Obama is on track to become the biggest-spending president since 1930

[mawilson 2,133]

Close any tax loopholes for corporations and the mega rich

The second must to is the implementation of a federal GST/VAT. Which the billions roll in that are currently lost in the gray / black market.

Both good ideas.

I especially like the idea of a federal GST/VAT as a way of extracting cash from tourists and illegal aliens.

Also because it's not progressive - everyone pays the same percentage.

[mRx 16]

'capitalists' doing their 'thing' is what caused the mess in the first place.

You have no proof of that.

[Ali G. 37]

Both good ideas.

I especially like the idea of a federal GST/VAT as a way of extracting cash from tourists and illegal aliens.

Also because it's not progressive - everyone pays the same percentage.

I know for myself, I buy a lot of stuff from other states and pay zero tax. Think of the billions transacted each month that goes untaxed.

A simple 5% federal GST/VAT on everything, which is nothing, would close a massive loophole. We don't manufacture anything here anyway, plus things are cheap as, so any rhetoric that it will kill sales or any other industry is baseless. Best thing Aus did was implement the GST.

[alienlovechild 75]

Guess who is against raising taxes to pay for that, who refuses to consolidate counties to capitalize on economies of scale, and prefers duplicated bureaucracy in every single city and country? This is something know as inefficiency in the private sector you cherish so much. Have you ever heard of a company having a separate, from the ground up, operations in every single county / city? Why do you think this would be ridiculous?

No one is talking about consolidating countries. You'll have a hard time dismantling Federalism as it existed before the Consitution as the roots go back to when we had the 13 colonies.

Lagged but rapidly catching up. Anyways, I'd say 90% of the country is basically third world status, when compared to various other modern first world countries.

That's your opinion but it was no relation to reality. 90%! Most of the other wealthier nations per capita GDP have small populations and all of them combined wouldn't be close to the U.S. population.

Guess again, the oil companies and automobile manufactures purchased light rail systems and ripped them out of the ground. That is not a conspiracy but a well know fact. You must seriously think the professionals folks worldwide using public transport are stupid, yet idiots in their truuuucks are the smart ones.

Conspiracies need a little proof and you don't have a shred of evidence. You saw the movie about GM or Ford plotted to destroy the trolleys and bus lines, right? Didn't happen that way as commutting patterns extended beyond the bus lines and most Americans wanted a car and still do. If you haven't figured that one out yet, you've missed out on how over 90% of Americans get to work. Didn't say people using public transport were idiots- you did. I know lot more about transportation and land use than you do- I'm a transportation planner.

Hence the problem. Just in case many have not noticed, the US is no longer a farming country, where mom and pops run stores. The economy is now propelled by highly skilled knowledge based industries, which tend to be centered around major cities and along coast lines; for ease of export. The Tobacco cotton days are gone, Google and co are now the billion dollar sheriff in town. In state that does not shift their focus and modernize towards such industries, like it or not, will meet the fate of Detroit.

The U.S. hasn't a majority of the population in farming since 1920 but I doubt you knew that. Highly skilled jobs can be based nearly anywhere on the planet but you need cities for these professionals to interact. The coast line for exports isn't entirely correct. Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan aren't on the coasts.

U.S. Exports by State

(US $, NAICS Database)

Rank Description ANNUAL 2008 ANNUAL 2009 %2008- 09

Total all States 1,300,135,649,517 1,056,931,975,877 -18.71

1 Texas 192,143,622,940 163,046,235,100 -15.14

2 California 144,813,262,592 120,142,219,999 -17.04

3 New York 79,596,240,386 57,320,623,000 -27.99

4 Washington 66,884,598,480 51,739,397,146 -22.64

5 Florida 54,271,960,951 46,919,556,478 -13.55

6 Illinois 53,444,521,690 41,513,559,039 -22.32

7 Ohio 45,487,881,861 34,083,697,044 -25.07

8 Louisiana 41,926,763,308 32,714,796,637 -21.97

9 Michigan 44,871,354,173 32,553,939,379 -27.45

10 Pennsylvania 34,448,470,930 28,253,145,576 -17.98

http://wtcno.org/tradestats/staterankings.htm

Edited February 18, 2010 by alienlovechild

[Ali G. 37]

You have no proof of that.

Perhaps the government was the one who greedily handed out loans, like they were going out of fashion, to people who simply could not afford them.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

You have no proof of that.

The robber barons of the 19th century gave capitalism a bad name, and we spent the entire 20th century destroying the free market. Now, the only place you find true capitalists is in small business world, And, as government clamps down on them as well, there goes the engine that creates real jobs in this, or any county.

[mawilson 2,133]

A simple 5% federal GST/VAT on everything, which is nothing, would close a massive loophole.

Indeed. 14 trillion dollar economy, 70 percent consumer, 5 percent VAT equals ... 500 billion dollars per year. Not too shabby.

[mRx 16]

I was about to say dude, don't pull a Matt on me..

The free-market would take care of it, BY. The free market cannot generate inflation--which is overwhelmingly more devasting on the poor than the rich.

Of course, anyone who has taken a community college Economics course would know this.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Perhaps the government was the one who greedily handed out loans, like they were going out of fashion, to people who simply could not afford them.

You finally figured that out? Thank A.C.O.R.N. and Jess Jackson for that!

[mRx 16]

Perhaps the government was the one who greedily handed out loans, like they were going out of fashion, to people who simply could not afford them.

Where'd the money come from, BY? The Federal Reserve, of course. AFAIK, that's the only place in the USA that can legally create money. Of course, you're welcome to prove that wrong...

As a side observation:

Greedily handing out loans? LOL! That's an oxymoron, if I've ever seen one!

[Ali G. 37]

That's your opinion but it was no relation to reality. 90%! Most of the other wealthier nations per capita GDP have small populations and all of them combined wouldn't be close to the U.S. population.

The infrastructure in the US is embarrassing and dilapidated, to debate that is laughable. Even the use of google streeview illustrates that.

Conspiracies need a little proof and you don't have a shred of evidence. You saw the movie about GM or Ford plotted to destroy the trolleys and bus lines, right? Didn't happen that way as commutting patterns extended beyond the bus lines and most Americans wanted a car and still do. If you haven't figured that one out yet, you've missed out on how over 90% of Americans get to work. Didn't say people using public transport were idiots- you did. I know lot more about transportation and land use than you do- I'm a transportation planner.

Maybe I am wrong regarding this. Nonetheless, it was idiotic and short-sided to rip them out of the ground.

You might want to click on the picture in my signature. After all, there is a reason the first US comes in ranked 47. If you look towards countries that are not as old as the US, or in a modernization trend, people are centered around metropolitan areas. The opposite seems to be happening here, with most outside a few major cities, living in the suburbs or even exurbs. The $4 gas prices illustrated just how stupid and inefficient this expansion was and is.

Edited February 18, 2010 by Booyah

[Revenesque 2]

The big difference was that the U.S. was the largest creditor nation in world during the Great Depression and people weren't up their necks in debt. Some government spending would make sense if invested in something worthwhile but there is little evidence of that for the money spent.

But people back then were up their necks in debt. Debtness, money contraction and deflation lead to the Great Depression.

[mawilson 2,133]

But people back then were up their necks in debt.

Just like they are now?

[mRx 16]

The robber barons of the 19th century gave capitalism a bad name

Don't buy into that "robber baron" #######, Bill.

J. Rockefeller of Standard Oil drastically slashed the price of oil during his domination of the US-petrol industry.

Rockefeller merely outperformed his opponents during his time. His inefficient opponents labeled him as a "robber baron." But he just ran a more efficient business...

[ready4ONE 5,400]

You have no proof of that.

Google derivatives. And you have no proof it is otherwise...