeleteJim W - The bumper sticker slogan was my wife's idea; I don' think I'd want to be responsible for road rage mixed with class warfare so feel free to make your own.
Tom T asks a good question and David C gives a good answer (minus the ad hominem bit.) I believe the markets are waiting for evidence of results. "Hope and change" are campaign slogans... once you get the job, it's all about results.
I don't think "hope and change" are just campaign slogans, just as words are not just, well, words. I think hope and change are the most substantive elements of political philosophy and Obama has commented on them eloquently and at length. By the time we get results, things will have changed anyway -- so you can't have results without change. QED
ReplyDeleteI noted today that the Rassmussen daily tracking poll shows that Obama's faborability rating has fallen from 65% / 30% at inauguration to a new low of 56%/43%, a loss of 22 percentage points. (see http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history) Also, several Dems have come out and suggested that Obama's ambitious budget is likely to get shot down. There are a lot of factors at work, including some silly musings by Vik Pandit that Citi will achieve profitability in the 1Q of 2009 (gee, what about the balance sheet Vik?) and a sense that the market was "oversold" (which is basically a condition that occurs prior to every runup in the market). However, just as the equity markets were weak in the first two years of Clinton's Presidency, they soared upon Clinton's repudiation in the historic 1994 midterm elections (when the Republicans took the House in a massive turnaround). My sense is that as Obama's popularity and power fall, equity markets will respond positively.
ReplyDelete