If I had a nickel for every time Mitt Romney promised voters he'd create 12 million jobs if elected, I'd have nearly as much money as Mitt Romney. To a very real extent, it's become the central argument underpinning Romney's entire candidacy: vote for him, get 12 million jobs.
Indeed, the Republican best known for laying off American workers and failing to create jobs during his one term as governor, has been fairly specific, at least in terms of the goal: he'll not only create 12 million new jobs, Romney will do so in one term.
The main problem with Romney's vague and unspecified jobs plan has been the fact that the economy is on track to create 12 million jobs between 2012 and 2016 anyway. It makes this a pretty weak promise as campaign boasts go.
But to his credit, Glenn Kessler dug a little deeper, and discovered the Romney campaign's central argument is based on a shameless lie.
This is a case of bait-and-switch. Romney, in his convention speech, spoke of his plan to create "12 million new jobs," which the campaign's White Paper describes as a four-year goal.
But the candidate's personal accounting for this figure in this campaign ad is based on different figures and long-range timelines stretching as long as a decade -- which in two cases are based on studies that did not even evaluate Romney's economic plan. The numbers may still add up to 12 million, but they aren't the same thing -- not by a long shot.
Clearly, some clever campaign staffer thought it would be nice to match up poll-tested themes such as "energy independence," "tax reform" and "cracking down on China" with actual job numbers. We just find it puzzling that Romney agreed to personally utter these words without asking more questions about the math behind them.
Romney has had a little trouble with the meaning of the word "studies" lately, so much so that he thinks blog posts from his supporters qualify for the "studies" label.
But this newly-uncovered problem is even more outrageous. The news here borders on scandalous.
Asked about the promise of 12 million jobs, the Romney campaign breaks it down this way: 3 million jobs in the energy sector, 7 million jobs through changes to the tax code, and 2 million jobs from trade and job training. From there's it's just arithmetic: 3 + 7 + 2 = 12. The campaign has a white paper, prepared by Romney economic advisers, intended to bolster the plan.
But the white paper makes no mention of 3 + 7 + 2 = 12. When Kessler asked Team Romney about this, aides sent over an entirely different study, pointing to 12 million new jobs over the course of 10 years as a result of Romney's agenda.
Except, Romney specifically said 12 million jobs over four years. What's more, the "study" that says Romney can create 3 million jobs in the energy sector is based on a Citigroup Global Markets report that never looked at Romney's proposals, and projected what's possible over eight years.
Adding insult to injury, the 2 million jobs through trade comes from a 2011 International Trade Commission report, which also paid no attention to Romney's policies, and doesn't actually say what the Republican campaign claims it says.
It's extraordinary to consider with just three weeks until Election Day, but Mitt Romney's central argument to voters has been exposed as a total fraud.
Greg Sargent added, "Let's recap what Kessler has discovered here. The plan that is central to Romney's candidacy on the most important issue of this election -- jobs -- is a complete sham. This is every bit as bad -- or worse -- than Romney's claim to have created 100,000 jobs at Bain, or his vow to cut spending by eliminating whole agencies without saying which ones, or his refusal to say how he'll pay for his tax cuts."
I don't seriously expect this to rock the presidential campaign, but it certainly has that potential. The revelation is simply that brutal.
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I am amazed that Republicans are whining and complaining that people who will vote Democrat are not being as polite and nice as the Republicans want them to be. Let’s take a look at this. Who are some of these people whom so diligently vote Republican. Certain men who are so narrow-minded that would prefer to shoot a child in the head, because she wants an education and does not want to be subservient and ignorant to a man. In addition, these men would prefer to demand people live a certain way and dictate policies people are forced to live by. These men are so consumed by craving power, corruption, greed, arrogance, being hypocrites, and deceiving they cannot even see the light of day. These men also will force and demand women to believe their falsehoods and that is really unfortunate because these women have been so blinded from the truth. These men will feed on the emotions of women, as they will put her into misery, despair, and death. I’ve seen these men around too often as they try to quote their false Bible scripture or whatever ridiculous thoughts available demanding the woman be silent and subservient to a man as a woman lays down to satisfy a man becoming barefoot and pregnant than getting her butt up to clean the house and raise the children. And of course, this man will be sitting at the couch demanding things of the woman as he sits there drinking his beer watching some sports event. Yes, to these men they think they know how to treat a woman just ask one of them, they will tell you as they quote more bull crap from a Incomplete Bible or some total nonsense thoughts which include some totally off comments including racism. Than of course, when this man gets tired of this woman he discards her like waste as she is loaded up with kids that of coarse he will no longer support or provide for. But even when this man has been with this woman has never provided any real support for the family anyway. But his extremes of hatred is far more important than anything else. Yea sure I’ll be nice and polite to this alright, NOT.
Great post....how very true.
You could have saved a lot of typing by saying "look at John Sununu."
Well Said Deb.....You really need to run for an Office! Need more strong women in Politics!!!! Bravo!!!
Have you noticed that "Al Qaeda" means "the base" and that "Hezbollah" means "The Party of God" in Arabic??
That's who these wingers really have everything in common.
Americans have been cultivated and nurtured into being dumbed down by the Oligarchy! Just look at the plethora of "reality" television, or the "entertainment" celebrity gossip shows - all designed to make people NOT think! That whole "southern strategy" has been turned on it's head til now those same ignorant white men that you talk about are whining because "other" (fill in your group here) are everyone that isn't an ignorant white male!
Just think: the jobs they used to work at have either replaced them with undocumented immigrants that are paid much less, or the business went to low/no wage nations (think: China, India), women have entered the workforce and again they are being paid less than those white men - these are just a few examples of why these men are grumbling, but also points to the larger issue - costs are going up, it takes everyone to go out and get a job to survive! Lord knows salaries haven't kept pace with inflation, and for a while "credit" was easy & cheap, but time changes all things!
Until all working Americans realize that this assault isn't about race/religion but about class and who has the money/power - only then can we come together as a whole people and recognize that WE were duped, that's when we can come together to take back our nation!
Conservatives have always expected liberals to be more tolerant of crapola than they are willing to be of truth.
Jupiterthunder4: No it is always better to explain, especially when I have seen such disgustful crap too much of my life. These men linger on like the plague that needs to be gotten rid of.
So let's see... you're comparing male Christians to the Taliban, and you expect to be taken seriously?
Keep up the good work.
No Shooter, if you read her post in a literal sense she never says that the men she refers to are "Christians". She does point out that there is a segment of the right that purports to use the Bible for their guidance, actually posing as Christians, when in fact they pick and choose the portions that support their behavior and ignore the rest.
The only person that ties the male Christians to the Taliban is you.
Why is that?
You got that right vwterry.
No, vwterry, the post begins with "would prefer to shoot a child in the head," which if anything is a Taliban reference. I agree that chauvinists, sexists, and fascists in the US love to wave flags and thump Bibles, but the hyperbole of that post is breathless and facile.
Life is complex, and even Archie Bunker had his moments. We have enough to criticize right here in front of us without borrowing from horrors halfway around the world.
The only thing I wish Obama would say, is to re mind the public of Mitt's time as a gov. Its amazing this has not been an attack by the campaign. I think it would be great if Obama stated listen you looked at my for years and have criticised it, even though I got unemployment to 7.8. Save the auto industry. Created 5 million jobs. Got us out of Iraq and did this with the lowest rated congress in history. Now Mitt says he is a job creator, but in Mass. as gov he was ranked 48th in job creation. He had more people leave his state looking for work 2nd to Louisiana, hurricane people, but what is the major reason to look at Mitts record, after 4 years as a Gov, Obama leads, in his state by 33% over Mitt. If he did a great job why are they voting for me.
He says the same stuff about being energy independant by year 2020. With fracking, we are already on this course. He then says his plan is to double drilling on government land. I don't know what the % is, but I would bet my hat it is less than 10% of total oil production. Yet the cost is having oil wells in Alaska's reserves and other fragile eco systems. Something someone like Koch drolls about, yet we as Americans can't let happen!
Fracking is one of the most terrifying practices in the world, I hope that Obama fights for more green energy or there may be a day very soon that America is desperately trying to find safe water. I honestly wish the government owned the utilities industry, it would make for a much safer environment.
Thank you. We need to hear more of this issue in our public debate. Fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas are a finite source of fuel, which means all the best estimates are that we will begin to reach the limit of fossil fuels sometime in the next 50 to 60 years. This means in 10 to 20 years we will begin to see fewer and fewer people pursuing careers in the fossil fuel industry because the industry won’t survive long enough for them to work the years required to retire. Because of this awareness, this process could speed up even faster as the world moves toward renewable resources. This is why right now the world is already engaged in the race to be the leader in green technology and we have to win this race so this generation and future generations are the ones manufacturing and exporting renewable energy resources to the rest of the world. 98% of scientists have confirmed we are in the midst of global warming emergency and we are affecting this disaster. This has resulted in droughts that are affecting work for our farmers, continually raising the cost of food at our tables and devastating fires. Every season we see a continuing expansion of unprecedented storms costing us dearly in repairs and lives. We are responsible for pollution's role in this process that most directly affects all of us through serious illnesses driving up healthcare costs and lives lost. For our economy, our environment, for each of us and for our children we must do all we can to affect this ongoing disaster.
I would rather not be energy independent then rely on fracking for it. The environmental and health consequences will make coal look like a clean energy form. Any process that contaminates ground water to the point that it will catch on fire, uses a chemical process that the companies won't release and increases earthquakes is not a safe alternative energy source.
Do you folks realize you're asking for this....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/9609777/Germany-facing-power-blackouts.html
Is that what you really want? Go to your main electrical panel and shut off the electricity for a few days and get back to us on how much you enjoyed the experience.
What many don't realize is this Keystone pipeline would introduce fracking right over the High Plains Aquafer. Now that supplies 20% of the countries agricultural and human drinking water. So you shoot the poisonous chemicals into the rock to extract the oil and pray it doesnt get into the food and water supply.
Youve got to be kidding me. All in the name of handing a natural resource over to the oil companies.
Wow hyperbole much Shooter? Germany "turned off" if you will it's nuclear power plants before making sure they had the appropriate grid in place. That isn't evidence that green energy is a bad idea or that getting off oil and coal and nuclear power is a bad idea. It's evidence that doing so in a rush is a bad idea. Since Obama hasn't proposed doing so in a rush I am not at all sure what point you thought you were making. Nothing in your article says it's the fault of the energy sources they are using; your article states that it's because the infrastructure wasn't properly built prior to closing down the nuclear power plants. It amazes me how little attention you pay to the articles you link that you believe supposedly support your points. Every single time you have they have contradicted your point or made a completely different argument than the one you're sighting. I think what happens is you hear this information on Fox or some other conservative news line (maybe conservative radio?) and then you just google an article that repeats the talking point you just heard and then you link to it. You don't bother to read the article to double check, you just link to it because it proves your impulse in the headline.
Shooter,
I have had installed solar photovoltaic panels on top of my house and since the first day have collected more energy in the form of electricity than my house consumes. I receive a check from the power company every month as I choose to go grid tied. It can be done. And no it won't totally replace fossil fuel consumption but it is a very good start.
@shooter242 So let me get this straight, it is ok to completely destroy the environment for all generations to come so that we can live comfortably right now. Renewable energy needs a good deal more research and transitioning but it is vitally important that we start yesterday not in 50 years from now. There are so many ways America could have already been on track if we hadn't had this ridiculous fight that there is no such thing as environmental hazards. Public transportation is one of them. We really do need to start thinking as a community and stop thinking as selfish individuals with the notion that it doesn't affect me today so why should I care about the people of tomorrow.
There are numerous recent reports of earthquake activity on the borderlands of northeast Texas and Northwest Louisiana. Naturally, all seismic activity occuring is relatively close to new fracking sites, but there is no real tangeable data about the size of the tremors due to the lack of measuring probes in this area-- an area traditionally free of all seismic activity.
I am so, so sick of a few corporations owning the world and the power to decide the fate of the rest of us.
Ya Shooter, water will cost $50.00 a gallon, but we will stay cool!!
Energy independence with oil is a myth. The more oil we pull out of the ground, the more we export! That is happening right now. Anyone think that will change? The highest bidder gets the oil. Energy independence comes from green, re-usable energy.
Great response, Cartoonthenews! (though you mean "citing" rather than "sighting").
Michael-andsomenumbers, Keystone XL is bad, but it is not fracking, it is a pipeline. It's worth being correct about what you are against.
George-andsomenumbers, spot on.
Anybody notice how the slick ads for gas fracking always imply horizontal wells, one pad/drill site covering a lot of ground? And then, in actual practice, we get this: http://ecowatch.org/2012/natural-gas-destroys-forests/.
Fragmentation of the surface habitat is every bit as serious as what they're doing below ground. They *can* produce more safely, but they will not, if they can help it.
"I don't seriously expect this to rock the presidential campaign, but it certainly has that potential. The revelation is simply that brutal."
Having your ticket revealed as nothing more than a pack of seasoned con men and women SHOULD rock the campaign, to say the least. Romney, right now, is profiting off of American jobs set to be shipped to China and yet hasn't pro-offered any help or even a kind word to those American workers at all. He's too busy bamboozling the rest of the country by taking credit for something that would happen in any case were he to retire to the Cayman Islands tomorrow (12 million jobs). To add insult to injury, a good chunk of those jobs would be generated through Obama administration policies which Romney has criticized.
Romney is a CON MAN of epic proportions. I also think there's something genuinely mentally wrong with him. I can only hope the Prez is prepared to bring it to this insane con man tonight.
I agree, re. mental issues. It doesn't appear that he has the capacity for empathy, humility, and/or shame, which are hallmarks of a sociopath.
It doesn't appear that he has the capacity for empathy, humility, and/or shame,
All hallmarks of the True Mormon. If you follow God's Plan as a Good Mormon, you get to have riches in this world that you deserve and those who do not do this rightly do not deserve (so much for empathy and humility), and Lying for the Lord is a Good Thing (no need for shame).
The twelve old con artists in Salt Lake City should have found a better sack of mitt to throw around.
I regularly refer to Romney as a "snake oil salesman".
His plans are all like pretty bottles of tonic water claiming to cure cancer. They may look great on the surface to a collected crowd that wants a simple solution, but they've got no real curative value. Think about Ryan last week insisting repeatedly on bullet-pointing those five ways they'd help us all, but not a single detail available. The entire campaign is an old roadside revival show. Unfortunately, Romney wasn't expecting for the locals to check his tent or look behind the curtain.
...and discovered the Romney campaign's central argument is based on a shameless lie.
In other news, I heard that a dog bit some guy.
Woof!
Why do you always have to go overboard in your arguments?
"The main problem with Romney's vague and unspecified jobs plan has been the fact that the economy is on track to create 12 million jobs between 2012 and 2016 anyway."
No it isn't. Even if we put aside the fact that nobody has been more wrong than Mark Zandi of Moody's, here's what he says in the link you cite:
"The forecast is agnostic with regard to who is elected in November. The key assumption is that whoever wins they will reasonably gracefully address the fiscal cliff, increase the Treasury debt ceiling without major incident, and achieve something close to fiscal sustainability."
Macroeconomic Advisors takes similar precautions, including renewal of the current tax rates when they expire at the end of the year. That's about as far from doing nothing as one could conceive of. Even shoving Romney completely out of the picture, there's a tremendous amount of work that has to be done in the next three months, and right now the chances are better than even that it won't happen.
The Zandi quote is also about as close to doing nothing as you can get. So what's your point? In fact, both quotes are. No one is expecting the current tax rates to be eliminated except for those marginal rates over 250,000.
I am not surprised at anything Romney says, what surprises me is that the MSM has called him out on it more often.You can always tell Romney is lying by watching him and when he opens his mouth to speak you know he's going to tell a lie. I think Pres Obama needs to defend his record more. There are a lot of statistics that shows he has accomplished a lot in his term. Most all the indicators are on the upswing. He needs to say that and not let Romney define his presidency.
Instead of expecting this is not going to be a big issue in the election, all of us need to press as hard as we have to, too make this a big issue in this election. Because if Mitt Romney becomes president when every single one of his major arguments are based on absolute untruths, this is a big issue that we will feel most strongly when the effects of these policies hit us and then it will be too late. If mainstream media, the refs in the game, aren't calling fouls and when the facts are heavily weighted on one side over the other they're giving points to the other team in order to falsely equalize everything, then we have to speak loud enough so the truth is heard. This means everything, 12 million jobs, the war on women is real and economic, history proving that tax cuts for the wealthy does not create jobs but does create massive deficits, Romney-Ryan’s complete lack of foreign-policy experience equaling nothing but baseless tough talk, $7 trillion in spending unpaid for, Arizona Republicans determining Latino representation in a Romney administration, $716 billion in Medicare improvements, all the benefits of Obama care(s) including $1 trillion in deficit reduction, 10 to 1 obstruction does not equal a party or president working with the other side to actually get things done, no Wall Street regulation and everything else.
I suspect that any voters who are still paying attention at this late date do not consider if anything said is "factual."
"12 million jobs". "Detailed studies". "Most economists agree." "Job creator."
"Job creator."
of possible interest....
David Stockman:
Mitt Romney was not a businessman; he was a master financial speculator who bought sold, flipped, and stripped businesses. He did not build enterprises the old-fashioned way—out of inspiration, perspiration, and a long slog in the free market fostering a new product, service, or process of production.
Instead, he spent his 15 years raising debt in prodigious amounts on Wall Street so that Bain could purchase the pots and pans and castoffs of corporate America, leverage them to the hilt, gussy them up as reborn “roll-ups,” and then deliver them back to Wall Street for resale—the faster the better
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/14/david-stockman-mitt-romney-and-the-bain-drain.html
There is a not missing in my previous post. It should have said not called him out more often
And he will say it again tonight.
And maybe a town hall member will be a Benenite.
And maybe a town hall member will be a Benenite.
They are only allowing "undecided voters" to participate, which I think is too high a bar for any of us to cross. :-)
I'm trying to decide how I feel about them only allowing undecideds to ask all the questions. That says to me that they don't know as much about what's been going on, thus won't know the right questions to ask. This debate is so important (though it's not really a "DEBATE") and I want the President to be able to correct all the BS that Romney throws out there. I hope Candy Crowley's follow-ups bring out the things that EVERYBODY needs to hear about the lies Romney tells!
Thing is, we keep forgetting that Republicans are far more wedded to their idea of themselves and their notion of who their opposition are than they are to the truth. Even if you convinced the average Romney supporter that his/her candidate is lying in just about everything he says on the trail (and Romney is doing just that), Average Romney Supporter will still shrug, tell you you're being ridiculous, and vote for Romney.
I keep noticing in my Texas neighborhood (82% red, the rest split between Dems and Inds) that an Obama supporter puts out a nice blue Obama yard sign (doesn't last a minute, but he puts it out anyway) whereas the Romney supporter puts out two signs, side by side: "Romney Ryan" plus "Stop Obama!", the larger of the two signs being the latter.
This is not about Romney or who's telling the truth. It's about anger, frustration, fear, and naked hatred... hatred that goes beyond one president or that president's race. No amount of logic or truth or explaining is going to get through that hatred.
That is exactly what I have been saying ever since Barbara Bachman yelled "Obama is a one-term president". I has been so obvious that the hatred of white Americans for our President's race is the MAIN factor in this election. In other words...the average repucks are willing to cut off their nose to spite their face. And of course the rich repucks have their own agenda to put Robme in the White house....GREED. I have wondered for a long time how it is tha the average citizen does not understand the words spoken by Robeme....47%ers, don't care about those, off-shore accounts, no tax returns, etc. all tell tale signs of a disinterested man for the citizens of the US. And still want him as their President. It is so obvious that this is about nothing more than RACE. Will there ever be racial equality?
Saw a good photo on the Ed Show last night - some skinhead at a Romney ralley with a T-shirt that said "Put The White Back In The White House."
That's what they're all really about, whether they admit it or not. I'd call them "bloody wankers," but they probably don't know how to do that.
So, why are the Republicans controlling the message on healthcare and the economy. I is very frustrating Democrats are so bad at explaining why the healthcare plan will help families and how Obama has reduced the deficit. The Democrats might be following the right strategy, but they sure need a better messenger.
It's called political impotence and incompetence. That defines Democrats. Has for 30+ years.
Because democrats don't have 3 year old childish solutions for complex problems which the republicans have been doing with their meaningless talking points with no substance but lots of emotional dog whistles to ensure emotional outrage. Take voter fraud for example, doesn't happen except for a few cases of human error yet according to tea bagged republicans millions of illegal Mexicans are swimming the Gulf of Mexico to vote for democrats in Florida. Or how about those 3 idiots Fox news made a big ado about because they called themselves the new black panthers, the right has been using Fear Smear and Queer since Nixon started it with his Law and Order bull@!$%#.
Right now Romney's debate prep guys are desperately trying how to skate out of this and not fall flat on their ass if they get hit with it. I foresee a strategy of vague generalities and extensive use of buzz words. When all else fails obfuscate inveigle and deceive.
Here's the truth about the deficit by president:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesglassman/2012/07/11/the-facts-about-budget-deficits-how-the-presidents-truly-rank/
Rachel MadCow is simply using the old democrat trick of spouting off things that sound smart in hopes of culling idiot voters to cast one for their guy. Disgusting.
Facts hurt, they burn. Go ahead and play your debt/deficit game. Just be aware that on this website we know the actual facts. Romney is a first rate grifter, a con man who at least deserves credit for pulling alot of folks in. Sometimes cons work, but usually the light wins out in the end.
Here's the problem for a Fox-educated ignoramus: name the Obama policies that are responsible for the deficits and debt.
Come on now. Let's see what you got.
The author of that article is a Conservative, where is the nonpartisan article making the same claim?
LOL, I love this logic....Rachel Maddow is using the old democratic trick of sounding smart? Are you serious? So you're saying that the Republican way of thinking is to reject ideas that 'sound smart'? You can't make this stuff up......
Speaking of deficits and debt
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/opinion/the-radical-is-romney-not-ryan.html?_r=0
Funny how these ignorant turds go silent when they're tasked with naming the Obama policies responsible for the added debt, isn't it? Want to know why they're silent? Because there aren't any significant Obama policies that have added to the debt, that's why.
Here's the way you should explain the difference between W's and Obama's deficits:
- W's deficits were the result of W's policies and were unwarranted, unforced errors due to failed conservative economic ideas and policies.
- Obama's deficits were the result of W's policies and were warranted because 1) of the decline of revenue caused by the Great Recession (which was due to 30+ years of failed conservative economic ideas and policies), 2) the additional need for safety net resources for people most affected by the Republican Great Recession, and 3) the necessity to keep demand as strong as possible during the economic mess created by failed Republican ideas and policies.
That's how it needs to be explained. It's just too fu king bad Democrats and their genius message-makers can't figure it out.
You may have a right to voice your opinion, but to stoop so low to call a woman a cow says nothing more about you than that you are a troll, a woman hater and a bigot. I have nothing but contempt for the likes of you and you are lucky that I don't know you because you would not dare say that to my face. Looser!!!!!
a few points....
first: rachel's name is maddow, not madcow [i stopped reading at that point...]
second: steve benen wrote this blog post
third: our president's spending relative to gdp looks bad because gdp contracted 8.9% in 4Q2008 and 6.7% in 1Q 2009 due to the collapse of the republican economy...
see graph at this link
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp-growth
I'd call you a bloody wanker, but an idiot like you wouldn't know anything about how to do that, which is why you're a wingnut piece of something I scrape off my shoe.
Go pee on the fire hydrants somewhere else, you worthless southern traitor.
The problem with that article is that Bush never counted the cost of the two wars he started. Those were off the books.
MadCow? How old are you 8?
Maybe if you want to look at motive to deceive, follow the money. Look at Romneys top donors, the Kochs who have donated (invested) close to 80 million and spearheaded raising 400 million more. Adelson has donated the same. Now these guys are not uber patriots. They expect a return on their investment. For them , that means death of the estate tax alone which will save them billions, and in fact millions for Romney himself. This not to mention other plans up their sleeves. You seriously think that Romney will represent YOU!
LOL, get your head out fo the sand. Your vote is just his poker chip. If he gets in, your out of the game and any payoff of the deficit will be on your back, noone elses and any job creation , if it happens will only be by an accidental byproduct, if ti happens at all. There is no intention to create jobs here, tthat is simply their sales pitch.
You need to wake up and smell the coffee
You do realize your own article states that their data is skewed by as much as 10% for George Bush because the data they are presenting isn't including the bailouts and other emergency spending measures (like the wars that were never added to the budget). So I guess we're supposed to believe that the deficit under Bush was anywhere from 3%-13%. And you're calling liberals the idiots? At least Forbes had the common sense to point to where, why, and how they were skewing their data.
I think that Romney and Ryan are going to count 9.00/hour jobs - which do not create any lifestyle in the middle class - as these 12 million jobs. They do not seem to think that anyone other than they themselves deserve any quality of life. If we are all out there working three jobs at minimum wage, non of which include any benefits, well their profit and loss statements still look good.
Given that 70% of the "new jobs" being created are $9/hour jobs, and that "saving" the auto industry required the union to tell new hires they get to start at $12/hour and never go higher than $19, what you talk about is already happening. If we brought back the 91% marginal rate on incomes over $2 million/year, there would be lots of possibility for investment in industries that would pay a lot more than that. But that would require our corporocrats and bankrobbercans to go after the real enemy.
Stop being stupid. Lower wages is an offshoot of the economy. Think about it, there is 8% unemployment, you go in for a job interview that usually pays 16/hour. They tell you the job is yours if you want it but it is for $12/hr now. If you dont take it , that guy over your shoulder will,so you take it.
Economics is a social science and employers know they have the upperhand. Employment pay levels is subject to supply / demand just like anything else. When the unemployment rate goes down and it is hard to fill positions, which in some job sectors is happening now, then pay rate will go up.
Please don't feed the trolls; most of these trolls are on the GOP payroll any how!
Off topic but I thought it might be of interest. Article today on the National Memo titled About That Voting Machine Company Tied To Mitt Romney And Bain Capital…
http://www.nationalmemo.com/about-that-voting-machine-company-tied-to-mitt-romney-and-bain-capital-2/
My mind is boggled how so many people can support Romney. I hate to think this, but I wonder how much this is racial bias. If you listen to what Romney says to the group he is talking too, he tells them what he thinks they want to hear. He is a typical corporate type of a lier. He has no conscious when it comets to get what he is going after. He is a disgrace to the Mormon religious beliefs. His comment on the 47% shows his disrespect and lack of tolerance for a large majority of Americans.
I, too, am astounded at the number of rmoney supporters Dan. Its so disheartening that so many Americans are that stupid.
He's no "disgrace" to the Mormons. He's exactly what they are.
What do you expect? If they're Republican all they've been TOLD is lies. Their allegiance is to Fox News and to Mitt Romney, probably many of them because of the pro-life stance.
It's totally depressing to try and get the truth out to any Republican you know, not to mention scary as hell. MY son-in-law is So REPUBLICAN that he defriended me on FB because when I'd answer his idiotic posts with the truth, he couldn't stand it. So I've spent the last year trying to educate my daughter, long distance, with just what could happen in her life if Romney were elected. She has chronic fibromyalgia, diabetes, and back problems, and I keep telling her to remember what will happen if Obamacare is repealed.
She lives in a household with a bombastic husband who is totally tuned into Faux News. She has ME to tell her the other side of things, but think about all the households who DON'T have a democratic to tell them about the other side of things.
I was talking to her yesterday and she said she mailed her ballot in yesterday morning and she's not telling ANYBODY how she voted. I think I convinced her but I'm still not sure. And..........she lives in Ohio!
The President does not need to defend his accomplishments. He needs to state them directly to People. State that this is now the staring point for all. We have a leg up. Lets get this baby on the road of recovery and see what she'll do.
The man behind the curtain on stage that is living off a round fella's rhetoeric venom spewed from Gold plated Trump-a-phone is just fricking wierd. No dis service to Carrol O'connor, I think Archie Bunker may be making money hands over fist in radio these days. What an audience.
Obama could make a great metaphor and talk about how the previous administration crashed the economy. This administration, as they saved Detroit, has been building the engine, chassis, and body of the new economy, and it's about to take off up the on-ramp. Mitt Romney wants to sell America a used car; one that we tried to drive before, one that didn't ever work well, and the same one that crashed before.
The problem with that is that he's done it so much that people tune out when they hear it. It's old news and he's had four years since then. *I* know there's no way to undo what was done in only four years, but those on the fence may just be sick of hearing it and turn the other way.
On one side of the argument you have people who say "What is best for America is coincidentally a plan that will significantly increase my wealth".... and on the other side you have people who say "What is best for America is a plan that will help those who have less than we do, it may cause us some pain initially, but it will be better for everyone in the long run." If you choose to believe the self-serving side of the argument, you had better be overwhelmingly sure that their plan is going to work. Considering the recent track record of Republican Administrations, I don't see how anyone could possibly think that...
They believe if they keep clicking their heels together and repeating over and over I believe in Ronnie that they will get the golden trickle Reagan promised. Sam W was the best example of tea bagged republican wishful thinking. He reinvented himself into Joe the Plumber who was just weeks away from buying the plumbing business from the guy he worked for and as soon as he did that then he would be making $250,000 a year. Then Sam brags were looked into, first Sam wasn't a plumber he was a plumbers helper who worked part time at min wage. Then there was the plumbing business itself, the highest profit from Ohio's plumbing industry is less then a $100,000 a year, average plumbing companies profits range in the $50,000 to $60,000 area. Then Sam's personal life was looked into and it was a disaster, he was losing his house from unpaid taxes which he had no way to pay because he didn't earn enough a year to pay his taxes. Now here is the really funny part Sam got a handout from tea bagged republicans and Fox news which he gladly accepted. Now Sam is running for congress as a hard working tea bagged republican, there is no amount of hypocrisy the GOP they won't try to enrich themselves with with their talking out both sides of their neck. After all Sam is a self made man.
I know this is more conjecture than anything else, but I have seen lots of people on comment boards say that their companies aren't hiring simply to spite Pres Obama, not because they can't use the help. I wonder if those are the jobs Gov Romney are counting on being added if he were to win.
I find that a rather specious claim, though I wouldn't put it past certain folks to use Pres Obama as an excuse not to hire. But seriously, what responsible business owner would do without needed labor just to spite Obama? If you need an accountant or someone to deliver your goods you would have to hire them unless you were okay with sabotaging your own business.
The only way that they could not be hiring is because they deemed the labor non-essential and feel that there is no incentive to hire anybody else. In today's economy, many employers are finding they can do more with less, by laying off workers and saddling the remaining employees with the extra workload. And who's going to quit to protest the increased work load?
Of course, Romney, if elected, may have some wonderful incentives plan to encourage hiring. One would hope that the plan wouldn't rely on gutting labor regulations, though...
I worked for a financial services/insurance company until 2010. They were pretty profitable; they averaged over 100K a year in profits for every employee. Yet, every year they came to us and told us they couldn't afford to give us more than a 1% or 2% average pay increase. Some years it was zero. And just after I left, they began shrinking departments - making the people who stayed do more work. And when I was still there I was expected to work at least 10 hours a day.
So I have no doubt that some companies have been doing these types of things to keep the economy/employment numbers from looking too god.
Well I can tell you as a small business owner I only hire or fire people on basis of demand and their ability to do the job well. For the industry I work in we have deadlines that have to be met for when our ads or other products are produced and I have to have people that can make those deadlines. But I also want to produce ads and other things (I work in entertainment doing animation/voice recording/sound/etc for things like advertisements) that are GOOD quality. The thing that will make my company the most money will be ads that stick out in everyone else's mind. So we have to have people not only who can work on a deadline and who are educated in their field, but who are super creative and business oriented to help promote the company. These are the only measures that I care about.
I can safely say 2 things: 1- I've never hired a person on the basis of their political agreement with me; 2- I have never fired anyone on the basis of my political disagreement with the president.
I can also say- and I WISH people would emphasize this- that I don't hire or fire on the basis of whether or not I get a tax break. I'll let you in on a dirty little secret: tax breaks only help you when you are starting a business up, when you're expanding your business (so buying a new office building, let's say), or when you're purchasing really expensive equipment (like if you're a farmer buying a new tractor). All of those tax breaks, however, are deductions. They aren't about across the board breaks. All of my income comes from the business as is the case with almost all small business owners. Giving me a tax break is nice but it isn't going to make my company more or less viable as a business. What will make my company more or less viable will be how many customers I get and how good my workers are. That is the factor that determines whether or not I hire or fire people. Demand is what drives businesses. If you lower demand or if demand plummets for any reason then you see layoffs. Or at least, apparently, you do unless you're a vindictive a-hole.
I also am mind boggled at the person who says that they just willingly lay off employees. I wonder if that person realizes that he or she is BROKE without his or her employees. If he or she could do the job by himself/herself then there was no reason to hire the new employee in the first place. So if he/she hires that employee then he/she is immediately going to be tanking his/her business' ability to be responding to client demands and that immediately puts the company at risk and cuts into profits. That's like trying to get wealthy by chopping your own legs off. Yeah maybe you can sue the company that sold you the hacksaw for a million dollars....but dude, you just sawed your legs off with a hacksaw.
Is it just me or does Romney's alleged "jobs plan" sound like a corporately sponsored, focus-group sales pitch. Everything is amazing though we can't figure out why exactly... It's really just the presidential nominee version of closing the deal by glossing over the fine print.
As a graphic designer who's worked with ad agencies:
Bless you for finally (wholly independently!) recognizing that you've just being advertised to!
Now for the rest of America, spend some serious time thinking about the gap between truth and persuasion in advertising. There's a world of difference between bullet points and a fully-documented plan.
I heard this ad this morning while driving.....I almost wrecked I was yelling at the radio so loud......I simply cannot believe that this man is not getting beat by 30 points across the board. This GOP campain, beat McCain Palin by light years...and I thought that never to be possible.
I can only attribute this to one thing.....More people care about getting the Black man, out of the White House...than they do their own Country.
Oh, and the line in the ad that blew me away....."President Obama wants to continue his policies that got in this mess in the first place."
I swear if I hear a Democrat say "I didn't vote." Someone better call 911, cause it's going to be ugly.
Thats the Karl Rove style of campaigning. Whatever you are blamed on, you just say the same thing, no matter how rediculous it sounds and he does it because it works. low informed voters, who couldnt even identify Joe Biden by picture make up most of the electorate.
I am guessing a viewer numbers here but MSNBC might carry 750,000 viewers a day. Fox around twice that. CNN less than MSNBC, so figure there are 3 million hard core political followers, rougly 1% of the national population. The rest, 175 million maybe? , have no insight as to what is going on.
Its too bad that people feel they have to be loyal to their party, whether Dem or Gop. Republicans will vte republican regardless who is their candidate and they will come out in droves to do it. Sad thing is they prefer to be blind to the impact this particular candidate will create. They will vote regardless if it is not in their best interest. Dems on the other hand will not go vote in droves, we walk away disgusted by the time the elections are here and then give up on our guy. We can't let that happen. We got to get out and vote. But it really doesn't matter who gets picked as POTUS as much as voting the teabaggers out of congress.
The quality of what passes for campaign promises in the Romney bid for the presidency is amazingly amateur. For most of us who don't rely on Faux News for our information, checking and second-sourcing statements for credibility and depth of detail is not too difficult. I pity those who are content to accept what Romney and Ryan say as anything like what they would see if those two get elected.
Jobs will open up when birth control and abortion are abolished. Women will be saddled with children they did not plan on. Young women will forgo college to maintain min. wage jobs to support babies that came along in high school. A master plan in misogyny if ever there was.
Any woman who votes for Romney will give new meaning to the term "Stepford wife."
EVERYTHING Willard says is a LIE.
Period
Agreed - I've researched political statements for years now, and this is BY FAR the MOST DISHONEST CAMPAIGN in American History. EVERY SINGLE Romney ad is not just false - it is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF THE TRUTH. Go to his Website and go through them one at a time. I don't recall Bob Dole or even Nixon coming even close to Romney in deceptiveness during their campaigns. How this light-weight is even in the race points to the effectiveness of Fox "News" and Citizen's United in swaying the common, low-information voter.