GDP Goes Negative In Fourth Quarter

You can get the exact same result without the cronyism by merely declaring a tax holiday for the middle and lower class.

 

And the previous gains were producing a false increase. And inventory levels are a normal measure and a result of the slow economy. GDP WITH all those factors should at this time, from the bottom of the last recession, be strong and growing. 3-5% range. It is not.

 

Quantify "spending".

 

We need private sector jobs, if more people took basic economics we'd be better off and they'd vote these idiots out of office with their failed Keynesian schemes. We have been stimulus spending for 4 years now, it's called TRILLION dollar deficits and it has gotten us NOTHING.

 

And for those who, erroneous, allege that Q4 GDP declined due to US government "austerity", here are the facts: in Q4, the US added some $312 billion in debt. And more to the point, the US government spent a grand total of $907.9 billion in the same quarter. This compares to $877.1 billion a quarter earlier: $30 billion less.

 

Gee, I just rhetorically said that it is pointless to explain economics to those who don't know basic math and here it is ....

 

And for those who, erroneous, allege that Q4 GDP declined due to US government "austerity", here are the facts: in Q4, the US added some $312 billion in debt. And more to the point, the US government spent a grand total of $907.9 billion in the same quarter. This compares to $877.1 billion a quarter earlier: $30 billion less.

They didnt spend LESS. <- can you add/subtract?

 

PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS.............................................until we put people back to work in productive private sector jobs we will never get into a full recovery. Inflating the currency won't do it, phony "infrastructure jobs" won't do it, and putting more people on government subsistence won't do it.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-economy-shrinks-0-1-133115372.html
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy shrank from October through December for the first time since the recession ended, hurt by the biggest cut in defense spending in 40 years, fewer exports and sluggish growth in company stockpiles.

 

Yes....cuts in spending on defense(a lot of defense spending is spent overseas anyway) however still spent more overall from the prior quarter.

 

That may has accidentally employed plumbers to unclog drains. Better to burn it.

 

Uh. Yes. I do personally know people who worked construction on several stimulus projects. Seriously what are you talking about?

- - - Updated - - -

The private sector jobs are created by having efficient infrastructure. SERIOUSLY. Take an economics course.

 

I'm saying "demand side" economics is an unsustainable fraud. Permanent public works projects and constantly expanding government employment ("Pauls") that extracts 100% from taxpayers ("Peters"...whose money is ALSO destined for the economy) while only returning 20 or 30% to the public fisc (if even that)
is as ridiculous a premise as me having 500 dollars and handing you 100 dollars every day, and you paying me back 20 dollars every day, and expecting both of us both to forever prosper.

 

Honestly, do any of them still have jobs doing that work?

 

"It's the economy stupid"....James Carville

 

<<< Raising my hand and waving it wildly >>>

I have an idea on how to do that. Small business provides for somewhere between 70% and 80% of all jobs so let's stop making the small business owner pay the highest taxes in American. Currently a small business owner with $100K in net income pays a whopping 37% in combined income and self-employment taxes. Corporations pay 22% (providing the balance of the jobs) and investors (that provide no jobs) pay a maximum of 20% on the same net income. Let's eliminate the special tax rates on corporations and investors so we can lower the tax rates on small business owners.

If we want more jobs then taxing all income identically would reduce the tax burden on small business owners that currently pay the highest tax rates in America.

 

We have not been stimulus spending for 4 years. We stimulus spent for 2 years and during those two years we saw the greatest growth in job rates of the 4 years Obama was in office.

- - - Updated - - -

The stimulus projects are over. But most of them still work in construction. Construction jobs have increased since the stimulus ended.

 

Id be happier if government didnt constantly shoot itself in the foot at every opportunity.....

Raising Gas Taxes is idiotic. Its a shunt to all economic activity..

 

You could have all the infrastructure in the world but private sector jobs are not going to be created until citizens have confidence in the economy and government stops threatening businesses every step of the way or taxes away the potential profits and makes hiring too expensive. WE HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE. I am traveling LA, TX, MS, AL this week in my work and there is plenty of "infrastructure" to get me there. Compared to 30 years ago the "infrastructure" is vastly better.

 

We have been "stimulus spending" since 2009 when the deficits went from $161 billion to $1,400 billion and have stayed above $1,100 billion ever since. Your labels don't change that. Government "stimulus" is temporary and fails repeatedly to do as promised.

 

According to BLS.

Jan 2009 6558 to today 5534 - 1024k
Jan 2011 5456 to today 5534 + 80k

I wouldn't call that a success to get, estimated, 80,000 more jobs based on the size of the stimulus spending to get it.

 

And that's why we have way more jobs than we did 30 years ago. But there are PLENTY of places our infrastructure is failing. And not only that but there are infrastructure items for the 21st century. Fiberoptic broadband lines need to be laid. High speed rail needs to be laid. We also need a nation wide energy grid.

- - - Updated - - -

Why are you counting net jobs? That's a bit misleading. You should be looking at the rate jobs were falling in Jan 2009 vs the rate they were growing only a few short months after the stimulus came. It's a drastic difference and an obvious success story. Though it didn't spend enough.

 

Yes as the owner, he pays all the taxes on his income taxes.

The corporation pays the corporate tax and the the individual owners pay income taxes some at the highest marginal rate of 35%.

Yes let's eliminate corporate taxes.

And them too.

Yes eliminate corporate taxes and then a flat tax on individual income.

 

what are you talking about? The deficit went from 1.2 trillion to 1.4 trillion after the stimulus.

 

Flat = complete failure.