A recent Elon University poll asks about the national economy. What do you think?

Unless the people we placed in charged begin to see the tax funds they spend are fueling the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time we will never recover fully. The are like a babies diaper, "after several hours they begin to smell and must be changed regularly and often.

We are seeing a short-term improvement because the Fed is flooding the economy with money. Just as with any bubble artificially created by the government, it will pop. Obama and his friends in the congress need us to feel good about the prospects for the economy while they continue their construction of the Fourth Reich. In the mean time, while happy to ride the bubble as it expands, smart money is avoiding long-term private investment in areas that do not benefit from direct government investment.

Looking ahead, this flood of money will inevitably result in inflation, and the Fed will have to raise interest rates to try to stop it, unless they decide to let it go forward because it is the only way to reduce the debt, which is rapidly expanding beyond our ability to pay it back. Either of these courses will slow the "recovery".

Then we have the largest tax increase in history scheduled to take effect in 2011. These tax increases will suck money out of the remaining free parts of the economy and reduce the return on investment of everything. Try to imagine giving back all of the gains made since the Bush tax cuts were put in place, and in a much shorter time.

If cap and trade passes in any form, watch another 10-20% reduction in growth in every area of the economy as energy prices "necessarily skyrocket".

Government spending is up to 28% of GDP after being in the vicinity of 20% for the last 30 years, and everything being done by the Government is increasing this share. The direct spending is nothing compared to the additional burdens of regulation being loaded onto the private sector, further reducing returns on investment and slowing productivity growth. Remember, every marginal dollar spent by Government is spent for non-productive purposes and reduces money available for productive, private sector spending.

Social Security runs out of money in 2010, the FHA is being bankrupted because the Congress is forcing them to make stupid loans just as they did to create the current financial crisis. Medicare is a disaster that is about to be compounded in a giant way by "Health Care Reform". Good luck to us all when 20% of the doctors quit, 50% of potential doctors decide to use their talents elsewhere, and demand for services is exploded by adding millions of people to the system. Standing in line for health care services certainly won't help the nations' productivity.

But it's all OK, your Government is here to help you. . .

I believe we will see some improvement in the short run as stimulus money is being spent. The problem I foresee are two fold. One is that much of the stimulus money is being spent on pet projects designed to get the politicians votes and is not directed at long term economic development. The second, and most important, is how are we going to pay for all this misdirected stimulus spending. Deficits do matter and we are borrowing more money than we can possibly pay back. Printing money is not an option. History is full of examples of how the value of currency can fall to nearly nothing when government's printing presses are are rolling non-stop. ...Let me give you a personal example. Some years ago I was in Yugoslavia. For a short time I was a millionaire! In Yugoslavian Dinars I was a millionaire. I had just exchanged $50 American dollars and received in return over 1,000,000 in Yugoslavian dinars. After going through two toll booths on their national highway, I was a pauper. I didn't have enough Dinars left to pay at the third toll booth! This can happen here if we don't reign in our spending now!

We have not hit bottom. When this administration takes over health care and passes the carbon tax we will be in a free fall. This government wants to control everything which will lead us to become a third world country.
We can only hit bottom when the people decide to take this country back from the government and let the free market dominate our economic system. That will be the start of our economic recovery.

The Obama administration is out to destroy capitalism and make us all wards of the state, and they are doing a pretty good job so far. The same bureacrats that ran the "cash for clunkers" program so well are going to be administering your manditory health insurance in a few years. Barney Frank has just proposed "updating" the Community Reinvestment Act to encourage more lending to people who can't afford to pay for a mortgage; on the theory that if a little CRA could crash the economy then more of the same must be a good thing. Over 500 amendments are now being considered to further add to absolutely stunning complexity and ambiguity in the numerous health care packages competing for favor. Our boy-who-would-be-king president just paid off his union buddies with tariffs on tires made in China, the largest holder of our debt. The deficit skyrockets every day. Former "President" Carter idolized Hugo Chavez. Obama lends credence to the morally, intellectually and financially bankrupt United Nations by presiding over a session of the General Assembly, seating himself among the thugs and dictators of the world. What a bright future we have to look foward to.

Buy Gold bullion coins/bars and keep them close at hand. Develop a long term food storage strategy and stock other essentials. Protect yourself. Rough roads ahead. Don't wait, it happens sooner than you think. Good luck.

We're going to pay for Obama's spending spree, that shows no sign of ending.

There are two possible results of printing, and spending, money you do not have; 1. massive inflation, or, 2. massive taxes in the 60-90% range.

I never thought I would have lived to see a US President actively seek to destroy the US.

Clearly, the economy is improving, and all the indicators are pointing in the right direction. Without the stimulus, this would not have been possible, and we should all be thankful that our President took control as forcefully as he did. When people look back in a few years even his detractors will have to admit that Obama was the right man at the right time.

Kathy answer one question please. First take off your rose-colored Obama glasses and tell us how are we going to pay for all of this? Or are you just going to leave it up to your children and grandchildren?

After Bush, who steered America into two recessions and two wars with unprecedented stupidity, we still have to deal with the Party of "No". Republicans just don't get it. Times have changed, and America has moved on. Americans are optimists and capable of achieving whatever they set their minds to. It just took a great leader to bring us back on track. Can you feel it? I can feel it. Everyone can feel it, unless you are stuck drinking that red Kool-Aid all day long and commiserate with all the other doubters. Those who say it can't be done will always be passed by those doing it. See you at the finish line.

I.M. Dumb & Kathy: yes I feel it in my wallet, getting smaller all the time thanks to this socialist excuse for a president and his gutless spend, spend, spend democratic congress. Typical democrat excuse, blame everything on Bush. I did not agree with everything he did, but he was far better than what we have now. Him and his ACORN buddies will ruin this country. Look at what he has done so far: kissed every muslum rear end in the world, loaded us with debt that can not be repaid in several generations. He is an embarsement to our country. (I'm sure Kathy will correct my spelling, that's all she can do, her ramblings do not make sense.)

I.M.Dem, so it isn't "Dear Leader" it's now "Great Leader". Wow, look who is drinking the Obama Koolaid, give me some!. All hail to "Great Leader" Everyo0ne must now join the "Great Assembly of Barack". All Hail! All Hail! We must quickly change the constitution to allow for more than two terms as president. A "Great Leader" like this should be President-For-Life! All Hail! All Hail! Should be easy to do, just get advice from the Massachusetts Democrats.

everything can be blamed on bush and the gop, that is why we blame them. and as for acorn, they have been around for years so why did the gop not do anything about them when they had the votes. this like choice is one of their feeble talking points when they really have nothing to say, to try to divert attention away from their lack of solutions on any problem.

Kathy and I.M. Dem, do you really honestly believe what you have written here?

I hope that you have not exercised your "Reproductive Rights."

Kathy, you are as deluded today as you have been all along. I really hope you dont believe the drivel you write. In the case that you do, there is help for you and for those like you. Only, I am not paying for it. Pratt, not everything can be blamed on Bush. No one administration is perfect. I think that Paulson and crew really pulled a fast on the American citizens. All he did was prop up the banking sector and his buddies with BILLIONS of dollars and that is ALL that he accomplished. AND Obama has done the same. He's propped up the unions and car industry with his cash for clunker BS. The so-called "stimulus" has done nothing. I am still out of work. Obama is still focused on selling us his vapor plan of revamping this nation's healthcare as if Pelosi and Reid and those other whackos KNOW ANYTHING about how healthcare works. These people dont even drive themselves to the store anymore and are so far out of touch with the regular folks that they may as well be on Jupiter. Obama has not focused one iota on JOBS and getting our jobs back from India and China and eastern Europe. Outsourcing is the cancer that has destroyed this nation - not anything else. I would be able to afford my health care if I could work but Mr. Patel has my job now. And no, I am not going to compete with Mr. Patel's $15.50/hr pay rate. I'd sooner get a job at Borders stocking books onto their shelves instead of working for that jackass Lewis and getting called at 2:30am to fix his computer system for $33K a year. F-that. So with millions of us going to be under-employed, Obama secures himself the votes to get more and more "free" stuff but his little Socialism experiment will fail when he runs out of people to steal money from. And that idiot Harry Reid needs to be fired because wasnt it he that proclaimed that Soc Security was in tip-top shape for the next 50 years? Well, sounds like more INCOMPETENCE from that idiot whacko out there in Nevada. In fact, they're all idiots and they all need to be fired. After the nationalized health control scam is passed, Obama and Pelosi and fruitcake friends of theirs will set their eyes on this global warming hoax and they'll tax you and me even more because we somehow effed-up the ENTIRE PLANET. We know this is a fact even though we cant predict tomorrow's weather with any degree of accuracy and yet they've got the arrogance to think that they can control the "thermometer" of this planet and 'turn it down'? Please. Are you f-in kidding me? And IFFFFFFF they could, what happens if they go to far? Are they going to re-run Al Gore's WARNINGS of global COOLING like he used to WHINE about back in the 80's? And Mark, reproduction is not a Right. Neither is driving but the whackos living in this nation think they have rights before responsibilities. THAT is the problem. Selfish, self-centered arrogance. And Loafer, it would be interesting to see Obama change the same Constitution that he has been STOMPING on. I mean, he's still yet to produce a birth certificate and as long as he's got the cash, he'll keep paying his attorneys to block this (as well as all of his transcripts and such)... But I am sure he'll find a way to run for a 3rd term. He does think the world revolves around him. OH, and that reminds me - I must be racist because I dont agree with him. When I didnt agree with Bush and Paulson and Clinton and Carter and other WHITE men, what did that make me? According to Carter if you dont agree with Obama you're a racist? Well, according to me - if you AGREE with CARTER you're an asswipe. You know, I could go on and on. I gotta go look for work since Obama isnt going to help me ONE DAMN BIT. As far as 1/2 this nation is concerned, he's already failed miserably. And that number grows by the day!

Kathy,
Less than 4% of the stimulus money has been spent. So tell me again how that miracle bill helped anyone? Well it did remove all of Clinton's welfare reform. That's going to increase welfare costs by over 1/3 next year. Tack onto that the cap and trade BS, this healthcare BS, and the fact that SoSo Security will be running in the red in 2010. Lets think, this big housing boom bust that was a key motivator in this recession. Clinton and his cronies pushed the mortgage industry to lend to higher risk individuals because everyone deserves a house. The share holders then pushed even harder to make the companies grab short term profits so you get things like no principal mortgage payments and the like. Peoples greed then further pushed it on, since the mortgage industry where after profits they lent people far more than they could afford on ARMs. Then when the government had to push up the interest rate.... Oh yea why'd they push up the interest rate? Could it because we had the largest boom in the economy since the dot.com bubble under W? Wow forgot that didn't you.
This recession was caused by greed. Greed of shareholders, greed of bank execs, and greed of the people. Too many people wanted more than they deserved and more than they could afford in the long term, and the mortgage industry stupidly gave it to them. Yes Bush and his democratic controlled Senate might could have stepped in and applied a bit of regulation to the crazyness, but hindsight is 20/20. So blame the right people for the recession. None of Bush's actions or inactions directly caused it. The senate would have needed to create additional regulations first. Bush can't veto what hasn't been offered to him to sign.

I believe the recession would have occurred regardless, of the mortgage industry problems, but it would have been a small dip and a slow down, not the huge downslide that occurred, but that's ok because in your sleep fed.gov took over the mortgage industry and now 90% of all new mortgages in the past 9-10 months are either secured or funded by.. Tax payer dollars.

It's so much fun to see all of you squirm. You want to be right so bad that you want America to fail just to prove your point. Man, am I glad I am not in a foxhole with you guys. We would all drown in your tears. Get over it and stop the whining. Playing the victim is very un-American.

Playing the socialist is very un-American too, Kathy.

It's funny. When people quote hard facts the liberals and Obama sheep, say things like "It's so much fun to see all of you squirm." Here we go ready:

To the Obama Sheep:
Simple Math 101:
Cap and Trade: Tax on all energy use in the US. You pay more for energy and gas. Companies pay more for energy and gas. Manufacturers pay more for energy and gas. Prices go up. Less money in your pocket. Manufacturers leave the country, less jobs, less money in your pocket.

HealthCare: 450billion being taken from Medicare, Medicare will be broke in 2016... Now it's broke sooner? Where does the extra money come? Out of your pocket. Government increases taxes on insurance companies. Who pays it? YOU. 30-40 mill new patients in the system, no plans for new doctors and limiting doctors pay = rationing healthcare.
So cap and trade means job losses, goods and energy cost more. Healthcare means you pay more for insurance (wait a second here...) and you get rationed healthcare. So tell me how this works well? Tell me how more money out of the American taxpayers pockets will fix a recession?

@Kathy: How, precisely, has the stimulus succeeded? Be exact and please - show examples. Unless I am blind as a bat and dumb as a fence post, your large claim that "the economy is improving, and all the indicators are pointing in the right direction." goes completely UNSUBSTANTIATED. I know..... large SAT word. Go look it up. AND, your further claim that "Without the stimulus, this would not have been possible, and we should all be thankful that our President took control as forcefully as he did." -- you should also know that the fools in office prior to the current fool-dujour ALSO had a stimulus package too - and anyone with credit cards that went from 12% to 28% in the past several months can tell you - IT..... DID..... NOT..... WORK. But, since you have said that all of the indicators are showing improvement - tell us, what indicators? The ones ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, yes - even FOX what you to "believe"? Are you capable of doing your own research and even more, are you capable of comprehending what you have discovered? The bottom line is, you havent a clue and are simply regurgitating what you hear in the mainstream news, and for 85% of this zombie nation, maybe that is all you need.

Dan S, Please stop trying to inject logic and sensibility into these liberal fruitcakes. I simply does not work. You are merely wasting your time. Time that could be better spent campaigning to fire Pelosi, Reid, Boxer, Shumer, Dodd, Elmer Fudd, and, yes, even the messiah himself - Obama. Evict them all.

Thomas,

I support you in your view about Obama and the dipsticks that support him without knowing anything about the real world.

But please lose the semi-suppressed foul language and continue the fight.

Today an amendment was proposed by a Republican that the CBO present the "Scored" version of a bill online for 72 hours before coming up for a vote so that the taxpayers would know the cost of the bill.

It was a female democrat whose name escapes me that spoke against the amendment on the grounds that it would CONFUSE the public.

I am sure that this democrat thought we were all as intellectually challenged as Kathy, I.M. Dem, or Pratt.

Thank goodness the Americans that love freedom over a paternal government are finally waking up to the fact that our liberty does require vigilance. Keep the faith and keep speaking up. This "Fundamental Transformation of America" must be prevented.

Sorry, using all caps does not make claims true. I got my share of the stimulus, and many others I know go theirs, putting people to work in the process. Take the $4,500 (net $2,000 after all the tax credits and discounts) for my tankless water heater. That put someone to work. I have several Realtor friends who are still working because they have clients who are buying their first homes and taking advantage of the tax credit. There are plenty of examples. You guys just don't want to accept that people are turning optimistic. Fear and hate work for the Bush years, but the country is moving on. Hope and change!

Mark, use "who" not "that" when you talk about people. It's "Americans who love freedom" not "Americans that love freedom".

Dan S, I am waiting for the hard facts. I read your opinions, but I don't see any facts. Please provide.

Senior, I agree.

Kathy, I am dem, and Pratt: stop denying the fact that your ideas are socialist. Ya'll are all commy bastards, and you will NEVER win! And you are correct, the conservatives are people who say no ALL OF THE TIME!! NO to letting people come into the country who do not belong here. NO to surrendering on the afganastan front of this war on radical islam. NO to trampleing on constitutional rights-our GOD GIVEN RIGHTS. NO to adding things to the constitution that are not there-like the "right to healthcare." NO to the trampeling of gun rights-rights that grant us the right to rebel if government infringes too much in our business. NO to socialism, and NO to COMMY BASTARDS like you people!!!

Willy Boy, gotcha. Right there behind ya. Yup. ...... Boys, we have a live one here. Quick.