A question

[Douglas Dubh]

And what about all the pork barrel policies the Republicans put through in this budget, like buying new drying equipment for tobacco farmers instead of developing new crops for them that will grow well in there area?

And yet, for all the pork, many Democrats complained that the budget wasn't big enough.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Originally posted by Bob NC
Yes. Children now have a president they can look up to and respect.

Children can watch the news about their president without learning about oral sex and adultery.

Amen to that.

 

[Pyg Me]

Originally posted by EltonJohn
BA in history and speech pathology.

diane

And you wonder why you can not find a job?

 

[Pyg Me]

Originally posted by Chuck S
Hmmm, while I'm sure that some folks have gotten pay raises, many others have lost their jobs. Those retirees that saved and invested for their future have seen their income from dividends and interest fall drastically - never mind the value of the principal invested in the stock, reducing their buying power and general welfare as a group. Wasn't there a promise of help for medicare recipients with prescriptions? Oh, and the "Big" 1% raise in Social Security was eaten up by increases in medicare premiums. Prices for necessities, like energy, have risen dramatically.

Chuck, you do know that the last recession started in the final year of Clinton's term, correct? You are aware that we are no longer in a recession, correct? The $300 proposal that you belittle in another post was first floated by Democratic VP Candidate Lieberman.

You know that a HUGE portion of the stock market troubles are because of Enron which was festering during the Clinton adminitration, correct?

You are aware, that social Security is a huge ponzi scheme that has to be fixed, correct?

 

[Pyg Me]

Originally posted by Chuck S
And what about all the pork barrel policies the Republicans put through in this budget, like buying new drying equipment for tobacco farmers instead of developing new crops for them that will grow well in there area? The budget isn't Clinton's fault if Republicans designed it and passed it.

Do you know who the biggest purveyor of Pork Barrel Politics is? Why it is none other than Democrat Robert KKK Byrd.

 

[Pyg Me]

At any rate, I am glad that "Trickle Down Immorality" has come to an end.

 

[annemariec]

Originally posted by Bob NC
Yes. Children now have a president they can look up to and respect.

Children can watch the news about their president without learning about oral sex and adultery.

Another amen to that.

Annemarie

 

[megashark]

There seems to be a dearth of actual answers to the question.

I guess not much has improved. I am glad that the military will be getting pay raises.

There are of course the usual snipes at Clinton. It seems that whenever there is a question of what the administration is actually delivering, Bushies try to deflect the question by attacking Clinton.

It was great to see Dole last night on Hardball, never rising to the bait to trash the Clintons. He's a class act, I hope they don't drum him out of the Republican party for not having the usual attack-dog mentality.

 

[Bob NC]

Originally posted by megashark
There seems to be a dearth of actual answers to the question.

There are of course the usual snipes at Clinton. It seems that whenever there is a question of what the administration is actually delivering, Bushies try to deflect the question by attacking Clinton.

Your original question,

Originally posted by megashark

Has any aspect of life in the US improved since the Bush administration took over?

begged a comparison. You asked how things "improved". Just because you don't like the valid answer to your direct question is no reason to berate posters for answering you directly.

I can see, though, why you don't appreciate the honest answers.

BTW....Your question was NOT:...."a question of what the administration is actually delivering"....Your question was:..."Has any aspect of life in the US improved?"

How can we state "improvements", without comparisons?

 

[Dan Murfman]

I'll bite. With interest rates at what they are My wife and I have refinanced our home and took extra cash and paid off all our credit cards. So with the money we saved on the CCs and lower mortgage payment we hope to have the money to buy our dream house next year.

 

[sha_lyn]

Yes our life has improved. OK so maybe I'll get bashed for Bring Clinton into this but his politics are a factor.

About 7 or 8 Yrs ago NAFTA was "increased" to the point where it became very profitable for Amcerican based companies to move to Mexico (and Central American I believe). Huge industrial parks began construction in Mexico right after that. Most of the companies moving into the industrial pakrs were US based companies. One of Which was DH's former employer. While the "seed" was planted during the Clinton yrs the industrail park was not completed until late 2001 and early 2002. This caused many people to be laid off in the Atlanta area and I assume all over the country, since not only the Atlanta plants were relocated to Mexico. When we went to Mexico in 96, I saw the size of the park that DH's employer was moving to. Many US companies were building plants there also.

However both of DH's present jobs are directly effected by military spending. He is in the AFR and works in the production of cockpit instruments for military aircraft.

The lower interest rates have also benifitted our lifes. We bought a "fixer upper" 5 1/2 yrs ago. However, after learning that DH would be laid off we put off any construction on our home. DH was near the top of the payscale in his old job. While thankful for his new one (and the security of keeping the job, this job will not go over seas because of security issues) we took a 1/3 cut in income, but at least he had a job. Many he worked with have not found a job (in their field) yet because they can not meet requirements to work in high security jobs. Now with rates so low we have refinaced our home and paid off a few bills and borrowed enough to do the work needed on our home. Even with borrowing the extra money, our monthly payments are less than what we were paying (for the house and the 2 bills we paid off).

 

[The Hunt]

I can understand that people think we are better off without Clinton--I agreed with him on many issues, but his personal behavior sullied the White House. But if we had a potted plant as President, we'd still have that improvement in our lives.

Financially, my family is much worse off than when Clinton was in office, because of the decline in the stock market. Lower interest rates hurt us, because we also have money in interest-bearing accounts. Elimination of the estate tax could help us financially.

In other respects, I don't see much change. I don't think Americans are better educated, the poor are better cared for, etc.

 

[Galahad]

The (seeming) overriding assumption isn't valid....that anything good or bad in one's life during the course of a presidential administration is somehow attributable to that administration. Our life, personally is both better and worse. None of it has anything to do with either Clinton or Bush. The job stability situation for I.T. folks started in earnest while Clinton was still president, so my nervousness over job security has nothing to do with President Bush. We were prosperous in both the 80's and 90's. I don't attribute either of those states to either Reagan or Clinton per se. I think the "are you better off now" question is complete hogwash. My success or that of my family does not depend upon who is in government. Those things that lead to today's economic woes may not have been "caused" by Clinton, but they all were well set in place long before GWB took office.

 

[Galahad]

IMO, it's very sad that GWB can't focus on rebuilding the economy and creating more jobs

What Specifically do you suggest he do about that that he's not already doing?

 

[Galahad]

You know that a HUGE portion of the stock market troubles are because of Enron which was festering during the Clinton adminitration, correct?

Let's not forget the great dot-com New Economy "miracle". A good economy built on lies (either corporate, governmental, or pie-in-the-sky) is not a good economy at all.

 

[Steve H.]

Originally posted by Galahad
The (seeming) overriding assumption isn't valid....that anything good or bad in one's life during the course of a presidential administration is somehow attributable to that administration. Our life, personally is both better and worse. None of it has anything to do with either Clinton or Bush. The job stability situation for I.T. folks started in earnest while Clinton was still president, so my nervousness over job security has nothing to do with President Bush. We were prosperous in both the 80's and 90's. I don't attribute either of those states to either Reagan or Clinton per se. I think the "are you better off now" question is complete hogwash. My success or that of my family does not depend upon who is in government. Those things that lead to today's economic woes may not have been "caused" by Clinton, but they all were well set in place long before GWB took office.

I fully agree with that (especially the IT part). It's simple, when the economy's going good, the party whose President is in power likes to claim it's because their President is doing a good job and when the economy's going bad, the opposing party likes to say it's the President's fault. Galahad's right -- the current state of an economy often had little to do with the current government, but rather, is a result of years worth of decisions (and other events not controllable by politicians).

 

[RobDoc]

Originally posted by WebmasterAlex
All new threads must be in a debatable format, offering a viewpoint, stating alternatives and giving the original posters opinion on that viewpoint .

Since this "debate" never met the criteria, please restate the issue using the proper format. We can just continue this discussion on the CB.

Thanks!

"What aspects of life in the US have improved since the Bush administration took over?

(Oops- not sure that meets the "debate" format, so I'll rephrase, but the phrasing may make it sounds like 'fightin words'.)

Has any aspect of life in the US improved since the Bush administration took over?


Last edited by megashark on 02-19-2003 at 10:43 AM"

 

[Saffron]

I can understand that people think we are better off without Clinton--I agreed with him on many issues, but his personal behavior sullied the White House. But if we had a potted plant as President, we'd still have that improvement in our lives.

LOL!

Sorry. Back to the debate/opinions/whatever this is.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Geez does anything stay on the debate board anymore? Are we now expected to adhere to debate format such as in speech class?

 

[Pyg Me]

Originally posted by megashark
, I hope they don't drum him out of the Republican party for not having the usual attack-dog mentality.

Yeah, like claiming "vast right wing conspiracies" Or saything that "you can find anyone to say anything if you drag a dollar through an Arkansas trailer park."

The two biggest "attack dogs" in politics are James Carville and Jesse Jackson.. both democrats.