• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Volcker: Taxes likely to rise eventually to tame deficit

Oh come on. He's in the Obama administration.

If he went on his own they would have denied it.

And they haven't have they?

And he was in the Reagan admin as well

He was the one to tame inflation in the early 80's by raising short term interest rates to extreme levels
 
And he was in the Reagan admin as well

He was the one to tame inflation in the early 80's by raising short term interest rates to extreme levels

How does that change anything? He's in this administration now and there is no way that he would propose something like that without consent and to believe he would and they wouldn't correct him if he didn't share their views is really naive.
 
Volcker, answering a question from the audience at a New York Historical Society event, said the value-added tax "was not as toxic an idea" as it has been in the past and also said a carbon or other energy-related tax may become necessary.

Though he acknowledged that both were still unpopular ideas, he said getting entitlement costs and the U.S. budget deficit under control may require such moves. "If at the end of the day we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes," he said.


But..... the hope and change Obama promised us no new taxes for anyone making under 250k :roll::roll:

How many lies are we up to now? I lost count when it hit triple figures.

Volcker: Taxes likely to rise eventually to tame deficit | Reuters

Harry G's post #2 alludes to an important fact that makes Volcker's call on entitlement costs worthless. Progressives have far too many "entitlements" to give the nation. They have no intention of "getting costs under control" if "control" is defined to mean reduction of cost. They plan on spending on an ever-increasing curve, and the only answer is to raise revenues.

And a carbon tax?!!? My god...how can America allow itself to fall prey to such a stupid and fraudulent issue?! How is it my generation could produce so many fools?!?!
 
I was in the financial sector for ten years and in the housing industry for the last 25. I saw exactly what Bush and Greenspan were doing when they were doing it. That is the reason I pulled all my money out of equities right before the crash. Did you? Many people predicted the collapse of the housing sector. I was one of them.

I am dead on in my interpretation of what happened. I was part of it. Were you? Or do you get all your information from blogs?

Nope, My brother is a principal in a major investment counsel and a summa cum laude from one of the top business schools in the nation. My late father was a director of three fortune 500 companies among several other companies he served on the boards of as well as the one he was CEO of. My brother predicted Enron was a house of cards three years before it collapsed and saw the housing and banking sectors as bad investments as well.

And yes most of our problems are built on a foundation of an over expansive government involved in way too many areas that it was never intended to be in. Your interpretation may be right but it does not encompass enough of the history leading up to it
 
How does that change anything? He's in this administration now and there is no way that he would propose something like that without consent and to believe he would and they wouldn't correct him if he didn't share their views is really naive.

Well, allegedly, Holder made the decision all by himself to transfer KSM to civilian control and prosecute him in civilian courts.

So having another Obama appointee go out with this on his own ain't a stretch, is it?

:rofl
 
I was in the financial sector for ten years and in the housing industry for the last 25. I saw exactly what Bush and Greenspan were doing when they were doing it. That is the reason I pulled all my money out of equities right before the crash. Did you? Many people predicted the collapse of the housing sector. I was one of them.

I am dead on in my interpretation of what happened. I was part of it. Were you? Or do you get all your information from blogs?

What exactly were you part of, selling liar loans, selling overpriced houses to people you knew could not afford them but had some type of Fed guarantee, bank regulator, working under Barney Frank.

I wonder how it is that so many folks on this site had the crystal ball to pull our of equities when the dow reached 14K. With that sort of skill how did the financial sector ever let you go. I expect to next hear that you gave Paulson the idea to short Bear Sterns.
 
Nope, My brother is a principal in a major investment counsel and a summa cum laude from one of the top business schools in the nation. My late father was a director of three fortune 500 companies among several other companies he served on the boards of as well as the one he was CEO of. My brother predicted Enron was a house of cards three years before it collapsed and saw the housing and banking sectors as bad investments as well.

And yes most of our problems are built on a foundation of an over expansive government involved in way too many areas that it was never intended to be in. Your interpretation may be right but it does not encompass enough of the history leading up to it

Well said. The partisans on the left just can't help themselves. All blame starts and stops with Pres Bush (they think inclusion of Greenspan will make them look like open-minded centrists). No consideration of the big picture.

The problem festered over many Administrations, all of which were complacent and/or distracted by other events of the day. As usual, Congress got a pass over those many years, and continues to get that pass, for its paramount responsibility in bringing us to this day.
 
What exactly were you part of, selling liar loans, selling overpriced houses to people you knew could not afford them but had some type of Fed guarantee, bank regulator, working under Barney Frank.

I wonder how it is that so many folks on this site had the crystal ball to pull our of equities when the dow reached 14K. With that sort of skill how did the financial sector ever let you go. I expect to next hear that you gave Paulson the idea to short Bear Sterns.

I worked for a finance company that specialized in small business lending in the 70s and early 80s. In '85 I started working for a multi billion dollar company in the housing sector. During the housing boom when they were building housing developments in every cornfield in the country we doubled our workforce in a year. It was obvious that demand had been artificially created with low interest rates and creative lending practices. and eventually it had to come crashing down. Either when the market became saturated or interest rates were brought back up to normal levels. I did not need a crystal ball to figure that out. It was obvious that too many homes were built in too short of time. Don't need to be a rocket scientist to see what was coming.
I don't care if you believe me or not, but I did not lose a dime when the market crashed. I did put all my money into stable value funds and CDs right at the peak. People that were paying attention saw the crash coming, maybe not the magnitude but they knew something had to give. I am glad I was paying attention.
 
And yes most of our problems are built on a foundation of an over expansive government involved in way too many areas that it was never intended to be in. Your interpretation may be right but it does not encompass enough of the history leading up to it

Maybe, but the housing bubble could have been stopped by Greenspan and Bush. Of course as long as it was bolstering the economy they were not about to stop it.

You blame the collapse of AIG on too much government regulation? Bear Stearns? Countrywide? All the Failed banks? These companies were gambling with peoples money and they lost. We all lost.
 
What exactly were you part of, selling liar loans, selling overpriced houses to people you knew could not afford them but had some type of Fed guarantee, bank regulator, working under Barney Frank.

I wonder how it is that so many folks on this site had the crystal ball to pull our of equities when the dow reached 14K. With that sort of skill how did the financial sector ever let you go. I expect to next hear that you gave Paulson the idea to short Bear Sterns.

You think it takes a crystal ball to realize that stocks were overvalued at 14k in the Dow? Historical P/E valuations would have told anyone with any rationale that

Or that housing prices increasing at 205+ a year was a bubble in the making required some sort of magic to understand?


Again, knowing that peoples incomes had to pay for any homes that would be sold would give a strong indication that housing prices were unsustainable at the prices anytime after 2005.

Heck Goldman was so good it sold the MBS, made a profit on that, then bet the MBS that they sold were going to go bust and made more money.

As for Barney Frank, we should nominate him for god hood. For a lowly Congressman to have the power to bring the US government under a repubican congress, senate and presidency to heel, along with the multi trillion dollar financial industry must mean he is some sort of god, the most powerfull creature in America

And Yes USA1 was predicting the housing bubble collapse as early as 2005 at the latest, along with a few other rational people
 
Last edited:
And Yes USA1 was predicting the housing bubble collapse as early as 2005 at the latest, along with a few other rational people

Yep, they should have listened to us, Lord. It really was a no-brainer. The trick was predicting the peak and being ready and willing to bail out.
 
Maybe, but the housing bubble could have been stopped by Greenspan and Bush. Of course as long as it was bolstering the economy they were not about to stop it.

You blame the collapse of AIG on too much government regulation? Bear Stearns? Countrywide? All the Failed banks? These companies were gambling with peoples money and they lost. We all lost.

NOt too much regulation

too much involvement
 
NOt too much regulation

too much involvement

Involvement with AIG. In what way? The only involvement I see was that Goldman Sachs would have lost billions had AIG not been bailed out and the Secretary of the treasury was the ex CEO of Goldman Sachs. The involvement was after the damage had been done.
 
Involvement with AIG. In what way? The only involvement I see was that Goldman Sachs would have lost billions had AIG not been bailed out and the Secretary of the treasury was the ex CEO of Goldman Sachs. The involvement was after the damage had been done.

you ever thought that the habit of the government bailing out poorly run companies might have been part of the problem all along?
 
you ever thought that the habit of the government bailing out poorly run companies might have been part of the problem all along?

Didn't the "habit" begin with the Bailout of AIG? So how could it have been the problem all along?
 
you ever thought that the habit of the government bailing out poorly run companies might have been part of the problem all along?

Didn't the "habit" begin with the Bailout of AIG? So how could it have been the problem all along?

Greenspan did have a record despite his "Austrian" Ayn Rand roots of bailing out the financial industry typically with interest rates being kept lower then what they should have been or directly as in the LCTM issue

If I recall correctly there was a term called the " Greenspan Put" regarding his interest rate polices.


That said, the federal government has not made a habit of bailing out poorly run companies.

I can only recall 2 other such times in the recent US history, the S&L bailout and the LCTM crisis.
 
Greenspan did have a record despite his "Austrian" Ayn Rand roots of bailing out the financial industry typically with interest rates being kept lower then what they should have been or directly as in the LCTM issue

If I recall correctly there was a term called the " Greenspan Put" regarding his interest rate polices.


That said, the federal government has not made a habit of bailing out poorly run companies.

I can only recall 2 other such times in the recent US history, the S&L bailout and the LCTM crisis.



Chrysler was bailed out IIRC
 
You think it takes a crystal ball to realize that stocks were overvalued at 14k in the Dow? Historical P/E valuations would have told anyone with any rationale that

Or that housing prices increasing at 205+ a year was a bubble in the making required some sort of magic to understand?


Again, knowing that peoples incomes had to pay for any homes that would be sold would give a strong indication that housing prices were unsustainable at the prices anytime after 2005.

Heck Goldman was so good it sold the MBS, made a profit on that, then bet the MBS that they sold were going to go bust and made more money.

As for Barney Frank, we should nominate him for god hood. For a lowly Congressman to have the power to bring the US government under a repubican congress, senate and presidency to heel, along with the multi trillion dollar financial industry must mean he is some sort of god, the most powerfull creature in America

And Yes USA1 was predicting the housing bubble collapse as early as 2005 at the latest, along with a few other rational people

A lot of folks thought that the markets were hot. It is very hard to know when we the peak is hit. Even some of the hedge fund folkd that got things right were early by a couple of years but still made money when it all crashed.

So if you got out in 2005 you and USA1 got out in 2005 you missed the crash, but you also missed 4,000 dow points. The market is now higher than that level. So getting out was half the issue getting back in was the other.

I will leave the Barney stuff for others as it is not worth the silly back and forth of who had culpability for this mess.
 
A lot of folks thought that the markets were hot. It is very hard to know when we the peak is hit. Even some of the hedge fund folkd that got things right were early by a couple of years but still made money when it all crashed.

So if you got out in 2005 you and USA1 got out in 2005 you missed the crash, but you also missed 4,000 dow points. The market is now higher than that level. So getting out was half the issue getting back in was the other.

I will leave the Barney stuff for others as it is not worth the silly back and forth of who had culpability for this mess.

I did not get out in 2005. I knew it could not last too much longer in 2005 and was predicting a future housing collapse at that time. We were building way too many houses. It was inevitable.
I was watching closely, paying attention to our company's analysts and got out of stocks at the first signs it was all about to come crashing down in the fall of 2007. The DOW was still around 14000 and just after it started dropping from it's all time high, I bailed.. Got back in when the DOW was at 7000 and it was obvious the government and the FED were going to manipulate the market upwards. I didn't miss anything. MY 401k and other investments never went down. I am glad I did not listen to financial advisers.

I do predict another crash and am getting ready to bailout again. The current economy is being propped up by zero percent interest rates, and government spending. Not to mention people are putting more and more into stocks because they can't get any kind of return on safer investments. Some event will trigger another panic selloff. Maybe a big jump in gas prices. Or maybe credit card companies in trouble.

We may not have seen the worst of the Bush recession, just yet. I am more afraid of losing my retirement than missing out on a surge in the market, so I have to be careful. I don't have time to make up for a major loss right now and I don't trust financial advisers.
 
Last edited:
I did not get out in 2005. I knew it could not last too much longer in 2005 and was predicting a future housing collapse at that time. We were building way too many houses. It was inevitable.
I was watching closely and got out of stocks at the first signs it was all about to come crashing down in the fall of 2007. The DOW was still around 14000 and just after it started dropping from it's all time high, I bailed.. Got back in when the DOW was at 7000 and it was obvious the government and the FED were going to manipulate the market upwards. I didn't miss anything. MY 401k and other investments never went down.

I do predict another crash and am getting ready to bailout again. The current economy is being propped up by zero percent interest rates, and government spending. Not to mention people are putting more and more into stocks because they can't get any kind of return on safer investments. Some event will trigger another panic selloff. Maybe a big jump in gas prices. Or maybe credit card companies in trouble.

We may not have seen the worst of the Bush recession, just yet. I am more afraid of losing my retirement than missing out on a surge in the market, so I have to be careful. I don't have time to make up for a major loss right now and I don't trust financial advisers.

I am in the same spot, just retired. Let us know when you pull the eject button!
 
I am in the same spot, just retired. Let us know when you pull the eject button!

Don't you have a feeling that things could go south really fast? The economy is still on life support, yet wild exuberance is pushing the market higher and higher. It's deja vu all over again. Sometimes there a benchmark in the DOW that triggers a selloff. I wonder if 11,000 might be it.
 
Don't you have a feeling that things could go south really fast? The economy is still on life support, yet wild exuberance is pushing the market higher and higher. It's deja vu all over again. Sometimes there a benchmark in the DOW that triggers a selloff. I wonder if 11,000 might be it.

I agree. For me it is a bit scary. I am putting some money into realtively short term ( 2-4 years) bonds, and multi-nationals that get a lot of their earnings outside the U.S.
 
I agree. For me it is a bit scary. I am putting some money into realtively short term ( 2-4 years) bonds, and multi-nationals that get a lot of their earnings outside the U.S.

Don't you long for the days of Jimmy Carter when you could get 15% on a FDIC insured CD?
 
Don't you long for the days of Jimmy Carter when you could get 15% on a FDIC insured CD?

Those long term CDs helped my parents in their retirement. With all of this debt, we might wind up with high interest and relatively low inflation.

I think though that this administration is going to favor inflation. The way to do that with a slack economy will be to devalue the currency. Like is being pushed with the Chinese currency. Look at what has happened to the dollar against the Looney.
 
Back
Top Bottom