who would you like to be president?

[militarymd]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Who would you guys vote for?

 

[jetproppilot]

Whoever protects my interests, my kids interests, and can get us outta Iraq.

 

[Planktonmd]

Who would you guys vote for?

Bill Clinton.

 

[militarymd]

Bill Clinton.

how did I know that's your pick?

 

[lord_jeebus]

Jet

 

[Planktonmd]

how did I know that's your pick?

😀

 

[patch28]

Ron Paul Revolution!

Seriously, he should have a spot on the poll. He's doing a lot better than Guliani.

I really liked Mike Gravel the most, though, before he dropped out of the race.

 

[zippy2u]

Truth be told, I've never voted for any candidate, I don't vote and damm proud of it! Regards, ---Zip

 

[Salt Creep]

The poll does need a spot for Ron Paul.

 

[johankriek]

I know military will disagree with me because he hates black people but obama is the least divisive and the only one who is interested in puttin gpartisan politics aside and putting the business of the country in the forefront. Romney is a joker.. vote for mccain and he will never ever get us out of iraq. I agree not the strongest pool..HIllary will destroy medicine

 

[Canrenone]

I vote for the person and not for the party. My favorites are Romney and Obama. I think they are good people who represent what is good about America.

 

[Canrenone]

The two I can't stand are Billary and the Huckster. Can't we get a woman President who is elected because of her record not on the back of her husband. It seems too third world.?

 

[cfdavid]

I like Ron Paul, but also Romney. We need to shore up our debt. This means a responsible contraction of our forces abroad. We can still carry the biggest stick. We just need to keep it closer to home.

If we're expected to police the world, and retain protective forces all around the world, then we need to start charging for our services!! I'm kind of serious. It's not like our aircraft carriers aren't guaranteeing everyone ELSES oil supply as well.....

It's too bad how little attention the press pays to Ron Paul.

 

[Dr Serenity]

He has about a snowball's chance in hell of winning the presidency. I agree, though, with a lot of what he has to say.

Just might vote for him as a write-in candidate.

Even though he likely won't win, at least I'll have some "say" in the political process and will have the right to complain when the joker we do elect president manages to screw things up even worse than they are now.

 

[amyl]

i agree -- was disappointed not to see ron pauls name on the poll...count another for him.

 

[dhb]

Ron Paul, he might be extreme in some aspects but the current situation warrants extreme changes... + he's a physician

 

[aged]

I suspect all of the enthusiasim for Ron Paul would dissapear if his plans to cut back the federal govenmnet (medicare, medicaid, student loans etc) would come to pass.

 

[cfdavid]

I suspect all of the enthusiasim for Ron Paul would dissapear if his plans to cut back the federal govenmnet (medicare, medicaid, student loans etc) would come to pass.

Well, I don't think the plan is to do it in one fell swoop. His premise is to scale back our overseas obligations, because they're costing us so much cash. This isn't an easy thing to do, but over time, I think it's a good idea.

Just doing that would free up a lot of cash (actually, it's debt mostly).

He does have some out-of-the-box ideas, but if handled correctly over a few successive terms, things could get done.

Not sure I'd agree with his LEVEL of scale back, but perhaps somewhere in between. The bottom line is that we can't continue with this debt indefinately, and none of the other candidates have spoken to this little secret.

 

[amyl]

I suspect all of the enthusiasim for Ron Paul would dissapear if his plans to cut back the federal govenmnet (medicare, medicaid, student loans etc) would come to pass.

not a chance from me...but then i am a heartless libertarian 😉

but i agree this country isn't ready...this kind of change takes time.

 

[militarymd]

bump....would like to get MORE votes

 

[militarymd]

743 views and only 88 votes.....What a voter turn out....and you didn't even have to miss work and go somewhere inconvenient.

 

[cfdavid]

743 views and only 88 votes.....What a voter turn out....and you didn't even have to miss work and go somewhere inconvenient.

I know, it's all I can do to keep myself from voting TWICE, as I see Romney slipping to McCain.....lol Do you realize how tempting this is!?

 

[Lonestar]

Romney has a problem. I don't know what he stands for (he reminds me too much of John Kerry --good talker, flip-flopper and thats it). With a democratic house and senate, i don't know if he can compromize with the other side (if he does then what is he going to compromize on)????? I know he is lying and appears too polished. In other words, he would make a good CEO that will not get anything done while in office (if he wins the general election--i highly doubt it). Don't get me started about his foreign experience. He is not the person the republican party wants to put up against Billary or Barack Hussein Obama (both are garbage). Eventhough i have never voted before, if hillary gets the the nod from the Dems that i will vote for anyone running against her. Mccain gets my vote.

 

[Trisomy13]

Barack Hussein Obama (both are garbage)...

i'm surprised by how many people i meet who think Obama is Muslim... i guess it's the middle name.

i'd be happy with him if only for the fact that we'd have a president who could articulate his thoughts. i know, i know... i'm making an assumption that our current prez *has* thoughts 🙄

i'm still undecided, not loyal to any particular party, and waiting to see which bozos we get to choose from. nobody looks anywhere near ideal at this point.

 

[Ferdie]

oprah.

 

[Noyac]

This poll appears to be spot on for the future.

 

[rmd722]

Assuming that Noyac is correct and that this group represents a good cross section of the voting population, I wonder what the poll result would look like between Mccain and Obama.

 

[g3pro]

McCain is good for healthcare? There is only one who would be a great president for physicians... the only doctor running for president. Dr. Ron Paul. Nobody else compares.

 

[Lonestar]

i'm surprised by how many people i meet who think Obama is Muslim... i guess it's the middle name.

i'd be happy with him if only for the fact that we'd have a president who could articulate his thoughts. i know, i know... i'm making an assumption that our current prez *has* thoughts 🙄

i'm still undecided, not loyal to any particular party, and waiting to see which bozos we get to choose from. nobody looks anywhere near ideal at this point.

if you think i believe Obama is a muslim then you are insulting my intelligence. I believe he is garbage because all he does is pontificate. NO ACTION. His views are not mainstream. THEY ARE FAR TO THE LEFT. He does make good speeches (that will not move the country forward in itself). Hence i will not be voting for him.

 

[Trisomy13]

if you think i believe Obama is a muslim then you are insulting my intelligence. I believe he is garbage because all he does is pontificate. NO ACTION. His views are not mainstream. THEY ARE FAR TO THE LEFT. He does make good speeches (that will not move the country forward in itself). Hence i will not be voting for him.

no, i didn't think you had that belief, but your post reminded me of two encounters last week with residents who thought he was and that belief seemed to color their thoughts of him. no intent to insult your intelligence. i just quoted your post because it was the trigger for my thoughts.

it's speech season, all any of them are doing is pontificating. 🙄

left, right, mainstream, etc. it's all semantics and labels we use to divide ourselves. no point to that, really. it makes for good talk radio though.

 

[McLame]

The two I can't stand are Billary and the Huckster. Can't we get a woman President who is elected because of her record not on the back of her husband. It seems too third world.?

We know Hillary Rotten and Obama will ruin healthcare, raise taxes and grow the government.

John Mc Cain (aka, McLame, McAmnesty,) Is a RINO who will loose if nominated and ruin the republican party for a decade if elected. Conservatives detest McLame. He's a Democrat in Republican clothing; a liberal.

Huckaphoney who has no chance needs to drop out to keep Romney from loosing to McLame. If it was only Romney and McLame, Mclame would not have a chance.

McCAIN ATTACKS FELLOW REPUBLICANS

A Top Ten List ...

1. Defending His Amnesty Bill, Sen. McCain Lost His Temper And "Screamed, 'F*ck You!' At Texas Sen. John Cornyn" (R-TX) (Charles Hurt, "Raising McCain," New York Post, 5/19/07)

2. In 2000, Sen. McCain Ran An Attack Ad Comparing Then-Gov. George W. Bush To Bill Clinton. " (McCain 2000, Campaign Ad, 2/9/00; www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHoXkCprdL4)

3. Sen. McCain Repeatedly Called Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) An "A**hole", Causing A Fellow GOP Senator To Say, "I Didn't Want This Guy Anywhere Near A Trigger." "Senator Hothead," Newsweek, 2/21/00)

4. Sen. McCain Had A Heated Exchange With Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) And Called Him A "F*cking Jerk." (Evan Thomas, et al., "Senator Hothead," Newsweek, 2/21/00)

5. In 1995, Sen. McCain Had A "Scuffle" With 92-Year-Old Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) On The Senate Floor. (Harry Jaffe, "Senator Hothead," The Washingtonian, 2/97)

6. Sen. McCain Accused Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Of The "Most Egregious Incident" Of Corruption He Had Seen In The Senate. (Amy Keller, "Attacks Escalate In Depositions," Roll Call, 10/21/02)

7. Sen. McCain Attacked Christian Leaders And Republicans In A Blistering Speech During The 2000 Campaign. MCCAIN: "Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell are corrupting influences on religion and politics" (Sen. John McCain, Remarks, Virginia Beach, VA, 2/28/00)

8. Sen. McCain Attacked Vice President Cheney. (Roger Simon, "McCain Bashes Cheney Over Iraq Policy," The Politico, 1/24/07)

9. Celebrating His First Senate Election In 1986, Sen. McCain Screamed At And Harassed A Young Republican Volunteer. Hinz said McCain's treatment of the young campaign worker in 1986 troubled him for years. "He (McCain) was screaming at him, and he was red in the face. It wasn't right, and I was very upset at him.'" (Kris Mayes and Charles Kelly, "Stories Surface On Senator's Demeanor," The Arizona Republic, 11/5/99)

10. Sen. McCain "Publicly Abused" Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). "McCain often insults people and flies off the handle... There have been the many times McCain has called reporters 'liars' and 'idiots' when they have had the audacity to ask him unpleasant, but pertinent, questions. McCain once... publicly abused Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama." (Editorial, "There's Something About McCain," The Austin American-Statesman, 1/24/07)

 

[cfdavid]

We know Hillary Rotten and Obama will ruin healthcare, raise taxes and grow the government.

John Mc Cain (aka, McLame, McAmnesty,) Is a RINO who will loose if nominated and ruin the republican party for a decade if elected. Conservatives detest McLame. He's a Democrat in Republican clothing; a liberal.

Huckaphoney who has no chance needs to drop out to keep Romney from loosing to McLame. If it was only Romney and McLame, Mclame would not have a chance.

McCAIN ATTACKS FELLOW REPUBLICANS

A Top Ten List ...

1. Defending His Amnesty Bill, Sen. McCain Lost His Temper And "Screamed, 'F*ck You!' At Texas Sen. John Cornyn" (R-TX) (Charles Hurt, "Raising McCain," New York Post, 5/19/07)

2. In 2000, Sen. McCain Ran An Attack Ad Comparing Then-Gov. George W. Bush To Bill Clinton. " (McCain 2000, Campaign Ad, 2/9/00; www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHoXkCprdL4)

3. Sen. McCain Repeatedly Called Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) An "A**hole", Causing A Fellow GOP Senator To Say, "I Didn't Want This Guy Anywhere Near A Trigger." "Senator Hothead," Newsweek, 2/21/00)

4. Sen. McCain Had A Heated Exchange With Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) And Called Him A "F*cking Jerk." (Evan Thomas, et al., "Senator Hothead," Newsweek, 2/21/00)

5. In 1995, Sen. McCain Had A "Scuffle" With 92-Year-Old Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) On The Senate Floor. (Harry Jaffe, "Senator Hothead," The Washingtonian, 2/97)

6. Sen. McCain Accused Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Of The "Most Egregious Incident" Of Corruption He Had Seen In The Senate. (Amy Keller, "Attacks Escalate In Depositions," Roll Call, 10/21/02)

7. Sen. McCain Attacked Christian Leaders And Republicans In A Blistering Speech During The 2000 Campaign. MCCAIN: “Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell are corrupting influences on religion and politics” (Sen. John McCain, Remarks, Virginia Beach, VA, 2/28/00)

8. Sen. McCain Attacked Vice President Cheney. (Roger Simon, "McCain Bashes Cheney Over Iraq Policy," The Politico, 1/24/07)

9. Celebrating His First Senate Election In 1986, Sen. McCain Screamed At And Harassed A Young Republican Volunteer. Hinz said McCain's treatment of the young campaign worker in 1986 troubled him for years. “He (McCain) was screaming at him, and he was red in the face. It wasn't right, and I was very upset at him.'" (Kris Mayes and Charles Kelly, "Stories Surface On Senator's Demeanor," The Arizona Republic, 11/5/99)

10. Sen. McCain "Publicly Abused" Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). “McCain often insults people and flies off the handle... There have been the many times McCain has called reporters 'liars' and 'idiots' when they have had the audacity to ask him unpleasant, but pertinent, questions. McCain once... publicly abused Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama." (Editorial, "There's Something About McCain," The Austin American-Statesman, 1/24/07)

I can NOT stand McCain. The dude's from Arizona for Christ's sake, and he's taken a chump stance on immigration.

You can look at his record in two ways:
1) he's a leader with strong principals that is willing to cross party lines in order to get the job done, even at a compromise.

2) legislating under the "guise" of bridge building is one of the easiest ways to gain short term political capital. it's taking the EASY way out by snubbing the rest of the party. the media will eat it up, and usually portray #1 from above. hence, he's gained political capital by turning his back on party values time and time again. this isn't the mark of a moral man.

 

[Monty Python]

Who would you guys vote for?

Two days ago John Edwards gave his withdrawl speech in New Orleans. He reemphasized his commitment to "ending poverty in America" and got Obama and Hillary to voice their promise to honor this commitment as part of their own campaigns.

While I'm all for ending poverty as a great idea for humanity, I firmly believe letting Big Government attempt to do it is the absolutely worst way. You're talking more bureaucracy, more bureaucrats, more taxation/giveaways, etc.

The best way to end poverty is to allow the free market / private enterprise / capitalism to create better-paying jobs. You do this with minimal government intrusion, less bureaucracy, and fiscal conditions which are conducive to private investment.

Many economic theories on creating the most favorable conditions for the free market to work it's wonders can be summarized:

-- respect for the rule of law
-- sound money (control the printing press to avoid inflation and subsequent devaluation of the currency)
-- private property rights

I'd like to add: minimal government.

Our genius Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution wanted a very weak federal government, knowing it would allow the market and private enterprise to work wonders. So far it's done pretty well. We need to keep Big Government under control. Voting for a presidential candidate who pledges to "eliminate proverty" under the guise of increasingly intrusive bureaucracy is not the way to go.

PS. For those of you not yet subscribed, may I suggest bi-weekly reading of Forbes? Best self-education you'll ever get on the business of America.

PPS. To view nationalized health care under Hillary, just stroll through your local VA hospital. While 99.9% of VA staff care about their patients, the bureaucracy is suffocating and represents a true impediment to quality patient care. Or, talk to someone in England or Canada for their take on government run healthcare.

PPPS. In your many hours of free time, read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, written several centuries ago. Will give you an entirely new perspective on what happens when countries drift away from their founding principles and move towards big government.

 

[swpm]

John Mc Cain (aka, McLame, McAmnesty,) Is a RINO who will loose if nominated and ruin the republican party for a decade if elected.

Don't look now, but GWB already accomplished that mission, too.

I want a president who will reduce spending, raise taxes to start paying off the national debt, keep his clumsy monkey hands off healthcare, and start building nuclear power plants by the dozen (my backyard would be fine). For starters.

No candidate's running on that platform though, so I guess I'll just continue to be disappointed for another 4 years.

 

[Monty Python]

..... I want a president who will reduce spending, raise taxes to start paying off the national debt, keep his clumsy monkey hands off healthcare, and start building nuclear power plants by the dozen (my backyard would be fine).... .

(1) There's always fat in the budget to cut. It's called "earmarks" attached to Congressional bills, which usually have no connection to the titled legislation being debated.

Luckily the current rate of deficit spending is a small percentage of the gross domestic product, smaller than in previous decades. In and of itself, the deficit right now isn't that much of a problem .... right now.....

The problem appears on the horizon (circa 2015 and beyond) due to entitlement promises, ie, Social Security and Medicare. When the full brunt of the Baby Boomer generation reaches the age threshold to access those promised benefits, we're going to see the AARP become the worst enemy of the younger generations. I truly fear for intergenerational political warfare in the next decade, to the overall detriment of the country.

(2) I was in high school during the oil embargo of the early 1970s and sat through many gas lines. It's inexcusible that we've WASTED three decades not solving our dependence on a foreign commodity needed to run the economy. How complicit is Big Oil in this? Oh, I forgot, Bush 1 and Bush 2 are former oilmen, as was Cheney.

 

[cfdavid]

Two days ago John Edwards gave his withdrawl speech in New Orleans. He reemphasized his commitment to "ending poverty in America" and got Obama and Hillary to voice their promise to honor this commitment as part of their own campaigns.

While I'm all for ending poverty as a great idea for humanity, I firmly believe letting Big Government attempt to do it is the absolutely worst way. You're talking more bureaucracy, more bureaucrats, more taxation/giveaways, etc.

The best way to end poverty is to allow the free market / private enterprise / capitalism to create better-paying jobs. You do this with minimal government intrusion, less bureaucracy, and fiscal conditions which are conducive to private investment.

Many economic theories on creating the most favorable conditions for the free market to work it's wonders can be summarized:

-- respect for the rule of law
-- sound money (control the printing press to avoid inflation and subsequent devaluation of the currency)
-- private property rights

I'd like to add: minimal government.

Our genius Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution wanted a very weak federal government, knowing it would allow the market and private enterprise to work wonders. So far it's done pretty well. We need to keep Big Government under control. Voting for a presidential candidate who pledges to "eliminate proverty" under the guise of increasingly intrusive bureaucracy is not the way to go.

PS. For those of you not yet subscribed, may I suggest bi-weekly reading of Forbes? Best self-education you'll ever get on the business of America.

PPS. To view nationalized health care under Hillary, just stroll through your local VA hospital. While 99.9% of VA staff care about their patients, the bureaucracy is suffocating and represents a true impediment to quality patient care. Or, talk to someone in England or Canada for their take on government run healthcare.

PPPS. In your many hours of free time, read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, written several centuries ago. Will give you an entirely new perspective on what happens when countries drift away from their founding principles and move towards big government.

While I've not read this book, one I can recommend is Day of Reckoning by Pat Buchanan. He addresses what I assume is the premise that all large empires fall, and fall hard not without a lot of pain.

 

[cfdavid]

(1) There's always fat in the budget to cut. It's called "earmarks" attached to Congressional bills, which usually have no connection to the titled legislation being debated.

Luckily the current rate of deficit spending is a small percentage of the gross domestic product, smaller than in previous decades. In and of itself, the deficit right now isn't that much of a problem .... right now.....

The problem appears on the horizon (circa 2015 and beyond) due to entitlement promises, ie, Social Security and Medicare. When the full brunt of the Baby Boomer generation reaches the age threshold to access those promised benefits, we're going to see the AARP become the worst enemy of the younger generations. I truly fear for intergenerational political warfare in the next decade, to the overall detriment of the country.

(2) I was in high school during the oil embargo of the early 1970s and sat through many gas lines. It's inexcusible that we've WASTED three decades not solving our dependence on a foreign commodity needed to run the economy. How complicit is Big Oil in this? Oh, I forgot, Bush 1 and Bush 2 are former oilmen, as was Cheney.

The deficit IS a problem right now from the perspective that our RATE of increasing deficit is staggering, and we'll have less and less means to correct for it as time goes on and our economy weakens. Not to mention that it'll take years to pull back on our spending, since our obligations are so great.

Guys, this is the time to be very conservative with your cash, even defensive. I hope I'm wrong, but am personally convinced we're heading for tough times like we haven't seen in our lifetimes.
I know it's easy to preach doom and gloom, but man.... Too many fundamentals are out of wack.....

 

[zippy2u]

Zippy's mind frame pretty much 24/7: Search You Tube's "George Carlin--The American Dream" ---wake up call for the sheep... Oh, he doesn't vote either. Regards, ----Zip

 

[OldManDave]

Ron Paul Revolution!

Seriously, he should have a spot on the poll. He's doing a lot better than Guliani.

I really liked Mike Gravel the most, though, before he dropped out of the race.

Ron Paul baby...even though he does not have an ice cube's chance in hell of getting elected.

In the NH primaries, I wrote myself in as the VP candidate. So, for ****s & giggles, you all should write me in for the VP slot, if you have that option.

If I were to get in, the FIRST thing I would request is a pad of pink slips about 6 inches thick & start firing a buncha friggin governmental deadweight!!!!


AND, if you are for an free market driven economy, fair & equitable taxation, minimization of governmental interference in your lives, personal economy, trade & our profession - check out the libertarian party. The posture is generally fiscally conservative & socially liberal - not in the sense of handouts. That is highly frowned upon by the libertarian party as just another form of big-gov't digging into your pockets to affect the social fabric, where they have NO F-ING BUSINESS! Social liberalism, under the libertarian rubric is essentially, you can do what ever the hell you want to do as long as it does not impinge upon someone else's liberties. Out gov't waste BILLIONS of $$ tilting windmills - attempting to control & eradicate victimless crimes.

 

[pd4emergence]

I am not registered to vote. The unfortunate thing about registering is jury duty. It seems like every month or so I have at least one partner get selected for jury duty. Recently I had two get selected at the same time. I will register at the latest possible moment and vote (or maybe not). It doesn't really matter much anyways. My state will vote republican, it always has and it always will. Democratic candidates don't even bother to visit here. It is a waste of thier time.

 

[Ketamininus]

Happily registered Independent.

Unhappily considering the slate of candidates currently running.

I shudder at the thought of Romney, Huckabee, or Hillary being our next commander-in-chief...particularly for what Hillary would do to medicine.

I like Obama slightly over McCain right now, but will wait to see how things shake out after Super Tuesday and as they continue to define the issues they support.

 

[starsop93]

For all you conservatives worried about big government, what do you think we have now??? George Bush and the Republicans have grown the government massively over the last 7 years to a point never imagined. And it hasn't been because of earmarks. Seriously, those are a TINY percentage of the fiscal problem our government has. And for some reason the massive amount of earmarks during Republican control of congress wasn't nearly the problem they are today with the Democrats in charge... Wonder why?

The greatest period of American growth and prosperity occurred during the "Big Governments" of FDR, Truman and Eisenhower. Big government isn't the problem. Putting people in charge of the government who think government doesn't or can't work IS the problem. What motivation do the anti-big government Republicans have to make government work?? They've been telling us for years that it won't. If they prove themselves wrong, then they have nothing to run on except abortion and homophobia. It's time we put some people in the office who will say that big government is a reality and isn't likely to change anytime soon. We need to make it work like we know it can (see the 1940s and 1950s).

As far as the healthcare debate goes, nobody from the Republican side has anything to offer. Health savings accounts? Seriously??? HSAs discourage preventive care and encourage big ticket items. They also remove the healthiest and wealthiest from the general insurance pool. It's far more likely those will DECREASE the number of INSURED, not the other way around. Despite the hatred many of you have of Clinton, she has the best plan bar none. Obama's is okay but not comprehensive. Both of them could make the system better and more efficient without dramatically changing the current structure. I'm not sure that that is the best option (I think single payer is) but it will be a lot better than we have now, and far more likely to garner bipartisan support. And the argument that the VA is what we'll get is silly, because the VA of today isn't the VA of the 70s and 80s. The VA is a story of amazing success given limited resources and funding. The studies show they provide better evidence-based care than the private sector, and few vets would give it up. It should be what you conservatives look at as a cost-effective way to provide health care, but it's not because it's "Socialized".. AHHHH!!!!

 

[Ferdie]

John Mc Cain (aka, McLame, McAmnesty,) Is a RINO who will loose if nominated and ruin the republican party for a decade if elected. Conservatives detest McLame. He's a Democrat in Republican clothing; a liberal. [/SIZE]

that's why I like him

 

[powermd]

]
The best way to end poverty is to allow the free market / private enterprise / capitalism to create better-paying jobs. You do this with minimal government intrusion, less bureaucracy, and fiscal conditions which are conducive to private investment.

Are you sure about that? From 1980-1990 the poverty rate increased from 13-13.5% of the US population. If you were right, I would have expected Reagan/Bush Sr. to have had some impact. Doesn't seem like trickle-down economics did much to help reduce poverty. Maybe we just need to give it a few hundred years to work!

Then again, maybe the problem of poverty is a little more complicated than you think. We have a lot of homeless people living in the subway here in New York. None of them seem to be the sort who would make out well if offered a real job.

In case you're interested, the poverty rate DID FALL to 11.3% by 2000. Hmmm.... I don't purport to have any answers on this subject, but I'm pretty sure trickle-down economics doesn't help the bottom class.

And there's a problem with setting economic conditions such that the upper class has the money to offer people better paying jobs- they keep it for themselves! When they're not making campaign contributions to republicans.

Poverty in 1980
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/prevcps/p60-133.pdf

Poverty in 1990
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/prevcps/p60-175.pdf

 

[Lonestar]

Happily registered Independent.

Unhappily considering the slate of candidates currently running.

I shudder at the thought of Romney, Huckabee, or Hillary being our next commander-in-chief...particularly for what Hillary would do to medicine.

I like Obama slightly over McCain right now, but will wait to see how things shake out after Super Tuesday and as they continue to define the issues they support.

I agree with about the choices of candidates. McCain and Obama have something positive going for them. McCain is a centrist and his record in the senate proves his ability to cross the aisle. Obama is new and has the "change is good for America" going. However if you look at the voting record of obama, he is pretty gutless to go against the democratic establishment. Part of it is due to his "newness" to the senate. But when he talks about uniting the country, i need to see further evidence before i can trust him. I don't think the American public wants to see 4 yrs of a presidency just colluding with a democratic congress to pass bills that are not mainstream. If this is the change we want, then this is the change that will happen.

 

[Monty Python]

Are you sure about that? From 1980-1990 the poverty rate increased from 13-13.5% of the US population. If you were right, I would have expected Reagan/Bush Sr. to have had some impact. Doesn't seem like trickle-down economics did much to help reduce poverty. Maybe we just need to give it a few hundred years to work!

I think you hit the nail on the head.

It takes several years for new legislation and economic policies which affect the overall business climate to trickle down. Think back to the economic mess which Reagan inherited from Carter. Reagan's policy shifts took several years to fully implement (during which things actually got a little worse), which then took several more years before the overall economy felt the positive effect.

Clinton inherited the full positive bloom of economic policies instituted by his two predecessors. I don't believe Clinton can take much of the credit for the economic conditions of the 1990s --- he got lucky and inherited (and took credit for) it.

The bottom-line doesn't turn on a dime.

 

[Monty Python]

Are you sure about that?

The best way to end poverty is to allow the free market / private enterprise / capitalism to create better-paying jobs. You do this with minimal government intrusion, less bureaucracy, and fiscal conditions which are conducive to private investment.

.

Please allow me to re-phrase: the least worst way to end poverty is to minimize intrusive bureaucratic government, and allow the private marketplace to do its thing.

 

[oudoc08]

Well the CRNA's seem to like Obama, so for whatever that's worth.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/group/CertifiedRegisteredNurseAnesthetistsCRNA

 

[Tenesma]

you have to look at what poverty means ---

the concept that it is possible to "end poverty" (like Edwards used to proclaim) is a mis-concept in a non-communist/marxist society.

There will ALWAYS be people who earn less then others...

Most people in poverty have access to free medication, free medical care, free transportation - most have a TV, a bed, and can get food stamps.

100 years ago most of that would not be true...

If we generously have the government give 20k/year to all those who meet poverty guidelines, then there will STILL be complaints of inequality between the classes...

And even in a communist society where technically everybody is equal there will still always who have more... human nature