Whats Obama's First Priority

[Stealth694]

Hi:
With the Election over. What do you think Obama's First Priority will be??
The Economy
Iraq
Health Insurance
The Housing Market

Lets see if we can guess what will happen.

[mkemse]

No question the Economy
As far as what will happen he will listen to his advisor and decide from there

[subserviant]

his prob are many hope he's up to the challenge

[mkemse]

with the current team of economic advisors which include Investor Warren BUffett, I assume he will coem up with a workable plan
Everyone may ot like it, but that is ture in life he will nebr please everone with every move he makes
But as one Senior Economic Analyst From JP Morgan said Wednesday Morining "We gav him the Prseidency, we Elected him, BUT WE DID NOT GIVE HIM A MAGIC WAND' I believd that says it all, Remember he is INHERITING this mess, he did not create it

[Diablo]

Waiting for the chorus of destroying the nation posts to begin.

His first role is to build a team, start working on a plan and begin selling it prior to inauguration.

[jeanne]

His first role is to build a team, start working on a plan and begin selling it prior to inauguration.

Exactly! And lord knows I wish him good luck. If the avalanche of emails my staunchly Republican mother forwards to me on a daily basis are any indication...some folks would prefer that he fail, sending our country even further down the path of 'going to hell in a handbasket' than that he succeed and prove that their preferences are at best misguided and at worst, fundamentally flawed.

[gagged_Louise]

"I want all the world to see
To see you’re laughing
And you’re laughing at me
I can take it all from you
Again again again again again again again
Deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Down down deeper and down
Get down deeper and down..."

-lyrics to Status Quo. Down Down - I always thought this was a bdsm song, but it could also read as a zealous GOP supporter hoping that Obama may fail abysmally and both the USA and Europe fall deeper into unemployment, rocketing gas prices and crisis...

[rce]

with the current team of economic advisors which include Investor Warren BUffett, I assume he will coem up with a workable plan
Everyone may ot like it, but that is ture in life he will nebr please everone with every move he makes
But as one Senior Economic Analyst From JP Morgan said Wednesday Morining "We gav him the Prseidency, we Elected him, BUT WE DID NOT GIVE HIM A MAGIC WAND' I believd that says it all, Remember he is INHERITING this mess, he did not create it

Correct, Bill Clinton created it when creating Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac. Too bad George W Bush did not take care of it earlier.

[mkemse]

Correct, Bill Clinton created it when creating Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac. Too bad George W Bush did not take care of it earlier.

Yes and had he we would not be in this mess
But I will be honest, I am waiting for people t start blaming Obmam for not solving it "overnight"

[hopperboo]

Taking the law-abiding citizen's firearms away.



lol, no seriously, I would hope he would focus on the economy.

And I am SOOO not a supporter of him, but I am not waiting in glee for him to screw up either. If he messes up things more my saying, "I told you so," won't be feeling that wonderful because I'll be in the same boat as everyone else with the impending depression.

I hope he can get things rolling with the economy.

[mkemse]

Taking the law-abiding citizen's firearms away.



lol, no seriously, I would hope he would focus on the economy.

And I am SOOO not a supporter of him, but I am not waiting in glee for him to screw up either. If he messes up things more my saying, "I told you so," won't be feeling that wonderful because I'll be in the same boat as everyone else with the impending depression.

I hope he can get things rolling with the economy.

I fully expect him to deal with the 1st and for most as he alrady said he plans to, I just hope everyone give him time, as oneperson said "We gavehimthe office, we dod NOT give him a magic wand, he has 8 years of mess to clean up, that will not happen overnight

Passing sensable gun laws and taking guns away are 2 different things
since the Supreme Court Ruling on Guns earliert his year, I am from Chicago and our Murder Rate has gone up 3-4x what it was, no need to own an assult rife that i know of , collectors yes everyday citizens to protect their homeS?? they can do that with conventianal fire arms

not sure how he can makethings worse then Bush will be leaving him??

[denuseri]

Lets see which issue,, its going to be eaither foriegn policey or domestic. War or Economy.

Theses are the two big holes in the dike.

[mkemse]

Lets see which issue,, its going to be eaither foriegn policey or domestic. War or Economy.

Theses are the two big holes in the dike.

No sure of your post, do you mean which issue will he fail on 1st?
If so why not give him a chance, you mightbe suprised

[denuseri]

Please do not put words I did not say in my mouth mkemse.

Have I said he is screwing up allready?????



My bet is that he will follow the existing policy of the previous administration if not at least initially.

The Economy and the War are the two things that hold the most impending doom upon us all, hence the dike reference.

He certianly wont be waving any majic wands now that the campagin is over.

I sure hope he succeeds in governing well. I sure don't want him to fail. I sure hope he doesnt screw it all up even worse.

I also hope he doesnt do any of the things so many (allmost half) of us feared he will do.

[mkemse]

Please do not put words I did not say in my mouth mkemse.

Have I said he is screwing up allready?????



My bet is that he will follow the existing policy of the previous administration if not at least initially.

The Economy and the War are the two things that hold the most impending doom upon us all, hence the dike reference.

He certianly wont be waving any majic wands now that the campagin is over.

I sure hope he succeeds in governing well. I sure don't want him to fail. I sure hope he doesnt screw it all up even worse.

I also hope he doesnt do any of the things so many (allmost half) of us feared he will do.

I did not intentaily do that al i did wasask for clarification of what you said, if i put words in your mouth it was NOT intentional and my apologies i was just trying to gt abetter understanding what you meant, nothing more
my apologies for wordsng my reply as i did

[mkemse]

Please do not put words I did not say in my mouth mkemse.

Have I said he is screwing up allready?????



My bet is that he will follow the existing policy of the previous administration if not at least initially.

The Economy and the War are the two things that hold the most impending doom upon us all, hence the dike reference.

He certianly wont be waving any majic wands now that the campagin is over.

I sure hope he succeeds in governing well. I sure don't want him to fail. I sure hope he doesnt screw it all up even worse.

I also hope he doesnt do any of the things so many (allmost half) of us feared he will do.

I simply wantto give him time to prove himself, nothing more nothing less, that was all i meant, my apologies again for misunderstanding your post
and you are 100% he won't be wavuing a magic wandas he was not given 1 to wave everyone also has to rmember he still has 90 daysbefore he even takes over, til Jan 20, 2009 Bush still rules

But after 8 years he is at least a breath of fresh air and hope he does as he promised

[denuseri]

Sorry it just seemed like you were saying I was slaming him allready. I figured I did that enough during the campaign. lol.

They never, ever do as they promised. Weather its for reasons outside thier control or not.

Remember what is a "breath of fresh air" for some, is also a very scary "gasp" for others.

Hoepfully evey one will catch thier balance again in 90 days.

[mkemse]

Sorry it just seemed like you were saying I was slaming him allready. I figured I did that enough during the campaign. lol.

They never, ever do as they promised. Weather its for reasons outside thier control or not.

Remember what is a "breath of fresh air" for some, is also a very scary "gasp" for others.

Hoepfully evey one will catch thier balance again in 90 days.

I sure hope so, ans in the event he messes up, which I hope hedoesn't we move him out in 2012, the 1 nice thingabout him from what i haeseen and resad is that unilke Bush and other he has no visibleties to bigg companies, oil, ect onlytime will tell now

[lucy]

I think he'll care about economy first and like everytime people try to do something about a very complex situation he will make good things and bad things.
And very likely nobody will know which were good and which were bad until it's way too late.

[mkemse]

My guess is the Economy will be 1st and formost without abadoning all the other issues he has, but the economy has to be 1st

[Muskan]

His first plan is to ruin every extinct a free economy possess.

Nationalizing is his trend. Helping the malinvestment is his dream.

His recent demand to aid for GM and Ford is just the start.

Obviously he has proposed higher Bail Out plans.
#

I read that the fed has loaned two trillion dollars in the last twelve months.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p....tY&refer=home

The upside to this is that all these bailouts may result in the total collapse of the state. I say keep on bailing, only faster.

[Muskan]

The basis of GM's claim is essentially that they are too big or too important to fail due to their massive labor force. But how massive is their labor force relative to other American companies? It may be surprising that the following companies employ a larger number of workers than GM: Target, AT&T, GE, IBM, McDonalds, Citigroup, Kroger, Sears, and Wal-Mart. It is also worth noting that Home Depot, United Technologies, and Verizon all employ nearly as many workers as GM.

The question must be posed: Should the government bail out all 12 of these companies and, if so, at what cost? I doubt that if Wal-Mart, with their 2.1 million employees, went to the government or the American people and demanded a bailout that they would receive much sympathy, let alone money. But if Americans are going to base worthiness of bailout on number of employees alone, then Wal-Mart is almost 7 times more worthy than GM.
It is unethical to force taxpayers to pay billions of dollars in order to bail out a company with a failing business model. After all, they cannot even claim, as banks did, that it is an industry-wide problem. Because if it were industry-wide, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda, Volkswagen, etc. would all be joining their American counterparts on Capitol Hill with their collective hands out.
For years GM and Ford have produced a product that consumers do not value as much as the product provided by their competitors. Rather than changing their products or business model, they instead spent small fortunes on lobbyists. If the government does bail out GM, rest assured that this will not be the last time. But even if the government gives GM a check every week, there will come a time when no amount of government money will be enough to save them.

What is the best solution? In a word, bankruptcy. By filing for bankruptcy protection, GM can escape the death grip the UAW has on the business. Bankruptcy would allow for restructuring on an unprecedented scale. There is a good chance that a highly competitive company could rise from the ashes of what we today call GM. Even if GM itself was unable to survive bankruptcy, the resources freed from its grasp could be hugely beneficial to other automotive companies that make products that American consumers value more. As taxpayers, Americans have a right to object to this misuse of our money.

Anyways, Obama doesn't understand simple economics. By bailing out he will be investing the hard earned tax payers money in a venture which is bound to fail. But hey! who cares for the hardworkers is a socialist regime? Noone.

[mkemse]

The basis of GM's claim is essentially that they are too big or too important to fail due to their massive labor force. But how massive is their labor force relative to other American companies? It may be surprising that the following companies employ a larger number of workers than GM: Target, AT&T, GE, IBM, McDonalds, Citigroup, Kroger, Sears, and Wal-Mart. It is also worth noting that Home Depot, United Technologies, and Verizon all employ nearly as many workers as GM.

The question must be posed: Should the government bail out all 12 of these companies and, if so, at what cost? I doubt that if Wal-Mart, with their 2.1 million employees, went to the government or the American people and demanded a bailout that they would receive much sympathy, let alone money. But if Americans are going to base worthiness of bailout on number of employees alone, then Wal-Mart is almost 7 times more worthy than GM.
It is unethical to force taxpayers to pay billions of dollars in order to bail out a company with a failing business model. After all, they cannot even claim, as banks did, that it is an industry-wide problem. Because if it were industry-wide, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda, Volkswagen, etc. would all be joining their American counterparts on Capitol Hill with their collective hands out.
For years GM and Ford have produced a product that consumers do not value as much as the product provided by their competitors. Rather than changing their products or business model, they instead spent small fortunes on lobbyists. If the government does bail out GM, rest assured that this will not be the last time. But even if the government gives GM a check every week, there will come a time when no amount of government money will be enough to save them.

What is the best solution? In a word, bankruptcy. By filing for bankruptcy protection, GM can escape the death grip the UAW has on the business. Bankruptcy would allow for restructuring on an unprecedented scale. There is a good chance that a highly competitive company could rise from the ashes of what we today call GM. Even if GM itself was unable to survive bankruptcy, the resources freed from its grasp could be hugely beneficial to other automotive companies that make products that American consumers value more. As taxpayers, Americans have a right to object to this misuse of our money.

Anyways, Obama doesn't understand simple economics. By bailing out he will be investing the hard earned tax payers money in a venture which is bound to fail. But hey! who cares for the hardworkers is a socialist regime? Noone.

He may not fully understand Basic Ecomincs now, but his Advisers certainly do and the will advise him as to the best stragedy to use
He may have one ofthe best if notthe best Economist adivsers right now of any President in years, wether they are just part of his transition team is yet to be seen, but I have no seen any President Elect withthe Economic Advisers he currently has
Remmber he did not creat this mess, he is inheriting it, give him time, people may be pleasently suprised with what he does

The loss of GM would have catstorphic effects on our nation Economy FAr greater the WalMart Collapsing,
WalMart where to "Go Under" alot of poeple would be outo f jobs, yes

GM goes under it has a domino effect, it effects the Car Induistry, Car Parts Indusrty, Bank Financing ect GM going under would be Catastophic, WalMart would be a Bad Storm we could handle
If GM went under, no more Auto Zone Stores, No More Firestone Dealers ect without Cars why have these companies, car parts would not need need to the magnitude they are now you loose GM you looose countless "Unbrella Companies" who support car parts, repairs ect"
WalMart you loose a large retailer, no where near the effect of a GM going under


FYI anyone apprcite or respect Warren Buffet as an investor??
If you Warren Buffet is on Obama's TRansition team for Economics he ask Obmam if he could join, Obamam did not ask him to come aboard,
Take Warren Buffet, Robert Reich. Paul Volker ect seems ot me a fair decent set of minds for his economis transition teams and he has many others

[mkemse]

It might be added that Bush himself today said that "Yes GM needs a bail out, if we can give Billoins upon Billoins to AIG for "resort weekends out" at Taxpayers expensne and they did have yet another outing last weekend, we can help GM
I likethe idea of GM i do not like the idea of Golden Umberllas for Excs who tore themselves down

[mkemse]

This is a list of those on Obama's Economic Policy Transition Team, not a bad collection of names

Members of President-elect Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board, as provided by Obama's office:

_David Bonior, former Democratic congressman from Michigan

_Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

_Roel Campos, former commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission

_William Daley, former commerce secretary

_William Donaldson, former chairman of the SEC

_Roger Ferguson, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve's board of governors

_Jennifer Granholm, Michigan governor

_Anne Mulcahy, chairman and CEO of Xerox Corp.

_Richard Parsons, chairman of the board for Time Warner Inc.

_Penny Pritzker, chairman and founder of Classic Residence by Hyatt

_Robert Reich, former labor secretary

_Robert Rubin, former treasury secretary

_Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO of Google

_Lawrence Summers, former treasury secretary

_Laura Tyson, former head of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton

_Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles mayor

_Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve chairman


I would like to think that all these minds together will come up with somereal sound solution,s yes it will take time but I can be done, not a bad list of names

[mkemse]

Found this intresting Poll on the Economy:It was posted at 3:30 Nov 11, 2008 in it's entirty

WASHINGTON – In one of the economy's darkest hours in decades, it looks as if people are taking Barack Obama up on his exhortations for hope and change. Seven in 10, or 72 percent, voice confidence the president-elect will make the changes needed to revive the stalling economy, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll released Tuesday.

Underscoring how widely the public is counting on its new leader, 44 percent of Republicans joined nearly all Democrats and most independents in expressing that belief.

The poll shows that faith in Obama is even broader, at least for now. Sixty-eight percent said they think that when he takes office in January, the new president will be able to enact the policies he pushed during his presidential campaign.

People signaled a willingness to wait on one of the keynote items of his agenda — tax cuts. Only about one in three, or 36 percent, said they wanted Obama to make income-tax cuts a top priority when he takes office, and even fewer wanted higher taxes on the rich to be a primary goal.

Instead, 84 percent said strengthening the economy should be a top-tier priority. Eighty percent also named creating jobs as a No. 1 order of business.

Majorities in both parties said those issues should be top priorities, though Democrats were a bit likelier than Republicans to say so.

With Obama ending the GOP's eight-year hold on the White House under President Bush and about to become the first black president, the AP-GfK poll showed three quarters saying the election made them feel hopeful, six in 10 feeling proud and half expressing excitement.

Though Democrats were far likelier to express those emotions, such feelings were not limited to them. Among Republicans, half said they were hopeful, one third proud and nearly a fifth said they were excited about the election results. Another quarter in the GOP said they were depressed.

Highlighting anew how the Iraq war has faded as a paramount public concern, only half of people said they wanted Obama to make a U.S. troop withdrawal a top focus upon taking office.

Until the weakening economy replaced Iraq as the top problem in public opinion polls nearly a year ago, Obama's pledge to set a timetable from withdrawing troops from the war was his highest-profile issue.

But the AP-GfK poll also underscored the enduring partisan split over the war. Two-thirds of Democrats want a troop withdrawal to be a top Obama priority, compared with just three in 10 Republicans.

Half also said they wanted universal health care coverage to be a No. 1 priority, again with far more Democrats than Republicans citing it as a top goal.

Nearly three-quarters said they'd like Obama to name some Republicans in his Cabinet, as the Democrat has said he would do.

Most also expressed no problem with the lock Democrats will have on Washington beginning next year. Four in 10 said Democratic control of the White House and Congress will be good for the country while another two in 10 said it would make no difference. Only a third said it would hurt.

The AP-GfK poll was conducted Nov. 6-10 and involved cell and landline telephone interviews with 1,001 adults. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

[Muskan]

It might be added that Bush himself today said that "Yes GM needs a bail out, if we can give Billoins upon Billoins to AIG for "resort weekends out" at Taxpayers expensne and they did have yet another outing last weekend, we can help GM
I likethe idea of GM i do not like the idea of Golden Umberllas for Excs who tore themselves down

And who said that Bush had any idea of economics?

No matters GM and ford like companies get bail out or not, they won't survive.

They won't survive because its not government who decides what should survive and what should not.

It is always the CONSUMERS who decide what they will but.

GM, Ford etc are failing sice long in providing consumer satisfaction, good competitive product, and that is the reason they are in distress.

if government gives them money, it will again be lost. and who will suffer? the tax payers.


Anyways, who cares for the Hard worker? Noone/.

Everyone likes the idea of looting the hardworker through taxes.

[Muskan]

What i wonder more is, even now Americans feel like debagting over Bush Obama, Maccain Obama, leftists., rightist and all senseless things.

basically the politics is about GOVERNMENt and citizens.
There are only two parties in a democracy, the government and the citizen. And mksme you are not the GOVERNMENT, you are citizen.

No matters Obama increases taxes on rich, how will the rich pay the tax? He will pay the tax by exploiting more money from middle class and poor, so the balance is always going to remain same. Taxes never helps.

This waste of money and Malinvestment which is basic cause of economic crisis which obama is promising by bailing out these worthless ventures will be burdened over citizens.

Anyways, who cares for the HardWorker? every second person wishes to loot him for being an intelligent hardworker as if it is a crime to be hardworker for which he should pay penalty in form of taxes, extra taxes high taxes. Why?

Cos some companies need bailout.

True no body cares for the hardworker.

[mkemse]

Ok, but what will your opion be when those making over $250,000 recieive NO tax relief and those earinig under that do??
Obama may be the first President in years to thikn and do something about the Midddle Class, and no give Oil Companies and other Large Corporations huge Tax Breaks, right now he is not owned or Beholden to anyone, Bush is/was/will be to Major Oil Companies, as will Chneney, who was with Haliburton until the No Bid Contract in Iraq gave all the Work to Insiders

All i can say, is lets just wait andsee what happensafter Jan 20, as Obama himself said "We only have 1 President at a time here" his Term begins on Jan 20, 2009, let's just wait and let's see what happens, what he actualy does as oppsed to what he promised and does not do, if nothing else, he is entitled to prove he will do as he says and it is 99 moredays til he even has a chance to do that

[Muskan]

Ok, but what will your opion be when those making over $250,000 recieive NO tax relief and those earinig under that do??
\
As a matter of fact, America is in a condition where America should opt for Voluntary taxation and should remove compulsory taxation wholly.
Let the people decide how much they want to donate(charity) for the welfare works. Government can then handle for the voluntary tax thus collected for various purposes democratically chosen by the public. Compulsory taxation system is making America a very weak nation and it is not too far when China and other nations may feel like competing US on every front (including war front).
The socialization/nationalization of america which obama is looking for is devastating. It will pull down america miles down, while the slow gradual shift of asian economy towards liberalism are surely inching their progress slowly but steadily.

What for Obama planning for higher taxes?

No matters Obama increase taxes on Rich or Poor, the sufferer will be the Poor.
because rich can pay even high taxes, poor can't pay increased prices, no matters obama may reduce tax on them.

Obama's pledge: "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.
National Security Force? WTF?
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fO-u...eature=related
Until it got to the "Just as well funded" part, I was thinking he could have meant that civilians need to be vigilant and help spot illegal activities or dangerous situations to let the authorities know but "funding" a civilian security force? I thought Americans already had local state and federal pol;ice forces. We don't need another police force.

Hell, in Houston, alone, there are roughly 160 different police organizations (Including school police forces, various other local, state and federal organizations).

Now, it caqn be interpreted that He wants to protect the homeland with a force that is as proportionally strong as the military is compared to the job it has. At the point that he turns this into an official policy statement, I will be either concerned or not.

The fact that he may be willing to match military spending after adding the cost of a single payer health system should be sobering to anyone that demands fiscal responsibility from American government. You think Americans are up shit creek, now?

If any of this comes true, believe me, America will be doomed, because if he do so, he will be proving much more ruthless than bush, and in fact Bush wasn't ruthless for Americans directly, if obama do so, he will be directly ruthless for Americans,

I HOPE he won't do any of the socialistic madness he has been planning and promising for.
he has already caused a lot harm over what Bush did by again malinvesting the worthless banks and now worthless industries like GM, Ford etc.