Lou Dobbs; War on the middle class

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

IMO here is one guy that gets it

Louu Dobbs: War on the middle class

Rot 911 · 10-11-2006, 07:20 AM

Excellent article, unfortunately I don't have much hope.

Jim Richards · 10-11-2006, 07:25 AM

Lou Dodds is OK. I'm not 100% in agreement with the guy, but more so than the professional politicos and the other media talking heads.

Moneyguy1 · 10-11-2006, 07:31 AM

But....but....

Everything is tickety-poo OK.

You guys just don't get it...

Or do you?

Jim Richards · 10-11-2006, 07:50 AM

tickety-poo?

Moneyguy1 · 10-11-2006, 07:54 AM

Yup..

Tickety poo, A-OK, just dandy, no problem, rolling along, and any number of other phrases to convince folks how great the economy is.

P.S. I love the comment about cutting the deficit in half by 2009...In other words, the deficit is still increasing, but at a decreasing rate. If this isn't "Just Dandy", nothing is.

dd74 · 10-11-2006, 07:57 AM

Lou Dobbs is probably the finest journalist CNN has, mostly because he's fairly much bi-partisan. He's bullish with Wall Street, and has had it up to his neck with illegal immigration - those are his issues. He also pulls no punches when it comes to Bush. He definitely has America's ear.

For a while, there was a "Dobbs for President" push back before W's second term.

Hmmm...I wonder if Lou Dobbs was where the theme for Robin Williams' new movie came from.

Nathans_Dad · Nathans_Dad's Garage

Economy has seen 19 straight quarters of growth (that's almost 5 years for all you folks with impaired mathematics), stock market at an all time high, gas prices on their way down and all you guys can talk about his how horrible the economy is...

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Nathans_Dad
Economy has seen 19 straight quarters of growth (that's almost 5 years for all you folks with impaired mathematics), stock market at an all time high, gas prices on their way down and all you guys can talk about his how horrible the economy is...

It's fine if you own a business or a lot of stock, there are a lot of folks that fit into neither catagory, and not because they don't work their tails off either.

Jim Richards · 10-11-2006, 08:08 AM

+1 to Bill

Moneyguy1 · 10-11-2006, 08:09 AM

Rick...You belong to the elite group which is far above the lower half of the nation in income. As such, you are insulated from the trials and tribulations that face millions of people on a daily basis. That is the problem with measuring the economy. As a simple example, a manager may make $100,000 a year whil the secretary makes $20,000. The average is $60,000. But that does not tell the true story, does it? The economy at the present time is performing quite well for the "haves". Go spend some time in Ohio or Michigan and talk to folks who no longer have jobs. Talk to those who are technically "employed", but at a fraction of what they once made. The figures promoted by the administration are misleading and to accept them carte blanche is to minimize the effect on those less fortunate who are NOT loafers, but simply trying to keep their heads above water.

But, sadly, it is a human frailty to pick and choose those facts that support one's views and omitting the rest of the data.

RallyJon · 10-11-2006, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Go spend some time in Ohio or Michigan and talk to folks who no longer have jobs. Talk to those who are technically "employed", but at a fraction of what they once made.

Love to see some accurate stats on that--not just anecdotes. The massive job creation numbers you see today aren't just for computer geeks like in the late '90s.

john walker's workshop · 10-11-2006, 08:16 AM

good things happen around election time on a regular basis.

Jim Richards · 10-11-2006, 08:19 AM

Funny how that is. Like dropping oil prices and rosey economic news. I'm glad I'm not cynical.

Moneyguy1 · 10-11-2006, 08:21 AM

Jim...Me too. Add suspicious about "good news".

RallyJon · 10-11-2006, 08:23 AM

Yeah, they're going to take away all those jobs right after the election.

Being cynical makes sense in an election year. But trying to make a point by fixating on specific cases of specific people who get left behind as the economy changes is fine for Michael Moore, but not very helpful to pinpointing real issues.

Millions of people without health insurance--now there's a real issue with no strawman required.

Nathans_Dad · Nathans_Dad's Garage

Um, yeah guys...dose of reality. The middle and lower classes always have to scrape...always have. Sometimes that is because they just don't make enough wage to make ends meet, sometimes it is because they spend beyond their means.

To measure the economy by how the lower half is doing is the same as measuring it by how the millionaires are doing.

I'm simply saying that even in the greatest economy imaginable you will find people who are just scraping by.

Instead of blaming Bush or whoever for people who are not doing well, how about looking at WHY they aren't doing well?

Moneyguy mentions the rust belt folks. Newsflash. The rust belt has been in decline for decades. They used to be the center of automobile and heavy factory work. Guess what? US Automakers are downsizing. US factories are being out competed by foreign suppliers. The rust belt needs to take a hard look at how their people make their money and try to modernize. It ain't the economy's fault.

Moneyguy1 · 10-11-2006, 08:32 AM

Rally:

The majority of jobs being created are in the service sector, not manufacturing. Service jobs typically are lower paying than manufacturing. There is plenty of information on the internet in the employment sites maintained by the various states.

Here is a start:

www.michlmi.org

lmi.state.oh.us/

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by RallyJon
Yeah, they're going to take away all those jobs right after the election.

Being cynical makes sense in an election year. But trying to make a point by fixating on specific cases of specific people who get left behind as the economy changes is fine for Michael Moore, but not very helpful to pinpointing real issues.

Millions of people without health insurance--now there's a real issue with no strawman required.

Government statics can be and are manipulated, prodded here poked there, include this but not that, in much the same way as corporate balance sheets are to paint whatever picture has been seklected by those at the top of the food chain.

"Let them eat cake"

Saab Pilot · 10-11-2006, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bill Verburg
IMO here is one guy that gets it

Louu Dobbs: War on the middle class

pitching his book, to the Middle Class, about the Middle Class, Dobbs "gets" money from the middle class.

With abundant food, shelter and plasma TV's, the American "Middle class" seems to be doing well.

If not the US, which nation has the best-off middle class?