by Mark Silva
On the heels of the best employment report of the year -- albeit one with continuing job losses -- President Barack Obama says additional steps will be needed to help a reviving economy produce more new jobs in the year ahead and insists that overhauling the nation's health-care system is key to long-term economic vitality.
With the Senate engaged in debate over the Democratic leadership's plans for health care, Carly Fiorina, a former CEO of Hewlett Packard and a Republican candidate for the Senate in California, tells a different health-care story today: Her own battle with breast cancer, and her fear that a recent, widely condemned recommendation of a government panel on breast-cancer screening is cause for deep concern about what Congress is trying to do about health care.
With relatively few jobs lost in November, and the unemployment rate easing from 10.2 to 10 percent, more than 15 milllion Americans remain out of work -- not counting the ones that have quit looking. Obama, in his weekly radio address, credits the $787-billion stimulus act adopted in February for some of the recovery, and says that he will be announcing additional initiatives next week.
"Because of the Recovery Act and a number of other steps we've taken, we're no longer facing the potential collapse of our financial system or a second Great Depression,'' the president says. "We're no longer losing jobs at a rate of 700,000 a month. And our economy's growing for the first time in a year...
"In the coming days, I'll be unveiling additional ideas aimed at accelerating job growth and hiring as we emerge from this economic storm,'' he says.
He maintains also that his initatives for health-care and education reform and development of alternative energy remain an essential part of a long-lasting recovery.
"So that we don't face another crisis like this again, I'm determined to meet our responsibility to do what we know will strengthen our economy in the long-run,'' the president says. "That's why I'm not going to let up in my efforts to reform our health care system; to give our children the best education in the world; to promote the jobs of tomorrow and energy independence by investing in a clean energy economy; and to deal with the mounting federal debt.''
In the Republican Party's weekly address, Fiorina argues that the Senate's legislation only hands more authority to a government-run panel that produced a widely panned recommendation to limit the frequency of mammograms for women.
"We wonder if we are heading down a path where the federal government will at first suggest and then mandate new standards for prevention and treatment,'' Fiorina says. "Do we really want government bureaucrats rather than doctors dictating how we prevent and treat something like breast cancer?
"This is just one in many examples of serious problems with this healthcare reform legislation,'' the Repubican says. "Rather than remaking the entire national healthcare system at the cost of higher taxes and exploding deficits, we should build on what works, such as expanding access to integrated care and to community clinics that will give those most in need appropriate care at a reasonable price.''
See the president's address above, the GOP address below and read the texts of both below the fold, here in the Swamp:
Here is the text of the president's address:
"Every month since January, when I became your President, I've spoken to you about the periodic reports of the Labor Department on the number of jobs created or lost during the previous month; numbers that tell a story about how America's economy is faring overall.
"In those first months, the numbers were nothing short of devastating. The worst recession since the 1930s had wreaked havoc on the lives of so many of our fellow Americans. Yesterday, the numbers released by the Labor Department reflected a continuing positive trend of diminishing job loss.
"But for those who were laid off last month and the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession, a good trend isn't good enough. Trends don't buy the groceries. Trends don't pay the rent or a college tuition. Trends don't fulfill the need within each of us to be productive, to provide for our families, to make the most of our lives, to reach for our dreams.
"So, it is true that we, as a country, are in a very different place than we were when 2009 began. Because of the Recovery Act and a number of other steps we've taken, we're no longer facing the potential collapse of our financial system or a second Great Depression. We're no longer losing jobs at a rate of 700,000 a month. And our economy's growing for the first time in a year.
"But too many of our neighbors are still out of work because the growth we've seen hasn't yet translated into all the jobs we need. Stung by this brutal recession, businesses that have kept their doors open are still wary about adding workers. Instead of hiring, many are simply asking their employees to work more hours, or they're adding temporary help.
"Hiistory tells us this is usually what happens with recessions - even as the economy grows, it takes time for jobs to follow. But the folks who have been looking for work without any luck for months and, in some cases, years, can't wait any longer. For them, I'm determined to do everything I can to accelerate our progress so we're actually adding jobs again.
"That's why, this week, I invited a group of business owners from across the country to the White House to talk about additional steps we can take to help jumpstart hiring. We brought together unions and universities to talk about what we can do to support our workers today and prepare our students to outcompete workers around the world tomorrow. We brought together mayors and community leaders to talk about how we can open up new opportunities in our cities and towns.
"On Friday, I spent the day in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and met with workers and small business owners there. I stopped by a steel company called Allentown Metal Works, and spoke at Lehigh Community College. I visited folks at a job placement center, and stopped by a shift change at Alpo. The stories and concerns I heard mirrored the countless letters I receive every single day. And they speak louder than any statistic or government report. The folks in Allentown - and in all the Allentowns across our country - are the most dedicated, productive workers in the world. All they're asking for is a chance, and a fair shake.
"And that's exactly what I'm working to give them. In the coming days, I'll be unveiling additional ideas aimed at accelerating job growth and hiring as we emerge from this economic storm.
"And so that we don't face another crisis like this again, I'm determined to meet our responsibility to do what we know will strengthen our economy in the long-run. That's why I'm not going to let up in my efforts to reform our health care system; to give our children the best education in the world; to promote the jobs of tomorrow and energy independence by investing in a clean energy economy; and to deal with the mounting federal debt.
"From the moment I was sworn into office, we have taken a number of difficult steps to end this economic crisis. We didn't take them because they were popular or gratifying. They weren't. We took these steps because they were necessary.
"But I didn't run for president to pass emergency recovery programs, or to bail out banks or to shore up auto companies. I didn't run for President simply to manage the crisis of the moment, while kicking our most pressing problems down the road. I ran for president to help hardworking families succeed and to stand up for the embattled middle class. I ran to fight for a country where responsibility is still rewarded, and hard-working people can get ahead. I ran to keep faith with the sacred American principle that we will deliver to our children a future of even greater possibility.
"And my commitment to you, the American people, is that I will focus every single day on how we can get people back to work, and how we can build an economy that continues to make real the promise of America for generations to come. "
Here is the text of Carly Fiorina's GOP address:
"Hello. This is Carly Fiorina. And today I'd like to speak to you as one of the more than two and a half million women in America who have been diagnosed with breast cancer -- and beaten it.
Like everyone else who's diagnosed with cancer, I never thought it would happen to me. I was fit, healthy, and active. I even got regular check-ups. But earlier this year, just two weeks after a clear mammogram, I discovered a lump through a self-exam.
Soon after that came the diagnosis, the surgery, the long and difficult treatment regimen, and the painful experience of wondering whether I would make it, whether I'd pull through.
I'm fortunate to live near one of the greatest cancer centers in the world. I'm fortunate to have the incredible love and support of family and friends.
And, my diagnosis gave me time to think about my future -- because one of the things that happens when you have to face your fears, including the fear of dying, is that you can face your future with renewed hope and enthusiasm.
My doctors tell me I have won my battle with cancer. And I realize that this makes me one of the lucky ones. Last year alone, more than 40,000 Americans died from breast cancer. Aside from lung cancer, breast cancer is the most fatal form of cancer for American women. Nearly 200,000 new cases were reported last year alone.
That's why a recent recommendation on mammograms by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government-run panel of health care professionals that makes recommendations on prevention, struck such a nerve.
The task force did not include an oncologist or a radiologist, in other words, cancer experts did not develop this recommendation. They said that most women under 50 don't need regular mammograms and that women over 50 should only get them every other year. And yet we all know that the chances of surviving cancer are greater the earlier it's detected. If I'd followed this new recommendation and waited another two years, I'm not sure I'd be alive today.
What's more this task force was explicitly asked to focus on costs, not just prevention. As it turned out, costs were a significant factor in this recommendation. Will a bureaucrat determine that my life isn't worth saving?
All this takes on even greater urgency in the midst of the ongoing health care debate in Washington. We wonder if we are heading down a path where the federal government will at first suggest and then mandate new standards for prevention and treatment. Do we really want government bureaucrats rather than doctors dictating how we prevent and treat something like breast cancer?
The response we've gotten to these questions has been less than encouraging. In the face of a national outcry over the recent task force recommendations, the Secretary of Health and Human Services said the Preventive Services Task Force doesn't set federal policy. The real question, though, is whether bodies like this would set policy under the $2.5 trillion, 2,074-page plan that's now making its way through Congress?
Unfortunately, the answer to that question isn't encouraging either. The health care bill now being debated in the Senate explicitly empowers this very task force to influence future coverage and preventive care. Section 4105, for example, authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to deny payment for prevention services the task force recommends against.
Another section requires every health plan in America to cover task force recommended preventive services. In fact, there are more than a dozen examples in the bill where this task force is empowered to influence care.
There is a reason American women with breast cancer have a higher survival rate than women in countries with government-run health care. Unlike those countries, our government doesn't dictate what prevention and treatments women can get.
While some defend the idea of a government task force, my experience with cancer tells me it's wrong. Cutting down on mammograms might save the government some money that it will then spend on something else. But it won't save lives. And isn't that what health care reform was supposed to be all about?
This is just one in many examples of serious problems with this healthcare reform legislation. Rather than remaking the entire national healthcare system at the cost of higher taxes and exploding deficits, we should build on what works, such as expanding access to integrated care and to community clinics that will give those most in need appropriate care at a reasonable price.
Congress should reform medical malpractice to match what we have in California where frivolous lawsuits are a thing of the past. We should permit consumers to purchase health insurance from any company in the country, expanding consumer choice and driving down cost and unnecessary mandates.
People want to know that their care will stay where it belongs: in the hands of doctors and patients. Unfortunately, the path Congress is on in this debate is not giving us the confidence that it will. Thank you.''
Comments
If BO is going to strengthen the economy by reforming health care, then he will be getting the gov't out of the process and look at the GOP's ideas.
If BO is going to give our children the best education in the world, then he will give control of the ducation process back to the parents and not the gov't run bureaucrats.
If BO is going to promote the jobs of tomorrow and energy independence by investing in a clean energy economy, then he will strengthen this nations use of natural gas.
If BO is going to deal with the mounting federal debt, then he is going to cut federal spending and abandon the left's dream of gov't run health care, another spendulus bill, and cap and tax.
Posted by: Terry | December 5, 2009 10:08 AM
What a difference a year makes in how the Swamp reports on the economy.
The latest, 10%, unemployment figures are trumpeted above as "the best employment report of the year."
Yet one year ago, the Swamp headlined a 6.5% unemployment rate as "gloomy." (11-7-08). A 7-7-08 Swamp article wrote up 5.5% unemployment as "bad news." A 7-31-08 Swamp article headlined a 1.9% growth figure as "weak."
According to the DNC Swamp, under a Republican president, 5.5% unemployment is "bad news", but under a Democrat president, 10% unemployment is good news.
Posted by: Bruce | December 5, 2009 11:04 AM
Barry is the best, just schedule a job summit and the employment numbers turn around overnight! He really is the answer. Now just send him your entire paycheck, he will know better how to spend it than you.
Posted by: TA | December 5, 2009 12:35 PM
Typical Swamp/PRAVDA nonsense. Does anyone actually believe what the President says anymore? You get the feeling that if his top concern was goldfish juggling, he'd be telling us that goldfish juggling was going to put people back to work.
Posted by: Longk9 | December 5, 2009 1:23 PM
Excellent! We are moving toward recovery. . .
Having said that, we still need to:
1. Reduce the oil price. Put a cap at $80.00 a barrel. No oil barrel to go higher so it doesn't kill the growing economy.
2. Forget natural gas. Last few years it spiked to $1.00 per 1000 therm through market manipulation. It is not resting around .3 to .4 per 100 therm. Why do we need energy that can be manipulated by the market? I rather we export natural gas and not use it to risk more manipulations. We should use wind and solar to power our homes. Green and free. Solar can heat homes just like natural gas. Most new homes in California uses solar to heat the rooms already.
3. Gasoline needs to stay below $2.00 per gallon. That is our tax cut right there! You would save $100.00 a month. That's more than any taxcut you will ever get!
4. Bullet trains and more afforadable public transportation so we don't overuse our roads. So, that we don't repair our roads every year. It's a waste of money.
5. Clunker program for hiring. If you hire a worker, you get $1,000.00.
6. 2010 should be good because the Census will be hiring lots of workers.
7. Of course all this will be to waste if there is no sustainability. Indications are that 2010 should be a great year for the economy! The bad news is that after the stimulus money runs out, what's next?
Lastly, don't worry about Terry and Bruce, they are still living in the past. . . but I do enjoy reading their views. It's comical. :-)
Posted by: HmongRodneyKing | December 5, 2009 2:49 PM
So when Obama said Unemployment would not go above 8%, and it did it was because of Bush. So now I'm suppose to believe Obama that times are getting better because Unemployment went from 10.2 to 10. Unemployment always drops in Nov and Dec because of big spending for gifts by the public. Let's see what Unemployment looks like in Feb. By the way those so called jobs came at a hugh cost in public debt.
Posted by: clarence | December 5, 2009 3:27 PM
What is troublesome is that this is a man who, in private life, never created even ONE job! Yet, he now presumes to tell the private business community how to create jobs in their businesses. It could almost be likened to a man who never served in the military but presumes to ignore his generals'
recommendations for victory and instead, substitute his own "strategy." Including a timetable for an organized retreat.
Posted by: Derrick | December 5, 2009 3:30 PM
Yesterday while bloviating on and on and on and on and on and on in Allentown, Obimbo said his administration had "saved or created 1.6 million jobs!" Wow, at one time it was 650,000 jobs. Then it became 1 million and now within a month it is 1.6 million jobs saved or created!
He really is the Messiah!!
Oh and Lefties, all during the Bush administration you kept telling us that all the jobs created under Bush were at Wal Mart and McDonalds. Please tell us where these jobs are being created. I'd love to find out!
Posted by: John D, still right, as usual | December 5, 2009 4:01 PM
Clarence Page must be writing the Swamp too!
Posted by: The Man | December 5, 2009 4:14 PM
In response to Carly Fiorina, maybe, we are risking our healthcare by passing it onto the public sector. Gardasil is a gem in marketing overdrive for young girls (now boys) that resulted in publicly mandated vaccines. "Gardasil has been the subject of controversy ever since it was approved in 2006. Recently, a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Gardasil has a higher incidence of blood clots reported." http://www.24-7-news.com/archives/4021 Alternatively, maybe, the wheels on the buss that went round and round (billions in, over-reliant on the more profit producing "prevention", and no cure in sight) are coming off. We certainly don't want to expose the current angelic practices of the private healthcare sector, it is a business after all: "People around the world are calling the Swine Flu Pandemic the most ambitious scam and corruption of our time." http://www.examiner.com/x-22920-Atlanta-Alternative-Spirituality-Examiner~y2009m12d1-WHO-advisors-paid-by-pharmaceutical-Companies It's noticeable that in the presence of vaccine shortages, the media criteria blasted on TV for getting the vaccine (or people at risk) was becoming broader and broader. Beginning with the young and the elderly, to the pregnant, then to the obese, and to fever-like symptoms not necessary to be infected with H1N1.
.
A more emotional, private/public/parent microcosmic look a the dialogue from the Doctor's Show on vaccines and autism. Complete with defensive status qua doctors and rouge rebels. Part One http://www.thedoctorstv.com/main/procedure_list/269 Part Two http://www.thedoctorstv.com/main/procedure_list/271
Posted by: Swineflugate | December 5, 2009 4:15 PM
The GOP throwing Fiorina in peoples' faces......... She's not an elected anything.......... She's a failed CEO--forced out of HP-- stocks fell 60% under her "leadership"-- she left with a package of about 20 million dollars........... Her illness shouldn't be politicized........ Fiorina's GOP address brings up many little things in attempts to instill fear in women .......... She seems to turn around the GOP's lack of health care concern onto the Dems...........She's not helpful to women here..........She seems not helpful to anyone............ Californians need to run away from her as fast as they can. Californians need leaders to help increase revenues--not decrease them by 60%.
Posted by: Vivian | December 5, 2009 5:05 PM
RodneyKing,
You have no clue on how the economy works. Cap the price of oil? Americans won't pay more than $80/barrel, then I guess they will sell it to the Chinese. Price controls won't work. Cap the price, lower the supply.
Ignore natural gas as an energy source? You start by running your house with a windmill and solar panels. The one upside is you won't have juice to run your computer, so we don't have to read your stupidity.
Gasoline under $2.00 - read above on price caps for a repeat lesson to cure you economic ignorance.
More money into transportation options the public doesn't want. Amtrak and the CTA have been resounding successes, haven't they?
$1,000 for hiring. Do you think a $1,000 credit is going to swing a hiring decision of a $30,000/yr employee?
The census will be hiring a lot of workers in 2010, and then laying them off (unless of course BO creates make-do jobs for them after the census).
Of course, your economic growth plan runs out of juice since the stimulus is gone. Wasn't that good of a stimulus program then was it?
Whatever money your mommy and daddy spent on your education, they should seek a REFUND immediately.
Posted by: Terry | December 5, 2009 5:44 PM
More nonsense from Obama. The constant lying. The childish whining. The disgraceful bowing. The staggering arrogance. The poisonous radicalism. The dangerous narcissism. The astounding incompetence. Obama wants to put as much of the private economy under government control as possible to create his nanny state utopia where he is the boy king. Let's continue to stand strong against Obama in every way and get Congress out of the hands of the insane Pelosi and Reid in 2010. Obama is a smug, smirking con man. Nothing more.
Posted by: Jackson | December 5, 2009 5:46 PM
Oh, here is a little tidbit for my ole good buddy former Tribune Propagandist Don Wycliffe:
A few years ago, good ole Don wrote a column based on some comments of mine as to how the Tribune would bury good economic news during the Bush administration while trumpeting the bad economic news on the front page.
It seems the Tribune is doing just the opposite now. In November, when the unemployment rate hit 10.2, the Chicago Tribune buried that news on page 9 and towards the bottom of the page. With unemployment allegedly dipping to 10 percent, where did that good news appear in the Tribune? Why, it was on page 1!!
Classic.
Posted by: John D, still right, as usual | December 5, 2009 5:53 PM
Yoo Hoo!, Mr. President, your policies and programs are not working. Its time to clean house and get rid of your czars and all the dead weight in your cabinet. Bring in some people like Steve Forbes, Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromeo and other in the financial world, along with some other wise people in the business world. While some of the advise is probably well intentioned it hasn't been very good, maybe you could find some of them jobs in the Park Service.
Posted by: Paul | December 5, 2009 6:33 PM
Oh and ah, how could that be? The Tribune pessimistic under the butterfly years of sensational leadership, and optimistic during the dark ages of draconian leadership. Whoever came up with -- things get worse before they get better -- had a liberal agenda.
Posted by: BS | December 5, 2009 6:47 PM
I must have stumbled onto the gathering of the blathering, intellectually-challenged lemmings of the Republican-Libertairian fringe !! For them to try to lay this economic disaster at the feet of President Obama, is like trying to prove that Bush&Cheney, between the two of them, had one function brain. Now, we know from the evidence that wasn't the case. How do we know this, you may ask !!? Just look at their history in Office, from the undoing of the international communities unity with America, in removing our main forces from Afghanistan and betraying that unity, by pursuing a narrow-minded personal agenda in Iraq. Proceeding to bomb Iraq back to the ice age and establish a beachhead for continuous occupation in devastated Iraq, to the tune of Trillions of Dollars. All the while, these Republican-Libertarian morons allowing the various federal agencies to wither on the vine, under-funded and under-staffed. Just so these agencies couldn't do their mandated jobs, which was to govern and regulate the Weasels on Wall Street. We all know what that led to, the gutting of our economic system, with, at its peak, 900,000 jobs disappearing in a single month, in the term of the Incompetent Ones !! That is what these " geniuses " left in their wake, upon their escape to their hideouts !! Their legacy is one of allowing millions of jobs to disappear from America, many millions of Americans jobless and without adequate healthcare, if any healthcare at all. In stead, we are now getting a monotonous stream of Scarecare from the Corporate water-boys in the Senate. Their volume of lies, distortions and half-truths haven't been seen on this massive scale since " Crash " McCain and " Quitter " Palin were running around, pretending to be grown-ups, and running as the President and Vice-President candidates for the Republican-Libertariioan Party. Unfortunately, they still have not achieved that level of maturity and thank God, they never reached our White House, as occupants !!
So, try as you will, Republican-Libertarians, the next two or three years, our nation's crippled economy, will be the baby of those Incompetents, aka the Draft-dodging Duo, the Bush&Cheney regime !! Yes, President Obama's initial policies are producing some good news, like : Yes, today is a better day than yesterday, given the fact that yesterday, we had a snowfall of 40 inches and today, the snowfall is only 35 inches. That is the kind of good news we will be receiving from the Obama administration for a little while longer. The really, good news, will have to wait until his second term, when America sees his success, just getting us back to the pre-Bush&Cheney days, when our economy was flourishing, compared to the condition the Bushie Boys, left it !! So, hang on, America, try not to let the Republican-Libertarians scare you too much, after all, their numbers continue to dwindle by the day and for good reason. All they have to offer America is Corporate swill and Fear, not a very healthy mix !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | December 6, 2009 8:41 AM
"Obama seeks 'accelerating' job-growth" - then he should do the only thing he can do that would actually accomplish this - resign immediately.
Posted by: Chris | December 6, 2009 9:19 AM
Is it possible unemployment dropped at this time due to seasonal/holiday hires?
Posted by: Wanda | December 6, 2009 12:10 PM
Fortunately, " Chris ", he is like not " Quitter " Palin. He will finish the job and create millions more. So, you can get up, off of your knees and quit praying for him to fail. America will not let him.
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | December 6, 2009 1:08 PM
Yeah "Don Fitzgerald" (honestly, I don't know why I should even bother responding to your dopey post) because president Bed-Wetter has been so successful in 'saving and creating' however many million jobs so far, we should let him continue down his path of financial ruin and capital destruction.
Maybe you should get-up off your knees, and stop doing what ever it is you are doing down there to Obumbles. Perhaps then you'll realize what a terribly incompetent fool he is.
Kindest regards.
Posted by: Chris | December 6, 2009 4:10 PM
Your lapel flag is showing " Chris "! I'm sure you can find even more vitriolic names than that, given all that God-given stupidity, you possess !!
Send a Christmas card to our fighting men and women, in Afghanistan and you have a a Merry Christmas, too.
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | December 6, 2009 6:09 PM
Its good to see people seeing this for what it is. The holidays = holiday jobs. If its a bad season we will see a up tick in Dec's unemployment if its a good one it will go down. Feb and March are the numbers I want to see, they will say a lot.
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | December 6, 2009 7:50 PM
FITZ,
How is BO doing bring the troops home?
Posted by: Terry | December 6, 2009 8:41 PM
President Obama is doing a whole lot better than Bush&Cheney did, with their " Mission Accomplished", with their hiding, and not paying for the two wars, they never finished and of course, that garish of all gems in their crown of accomplishments; the burying of our economy, with the help of their political sponsors, the Weasels of Wall Street and the Bandits in the Boardrooms !! I imagine a lot of the Republican-Libertarians pine for the good days of the bushing of the Incompetent Duo, who fostered and encouraged fascism and fanaticism. Thank God, those days are history and may they stay so, even if I see Neut Getrich lurking in the bushes !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | December 7, 2009 9:11 AM
Terry,
“The one upside is you won't have juice to run your computer, so we don't have to read your stupidity.”
Germany is doing fine with their solar panels. I don’t see a thousand guinea pigs running a mill along the highways. And yeah, they do sell solar panels to charge your computer batteries. As, usual you always resort to name calling when you can’t win an argument.
“Gasoline under $2.00 - read above on price caps for a repeat lesson to cure you economic ignorance.”
We were paying $1.00 gas per gallon during Clinton Years. There’s plenty of oil left. Just ask the Saudi’s. It’s not economic ignorance. It’s call MONOPOLY- left uncheck it becomes a cancer- chokes off growth since there is no money left go to around. Only the very few has it all.
“$1,000 for hiring. Do you think a $1,000 credit is going to swing a hiring decision of a $30,000/yr employee?”
You are right. Nobody is going to hire a CEO. But, I’m sure there are plenty of businesses that were going to hire anyway. This will give them an incentive. After all, minimum wages is still very popular? That’s what every companies want to pay- from what I remember when the last debate on minimum wages. Hahaha. . .
“Whatever money your mommy and daddy spent on your education, they should seek a REFUND immediately.”
You are right. I never got a chance to thank Uncle Sam. I took a loan from Uncle Sam and paid 5% interests on it. It’s paid in full now. In matter of fact, Uncle Sam made a little bit of profit from it.
Posted by: HmongRodneyKing | December 7, 2009 7:23 PM
Rodney King,
Lose a debate to you? That beating you took in the 90's did more brain damage than you think.
Germany has 15% of its energy from renewables. What about the other 85%? Reason they have to do that is they have no natural resources.
Gas was a $1.00 a gallon during the 90's. And you think it was Bill Clinton's doing? Did Bill Clinton put Japan in a decade long recession? What were the economies of China and India doing in the 90's? There was no global demand, that is why prices were low. There is plenty of oil left - I wish the left in this country would allow the American oil companies to drill for it.
I'm sure minimum wage is pretty popular, especially with someone of your skill set.
As a taxpayer that subsidized your "education", I want to know the school you attended so I can see about getting a refund for the American people.
Abe Lincoln had a great quote that you should think of using "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. " Remember that next time you want to post.
Posted by: Terry | December 7, 2009 9:03 PM
"I'm sure minimum wage is pretty popular, especially with someone of your skill set."
A good advice from me is priceless. Only the wise profit from it. hahaha. . .
"As a taxpayer that subsidized your "education", I want to know the school you attended so I can see about getting a refund for the American people.
You already got your refund. I paid over 23% of my earnings in federal taxes. Too bad, the ex-president already spent it all on the war. Is that my fault if the ex-president spent it all?
" Remember that next time you want to post."
Remember? Like you can make me remember. hahaha.. . whatever. This is not a Communist Country. Nobody is forced to remember anything. The only thing I will remember is to speak my mind. But nice try. . .it's just you don't own the mind control machine. :-)
Posted by: HmongRodneyKing | December 7, 2009 11:39 PM
"I'm sure minimum wage is pretty popular, especially with someone of your skill set."
A good advice from me is priceless. Only the wise profit from it. hahaha. . .
"As a taxpayer that subsidized your "education", I want to know the school you attended so I can see about getting a refund for the American people.
You already got your refund. I paid over 23% of my earnings in federal taxes. Too bad, the ex-president already spent it all on the war. Is that my fault if the ex-president spent it all?
" Remember that next time you want to post."
Remember? Like you can make me remember. hahaha.. . whatever. This is not a Communist Country. Nobody is forced to remember anything. The only thing I will remember is to speak my mind. But nice try. . .it's just you don't own the mind control machine. :-)
Posted by: HmongRodneyKing | December 7, 2009 11:40 PM
"Gas was a $1.00 a gallon during the 90's. And you think it was Bill Clinton's doing? Did Bill Clinton put Japan in a decade long recession? What were the economies of China and India doing in the 90's? There was no global demand, that is why prices were low. There is plenty of oil left - I wish the left in this country would allow the American oil companies to drill for it."
Once again, you fail to understand the concept of MONOPOLY. Global demand has little impact since oil is monopolized by OPEC. There's pleny of oil left, they just refuse to turn on the faucet. They cut production numerous time thus manipulating the price of oil. It has nothing to do with free market. Who would pay $200 per barrel but the day trader who has no interests in ever using that barrel of oil? Only to leverage it as option. My point is the public is no longer interested in manipulated energy. We all want a stable source of energy which is wind, solar and bio. But, feel free to use whatever you want. . .
Posted by: HmongRodneyKing | December 8, 2009 8:08 AM