A column by Michael Barone headed “Obama’s Gangster Government” goes on to discuss a decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission to prosecute Goldman Sachs for allegedly violating the law “when it sold a collateralized debt obligation based on mortgage-backed securities without disclosing that the CDO was assembled with the help of hedge fund investor John Paulson.”
WATCHDOG: A heading accusing the current administration of being gangsters is outrageous, something that stretches (but does not break) freedom of speech and certainly is irresponsible when it doesn’t present a scant bit of evidence of criminal activity, let alone the involvement of the President.
Forget the fact the columnist either doesn’t know what he is talking about or is simply currying favor with his right wing readers. His rhetoric is excessive .
But even worse is the ignorance or carelessness of the New Era editor. The article refers to “Gangster Government”, thus by capitalizing the first letter of each word indicating that it is meant figuratively, not literally. The heading thus should have been: Obama’s ‘Gangster Government’, in order to convey the same meaning.
The Right Wing of the Republican Party and the New Era editorial page lose credibility with overheated rhetoric and baseless allegations. The ‘old dog’ predicts there will not be as big a landslide in November as they anticipate.
The Republican party is being viciously torn apart by the Tea Party extremists, who do NOT represent the mainstream majority of Americans. The idea of a Republican landslide is ridiculous when the party is becoming so obsessed with playing to its “base” that it ignores Main Street USA.
This is why so much of their strategy is focused on attacking the current administration instead of promoting their own ideas, because they don’t want mainstream America to understand the damage that the Tea Party proposals would do to our society.
I am tired and sick of hearing about the “US economic recovery”.
The Federal government borrowed and spent $6.1 trillion during the last 4 years to obtain a cumulative $700 billion increase in the country’s GDP. That means we’ve borrowed and spent $8.70 for every $1 of nominal “growth” in Gross domestic product.
In constant dollars, GDP is flat, we’ve got no “growth” at all for the $6.1 trillion. In constant dollars, the GDP in 2011 might return to the 2007 level, if the US economy continues “growing” at the same pace reached inside the first 90 days of 2011. If not, then the Gross Domestic Product will in reality be lower than pre-recession levels. There is no recovery, the numbers prove this.
EDITOR: There is no depression either, as likely otherwise would have been the case.
TARP was repaid. “W” in advocating it with Democrat congressional support understood that without it the banking system would have gone bankrupt and a worldwide calamity greater than the Depression occurred.
General Motors and Chryslers remain in business and are paying off their government loans, the the U. S. automotive industry was saved.
A third of the $800 billion Recovery Act was tax cuts.