Why are Americans so in love with big government?

[DanS]

Dan, I think you have too much of a romantic view of the Republican party. From what I can see there's not much spending difference between Democrats and Republicans.

Perhaps you're right.

One thing that's difficult to tease out of these numbers is that the Dems put into place programs that survive into GOP administrations. E.g., the Great Society programs. Perhaps universal health care will be one of those in the future. On the other hand, you have one social program -- welfare -- that was partially gutted by a Dem president in concert with the GOP congress.

[Darius871]

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184811

For some strange reason that wouldn't be so damned funny if she weren't so damned fat. I guess that makes me a bad person...

[Darius871]

Awesome...

Treasurys fall on weak demand at 30-year auction
...

How many more billions in debt is Obama planning to raise this year?

All I wish is that China and Gulf States would send a much clearer message to Washington about just how much they're going to cut treasury bond buys and under what conditions, instead of just repeating over and over again that they're "concerned." Obama will continue acting like there's a blank check until they finally light it on fire and wave it in his face.

China has 'canceled US credit card': lawmaker
Apr 30, 2009

WASHINGTON (AFP) — China, wary of the troubled US economy, has already "canceled America's credit card" by cutting down purchases of debt, a US congressman said Thursday.

China has the world's largest foreign reserves, believed to be mostly in dollars, along with around 800 billion dollars in US Treasury bonds, more than any other country.

But Treasury Department data shows that investors in China have sharply curtailed their purchases of bonds in January and February.

Representative Mark Kirk, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and co-chair of a group of lawmakers promoting relations with Beijing, said China had "very legitimate" concerns about its investments.

"It would appear, quietly and with deference and politeness, that China has canceled America's credit card," Kirk told the Committee of 100, a Chinese-American group.

"I'm not sure too many people on Capitol Hill realize that this is now happening," he said.

The Republican lawmaker said that China was justified in concerns about returns from finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were bailed out by the US government due to the financial crisis.

Kirk said he was the first member of Congress to tour the Bureau of Public Debt, which trades bonds, and was alarmed at how much debt was being bought by the US Federal Reserve due to absence of foreign investors.

"There will come a time where the lack of Chinese participation may have a significant impact," Kirk said.

"We should track that, because up until last month they were the number one provider of currency to the United States and now they're gone."

With China's economy also hit by the global economic crisis, Premier Wen Jiabao has openly voiced concern about the status of his country's investments in the United States.

China has also floated replacing the dollar as the key international currency with a basket of units bringing in the euro, sterling and yen.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...9kezxnP4jgoGZQ

[Drake Tungsten]

The Baby Boomers will drive America into bankruptcy. They're almost there now.

[Darius871]

The Baby Boomers will drive America into bankruptcy. They're almost there now.

Well, insolvency/default like Iceland and/or runaway inflation, that is. I can't think of a federal bankruptcy court that would have jurisdiction over the federal government itself. [/typical lawyer's semantic nitpick]

[KrazyHorse]

The federal gov't can simply disavow whatever of its debts it pleases. No need for bankruptcy court.

[KrazyHorse]

The federal gov't can simply disavow whatever of its debts it pleases. No need for bankruptcy court.

[KrazyHorse]

The federal gov't can simply disavow whatever of its debts it pleases. No need for bankruptcy court.

[KrazyHorse]

Holy ****ing ****. Poly server = awesome

[Drake Tungsten]

That point wasn't nearly insightful enough to deserve three posts.

[KrazyHorse]

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2009/05/08/april-unemployment.html

The unemployment rate held steady in April at eight per cent as overall employment grew by a surprising 35,900 jobs, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Wow.

Just wow.

[Drake Tungsten]

Canada

[Darius871]

The federal gov't can simply disavow whatever of its debts it pleases. No need for bankruptcy court.

That was precisely my point. It gets on my nerves when everybody and their mother and their brother talks about states or the U.S. going "bankrupt" when there's no such thing.

[Drake Tungsten]

Excuse us for daring to use colloquial expressions.

[Darius871]

colloquial =