ALTERNET LISTED AND NUMBERED THE 8 LIES.
I WILL DEBUNK THEM ALL:
WRONG.
1) President Obama tripled the deficit.
ALTERNET: Bush's last budget had a $1.416 trillion deficit. Obama's first budget reduced that to $1.29 trillion.
- BUSH'S BUDGET WAS HIGH; OBAMA'S WAS HIGHER. THE CUMULATIVE DEFICITS PROJECTED BY OBAMA FOR OBAMA'S TERM WILL DOUBLE THAT OF BUSH'S FOR BUSH'S 8 YEARS.
2) President Obama raised taxes, which hurt the economy.WRONG.
ALTERNET: Obama cut taxes. 40% of the "stimulus" was wasted on tax cuts which only create debt, which is why it was so much less effective than it could have been.
- THE OBAMA TAX CUTS AMOUNTED TO ABOUT $8/WEEK FOR THE AVERAGE AMERICAN. BIG EFFIN' DEAL!
3) President Obama bailed out the banks.WRONG.
ALTERNET: While many people conflate the "stimulus" with the bank bailouts, the bank bailouts were requested by President Bush and his Treasury Secretary, former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson. (Paulson also wanted the bailouts to be "non-reviewable by any court or any agency.") The bailouts passed and began before the 2008 election of President Obama.
- TARP WAS BUSH'S, BUT THE CAR BAILOUT AND THE STUDENT LOAN TAKEOVER AND THE HEALTH INDUSTRY TAKEOVER WERE UNDER OBAMA. IN BILLS WHICH WEREN'T READ, LET ALONE VETTED. THESE ARE THE BILLS WHICH PISS OFF MOST VOTERS.
4) The stimulus didn't work.WRONG.
ALTERNET: The stimulus worked, but was not enough. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the stimulus raised employment by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs.
- OBAMA PROMISED UNEMPLOYMENT WOULD STAY BELOW 8.9% - AND IT DIDN'T; 6OMINUTES SAYS IT'S 17% - AND 22% IN CALIFORNIA.
- A QUCIKER LESS CORRUPTIBLE WAY TO IMMEDIATELY INCREASE AGGREGATE SPENDING WOULD'VE BEEN A PAYROLL TAX HOLIDAY.
5) Businesses will hire if they get tax cuts.WRONG.
ALTERNET: A business hires the right number of employees to meet demand. Having extra cash does not cause a business to hire, but a business that has a demand for what it does will find the money to hire. Businesses want customers, not tax cuts.
- BUSINESSES WILL NOT HIRE IF THEY ARE UNCERTAIN WHAT THE COSTS WILL BE OR WHAT THEIR TAXES WILL BE OR HOW GOOD THE ECONOMY WILL BE; BUSINESS PEOPLE NEED CERTAINTY AND OPTIMISM. OBAMA IS DIMINSIHED BOTH.
6) Health care reform costs $1 trillion.WRONG:
ALTERNET: The health care reform reduces government deficits by $138 billion.
- BWAHAHAHAHAHA! SURE: WE COVER 45 MILLION MORE PEOPLE AND SAVE MONEY; THAT'S A LAUGHER!
7) Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, is "going broke," people live longer, fewer workers per retiree, etc.WRONG:
ALTERNET: Social Security has run a surplus since it began, has a trust fund in the trillions, is completely sound for at least 25 more years and cannot legally borrow so cannot contribute to the deficit (compare that to the military budget!) Life expectancy is only longer because fewer babies die; people who reach 65 live about the same number of years as they used to.
- BY LEGAL DEFINITION OF PONZI SCHEME, SOCIAL SECURITY IS A PONZI SCHEME.
- FRANCE RAISED THE RETIREMENT AGE THERE FOR THE SAME REASON WE MUST DO SO HERE - AND IT AIN'T BECAUSE BABIES ARE LIVING; IT'S BECAUSE PEOPLE ON PENSIONS ARE LIVING LONGER. SHEESH.
8) Government spending takes money out of the economy.WRONG:
ALTERNET: Government is We, the People and the money it spends is on We, the People. Many people do not know that it is government that builds the roads, airports, ports, courts, schools and other things that are the soil in which business thrives. Many people think that all government spending is on "welfare" and "foreign aid" when that is only a small part of the government's budget.
GOVERNMENT SPENDING RETARDS GROWTH.
IT'S BEEN STUDIED; IT'S A FACT.
TAXES RETARD GROWTH TOO - PROVEN BY CHRISTINE ROMER, OBAMA'S FORMER CHAIRPERSON OF THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISER'S.
THIS ALTERNET POST PROVES AN OLD SAYING OF REAGAN'S:
IT'S NOT THAT LIBERALS DON'T KNOW ANYTHING.
IT'S THAT EVERYTHING THEY KNOW IS WRONG.
That was surprising- the only Lie you even tried to debunk was #8. You basically agreed with Alternet's argument for 1, 2, and 3.
ReplyDelete...and your proof for #8 is an opinion piece from the NYTimes, that includes the following lines:
"I find it hard to come down unilaterally on one side or another. Austerity may be the right program for smaller countries facing lenders that may lose confidence in their debt. Stimulus may be the right policy for larger countries that are trusted to repay and that play a large role in maintaining the global economy."
I'm not even sure this Harvard Prof can be trusted to state his opinion correctly- review this line of his:
"Cutting payroll taxes for lower-income workers who have just been unemployed is an example of stimulus through borrowing, rather than spending. The government isn’t actually spending money on government services; it’s just borrowing the money and giving it to newly employed workers."
I think we can figure out where he's going with his train of thought, but the way he states it is completely illogical. You can't cut payroll taxes for those "...who have just been unemployed." Unemployed workers result in no payroll taxes- it is impossible to cut their payroll taxes any further than they already are.
Verdict: Not Worthy of Mythbusters.
HI DAVE;
ReplyDeleteHAPPY HALOWEEN.
I DIDN'T BOTHER WOITH ALTERNET'S STRAW MEN.
ALSO:
AS A TEA PARTIER YOU'RE NEVER GONNA GET ME TO ENDORSE OR DEFEND THE LIBERAL POLICIES OF BUSH.
CHIRTIAN ROLMER AND OPRZAG BOITH AGREE WITH ME: RAISING TAXES IS BAD FOR BUSINESS/GRPOWTH = JIOB CREATION.
STRAW MEN DESERVE NO ATTENTION.
IT'S A PETTY FORM OF ARGUING.
I GAVE THE FACTS AND IGNOIRD THE STRAW MEN.
DUBYA WAS A LBEAL.
A HAWK BUT A LIBERAL.
EXCEPT FOR BEING FOR LOW TAXES AND PRO-LIFE.
WHICH MAKES HIM LIKE JFK.
You got me thinking now. Bush was like JFK. They were both from two powerful families... both received Harvard degrees, HMMM....
ReplyDelete