MSN Survey about Bush

[pisces2473]

Found this online...it's interesting to see what other people think about our president...

http://www.msnbc.com/modules/msn/front5.asp#survey

[jku]

Interesting - it seems people want to give the President a chance to improve the economy, but they don't seem to think he can do it.

The thing about tax cuts is an interesting issue.
DASCHLE compared tax cuts to HOT WATER, a little can help with the cooking, but a lot can BURN. Bush's tax cuts obviously go to the 4% of Americans that contribute to political campaigns...

It's just that the people paying for it will be people in these chat rooms. We're all in our 20s - when we hit our late 30s/40s, we'll be PAYING a lot.

The way I see it, if Bush gets his way:
1. Social Security and many social programs will be bankrupt, so you and I will be paying for us, our kids, and our PARENTS. Property Taxes, Income taxes, and payroll taxes will skyrocket to cover basic government.

2. MASSIVE DEFICITS means the COST OF BORROWING money goes up because there is LESS to go around. Thus MORTGAGE interest rates, credit card rates, car loans, ETC all GO WAY UP.

3. Wages have been stagnant the past few years and the trend WILL continue under Bush.
Thus, if Bush has his way, all of us will be STRETCHED financially like JOAN RIVERS' face.

Goodbye future prosperity, hello BONG...
Oh shoot, Bernie Mac is here.

[coll214]

Interesting survey...after taking it, i'm glad to see that other people don't think he's handling everything well javascript:smilie(':D')
big grin

[pisces2473]

It's really scary...thinking about social security and medicare not being around when we're older. Maybe they don't work as well as they were planned to be? Maybe we need something else?

I think Americans are too obsessed with having the next best thing, when what they have is fine. All we do is consume, consume, consume--rarely giving anything back. Do you need a vacation home? Why not donate your money/time to a Habitat for Humanity project and let someone else have a home. You don't need 3 cars for 2 drivers either. I'm reading Nickel and Dimed right now (see the thread about books under Play) and the author makes a point (I've heard it elsewhere but it's good to hear it again) about how those working minimum wage jobs will ALWAYS be in a state of poverty or near-poverty. What the hell is wrong with this picture? Many low income workers can't afford to buy homes because they are paid too little and don't have the luxury of saving for a down payment or even a first-last-security deposit for an apartment! I just want to have enough to eat, a little money cushion for rainy days, a roof over my head, a car that works, and clothes on my back.

[jku]

Barbara Ehrenreich (sp?) Nickle & Dimed?

Excellent book (i've just read excerpts and heard her speak on our PUBLIC radio station) - you are 100% right - we as a country make up 5% of the World's population, yet consume 40% of its resources. It's staggering - and all the YAHOOS who say "hey, it's capitalism!" don't understand that we also have the greatest DISPARITY of wealth between socio-economic classes. The Middle Class gated community types have NOTHING in common with Bush and his gang.

I find it fascinating in politics that the GOP has been able to convince people to vote AGAINST their best interest by using a single issue - whether it be guns, religion, or abortion. It's brilliant manipulation. Fascists in their day figured this ploy out as well.

I'm pretty sure if you Yale girls lived on the Left Coast we'd all be hanging out - you seem to know what's really going down. :-)

[coll214]

I try to. ;) I find it depressing to think about all the money that we (twentysomethings) put into things like social security which we will never see, unless the system is changed. At least there's a few decades that must pass before i can think about retiring. LOL

[jku]

Depression is one emotion - however, rage, vindication, and feelings that virtue will triumph are another. I support Kerry and feel he would do an excellent job - the more I've learned about Bush the more I've realized he's like COCA-COLA -

Lots of FLASH, big SLOGANS, but what's inside is basically sugar and water.

We need someone who still has a notion of what is ethical and just - Kerry is that guy to me.

[pisces2473]

I try to as well...it's hard though when you feel like the rug is being pulled out from under you before you really had a chance to stand on it. I really can't stand the one topic politics of the GOP--my roomie voted for Bush just because he was anti-abortion and since "Bush and Gore's plans for everything else really aren't going to work anyway." I was like, Okay, I don't agree with you but I'm not going to argue with you either. I voted for Gore and I feel like I've had something stolen from me. Oh yeah, all my money!

[coll214]

Nice analogy jku! I would never vote for Bush on his environmental policies alone, but then when you factor in his foreign policies, it's a no brainer to me, a hell no. A friend of mine voted for him on the basis that he was "a family man" and was "religious!"
He goes to church so that was good enough for her. Not how i want to pick my president, thanks!

[jku]

No Problem - well I work in News, shouldn't say which one - you'd be surprised.
I finished college in 99 and then got my MA - and work now. I had a QLF in my estimation, and found ways to overcome it. I have plenty of opinions on work, girlfriends, and other "fluffy" stuff.
My girlfriend is in Japan now on business - she won't be back for a few months.
I start work at 4am and have this site on - its fun, you guys seem pretty smart. I like multi-tasking - you guys might think all I look at is this stuff, but I'm usually doing 3 things at once.
I get off work at noon, work out at the gym (in re to depression, vigoruous exercise got me out of my teenage blues), eat at a place called WAHOOS, take a walk on the Huntington Beach Pier (u can look these places up on the net)
On the weekends, I meet friends, surf, party, cook, watch movies.
If you've got a personal issue, I've been told I'm pretty good with solutions.
peace.

PS - in re to other posts - what's odd is that people can vote on ONE issue. One must look at the whole person, from cradle to STAGE. Politicians are well aware of that strange American behavior and they take advantage of it. In the end though, all we have is one vote, and our energy/time to support someone we believe in.
I enjoy analyzing politics/foreign affairs as an exericise in critical thinking. I've been able to handle personal/work situations better, and can breakdown underlying motivations in people. Our country and educational system has created a whole generation totally bereft of any ability to think critically. It's a generational tragedy.

[jku]

Personal Problems?
Well, I'm planning on getting married to my girlfriend - I'm Indian, she's Japanese. My parents are okay with it, but I'm concerned they will interfere too much.
I wake up at 2:30am every morning, so I'm chronically sleep deprived.
I'm at 168lbs, 5'11" - I used to be a leaner 162.
I'm also part of a minority that has tremendous cultural identity - it's comforting and stifling at the same time?
The problems I USED to have? LOTS, of course - but in time I found ways to solve them -
MEIN KAMPF (my struggle) - its been huge, just getting a job in TV without any connections was a huge deal. After finishing college - and making a decision NOT to go to medical school after I killed myself to get in was a shit storm...
NOTHING I have NOW came easy. I've eaten a lot of shit - had horrible depressions, suffered, struggled, had no girlfriend (like you might be feeling now)- but in time I figured out some things, and now looking back, I think I have some wisdom.
The strongest skin comes from the scars of the deepest wounds. That's who I am.

[jku]

Thanks for the nice story about your Professor. It's plain as day to me now that to find a career, you have to be somewhat obsessed with the field. I enjoy science, but pop culture and news is like drinking water. I just feel bad for people I have met (like the year I worked at a hospital after college) who were thoroughly disinterested in people - and were impatient about the acoutrements of success.
I hope law is something you find infinitely fascinating as well.
In re to parents, they are coming along with the whole thing. It's just that I think my Mom had a very contrived vision for what her kids were going to be like - which is basically the "Indian" professions of medicine or engineering - and then marry Indian girls that look like Bollywood stars.
Right now the issue I have at work is that I'm partnered with this woman who is tremendously DISpassionate about work, and totally burned out. The bosses have put her at various assignments, and she has bungled them all.
The other day she came in 1.5 hours late, and I had to cover for her - SERIOUSLY. Some producers got pissed off that we weren't working fast enough (its a live broadcast in LA, so its intense), but I didn't want to say she was late and have her get killed.
When she got in, she worked for a while, didn't apologize, and then a few hours later took the first break and dissapeared! It had been building up, and I'm more than reasonably tolerant - but one of the Producers encouraged me to let it fly on her. I did. Her response was to go to our boss and say that "I'm trying to boss her around."
The boss has to listen to both stories, and he was so cool in that he made a very overt implication that he knows what's going on. Is there a LEGAL reason for this - maybe he doesn't want to play obvious favorites?
He said: "This may sound self-serving, but I'm a pretty good judge of character - some people are like the sun and burst through the darkness with intense heat, while others are burnt matches - totally exhausted and unusable." But he also chided me in saying: "even a puppy has to learn not to chew on the shoes sometimes - its part of getting used to the new house."
I think he's brilliant in how he gets his point across without saying names - its like a game.
So the both of us will have a conference with our boss on Monday. She started this whole mess, but I decided to make a list of talking points on what issues to discuss at the meeting.
It's funny - I can't tell this story to ANYONE because I know I will sound like a dickhead - I mean its SO one-sided (I never believe BLACK & WHITE stories - everything is GRAY to me)! But a law student on the East Coast who I have never met is the perfect friend right now :)

[jku]

Hi WB - boss called in sick today, so we didn't have that conference. I was cordial with the person - have to wait till tomorrow. I made a list of talking points, but I have to focus on being as cool as can be. Peace

[jku]

Hi - had a meeting with the boss and person. I took the advice to meet privately - I asked to adjourn with the boss and we went into an edit bay. I had a list of points, and was really tough. It turned out great in the end - the person got the idea - if I had discussed some of that stuff in front of the boss it would have been a disaster for that person. Some of the points I made were indefensible. It turned out the person was afraid I was going to speak to the boss, so they made a preemptive strike. Anyways - chalk it up to experience. Lesson learned is to be open with co-workers about issues and get them settled as soon as they occur. A passive approach is not conducive. peace.

[dakotagopher]

Interesting; most of the responses on the survey seem to wash out; the one I find most interesting is that 53% rate economic worry above the worry of another terror attack (13%).

Does this strike anyone else as odd? We are, as a society, very fickle and tend to be pretty narcissistic; perhaps this is why response fell this way. Or maybe we just have that much confidence in Bush & Co to prevent another attack? Or are our memories just that short?

On another note: don't bank on Social Security or Medicare being solvent for any of us under 40. It's nothing more than a giant Ponzi Scheme, has been from the beginning. This creates a real Catch-22. If you are diligent and conservative and save money and prepare yourself well for retirement, thinking you won't need the Gov't to subsidize you, just wait. You will then have become a "target" for the Looters (aka, taxers) when you become old. They'll take what you have built and redistribute it in the name of fairness. Look at how the rich are castigated today; imagine how much worse it will be in 40 years. Atlas Shrugged! Great book! Should be required reading, but most of our HS students couldn't make it through the first chapter.

I have not yet seen a workable long-term economic model to save Social Security and Medicare. These programs were never intended to be permanent, but our society has grown so dependant on them that eliminating them is not an option. How we fix them remains to be seen.

JKU - that sucks about your coworker. Good of you to cover for her, but recognize that if you continue to do so she's just taking advantage of you. All of us need help from time to time, but no one should be allowed to freeload. Be cautions that she does not "drag you down w/her" as WBrake said. Be generous and try to help, but at some point people have to want to help themselves!