Dwight Watt - Watt Thoughts #218 8/23/2010


#218 - Economy and Iraq (Watt Thoughts)

Now that the last combat troops are being withdrawn from Iraq and last week it was reported over 500,000 new claims for unemployment keep in mind what Bush and Obama did and have said.

Bush signed agreement with Iraq in December 2008 that all US combat troops would be out of Iraq by August 31, 2010. Obama campaigned on a pledge that the troops would be out of Iraq within 16 moths of his inauguration. The last combat troops left this weekend leaving 50,000 as agreed to in December 2008. The 50,000 are not defined as combat but as sup[posed to assist the Iraqis in defense. So the deaths may not be over in Iraq as these can be in gun battles assigning and advising the Iraqis. In a year they are supposed to leave. Now lets look at the promises. Bush was combat soldiers by August 31, 2010. Obama was in 16 months the troops would come home. 16 months from January 20, 2009 was May 20, 2010. Obama is claiming he met his promise, but the question is why are the combat units finishing leaving in August 2010 over 3 months after Obama promised. Obama has only delivered on Bush promise.

When the stimulus was proposed by Obama in February 2009 he said without it unemployment would go to 8%. Unemployment has been over 9.5% for a long period now and the stimulus as passed in February 2009. Initial unemployment claims hit a high of 500,000 (I remember just a couple years ago when initial claims of 220,000 was considered wildly high). The blame is put on Bush for driving the economy in the ditch for reason for the economy today. There is also comments these 500,000 should be glad unemployment bill was passed last month. That bill was not about initial unemployment, but was about extended benefits. The stimulus bill has made a difference in fixing road and states have used it to keep lots of areas including educated funded and that type and size spending bill could only be done by the Democrats.

Obama signed an executive order that the prison at Guantanamo Bay was to be closed within one year. He signed that right after becoming president on January 20, 2009. Maybe Obama is on a different calendar since 19 months is same as 16 months and after 19 months we still have not met 12 months.

We need to pass the glory and blame around. I am sure that the Iraqis and the Americans were able to reach an agreement quicker because of Obama being elected, but it was accomplished by the previous administration. The problems with the economy did begin in the end of the Bush administration but we have put the cures in of the current administration and we really have not seen improvement. Lets quit deciding who put the car in the ditch or drove it while in the ditch, but instead lets get the car out of the ditch and to the body shop.

Yes Chrysler and GM are still companies operating, but on a large amount of government money and they have shut large parts down just as if they had gone thru bankruptcy without government money. Bankruptcy without government money does not mean company always shuts down. The government also had them shut down many dealers, but what that accomplished I still have not figured out other than put small businesses that got their cars from GM or Chrysler and put a large number of people out of work. The dealers were not owned by the car companies, they are franchises (next time you drive by a Lincoln dealership, read their sign) and the dealers did not tell the car makers prices.

Dwight

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