Misery Index

Kroft:  Where is all the money going to come from to do all of these thing?  And is there a point where just going to the Treasury Department and printing more of it ceases to be an option?

Obama:  Well, look, I think what’s interesting about the time that we’re in right now is that you actually have a consensus among conservative Republican-leaning economists and liberal left-leaning economists.  And the consensus is this:  that we have to do whatever it takes to to get this economy moving again, that we’re gonna have to spend money now to stimulate the economy.

And that we shouldn’t worry about the deficit next year or even the year after.  That short term, the most important thing is that we avoid a deepening recession.

And you really think that Obama is going to lower your taxes.  That is the kind of attitude that got us in this bank failure, foreclosure situation.  Thinking that “yes we can”, I can take the loan out to pay for this house, although right now I can’t pay it, but I’ll find a way.  And banks giving out loans to people under the assumption that they will find a way to pay back the loan, although they don’t have the income to make the payments on the mortgage, especially if the rate increases.

While it is important that we, as a nation, do what needs to be done to avoid a deepening recession, it is also important to make sure that we, as taxpayers, don’t pay for it for the next 20 years via our Federal and State Income and Sales taxes and loss of our retirement accounts by seizure of our 401(k)s and IRAs.

Kroft:  Have you been reading anything about the Depression?  Anything about FDR?

Obama:  You know, I have actually.  There’s a new book out about FDR’s first 100 days and what you see in FDR that I hope my team can – emulate, is not always getting it right, but projecting a sense of confidence, and a willingness to try things.  And experiment in order to get people working again.

I am sorry to disappoint, but I, along with the millions of other taxpayers and our economy are not laboratory guinea pigs or lab rats to be “experimented” with.  And our economy and our country is not something to be “toyed with” and “experimented” with to see what happens.  This is not something that is a “pet project” and  if it fails, it’s not a major loss.  This is a country, where millions of people live, because if an “experiment” fails, then our country fails.  If you don’t know what you are doing, then don’t do it.  I’m not saying that our economy doesn’t need “fixed” however, this is not a game and should be taken seriously and not “experimented” with to see what the results are.  Because if it fails, there is the little issue of accountability, and do you really want over 300 million pissed off citizens knocking on your door?