On Demand
Barack Obama's Economist
Friday, July 11, 2008
Austan Goolsbee, professor of economics at the University of Chicago and economic advisor to Barack Obama, discusses Barack Obama's economic strategy.
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Comments
I'm sure if Obama is looking for economic policy ideas, he can pick up a few listening in on a few telephone calls via domestic spying.
That would explain why I heard someone breathing on the phone line when I was talking to my boyfriend last night.
If he starts using the catch frase, "Obama hears you" beware!
Does anyone have an EMAIL address for this professor?
I'd love it if he'd look at some of the things that are identical to his beliefs
sos-newdeal.blogspot.com.
my top 7 list:
* A Living Wage
* National Single payer Healthcare
* National 3-4 year draft (or alternate service)
* Federally paid Day Care starting at six months
* Tax Reform
* Lobbying (Political Reform)
* Education
* Infrastructure
* Lack of Training/futures
And... a Truth and Reconcilliation commission!
You might be able to e-mail him through the university's website if you look up faculty and his name, I can do this through my alma mater.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae just crashed. Check CNN.
The mortgage interest credit sounds like a non-starter. It's available only to those who do not itemize on their tax filing. Even the smallest of mortgages should have enough interest expense to qualify an individual for itemizing.
got the email, now if he'd only read it, I'd know someone would say it's 'head on'. sigh
Who needs an iphone. Another expensive today. I am happy with Apple's mac computers that is enough for me. The rest we are reinventing the wheel. You just need a phone that works. Ipod okay, listen to podcasts at work, but iphones are not the issue!
The middle class going under is and if Obama wants to get elected, he needs to convince the middle class he will raise taxes on the wealthy and make a difference.
What does Professor Goolsbee think of Teresa Ghilarducci's proposal to restructure the way Americans save money for retirement (she spells this out in her book "When I'm Sixty-Four: The Plot Against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them")? In particular, why not restructure the tax code so that money placed in 401K's is _not_ tax deductible, but instead the government would offer every eligble American a direct $600 subsidy (rather than an indirect subsidy through tax breaks).
I could have sworn that Obama talked about repealing NAFTA at some point.
Previous cnn story:
money.cnn.com/2008/07/11/news/companies/fannie_freddie_shares/index.htm?cnn=yes
Depression anyone?
Essentially I argue that we're about to go into another "great depression", using what Former Secy of Labor, Robert Reich described as the only measurable number from the grreat depression of the 1930, that UNEMPLOYMENT was 25%!
So, fannie mae, freddie mac, and the forthcoming
Credit card (secured bonds issued against cc receivables --great job banking industry!)
crash will make the mortgage failure crisis seem like "penny-ante poker!"
All this stuff will not get us into anything but a depression, andI think
that
JOHN edwards endorsement of MY living wage is a great start!
cheers...
NAFTA, no good, get rid of it.
I love how they sing a different tune once they get the nomination.
Obama believes: Dedicating the country to making Democratic campaign contributors rich is fundamental to fighting poverty.
Back in February Brian had Rick MacArthur on the show. I took some notes of that program:
WNYC, 28 Feb 2008, Brian Lehrer, Rehashing NAFTA. Rick MacArthur. Obama and Clinton don't mean a word they say. It's cynicism. (McCain is a radical free trader.) Promises to renegotiate NAFTA are absurd. We can't negotiate environmental standards and higher wages in Mexico from Washington. The U.S. Didn't want enforceable standards. Bill Clinton pushed it very hard. He did it to do fundraising from the big corporations. Wall Street and the big international law firms are funding Hillary Clinton and Obama campaigns. Goldman Sachs gave $850-900,000, labor contributed a total of $60,000. NAFTA contributes to illegal immigration. It's not free trade, it's an investment agreement to protect American investments in Mexico. You can be hauled in front of a trade panel that protects the rights of American corporations. Mexican tariffs on corn are down to nothing, all those little Mexican farmers have been driven off their farms. Malquidoras pay $1 an hour, they're not going to stay there very long when they can get $3 an hour in illegal jobs. Exports are phony figures, American products shipped to Mexico for assembly, then shipped back to the US for sale here. There are winners and losers. > 1 million jobs have been lost due to NAFTA.
2,5
There are some interesting names of posters, but yours is definitely intriguing. Of course, I can't help but involuntarily hum "Whip It" when I see your name.
Ask him why he'll double the cap gains tax on 100 million American investors
#11- I remember a debate with HRC that took place right around the Ohio primary when Obama said he'd renegotiate NAFTA with the option of repealing it. Could that be it?
Brian, please ask Prof. Goolsbee whether Senator Obama will recognize regional differences in income. Specifically, $250K a year in NYC is a lot less money, and hardly the top 1% of the city ecnonmically when you consider the cost of living, state and city taxes, than $250K in Columbi South Carolina or San Antonio, Texas. Would Obama's tax plan give exceptions or credits for people in areas like NYC that are more heavily taxed at state & municipal level and more expensive to live in than the national average?
Search Google for a story in the Boston Globe by Binyan Appelbaum, "Grim proving ground for Obama's housing policy; the candidate endorsed subsidies for private entrepreneurs to built low-income units. But, while he garnered support from developers, many projecs in his former district have fallen into disrepair."
Basically Obama supported policies of destroying public housing and replacing it with private, government-subsidized housing. Obama's law firm worked for the private developers, the private developers contributed to Obama's campaign.
Obama's contributors couldn't manage the private housing, the investors went bankrupt, the housing fell into disrepair, were abandoned by tenants, and are now worse than well-managed public housing.
every day the obama mania sadly crumbles
a little more - the hypocricy and the fact that obama is just another corporate candidate comes through clearly
vote nader
Barack is very Kennedyesque in his grandiose and motivating statements which energize various groups. The most visible in the primaries was youth. However, he is more like LBJ in his ability to have visions which don't corner him in a position so he can "bring together" or work both republicans and democrats alike.
As a longtime Democrat, I found the interview with Obama's senior economic advisor, University of Chicago professor Austan Goolsbee, to be singularly disheartening - suggesting that the Democratic campaign may indeed be able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. There is a tremendous difference between the Obama of January who was Presidential in every appearance looking for ways in which all Americans can work together to address our problems and the presentation by Professor Goolsbee suggesting that Obama has taken the right stance on sundry issues and the opportunities for compromise and improvement are limited. The first approach unites the country, the second approach strengthens McCain's chances.
Number 23
That is what I am seeking, anything that will strengthen McCain's chances of winning. Thank you Osama (Obama), for helping the cause.
Idiotic last comment.
Obama is a centrist and always has been. That's what has won him broad support. I know Republicans who will vote for him in November. He isn't a candidate of the left, but he's not candidate of corporate interests, either. He's a smart guy who can find a way to make corporations cooperate to support progressive programs, including a national health plan, that would otherwise have no change of succeeding. What's wrong with that?
On the capital gains tax: the first $300,000 in capital gains withdrawn from a 401K should also be taxed at the lower rate, and the one-time exemption for the sale by a senior of a principle place of residence should be restored. These are two main sources of retirement income for middle=class retirees.
i've noticed myself agreeing more and more with republican positions lately. maybe i'm getting older, i don't know but it seems the only thing democrats like to talk about is how they are going to take more money out of peoples pockets for social engineering programs that government should not be involved in to start with. every discussion is on how taxes will be raised, never on how programs will be cut. when the republicans were running the congress there was a lot of talk amongst the democrats on a balanced budget amendment, but now that the democrats have regained control that talk went out the window. i guess i should change my voter registration...
#16 Pomeranianzdad
If you are who I think you are and you know who I am, then e-mail me please, I wanted to talk to you in person about something.
Sorry if I mistook you for someone else that I know I think is posting under another name.
"Whip It" is a good song by Devo but not their best.
This thread is closed.
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