How bad things are getting in the USA regarding the ecomony

Post Reply New Topic

Valid point. I think we've also failed in the total lack of diversity within the Congress. I mean it's pretty much all lawyers and businessmen. Mostly Christians and a handful of Jews. Women and minorities are still dramatically under-represented. And where are the scientists?

I guess it really shouldn't be a big mystery that most legislation reflects the interest of those doing the legislating.

Both of your statements were so fundamentally dishonest, I'm surprised you think you wouldn't be called out on it.

Jan 2009-Jan 2011: Democrats controlled the House, Senate, and Presidency, in fact they had a fillabuster-proof Senate, Republicans couldn't do anything to stop them, they had to bribe their own party members to get stuff pushed through because it was so unpopular (not to mention bad).

So this blaming Republicans isn't going to fly.

Your argument has no relevance to the statements above nor is it even remotely accurate. Obama came to the table with centrist policies. The Senate was obviously not filibuster-proof given the surge in observed filibusters. Yes, democrats could have potentially avoided filibusters with unanimous support, but how often are dems or repubs unanimous on anything? A good handful of dems weren't happy, not because of how far policies went, but because the policies didn't go nearly far enough.

My opinion and point of view differs from yours (gasp). I must be a liar.

The bill of goods that their selling the American people is high-density development, rail and mass transit, and a green economy both feeding and empowering the first two... and that we should all go to university and become "educated" and to tax the wealthy and major carbon emitters. They say do those things and America will lead the world and be competitive again. First of all... what they mean by leading the world is that we'll lead it morally, not economically. And secondly, the competitive bit is thrown in for good measure because the bigger the lie - ahem obamacare saving us money in the long run - the more believable it seems... because why would someone construct such a huge lie unless they knew what they were talking about (which is where their oratory salesman Obama comes in.)

There's no game plan for the future. our most productive centers of commerce will end up like Berlin: Poor but Sexy.

Government taking over everything isn't a centrist viewpoint. Obama's solution is his way or the highway.

Is that why he caves into every teabagger demand?

He caved because in addition to being a far-left nut, he also is on permanent campaign mode and he knew if the debt ceiling wasn't raised, we wouldn't go into default just a lot of Government programs would be shut down.

Name one thing the government has "taken over" at the suggestion of Obama. Also, name one thing he hasn't caved on. I don't recall him signing any pledges vowing to stand his ground. This nonsense about the Tea Party being the will of the people (as in the majority) is such a lie. Let's not forget the majority of voters chose Obama in the first place because we wanted change and progress, not the same propagation of Bush's policies.

General Motors Inc. for a short period of time. Eventually the U.S. sold its ownership position in GM.

Part of the "bail out" deal for manufacturing firms was partial socialization.

ruveyn

Fair enough. But it was temporary, thousands of jobs were saved and we got our money back. Where's the downside?

It could happen again (a precedent has been set) and the next time the Government might not give it back. The Government action was blatantly unconstitutional. The government has no constitutional power to buy stock in a private firm. There is part of the down side. It was a case of the blindly stupid leading the stupidly blind.

ruveyn

We didn't get our money back yet.

GM paid back some of it, but there were two separate loans in question.

it's like having a friend who owes you $10,000 already asking for $50 to pay the power bill, and then being all proud that they paid back the $50.

I was referring to the stock purchase. The straight loan has been paid back in full.

However, upon further research, it does seem like we may take a loss on the remaining shares. We sold back a huge chunk back in the fall of last year for a decent return on investment and a forfeiture of ownership. I think today's estimates are around 11 billion loss if we sold our remaining shares today.

What would the cost have been to Americans had we let it go under?

USA is undergoing long term de-industrialization

they shipped all their manufacturing overseas, closed steel mills, there is no real industry left in america. hence there are fewer jobs,
even the new san francisco bridge was made in china. shipped over on barges and assembled on site.

all of these jobs given up by corporations in search of low cost labour are never returning.

are you going to pay an american worker 50 an hour to repair a foreign tv which cost 99 dollars ? no

as for housing, prices are in a perpetual free-fall. 5 years on and prices are still falling. what sold for 300k is now selling for 50k or less in areas.

with real unemployment at over 25% and over 10% on some form of food stamps, that is not indications of a healthy society.

U.S. Steel has multiple domestic and international facilities.[22] Of note in the United States is Clairton Works and Edgar Thomson Works, both members of Mon Valley Works and just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Clairton Works is the largest coking facility in North America. Edgar Thomson Works is one of the oldest steel mills in the world. The Company acquired Great Lakes Works and Granite City Works, both large integrated steel mills, in 2003 and is partnered with Severstal North America in operating the world's largest electro-galvanizing line, Double Eagle Steel Coating Company, at the historic Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan.

U.S. Steel's largest domestic facility is Gary Works, in Gary, Indiana; Gary is also home to the U.S. Steel Yard baseball stadium.

U.S. Steel operates a tin mill they acquired in East Chicago now known as E.C. Tin after L.T.V. went bankrupt. U.S. Steel operates a sheet and tin finishing facility in Portage, Indiana. known as Midwest Plant acquired from the National Steel bankruptcy. U.S. Steel operates Fairfield Works in Fairfield, Alabama (Birmingham), employing 1500 people, and still operates a sheet galvanizing operation at the Fairless Works facility in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, employing 75 people.

U.S. Steel acquired National Steel and subsequently operates Great Lakes Works in Ecorse, Michigan, Midwest Plant in Portage, Indiana, and Granite City Steel in Granite City, Illinois. In 2008 a major expansion of Granite City was announced, including a new coke plant with an annual capacity of 650,000 tons.[23]

U.S. Steel operates two pipe mills. Lorain Tubular Operations in Lorain, Ohio, and McKeesport Tubular Operations, in McKeesport, PA

U.S. Steel operates two major taconite mining and pelletizing operations in northeastern Minnesota's Iron Range under the operating name Minnesota Ore Operations. The Minntac mine is located near Mountain Iron, Minnesota and the Keetac mine is near Keewatin, Minnesota. U.S. Steel announced on February 1, 2008 that it would be investing approximately $300 Million in upgrading the operations at Keetac, a facility purchased in 2003 from the now-defunct National Steel Corporation.[24]

See also
http://www.local.com/results.aspx?keywo ... 4AodAhEz0Q

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_st ... _by_volume


The U.S. is no longer the top steel producers but there is a viable steel industry in the U.S.

Steel is now made elsewhere as well.

ruveyn