The readers of Mike McClellan’s recent piece on the opinion page should be asking Mike why he has neglected to include some facts that do not support the re-election of progressive candidates. Mike neglected to inform you that the Dow exceeded 14,000 points in September 2007 after the Democrats took control of the House and Senate and handed control of the financial markets to Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. As a result of the expertise of these two and the uncertainty of Obama’s election, investors pulled back and the market swooned.
If you read Mike’s opinion piece carefully, you will notice that all of the bad things that happened were at the end of 2008 when a man was elected that promised to share the wealth of those who feed our economy with those who want their share of your effort. No wonder investors pulled back. Ask Mike how he explains gasoline prices doubling in less than four years. Ask Mike if he can justify the true rate of unemployment at over 12 percent after less than four years. Ask Mike if he doesn’t honestly believe that jobs shipped overseas are a direct result of the greed of his beloved unions.
Lowell Popham
Mesa
JMJ posted at 7:13 am on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
Jobs shipped overseas are the direct result of greedy corporate America, not the greed of unions. You get what you pay for. The products coming out of China are toxic and inferior. American-made--if you can find it--still outperforms outsourced products, from US Steel to toxic toys and baby formula. Think about it. Point at the unions, and you have three fingers pointing right back at corporate America. Remember when Motorola flew in third-world workers and had their American employees training their own replacements? Besides, Arizona is not a strong union state. It's a right-to-work-too-hard-for-less-pay state.
Rich posted at 8:46 am on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
"Jobs shipped overseas are the direct result of greedy corporate America, not the greed of unions." Having offices in Tokyo and London, I can pretty much tell you that you are wrong definitively. Jobs get shipped overseas because a) the American labor pool lacks enough trained people b) the union and the government make it impossible to profit. Not corporate greed, if you think it through, the shipping and logistics make it much more difficult and complicated to do business, and that alone offsets any profit gained by it. Government (mis) regulation is as much at fault as unions, and right now no one of ordinary sense is going to hire into the teeth of Obamacare. JMJ you're just repeating mythological propaganda.
Mike McClellan posted at 9:03 am on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
Nice revisionism, Lowell. If you believe the markets tanked because of Dems getting control of the House, you ignore the reality of the collapsing home market and the concurrent collapse of the various derivatives based on that market. Your claim simply ignores that reality.
Second, as to gas prices, did you happen to check the price of gas in 2008 prior to Obama's election? $4.11 was the average price of gas in the U.S.
Gas prices haven't "doubled" -- they have fluctuated as they always have. Even look at the history of 2008" $4.11 in July down to about $2.00 in December.
DonMey posted at 9:43 am on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
"you ignore the reality of the collapsing home market and the concurrent collapse of the various derivatives based on that market"
And yet, you give credit to Obama for fixing all of these things, when the President doesn't have that kind of power.
sockratties posted at 10:37 am on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
So the market collapsed in 2008 due to “anticipation shock” because a Democrat was going to become president in 2009? That’s a strange correlation. Now it couldn’t have happened due to overextension of the housing market and corporate gambling could it?
Last time I heard, gas prices are set on the world market, not by the president.
The new CEO of Apple, during an interview a few months back, said that he didn’t foresee making iphones or ipads in the U.S. anytime soon because companies here don’t have either the machinery or the technical workforce to be able to manufacture them. Can you blame that on any president?
The U.S. has put itself in a tough situation. We don’t have a skilled workforce or equipment to compete with China and India who have made those investments and we can’t afford to live on what unskilled labor can earn.
Those labor intensive jobs aren’t coming back and we aren’t making the investments we need to get the higher paying jobs we need. Obama has promised to do so, but only time will tell. The country needs to make a commitment to education in STEM courses because no president will be able to do it alone.
Accuracy posted at 11:04 am on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
Mike McClellan posted: “Second, as to gas prices, did you happen to check the price of gas in 2008 prior to Obama's election? $4.11 was the average price of gas in the U.S.” “Gas prices haven't "doubled" -- they have fluctuated as they always have.”
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“Gas prices haven't "doubled"”?? . . . Wrong again Mike……
According to the Department of Energy, gas prices bottomed out at $1.67 by the end of December, a month before Barack Obama took office in Washington D.C.
During Tuesday's presidential debate, in answer to Mitt Romney who said the failure of Obama's energy policy is proven by prices currently hovering at nearly $4 a gallon, it was President Obama who claimed that gas prices have “DOUBLED” since 2008.
Obama responded with the claim that gas prices “HAVE DOUBLED” because the economy was collapsing four years ago – and the implication that they are higher now because things are better. In other words, he is saying a bad economy equals cheap gas and a good economy means pain at the pump. But voters do not accept or believe it.
Obama is only trying to cover-up the fact that high gas prices has sunk his ratings on economy.
DonMey posted at 12:19 pm on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
Accuracy - Obama did promise to raise fossil fuel prices, including gas, as part of his domestic policy. However, he never got anywhere with it. POTUS can do very little to affect gas prices.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 12:26 pm on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
Asking Mike to be......"unbiased"....is like asking a leopard to erase it's spots.
When you have been a member of a.....UNION...all of your career you can't help but whine, moan, groan about not getting...a chicken in every Sunday pot....and a Cadillac in every garage as promised by ..........DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTS.
Civil Service jobs, Public Sector jobs and Teachers all think that they are ....ENTITLED...to yearly Cost-of-Living raises, Christmas bonus, more vacation time, more sick time, more paid Holidays, more Retirement Benefits....MORE...MORE....MORE.
DON'T BELIEVE ME...JUST LOOK AT THE LAST CHICAGO TEACHER'S UNION STRIKE = THESE TEACHERS EARN AN AVERAGE YEARLY PAYCHECK OF ....$67,000.00..............AND...THAT WASN'T ENOUGH.....THEY WANTED A 15% PAY RAISE....RETRO-ACTIVE TO JAN 2012........AND GUESS WHAT.....OBAMA CALLED HIS OLD CHIEF OF STAFF, RAB EMANUEL (THE MAYOR OF CHICAGO)....AND TOLD MAYOR EMANUEL TO GIVE IT TO THEM BECAUSE IT WAS RAISING TOO MANY QUESTIONS ON THE NIGHTLY NEWS....THAT PRESIDENT "SPEND, SPEND, SPEND" OBAMA...DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE ANSWERS TO BEFORE THE ELECTION.
SO WHEN YOU SEE A COLUMN OR COMMENTARY WRITTEN BY MIKE....RED FLAGS (YOU KNOW....JUST LIKE THE...."RED" TEE-SHIRTS THAT THE STRIKING CHIGAGO TEACHER'S UNION MEMBERS WORE WHEN THEY PUT 400,000 STUDENTS OUT ON THE STREET.
chuckles3 posted at 12:32 pm on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
McClellan is not a columnist. He is a retired teacher probably enjoying a nice pension, with a lot of time on his hands.
As a result he is a left wing hack and union fan, and likes selective facts that support his world view. Cause and effect arguments are rampant on this site.
Mike McClellan posted at 1:15 pm on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
So Accuracy, when gas prices were $4.11 in July of 2008, was that Bush's fault? And when they dropped to $1.67 in December of that year, was that Bush's achievement?
Please. Stop playing games with gas prices, and take a look at the economic conditions/consumption of oil over time.
Arizona Willie posted at 2:06 pm on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
It is very strange.
When Bush the Lesser was President ... all the right wingers claimed the price of gas was NOT Bush's fault. They claimed the President had NO power to affect the price of gas.
But now ... but now... oh yeah ... the price of gas IS Obama's fault. He, personally, tells the oil companies how much to charge for gas first thing every morning.
Republicans are NEVER responsible for anything bad but Democrats are ALWAYS responsible for anything that happens.
Funny how that works.
VofReason posted at 2:35 pm on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
Hmmm. When Bush was President did he espouse the desire to move from Fossil fuels to Wind and solar as primary sources? Give billions of dollars to flailling Green companies? Limit petroleum exloration are pipeline developement? Then perhaps you can make the case that he did not do things to effect the price of gas at the pump. Now President Obama..........
truth posted at 4:17 pm on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
Have any of you morons noticed the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are almost tied on oil production? And what is the U.S. doing? Exporting the gas and will soon export natural gas and prices for us are still high. I have traveled to over 30 countries in Europe, Africa and Middle East, The nasty word you want to call green energy is growing faster in the above countries. Why did the solar companies fail in the U.S.? Because communist China flooded the market with cheap solar energy pannels, and are being protected by the Republican Congress.
Germany is one of the fastest growing solar energy countries in the world, Germany is also 3rd. in the world pertaining to the GDP. Why ? Because their government has not outsourced their jobs for cheap Chinese products like our Republican Congress is protecting.
Mike McClellan posted at 4:22 pm on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
Did Bush give money to "green companies"? Uh, yes. In fact, the Bush administration approved the loan to Solyndra, the day before Obama took office.
Oh, and Governor Romney provided energy subsidies to private green companies in Massachusetts, including one that went bankrupt.
Oh, and President Bush supported and signed into law the Energy Policy Act, requiring the federal government to use renewable energy sources in increasing percentages over the years.
Oh, and President Bush supported and signed into law the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which provided federal subsidies for solar, wind, wave and tidal sources of energy, as well as biomass funding.
Oh, and in 2008, Bush provided $2 billion to help fund an international consortium to promote clean/alternative energy sources.
Finally, I would like VofReason to provide a single source that say Obama wants winds and solar as primary energy sources.
Accuracy posted at 4:42 pm on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
Mike McClellan keeps blaming Bush for gas being $4.11 a gallon in July 2008 and bottoming out at $1.67 in December 2008. He keeps saying "Gas prices haven't doubled" . . . While President Obama keeps saying that gas prices “HAVE DOUBLED” because the economy was collapsing four years ago.
Recent prices at the pump soared to near record highs across the country early this month, especially in California -- averaging $4.51 to $5 a gallon. The United States may be on its way to becoming the top oil producer in the world . . . it's Obama that is playing games with gas prices to avoid making a specific promise about future gasoline prices and economy.
Mike McClellan posted at 5:38 pm on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
If you, Accuracy, can find anywhere on this thread where I blamed Bush for gas prices, you're a better man than I.
So, please explain how Obama has "played games with gas prices."
I have a feeling that you can't explain that charge, but it does fit into the narrative you want to believe.
Rich posted at 6:20 pm on Wed, Oct 24, 2012.
Can the POTUS influence gas prices? Reagan, Clinton and both Bushes did. The POTUS controls a strategic reserve that can influence gas prices enormously. Clinton even used it during the election of 2000 to prevent gas prices from harming the candidacy of Gore. Katrina and the fact that Bush II had to use the reserve to bolster supplies destroyed by the hurricane made it difficult to control for a while. Gas acts like a commodity, and when you sit on the single largest supply of it, yes you can pretty much govern it's price. Obama hasn't managed this well, as with most other things, he expects time will cure the problem.
Arizona Willie posted at 10:40 am on Thu, Oct 25, 2012.
Rich, many of the companies that sent jobs overseas were very profitable here in the U.S. --- WITH THEIR UNIONS.
Hershey, Whirlpool, and Levi are all companies that were nicely profitable here but went overseas to satisfy their greed.
And, by overseas, I include south of the border even though it technically is part of the same land mass.
Many companies moved because of the greed of their top execs who wanted to justify their multi-million dollar bonuses and the only way they could do that was by huge profit increases due to foreign cheap labor.
Just like Romney, they didn't care if they disrupted thousands of American lives by putting good workers on the unemployment line --- THEY GOT THEIRS scroo everyone else.
Slabside posted at 12:49 pm on Thu, Oct 25, 2012.
Willie, what does your rant have to do with gas prices?
truth posted at 3:21 pm on Thu, Oct 25, 2012.
I know facts confuse republicans but under Bush just before he crashed the U.S. economy GAS was $5.28, the only reson it was under $2.00 is Bush's policies crashed the economy.DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT ASSUME MEANS?
Bluepoet posted at 3:53 pm on Thu, Oct 25, 2012.
The strategic reserve consists of about 80 days worth of crude oil, not gas, and has been used for natural disasters, and testing, since the days of the 73 oil embargo. It's use to influence gas prices is a spurious and let's just say, flat out fantasy. At best, it could only be used to keep refineries from shutting down for a couple of months...that's hardly world-influencing.
Nope, Presidents don't have control over gas/oil prices, although Congress might--and we all know how Congress is doing, at coming together on any issue, right?
Accuracy posted at 6:00 pm on Thu, Oct 25, 2012.
Arizona Willie posted: “Just like Romney, they didn't care if they disrupted thousands of American lives by putting good workers on the unemployment line ---“
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Irrelevant issues about outsourcing – like President Obama’s continued focus on Mitt Romney's time at Bain Capital.
The Obama campaign is now accusing Mitt Romney of lying about his role in outsourcing at Bain Capital, a private equity company Romney founded in 1984. Romney took a paid leave of absence from Bain Capital, a highly profitable private equity investment firm, in February 1999 to serve as the President and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing Committee. During his absence from Bain, the company eventually sent some of its jobs overseas in 1999 – and Romney said he had no active role in day-to-day operations of the firm during that time.
Over his four years in office, President Obama racked up trillions in new debt, billions of dollars did go to create jobs that were outsourced or spent overseas. Outsourcing American jobs himself, whether it is electric cars made in Finland or by putting money into energy companies, solar panels in Mexico, wind energy companies that end up making their products outside the United States.
Rich posted at 7:54 pm on Thu, Oct 25, 2012.
Slabside, Willie was answering my first post, belatedly. And he isn't being accurate. A concrete example to counter his position might be this: Many years ago I was a partner in a company that manufactured fur coats in New York. The coats I made personally were made in our manufacturing loft. We also made off the rack coats in fur and leather. In the early 80s, off the rack coats started to be made in Israel, China and Greece. We couldn't really compete with the price, and though our quality was a tick or two higher, it was also double the price. So we went to Tel Aviv and Kastoria, in Greece and bought into the trade there. By juggling the imports with our coats we maintained our 'off the rack' market. This is similar to Levi's. It is not greed, it is reacting to a market change, to market forces. It is more radical in markets that do not require high skill levels, as fur and leather do. 'Sweat shops' existed in the US well into the 90s, and probably still do with 'illegal' labor. The 'work' the world needs is mostly in the sweat shop category. How many tee shirts are sold as opposed to lap tops? And actually fast, exacting seamstresses are rare in America, the gal I used in the 80s was from Greece, making a lining for a custom made coat in silk is equivalent to any technical job. Actually picking wine grapes, perfectly without a broken skin within a very limited window of time to preserve the vintage is also the equal, in skill, of any employee of Apple. But then why pay a doctor more than a garbage collector? If no garbage got collected, all the doctors in the World couldn't prevent the pandemic that would result. Our problem is proportion, and delivery. Obama's solution is more government services, which may be saturated already, if he is re-elected we will get the chance to see. Romney's is to activate the private sector, which might also have too much already. We might see that as well, now a 50-50 shot. My own perspective is personal. Obama cost me three employees who I really cared about. My vote against him is the equivalent of a right cross, maybe if the secret service gave me the shot, I'd get it out and be a bit more rational.
Arizona Willie posted at 10:23 am on Sat, Oct 27, 2012.
Rich, comparing your luxury coats to Levi's jeans is not an good comparison.
You may have had problems competing --- but Levi's didn't.
Their jeans were / are in demand around the world.
In the Soviet Union, young girls would trade sex for Levi's.
Even though other companies had jeans made overseas ... Levi had no problem getting their price for their product.Neither did Whirlpool have any problem with profitability.Nor did many other companies that moved.In my opinion, if a company is profitable with making their products here and they move anyway -- greed is the reason.
JNelson posted at 10:09 am on Sun, Oct 28, 2012.
Both Dems and Repubs are guilty of misstating the power of a president where retail gas and oil prices are concerned. That doesn't mean a president has NO ability to influence them over time absent government dictates or price controls. A president could and should use his office to help influence Congress to enact legislation which would be helpful in making the US self-sufficient in energy and Obama certainly hasn't done that. Although oil/gas production in the US is booming, it is declining on government property, by some 17% in the last year or so, while on private property it is soaring. Obama responded terribly wrongly after the gulf oil spill by banning drilling and cutting leasing permits, etc., driving deep sea exploration away from the US to Brazil and other areas, and at the same time sent some $2 Billion to Brazil to aid them in deep sea exploration with a promise that the US would be glad to purchase oil from that source. The negative actions he's initiated to interfere with oil/gas production here at home are totally contrary to his claims of being helpful as anyone who follows the various newsletters from that industry will understand.
Our biggest problem in reducing gas prices at the pump is a lack of refinery capacity combined with the seasonal blend rules which force refineries to keep switching their production capacities back and forth. Goofy policies like requiring ethanol mixes which cost more to implement than the so called benefits derived aren't helpful, either, especially when we wind up purchasing the ethanol from foreign countries as well. The US could be a world beater in exporting LNG, creating jobs and providing some relief of negative trade balances if Congress would help companies build the capacities for it.
Hopefully, when Romney takes office (because re-election of Obama would be a total disaster for the country), he'll urge Congress to implement good practical policies where energy production is concerned and reduce overburdensome regulations where possible in order to stimulate growth in that industry. The USA has more energy sources than any other country in the world and it is a crying shame that our own government is the biggest obstacle in getting it developed properly for the benefit of all.
VofReason posted at 1:13 pm on Mon, Oct 29, 2012.
Thank you Mike McC, it really was all Bush's fault. Thank you for clearing that up. Now I have the exact same regard for your opinions as I do for that of President Obama.
coachss posted at 1:37 am on Wed, Oct 31, 2012.
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6, stupid tillage thought, to actually pique wildly readily to hand over their identity cards and 250 dollars.
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Them a little stupid farming talking about what matters stupid Geng also did not think of that, what matters, stupid farming go with the flow was almost not to think about what the problem anyway escorted ID card and 250 dollars, stupid farming that deposit, will not allow him to have any ideas, stupidity farming still immersed in which emotion to find work, the thought no longer need to worry about anything, everything will adapt over exceedingly comfortable, stupid farming has never been so careless.
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Yu Geng told the Guangdong people consonance, no need to lay bare, with the horizon self less Meet mention the deja vu.
8, twelve hours later, an old staff rushed to the scene, you want this to go to a place to live with the stupidity farming and Cantonese.
Old staff is still young, but bony, blue overalls, wearing a short-sleeved shorts even more distress Liao down, the surface look dull bosses in front of moving houses in the Far East, Cited Well Well, loyal, and did not dare delay, tarry, they hastily took stupid farming and Cantonese to live where the seems not stupid farming and Cantonese slightest interest.
Leave the office, stupid farming and Cantonese are each picking up coach outlet store two sets of overalls, but still know nothing about the matters related to that anyway, the future will slowly understand, do not have suspicious.
9, from the cheap coach purses office came out, stupid farming further learned that it the Cantonese was originally a formal job, because laid-off coach factory only to Guangzhou to work very optimistic that Cantonese Far East to move so the job, if he were with his life experiences, it is necessary to understand the move so the job than the stupidity farming in the Far East more Cantonese chatter Susu with stupid Geng said, give it a try anyway, to feel bad, it certainly will be dismissed out that Cantonese move so the job of the Far East, there is no settled down, variables.
Stupid farming mouth wanted from that older employees learned about the Far East to move so this work, stupid farming generally do not like to find out from someone else, but stupid farming is actually very mouth from others to find out what happens, and that old employees but why do not want to reveal about the Far East to move so the job, vague buzzing murmur, the old employees just talked to dry to move so the line not alone contribute on the line, but also speaking skills, Do not break something that older employees seem to be seen, stupid farming even picking up two sets of overalls ID card and a deposit of 250 dollars, even if the country does not guarantee the into had to move so this line seems to imply stupidity farming should think coach purses outlet into had to move so would not join this line, variables, and even more do not have to talk about wages like.
Stupid Geng also did not think he found the job of the Far East to move so will this line into the move so stupid farming no such mental preparation, stupid farming feel like the older employees who he can be seen that the Far East move house job is how nature, he definitely has that older employees do not become the kind of look that older employees will become the kind of look into moving houses line, he do not care in moving houses this line .
Far louis vuitton purses East to move so the job is the first job stupid farming work, stupid farming can be a strong sense of the Far East to move so significant job, almost indicates how about the prospect of his work, indicates his ability to work how samples should be treated carefully, emotions are running high, stupidity farming heart in addition to the Far East to move so the job, and then have no other ideas....
Arizona Willie posted at 8:59 am on Wed, Oct 31, 2012.
coachss ... please put down the bong.