The real problem with government and the economy

[spectrumc01]

Here is the reason government is so big...Nepotism. Nepotism on both sides of the isle is the reason government is too large. It is also the reason the unions are out of hand. You take a senator or representative from either party and they have made sure their relatives and friends have gotten government jobs. Now that they have the government job they join the union. So when the union goes to negotiate their contract they are negotiating with relatives and friends who will be generous in their dealings. This is how government unions have got out of hand. This has gone on for a long time and at every level of government. So now all these years later when the unions need to be reeled back in, people are screaming how the unions have ruined the US. It is not the union as much as it was the nepotism that have put us where we are. Nepotism is and was the problem, and the union was just the tool.

The same can be said for some governement spending. You take a senator from anywhere, and he needs to keep a particular business in his district or state. The business makes toilet seats and is going out of business for some reason and the senator needs to save it. So he negotiates a deal so this business gets a government contract and is saved. He is the big hero in his state for saving jobs and the government ends up spending $100 for a single toilet seat.

Even after all of that they tell us how Social security, medicaid / medicare, taxes and unions are the reasons we have to cut all of our social programs. We never hear how senators / representatives sacrifice, all we hear is how the public must cut back. What is wrong with us, the public, for letting the cuts start with us? The cuts need to start with them, and they need to know that. They need to start contributing to their own retirement, and health care. They need to have a pay freeze or cut. I think they have forgotten that they are the government also, and when they talk about smaller government that applies to them.

The infuriating part is that, for all the talk, Democrats, Republicans are neither liberal or conservative, they are cronyists. Now the tea party people have been elected and are in the government, and have quickly showed their true colors. They talk against big government and widdling it down, yet they avail themselves of every government advantage they can get. "By their works we shall know them", I believe is how it is said.

 

[waltky]

People not buyin' as many apples from Granny's lil' apple cart even though she puts onna scarf an' looks like a poor ol' widow woman...

Is the economy losing its mojo?
April 26, 2011: Economists surveyed said that high pump prices act like a tax on consumers, forcing them to cut back spending on other items.

Inflation took a big bite out of the recovery in the beginning of the year, according to the latest forecasts, which have plummeted over the last several weeks. In 2010, the economy seemed to be on firmer footing, finishing out the year with a 3.1% growth rate in the final three months, compared to the same period last year. But a CNNMoney survey of economists predicts that the pace of growth slowed to just 2% in the first three months of this year. Only three weeks ago, expectations were for 2.7%, while some forecasts ran as high as 4.3% just one month earlier. The government is set to announce first-quarter gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of the nation's economic health -- on Thursday.

But the good news is that economists don't expect the sluggish quarter to drag down growth for the entire year. They're forecasting the economy to grow at a healthy 3.1% pace for all of 2011, just slightly below the 3.5% growth rate they were forecasting earlier in the year. "We view the first quarter as being a pause in the pace of expansion," said David Berson, chief economist for the PMI Group. "That won't stand in the way of a modest expansion over the remainder of the year." The cause of this sudden wave of pessimism? Rising oil and gas prices. High pump prices act like a tax on consumers, forcing them to cut back spending on other items. In addition, the large amount of oil the United States imports means that higher prices cause the trade gap to widen, which also cuts into GDP.

Other factors cited by some of the 22 economists who responded to the survey include businesses holding back on increasing their inventories and less construction activity than previously expected. New home sales have also been near record lows for the last two months, even as prices for new homes have tumbled 11% since the end of last year. Existing home prices slid 5% in the same time period. Surprisingly, jobs have been a bright spot in the economy in recent months. The unemployment rate fell a full percentage point from November to 8.8% last month.

While a weaker economy produces less demand for hiring, the slowdown does not necessarily mean that the labor market is in for another round of job cuts. In fact, some economists mentioned that jobs seem to be on pace for modest gains even in the face of the slowdown. "Other data, such as business surveys, employment growth and industrial production, point to a firming economic recovery and we have not changed our view that 2011 will be a relatively solid -- but far from spectacular -- year for growth," said John Ryding, chief economist for RDQ Economics.

Source

 

[Gadawg73]

Yeah, I am sure nepotism is the reason Medicare and social security are out of control spending.