You can look at what is going on at the border many different ways. Regardless of who you want to blame it on something needs to change. Anyone who had an issue with how the former administration handled things should still be just as concerned. Unless I missed something, I have not heard of any new 5 star facilities opening to address this problem. With the influx of immigrants headed our way due to changes in policy, I sure hope the current administration is prepared. Only time will tell.
A prison is a prison. That’s true whether it’s called a “family
residential facility,” or a “rapid-processing center.” These facilities
must be torn down, not renamed.
I think the immigration reform bill that the repubs want to propose is with their healthcare bill. Pretty sure.
You can look at what is going on at the border many different ways. Regardless of who you want to blame it on something needs to change. Anyone who had an issue with how the former administration handled things should still be just as concerned. Unless I missed something, I have not heard of any new 5 star facilities opening to address this problem. With the influx of immigrants headed our way due to changes in policy, I sure hope the current administration is prepared. Only time will tell.
A prison is a prison. That’s true whether it’s called a “family
residential facility,” or a “rapid-processing center.” These facilities
must be torn down, not renamed.
I think the immigration reform bill that the repubs want to propose is with their healthcare bill. Pretty sure.
There’s a lot of bullshit in that political stunt Biden is calling a covid stimulus package. Including send checks to a large number of people who have lost no wages over the last year
Yeah, I’m just saying that while it is what it is, and of course the winner gets to make the rules, we all should be scratching our heads at the insane spending our govt is doing. We only needed to get checks into peoples hands who desperately need it, nothing else. We have an unsustainable 28Trillion and growing! Our kids and their kids are in for a really bad time.
Because it’s typically a year after the POTUS’ inaugural that they have their first? I think it’s been 48 days, patience. He’s giving a national address tomorrow. You tuning in?
They usually address Congress in Jan/feb, inaugural or not. There’s no requirement, I just ask because he sure seems to be avoiding having to make a speech, even left msm reporters have been asking Jen about it. I’ll tune into it for a bit tomorrow, for sure. Hopefully he doesn’t forget the word pentagon or who someone’s name is even though it’s on the teleprompter.
Put me in the “not concerned” group, but it’s entertaining to say the least how he’s being shielded from having to be in front of a mic
Wasn't it you that said only 9% of the covid bill will help American people? You're not still carrying around that number in your head, are you?
Yeah it was me, is it wrong? When I see that some of the things in it won’t be used until 2031 I have to question it. Don’t get me wrong, unlike people on this board I don’t lose my mind over things our govt does whether I agree or disagree, but it seems like there’s a lot of things in this stimulus bill that aren’t directly taking care of people who need help.
Dude, you totally fell for word trickery, or you're intellectually dishonest. Read it very carefully.. And read it knowing the fact that almost $700 billion alone (35% of the package) is going to the $1400 checks and the $300 per week unemployment. That 9% number excludes all the checks, the restaurant help, funding for schools, etc. All of these parts of the bill were lumped into "Pelosi Payoff" according to the tweet.
Did you not pick that up or do you think the stimulus checks are part of the "Pelosi Payoff"?
And again, what exactly is the number of people getting a stimulus check that have not been impacted financially?
I heard them moving the goalposts on MSBNC today, saying people needed checks because they have all been effected...can't go out to eat, can;t do a lot of stuff they use to love...so obviously they need $ for that. C'mon. Vote grabbing headline bullshit.
That's a different argument than Roles was making. First he said that 91% isn't going to the American people. Then he posted a new bar for the 91%, because 9% is being used DIRECTLY for vaccination distribution. That ignores the unemployment, stimulus, child tax credits, school funding to make them Covid ready, etc. Considering the outrageous tax cuts that went to corporations in 2017, I'm not going to find religion on $1400 going to people that make less than $75k. When Bush sent rebate checks in 2001 and 2008, it was not "targeted" towards people who were unemployed. There wasn't even an income cap. Trump's had a cap, but not 'targeted'. The whole theory is that the money will be injected into the economy and create activity.
You are right it wasn;t his argument. But the whole theory is to buy votes.
Because it’s typically a year after the POTUS’ inaugural that they have their first? I think it’s been 48 days, patience. He’s giving a national address tomorrow. You tuning in?
They usually address Congress in Jan/feb, inaugural or not. There’s no requirement, I just ask because he sure seems to be avoiding having to make a speech, even left msm reporters have been asking Jen about it. I’ll tune into it for a bit tomorrow, for sure. Hopefully he doesn’t forget the word pentagon or who someone’s name is even though it’s on the teleprompter.
Put me in the “not concerned” group, but it’s entertaining to say the least how he’s being shielded from having to be in front of a mic
Wasn't it you that said only 9% of the covid bill will help American people? You're not still carrying around that number in your head, are you?
Yeah it was me, is it wrong? When I see that some of the things in it won’t be used until 2031 I have to question it. Don’t get me wrong, unlike people on this board I don’t lose my mind over things our govt does whether I agree or disagree, but it seems like there’s a lot of things in this stimulus bill that aren’t directly taking care of people who need help.
Dude, you totally fell for word trickery, or you're intellectually dishonest. Read it very carefully.. And read it knowing the fact that almost $700 billion alone (35% of the package) is going to the $1400 checks and the $300 per week unemployment. That 9% number excludes all the checks, the restaurant help, funding for schools, etc. All of these parts of the bill were lumped into "Pelosi Payoff" according to the tweet.
Did you not pick that up or do you think the stimulus checks are part of the "Pelosi Payoff"?
And again, what exactly is the number of people getting a stimulus check that have not been impacted financially?
I heard them moving the goalposts on MSBNC today, saying people needed checks because they have all been effected...can't go out to eat, can;t do a lot of stuff they use to love...so obviously they need $ for that. C'mon. Vote grabbing headline bullshit.
That's a different argument than Roles was making. First he said that 91% isn't going to the American people. Then he posted a new bar for the 91%, because 9% is being used DIRECTLY for vaccination distribution. That ignores the unemployment, stimulus, child tax credits, school funding to make them Covid ready, etc. Considering the outrageous tax cuts that went to corporations in 2017, I'm not going to find religion on $1400 going to people that make less than $75k. When Bush sent rebate checks in 2001 and 2008, it was not "targeted" towards people who were unemployed. There wasn't even an income cap. Trump's had a cap, but not 'targeted'. The whole theory is that the money will be injected into the economy and create activity.
You are right it wasn;t his argument. But the whole theory is to buy votes.
Vs any other popular public policy? Like I said, this is hardly the time to find debt religion, after the outrageous tax cuts.
You can look at what is going on at the border many different ways. Regardless of who you want to blame it on something needs to change. Anyone who had an issue with how the former administration handled things should still be just as concerned. Unless I missed something, I have not heard of any new 5 star facilities opening to address this problem. With the influx of immigrants headed our way due to changes in policy, I sure hope the current administration is prepared. Only time will tell.
A prison is a prison. That’s true whether it’s called a “family
residential facility,” or a “rapid-processing center.” These facilities
must be torn down, not renamed.
Of course it needs to be reformed, but Biden cannot do that in 50 days after the previous admin spent four years intentionally being inhumane with its separation policy.
As I said, time will tell. This is not the time to turn the other cheek to the conditions these children are facing though. I seem to remember that being every bit as focused on as the separation was. I cannot imagine more people being held equating to a better experience and this administration will likely be facing numbers the previous did not.
Just trying to get the thought here since it's a more liberal bent (to put it mildly) - is anyone concerned with Joe Biden's mental acuity and clear decline? Or is that just a fictional creation from the right?
Please enlighten us on your diagnosis of the president with facts/links would help your cause! Will be here waiting
25 minutes and he never said “the best, most beautiful, incredible, the likes that have never been accomplished by anyone anywhere ever,” once. Yea, President Biden has totally lost his mental acuity. He really should retire.
President Biden’s task Thursday night was daunting as he marked the first anniversary of the week when the coronavirus
forced America to shut down. He needed to acknowledge the loss of more
than 529,000 lives to the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying
economic suffering, while offering a sense of optimism that the future
can and will be brighter.
The
first 50 days of Biden’s presidency have offered examples of his
leadership style — and how it differs so dramatically from that of
former president Donald Trump. Thursday’s speech from the White House
provided another revealing glimpse. Instead of a president saying, “I
alone can fix it,” Biden said he can only succeed with the help of
others.
Leaning
against the lectern and looking directly into the camera, he said, “I
will not relent until we beat this virus. But I need you, the American
people. I need you. I need every American to do their part.” That
contrast in leadership styles underscored what the transition from the
45th president to the 46th has meant.
Midway
through his first 100 days in office, Biden might have been tempted to
use his first nationally televised speech merely to take a modest
victory lap over the passage of the nearly $2 trillion coronavirus
relief package that he signed into law earlier on Thursday. That will
come soon enough. Instead, mixing empathy with hard realities, he
provided a blueprint for returning the country to some sense of normalcy
by summer, while appealing to all Americans to help him make it happen.
Biden
made many promises during his campaign for the White House, but none
more important than to lead a national effort to defeat the scourge of
the coronavirus pandemic, and that has been almost a singular focus. In
the months ahead, he will face difficult battles to
fulfill pledges on climate change, immigration, infrastructure, racial
justice and voting rights. Even now, he is struggling with a growing
crisis of unaccompanied minors on the southern border that threatens to
get worse.
But
the success of his presidency will rest in large part on winning this
first big battle against the virus. The reality he outlined underscored
that America is still far from victory. The country remains in a race,
pitting the goal of vaccinating most adults as quickly as possible
against the threat of virus variants that are spreading rapidly and that
potentially require a new round of shutdowns and economic dislocations.
That
may be why the president emphasized what remains to be done as much as
what already has been done. To a nation exhausted from a year in
shutdown, Biden offered hope. He set a goal of having families and
friends able to gather together to celebrate the Fourth of July, and he
ordered states to make all adults eligible for the vaccine by May 1,
earlier than previously expected.
But
with hope came words of caution. He warned against backsliding in
behaviors that could allow new variants of the virus to spread and set
back the timetable for a return to normal. That means continuing to wear
masks and practice social distancing, and getting vaccinated as soon as
possible once eligible.
Things today are better than when Biden took office, but he and his team have not done this alone.
Development of the vaccines began during Trump’s administration, and
the rollout, halting as it was, started before Biden was sworn in.
Still, in the first months of the new administration, two things have
happened.
First,
availability of vaccine supply has increased, and so too has the pace
of shots administered, dramatically so. Second, Biden won a major
victory with the passage of the American Rescue Plan over united
Republican opposition. He signed it into law hours before his speech,
and he and Vice President Harris will mark that win on Friday with a
ceremony at the White House before traveling around the country to sell
the plan.
Faced
with a choice of trying to win even minimal support from Republican
lawmakers or plowing forward as quickly as possible without them, Biden
never hesitated to push ahead. He was criticized for seeming to abandon
his calls for unity on Inauguration Day, but lessons learned from his
days as vice president shaped the thinking of his team: Go as big as
possible as quickly as possible with legislation, and don’t hold out
hope for long for getting help from Republicans.
Amid
outside predictions that the size of the final package would have to
shrink by as much as a few hundred billion dollars, Biden held firm,
agreeing to just enough tweaks to win the support of Sen. Joe Manchin
III (D-W.Va.). That and a ruling from the Senate parliamentarian that
stripped out the proposal that would have gradually raised the federal
minimum wage to $15 an hour provided the formula to assure passage.
Now,
administration officials say, they are applying another lesson from the
Obama years, which is not to take for granted that they will receive
the political credit they believe they deserve for the benefits in the
new legislation. In selling the plan over the coming weeks, in trying to
alert Americans to the benefits that are included in the pathbreaking
package, Biden and Harris will try to blunt Republican criticism and
hold public opinion on their side.
On
this task, Biden starts in a good place. The measure enjoys popular
support in the polls, including among a significant percentage of
Republicans. A Pew Research Center study released this week found that
70 percent of Americans say they favor the legislation, including
41 percent of Republicans. A majority say the Biden administration made a
good-faith effort to seek bipartisan compromise, while a majority say
Republicans did not.
Those
are helpful numbers as Biden starts the next phase in the fight against
the virus. But there is no guarantee that they will hold. Having
succeeded in getting his legislation approved, Biden must do what he can
to get buy-in from Americans to heed the advice of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and infectious-disease expert Anthony S.
Fauci. Already, some states are moving far faster than those guidelines
would suggest in opening their economies and, in some cases, eliminating
mask mandates.
The
100-day mark of any presidency is an artificial milestone, as the work
of an administration cannot truly be measured in such a short period.
Half that number of days is even more artificial. But few presidents
have confronted the severity of the problems that greeted Biden when he
took the oath of office, which is why there is as much focus on the
progress or lack thereof of this president.
He
has brought a new tone to the White House but knows that tone by itself
is not how he will be judged. In another 50 days, or perhaps another 50
after that, Americans will know whether he, with their help, has begun
to meet the biggest test of his young presidency.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
There’s a lot of bullshit in that political stunt Biden is calling a covid stimulus package. Including send checks to a large number of people who have lost no wages over the last year
Yeah, I’m just saying that while it is what it is, and of course the winner gets to make the rules, we all should be scratching our heads at the insane spending our govt is doing. We only needed to get checks into peoples hands who desperately need it, nothing else. We have an unsustainable 28Trillion and growing! Our kids and their kids are in for a really bad time.
The national debt has increased by almost 36% since Trump took office
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Republican candidate Donald Trump promised he would eliminate the nation’s debt in eight years.1 Instead, his budget estimates showed that he would actually add at least $8.3 trillion, increasing the U.S. debt to $28.5 trillion by 2025.2 However, the national debt may reach that figure much sooner. When President Trump took office in January 2017, the national debt stood at $19.9 trillion. In October 2020, the national debt reached a new high of $27 trillion.
That's an increase of almost 36% in less than four years.3
The total amount that President Trump contributes to the national debt will probably be higher once the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is realized.
Key Takeaways
During his campaign in 2016, President Trump promised to eliminate the national debt in eight years.
Instead, it is projected that he will add at least $8.3 trillion.
As of October 2020, the national debt reached a new high of $27 trillion, an increase of almost 36% since President Trump took office in 2017.
The national debt and the amount President Trump contributes to it may be higher once the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is realized.
How Has the National Debt Increased Since Trump Took Office?
At first, it seemed Trump was lowering the debt. It fell $102 billion in the first six months after Trump took office. On January 20, the day Trump was inaugurated, the debt was $19.9 trillion. On July 30, it was $19.8 trillion. But it was not because of anything he did. Instead, it was because of the federal debt ceiling.
On Sept. 8, 2017, Trump signed a bill increasing the debt ceiling.4 Later that day, the debt exceeded $20 trillion for the first time in U.S. history. On Feb. 9, 2018, Trump signed a bill suspending the debt ceiling until March 1, 2019.5 By February 2019, the total national debt was at $22 trillion. In July 2019, Trump suspended the debt ceiling until after the 2020 presidential election.6 On Oct. 1, 2020, the debt hit a new record of $27 trillion.3
Trump has overseen the fastest increase in the debt of any president—almost 36% from 2017 to 2020. Trump has not fulfilled his campaign promise to cut the debt. Instead, he's done the opposite.
Will President Trump Reduce the National Debt?
Trump promised two strategies to reduce U.S. debt before taking office:
Increase growth by 4% to 6%
Eliminate wasteful federal spending
Increase Growth
While on the campaign trail, Trump promised to grow the economy by 4% to 6% annually to increase tax revenues.78
Once in office, Trump lowered his growth estimates to between 2% and 3%.9 These more realistic projections are within the 2% to 3% healthy growth rate.10 When growth is more than that, it creates inflation. Too much money chases too few good business projects. Irrational exuberance grips investors and they could create a boom-bust cycle that ends in a recession.
President Trump had also promised to achieve between 2% and 4% growth with tax cuts. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% beginning in 2018.11 The top individual income tax rate dropped to 37%. It doubled the standard deduction and eliminated personal exemptions. The corporate cuts are permanent, while the individual changes expire at the end of 2025.12
Trump's tax cuts won't stimulate the economy enough to make up for lost tax revenue. According to the Laffer curve, tax cuts only do that when the rates were above 50%. It worked during the Reagan administration because the highest tax rate was 70%.13
Eliminate Wasteful Federal Spending
Trump’s second strategy was to eliminate waste and redundancy in federal spending.14 He demonstrated this cost-consciousness during his campaign, such as when he used his Twitter account and rallies instead of expensive television ads.
Trump was right that there is waste in federal spending. The problem isn't finding it—both Presidents Bush and Obama did that. The problem is in cutting it.15 Each program has a constituency that lobbies Congress. Eliminating these benefits may lose voters and contributors. Congressional representatives may agree to cut spending in someone else’s district, but resist doing so in their own.
Any president must cut into the biggest programs to make a real impact on the national debt.
More than two-thirds of government spending goes to mandatory obligations made by previous Acts of Congress. For FY 2021, Social Security benefits cost $1.2 trillion, Medicare cost $722 billion, and Medicaid cost $448 billion. The interest on the debt is $378 billion.
To lower the debt, military spending must also be cut because it's such a large portion of the budget. Instead, Trump increased military spending in FY 2021 to $933 billion. That includes three components:
$636 billion base budget for the Department of Defense
$69 billion in overseas contingency operations for DoD to fight the Islamic State group
$229 billion to fund the other agencies that protect our nation, including the Department of Veterans Affairs ($105 billion), Homeland Security ($50 billion), the State Department ($44 billion), the National Nuclear Security Administration in the Department of Energy ($20 billion), and the FBI and Cybersecurity the Department of Justice ($10 billion)16
What's left of the $4.8 trillion budgeted for FY 2021 after mandatory and military spending? Only $595 billion to pay for everything else. That includes agencies that process Social Security and other benefits. It also includes the necessary functions performed by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service. You'd have to eliminate it all to make a dent in the $966 billion deficit.17
You can't reduce the deficit or debt without major cuts to defense and mandated benefits programs. Cutting waste isn't enough.
Does Trump’s Business Debt Affect His Approach to U.S. Debt?
During the 2016 campaign, Trump said in an interview with CNBC that he would "borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal.”18 However, sovereign debt is different from personal debt. They can't be handled the same way.
A 2016 Fortune magazine analysis revealed Trump's business was $1.11 billion in debt.19 That includes $846 million owed on five properties. These include Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, and 1290 Avenue of the Americas in New York. It also includes the Trump Hotel in Washington D.C. and 555 California Street in San Francisco. But the income generated by these properties easily pays their annual interest payment. In the business world, Trump's debt is reasonable.
The current U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is 136%. That's the $26.5 trillion U.S. debt as of June 2020, divided by the $19.5 trillion nominal GDP at the end of the second quarter this year.203
The World Bank compares countries based on their total debt-to-gross domestic product ratio. It considers a country to be in trouble if that ratio is greater than 77%.21
So far, the high U.S. debt-to-ratio hasn't discouraged investors. America is one of the safest economies in the world and its currency is the world's reserve currency. Even during a U.S. economic crisis, investors purchase U.S. Treasurys in a flight to safety. That's one reason why interest rates plunged to historical lows in March 2020 after the coronavirus outbreak.22 Those falling interest rates meant America's debt could increase, but interest payments remain stable.
The U.S. also has a massive fixed pension expense and health insurance costs. A business can renege on these benefits, ask for bankruptcy, and weather the resulting lawsuits. A president and Congress can't cut back those costs without losing their jobs at the next election. As such, Trump's experience in handling business debt does not transfer to managing the U.S. debt.
How the National Debt Affects You
The national debt doesn't affect you directly until it reaches the tipping point. Once the debt-to-GDP ratio exceeds 77% for an extended period of time, it slows economic growth. Every percentage point of debt above this level costs the country 0.017 percentage points in economic growth, according to a World Bank analysis.21
The first sign of trouble is when interest rates start to rise significantly. Investors need a higher return to offset the greater perceived risk. They start to doubt that the debt can be paid off.
The second sign is that the U.S. dollar loses value. You will notice that as inflation rises, imported goods will cost more. Gas and grocery prices will rise. Travel to other countries will also become much more expensive.
As interest rates and inflation rise, the cost of providing benefits and paying the interest on the debt will skyrocket. That leaves less money for other services. At that point, the government will be forced to cut services or raise taxes. That will further slow economic growth. At that point, continued deficit spending will no longer work.
There’s a lot of bullshit in that political stunt Biden is calling a covid stimulus package. Including send checks to a large number of people who have lost no wages over the last year
Yeah, I’m just saying that while it is what it is, and of course the winner gets to make the rules, we all should be scratching our heads at the insane spending our govt is doing. We only needed to get checks into peoples hands who desperately need it, nothing else. We have an unsustainable 28Trillion and growing! Our kids and their kids are in for a really bad time.
It’s ok!! The savings for the zillionaires that benefit from the proposed estate tax repeal will offset the cost. Hilarious that that’s their response to helping practically every American in some for or another.
Post edited by DewieCox on
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,341
Long story short: Big swings in presidential approval are probably a thing of the past. But small shifts in a president’s approval rating can still indicate meaningful changes in opinion that may foreshadow future electoral outcomes.3 For instance, the fact that Trump’s approval rating was stuck in the lows 40s for almost his entire presidency suggested real electoral vulnerability. And it was a big reason why Democrats flipped the House in the 2018 midterms and Trump didn’t win reelection in 2020. Had Trump managed to get his approval north of 45 percent by Election Day 2020, he very well may have won, considering the narrow margins in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin and Republicans’ advantage in the Electoral College. We shouldn’t read too much into Biden’s approval rating at this point, but the fact that he is starting out in a stronger position than Trump, with an approval rating in the low 50s, is a good sign for him. If he can maintain an approval rating in that vicinity — or marginally raise it by a couple of points — that could help Democrats limit the typical midterm losses for the president’s party in 2022 and help Biden win reelection in 2024.
Anyone see him speak and wonder if he is ok? I swear he lost a step this last year.
We have age limits on pilots. Anyone think we should have one on a president?
Seems the same as he's been the last few years. Clearly has lost a step but no, I haven't noticed anything different in the last year. The stutter is more pronounced. Results thus far have been pretty good and that is all that matters. I think Trump's decline was more pronounced.
I do think age limits are something to consider, though. Not just for presidents but for all members of government. Have you seen the things Chuck Grassley has said or tweeted recently? Dude is pushing 90. Term limits are badly needed.
Anyone see him speak and wonder if he is ok? I swear he lost a step this last year.
We have age limits on pilots. Anyone think we should have one on a president?
Seems the same as he's been the last few years. Clearly has lost a step but no, I haven't noticed anything different in the last year. The stutter is more pronounced. Results thus far have been pretty good and that is all that matters. I think Trump's decline was more pronounced.
I do think age limits are something to consider, though. Not just for presidents but for all members of government. Have you seen the things Chuck Grassley has said or tweeted recently? Dude is pushing 90. Term limits are badly needed.
When he started running he had fire in him. I don't see it as much now. I do see him focusing on his speech more and that might have something to do w the stutter?
And age should be something to bring up. Why our country celebrates old white men as leaders baffles me.
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,341
Anyone see him speak and wonder if he is ok? I swear he lost a step this last year.
We have age limits on pilots. Anyone think we should have one on a president?
Seems the same as he's been the last few years. Clearly has lost a step but no, I haven't noticed anything different in the last year. The stutter is more pronounced. Results thus far have been pretty good and that is all that matters. I think Trump's decline was more pronounced.
I do think age limits are something to consider, though. Not just for presidents but for all members of government. Have you seen the things Chuck Grassley has said or tweeted recently? Dude is pushing 90. Term limits are badly needed.
When he started running he had fire in him. I don't see it as much now. I do see him focusing on his speech more and that might have something to do w the stutter?
And age should be something to bring up. Why our country celebrates old white men as leaders baffles me.
I think "fire" is for the campaign trail. He now has a difficult job and is managing a pandemic that has killed a half million people. That is sobering for normal, functioning human beings. I think, after the last four years, it might be difficult to remember a president who feels and shows empathy.
Anyone see him speak and wonder if he is ok? I swear he lost a step this last year.
We have age limits on pilots. Anyone think we should have one on a president?
Seems the same as he's been the last few years. Clearly has lost a step but no, I haven't noticed anything different in the last year. The stutter is more pronounced. Results thus far have been pretty good and that is all that matters. I think Trump's decline was more pronounced.
I do think age limits are something to consider, though. Not just for presidents but for all members of government. Have you seen the things Chuck Grassley has said or tweeted recently? Dude is pushing 90. Term limits are badly needed.
When he started running he had fire in him. I don't see it as much now. I do see him focusing on his speech more and that might have something to do w the stutter?
And age should be something to bring up. Why our country celebrates old white men as leaders baffles me.
I think "fire" is for the campaign trail. He now has a difficult job and is managing a pandemic that has killed a half million people. That is sobering for normal, functioning human beings. I think, after the last four years, it might be difficult to remember a president who feels and shows empathy.
And focuses on the job, rather than constantly campaigning and unloading on his grievances.
I read a decent thread the other day about why it's good that Biden hasn't been speaking much.
One of the noted points was how polarized our country is right now, and how polarizing a figure he himself is at this moment. The fact that he isn't in front of the cameras giving sound bites on a regular basis isn't a bad thing.
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,341
I read a decent thread the other day about why it's good that Biden hasn't been speaking much.
One of the noted points was how polarized our country is right now, and how polarizing a figure he himself is at this moment. The fact that he isn't in front of the cameras giving sound bites on a regular basis isn't a bad thing.
I LOVE the fact that he is relatively boring and not in our faces every hour of every day. Such a refreshing change of pace.
I read a decent thread the other day about why it's good that Biden hasn't been speaking much.
One of the noted points was how polarized our country is right now, and how polarizing a figure he himself is at this moment. The fact that he isn't in front of the cameras giving sound bites on a regular basis isn't a bad thing.
I LOVE the fact that he is relatively boring and not in our faces every hour of every day. Such a refreshing change of pace.
That's part of it too.
People aren't hearing from the guy 24/7 so they think there's something wrong.
I read a decent thread the other day about why it's good that Biden hasn't been speaking much.
One of the noted points was how polarized our country is right now, and how polarizing a figure he himself is at this moment. The fact that he isn't in front of the cameras giving sound bites on a regular basis isn't a bad thing.
That is a very valid point. Trump never saw a camera that he didn't like.
Comments
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
LMAO
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Hope he’s ok.
Biden in TV speech tells Americans, only we together can defeat the virus
President Biden’s task Thursday night was daunting as he marked the first anniversary of the week when the coronavirus forced America to shut down. He needed to acknowledge the loss of more than 529,000 lives to the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic suffering, while offering a sense of optimism that the future can and will be brighter.
The first 50 days of Biden’s presidency have offered examples of his leadership style — and how it differs so dramatically from that of former president Donald Trump. Thursday’s speech from the White House provided another revealing glimpse. Instead of a president saying, “I alone can fix it,” Biden said he can only succeed with the help of others.
Leaning against the lectern and looking directly into the camera, he said, “I will not relent until we beat this virus. But I need you, the American people. I need you. I need every American to do their part.” That contrast in leadership styles underscored what the transition from the 45th president to the 46th has meant.
Midway through his first 100 days in office, Biden might have been tempted to use his first nationally televised speech merely to take a modest victory lap over the passage of the nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package that he signed into law earlier on Thursday. That will come soon enough. Instead, mixing empathy with hard realities, he provided a blueprint for returning the country to some sense of normalcy by summer, while appealing to all Americans to help him make it happen.
Biden made many promises during his campaign for the White House, but none more important than to lead a national effort to defeat the scourge of the coronavirus pandemic, and that has been almost a singular focus. In the months ahead, he will face difficult battles to fulfill pledges on climate change, immigration, infrastructure, racial justice and voting rights. Even now, he is struggling with a growing crisis of unaccompanied minors on the southern border that threatens to get worse.
But the success of his presidency will rest in large part on winning this first big battle against the virus. The reality he outlined underscored that America is still far from victory. The country remains in a race, pitting the goal of vaccinating most adults as quickly as possible against the threat of virus variants that are spreading rapidly and that potentially require a new round of shutdowns and economic dislocations.
Three takeaways from President Biden’s speech
That may be why the president emphasized what remains to be done as much as what already has been done. To a nation exhausted from a year in shutdown, Biden offered hope. He set a goal of having families and friends able to gather together to celebrate the Fourth of July, and he ordered states to make all adults eligible for the vaccine by May 1, earlier than previously expected.
But with hope came words of caution. He warned against backsliding in behaviors that could allow new variants of the virus to spread and set back the timetable for a return to normal. That means continuing to wear masks and practice social distancing, and getting vaccinated as soon as possible once eligible.
Things today are better than when Biden took office, but he and his team have not done this alone. Development of the vaccines began during Trump’s administration, and the rollout, halting as it was, started before Biden was sworn in. Still, in the first months of the new administration, two things have happened.
First, availability of vaccine supply has increased, and so too has the pace of shots administered, dramatically so. Second, Biden won a major victory with the passage of the American Rescue Plan over united Republican opposition. He signed it into law hours before his speech, and he and Vice President Harris will mark that win on Friday with a ceremony at the White House before traveling around the country to sell the plan.
Faced with a choice of trying to win even minimal support from Republican lawmakers or plowing forward as quickly as possible without them, Biden never hesitated to push ahead. He was criticized for seeming to abandon his calls for unity on Inauguration Day, but lessons learned from his days as vice president shaped the thinking of his team: Go as big as possible as quickly as possible with legislation, and don’t hold out hope for long for getting help from Republicans.
Amid outside predictions that the size of the final package would have to shrink by as much as a few hundred billion dollars, Biden held firm, agreeing to just enough tweaks to win the support of Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.). That and a ruling from the Senate parliamentarian that stripped out the proposal that would have gradually raised the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour provided the formula to assure passage.
Now, administration officials say, they are applying another lesson from the Obama years, which is not to take for granted that they will receive the political credit they believe they deserve for the benefits in the new legislation. In selling the plan over the coming weeks, in trying to alert Americans to the benefits that are included in the pathbreaking package, Biden and Harris will try to blunt Republican criticism and hold public opinion on their side.
On this task, Biden starts in a good place. The measure enjoys popular support in the polls, including among a significant percentage of Republicans. A Pew Research Center study released this week found that 70 percent of Americans say they favor the legislation, including 41 percent of Republicans. A majority say the Biden administration made a good-faith effort to seek bipartisan compromise, while a majority say Republicans did not.
Those are helpful numbers as Biden starts the next phase in the fight against the virus. But there is no guarantee that they will hold. Having succeeded in getting his legislation approved, Biden must do what he can to get buy-in from Americans to heed the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and infectious-disease expert Anthony S. Fauci. Already, some states are moving far faster than those guidelines would suggest in opening their economies and, in some cases, eliminating mask mandates.
The 100-day mark of any presidency is an artificial milestone, as the work of an administration cannot truly be measured in such a short period. Half that number of days is even more artificial. But few presidents have confronted the severity of the problems that greeted Biden when he took the oath of office, which is why there is as much focus on the progress or lack thereof of this president.
He has brought a new tone to the White House but knows that tone by itself is not how he will be judged. In another 50 days, or perhaps another 50 after that, Americans will know whether he, with their help, has begun to meet the biggest test of his young presidency.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Here is your friendly reminder that you are not the fiscal conservative you pretend to be:
-https://www.thebalance.com/trump-plans-to-reduce-national-debt-4114401
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President Trump's Impact on the National Debt
The national debt has increased by almost 36% since Trump took office
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Republican candidate Donald Trump promised he would eliminate the nation’s debt in eight years.1 Instead, his budget estimates showed that he would actually add at least $8.3 trillion, increasing the U.S. debt to $28.5 trillion by 2025.2 However, the national debt may reach that figure much sooner. When President Trump took office in January 2017, the national debt stood at $19.9 trillion. In October 2020, the national debt reached a new high of $27 trillion.
The total amount that President Trump contributes to the national debt will probably be higher once the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is realized.
Key Takeaways
How Has the National Debt Increased Since Trump Took Office?
At first, it seemed Trump was lowering the debt. It fell $102 billion in the first six months after Trump took office. On January 20, the day Trump was inaugurated, the debt was $19.9 trillion. On July 30, it was $19.8 trillion. But it was not because of anything he did. Instead, it was because of the federal debt ceiling.
On Sept. 8, 2017, Trump signed a bill increasing the debt ceiling.4 Later that day, the debt exceeded $20 trillion for the first time in U.S. history. On Feb. 9, 2018, Trump signed a bill suspending the debt ceiling until March 1, 2019.5 By February 2019, the total national debt was at $22 trillion. In July 2019, Trump suspended the debt ceiling until after the 2020 presidential election.6 On Oct. 1, 2020, the debt hit a new record of $27 trillion.3
Trump has overseen the fastest increase in the debt of any president—almost 36% from 2017 to 2020. Trump has not fulfilled his campaign promise to cut the debt. Instead, he's done the opposite.
Will President Trump Reduce the National Debt?
Trump promised two strategies to reduce U.S. debt before taking office:
Increase Growth
While on the campaign trail, Trump promised to grow the economy by 4% to 6% annually to increase tax revenues.78
Once in office, Trump lowered his growth estimates to between 2% and 3%.9 These more realistic projections are within the 2% to 3% healthy growth rate.10 When growth is more than that, it creates inflation. Too much money chases too few good business projects. Irrational exuberance grips investors and they could create a boom-bust cycle that ends in a recession.
President Trump had also promised to achieve between 2% and 4% growth with tax cuts. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% beginning in 2018.11 The top individual income tax rate dropped to 37%. It doubled the standard deduction and eliminated personal exemptions. The corporate cuts are permanent, while the individual changes expire at the end of 2025.12
Trump's tax cuts won't stimulate the economy enough to make up for lost tax revenue. According to the Laffer curve, tax cuts only do that when the rates were above 50%. It worked during the Reagan administration because the highest tax rate was 70%.13
Eliminate Wasteful Federal Spending
Trump’s second strategy was to eliminate waste and redundancy in federal spending.14 He demonstrated this cost-consciousness during his campaign, such as when he used his Twitter account and rallies instead of expensive television ads.
Trump was right that there is waste in federal spending. The problem isn't finding it—both Presidents Bush and Obama did that. The problem is in cutting it.15 Each program has a constituency that lobbies Congress. Eliminating these benefits may lose voters and contributors. Congressional representatives may agree to cut spending in someone else’s district, but resist doing so in their own.
Any president must cut into the biggest programs to make a real impact on the national debt.
More than two-thirds of government spending goes to mandatory obligations made by previous Acts of Congress. For FY 2021, Social Security benefits cost $1.2 trillion, Medicare cost $722 billion, and Medicaid cost $448 billion. The interest on the debt is $378 billion.
To lower the debt, military spending must also be cut because it's such a large portion of the budget. Instead, Trump increased military spending in FY 2021 to $933 billion. That includes three components:
What's left of the $4.8 trillion budgeted for FY 2021 after mandatory and military spending? Only $595 billion to pay for everything else. That includes agencies that process Social Security and other benefits. It also includes the necessary functions performed by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service. You'd have to eliminate it all to make a dent in the $966 billion deficit.17
You can't reduce the deficit or debt without major cuts to defense and mandated benefits programs. Cutting waste isn't enough.
Does Trump’s Business Debt Affect His Approach to U.S. Debt?
During the 2016 campaign, Trump said in an interview with CNBC that he would "borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal.”18 However, sovereign debt is different from personal debt. They can't be handled the same way.
A 2016 Fortune magazine analysis revealed Trump's business was $1.11 billion in debt.19 That includes $846 million owed on five properties. These include Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, and 1290 Avenue of the Americas in New York. It also includes the Trump Hotel in Washington D.C. and 555 California Street in San Francisco. But the income generated by these properties easily pays their annual interest payment. In the business world, Trump's debt is reasonable.
The current U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is 136%. That's the $26.5 trillion U.S. debt as of June 2020, divided by the $19.5 trillion nominal GDP at the end of the second quarter this year.203
The World Bank compares countries based on their total debt-to-gross domestic product ratio. It considers a country to be in trouble if that ratio is greater than 77%.21
So far, the high U.S. debt-to-ratio hasn't discouraged investors. America is one of the safest economies in the world and its currency is the world's reserve currency. Even during a U.S. economic crisis, investors purchase U.S. Treasurys in a flight to safety. That's one reason why interest rates plunged to historical lows in March 2020 after the coronavirus outbreak.22 Those falling interest rates meant America's debt could increase, but interest payments remain stable.
The U.S. also has a massive fixed pension expense and health insurance costs. A business can renege on these benefits, ask for bankruptcy, and weather the resulting lawsuits. A president and Congress can't cut back those costs without losing their jobs at the next election. As such, Trump's experience in handling business debt does not transfer to managing the U.S. debt.
How the National Debt Affects You
The national debt doesn't affect you directly until it reaches the tipping point. Once the debt-to-GDP ratio exceeds 77% for an extended period of time, it slows economic growth. Every percentage point of debt above this level costs the country 0.017 percentage points in economic growth, according to a World Bank analysis.21
The first sign of trouble is when interest rates start to rise significantly. Investors need a higher return to offset the greater perceived risk. They start to doubt that the debt can be paid off.
The second sign is that the U.S. dollar loses value. You will notice that as inflation rises, imported goods will cost more. Gas and grocery prices will rise. Travel to other countries will also become much more expensive.
As interest rates and inflation rise, the cost of providing benefits and paying the interest on the debt will skyrocket. That leaves less money for other services. At that point, the government will be forced to cut services or raise taxes. That will further slow economic growth. At that point, continued deficit spending will no longer work.
This is beyond parody.
Why You Should Still Pay Attention To Joe Biden’s Approval Rating
By Geoffrey Skelley
Filed under Approval Ratings
Long story short: Big swings in presidential approval are probably a thing of the past. But small shifts in a president’s approval rating can still indicate meaningful changes in opinion that may foreshadow future electoral outcomes.3 For instance, the fact that Trump’s approval rating was stuck in the lows 40s for almost his entire presidency suggested real electoral vulnerability. And it was a big reason why Democrats flipped the House in the 2018 midterms and Trump didn’t win reelection in 2020. Had Trump managed to get his approval north of 45 percent by Election Day 2020, he very well may have won, considering the narrow margins in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin and Republicans’ advantage in the Electoral College. We shouldn’t read too much into Biden’s approval rating at this point, but the fact that he is starting out in a stronger position than Trump, with an approval rating in the low 50s, is a good sign for him. If he can maintain an approval rating in that vicinity — or marginally raise it by a couple of points — that could help Democrats limit the typical midterm losses for the president’s party in 2022 and help Biden win reelection in 2024.
We have age limits on pilots. Anyone think we should have one on a president?
The concern for his health is noted.
I do think age limits are something to consider, though. Not just for presidents but for all members of government. Have you seen the things Chuck Grassley has said or tweeted recently? Dude is pushing 90. Term limits are badly needed.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
And age should be something to bring up. Why our country celebrates old white men as leaders baffles me.
One of the noted points was how polarized our country is right now, and how polarizing a figure he himself is at this moment. The fact that he isn't in front of the cameras giving sound bites on a regular basis isn't a bad thing.
People aren't hearing from the guy 24/7 so they think there's something wrong.
there's a minimum age.
www.headstonesband.com