If Ronald Reagan made America Wealthy on the back of a massive Credit Bubble, why can't I do the same?
960757
Well, you have to be President first. Presidents don't get chased for credit card debts.
547853
Nope!\n\nUSA has a free economy.  There is a Federal Reserve Board with 13 presidents and a Chairman (the chairman used to be Alan Greenspan.  Now it is Bernackey).  It is their job to manipulate the money supply.  They raise and lower interest rates.  This is called Monetary policy. The president of the U.S. and Congress raise and lower taxes and this is called Fiscal policy. Together Monetary policy and fiscal policy get the economy moving faster or slower.  If taxes are high and interest rates are high, not as many people can afford to buy houses or borrow money and this slows economy down.  Bernacky would in this case, cut interest rates and then a house payment would be $500 not $575 for example.  More people could afford smaller house payment so they would buy house causing demand for more houses and demand for more wood and concrete...\n\nThere is not enough Gold in the world to back up all the dollars and euroes.  NYC's Trash Department has a budget bigger than some small countries.  USA's economy is HUGE.  China has bought billions of our dollars when they buy our U.S. Treasury bonds.  When Bernacky raises interest rates, he is also raising the amount of interest USA pays on U.S. Treasury bills.
71820
People invested heavily with borrowed money and insider trading was out of control....so they say.  When the stock market chucked, none of the banks could get their money back because none of the investors had the money to do it.  People rushed to the bank to take out any money they had.  People who had money in the bank couldn't even get it back because the banks had loaned it out to investors.  There were no rules like we have today against some of these shady procedures.  There was no social security or public aid to help out the old/poor people.  Also, I don't think your money was insured by the bank like it is today.
1099796
Ignoring the Bush-bashing despite how much I might like it.\n\nRepublicans nowadays are "pro-business" or basically in economics "supply-siders".  It's a view where if the means of producing things, in this case businesses, are able to produce more, it will benefit the economy with higher production and lower prices.  Now, if the minimal wage was to be increased, where is that extra money going to come from?  The pockets of business owners and companies.  This means a higher cost for them which would mean that they aren't making as much money.  Since they are not making as much money, they will make less, creating higher prices from shortages and too much demand.\n\nOn the other hand, if we did have an increase on minimal wage, it could lead to higher inflation.  Companies may want to increase prices to soak up the extra cash.  In addition, it would be up to the Federal Reserve to control the inflation.  They may choose to do so by increasing the reserve requirement, making it harder for you to get a bank loan.  They may also choose to increase the prime interest rate, increaing all other interest rates elsewhere, hurting everyone in the economy.\n\nThe economy is a fickle, little thing.
1036423
It doesn't, the Federal reserve raises rates to slow the economy to try to keep inflation in check.\n It wont work this time because bush has put us 8 TRILLION in debt! \nWhen the people buying that debt decide they don't want to buy the debt (bonds) anymore then we are SCREWED!
388511
This is a great question and quite frankly, a grave concern.  America is truly spinning out of control.  Prices cannot continue to raise the way that they do, while wages raising at less than half the rate of real estate.  \n\nMy honest opinion....taking the national debt into consideration, that we can thank Mr. Bush for making even bigger (yes, I am a republican).  Taking into account the fact that the average household has credit card debt in excess of $10,000.00 and many other issues, I think that we are in some deep, deep trouble.  I don't think that we will ever recover from this and I truly think that the downfall of America will absolutely be due to money.
62039
Since the late 1960s the Federal Reserve Board has expanded the growth of money stocks at generally increasing rates. These policies have led to increasing inflation. The key elements in the Fed's failure to chart a noninflationary course are (1) its political composition and (2) its preoccupation with the interest-rate structure. Because Fed terms are so long, no President can exercise significant control over this major determinant of economic policy. The Depository Institutions Deregulation and Money Control Act of 1980 extended the Fed's control over commercial banks and monetization of debt. Congress must deal with the inability of the Federal Reserve System to function as intended. It could assume direct control over monetary growth, or it could bring central banking functions under the control of the President. A final option, and a true institutional reform, would begin with the abolition of the Fed as a policy-making central bank. This would allow the banking system to become competitive and thus innovative and in all likelihood serve consumers better than the Fed has done
826986
the freedom that was Americas is long since gone,the whole nation is under the thumb of those who own the wealth, and these are the top Jewish bankers like the Rothschilds, Rockefellers and the Warburgs who have the country so much in their financial debt that the ordinary man and woman have to work at least 3-4 days a week just to pay of the national debt owed to these greedy bankers.\nin fact how many Americans know that the Federal Reserve is not owned by government or the people but by these banking moguls.
589936
Trickle down economics is trick you economics. It never comes, and I am still waiting for it to come from Ronald Reagan. The facts are Clinton had to make the rich pay their taxes, and he balanced the the budget from the failures Reagan/Bush had left him. Now we are back to square one with G Dumbya.
100946
I am not an economist by any stretch.  But it seems to me that if the richest americans paid anywhere near as much as the government swears they pay into the u.s. treasurey,  Then they would contribute enough to save social secur
502347
Because people in today's society are too self-absorbed to truly admit to any responsibility. That's why they are so far in dept. And who better to blame than the President? To those of you out there who are in serious debt, watch out. In about the next two years the economy is going to shift in a way this country has never seen. Dump as much debt as you can or lose everything you (the bank and creditors) own.
319007
A solution... government bite the bullet and pay it back...\n\nPrivatized systems work great for the 15 percent of the population that has the money to do that, but for the majority just barely making it by, they won't be able to save enough to actually retire, ever... \n\nSo, when all these people get retirement age, guess what, they're going to look at their private account, realize isn't not enough to do anything with, especially with inflation, and vote in someone who will take care of them...at a far greater cost to the gov. down the road...\n\nI would be willing to be that about 95 percent of people who push for "private accounts" already own stock... if the government switched over, the huge demand for stocks that would be created would push the stock market sky-high, making all those people very rich... that's really convenient isn't it...
50588
Time, hard work, and perseverance.  But, it also takes one heck of a good idea with the money to back it up in the first place, and you need to know the "right" people, (or rob a bank) and have to be in the right place at the right time.  Or, if you were the President of a country, or something like that, I'm sure some money would come your way.  Oh, if you were a movie star, you'd have lots of milions!  Yeah, it takes really hard work.......but the odds are against you.  But nothing is impossible.  Good luck.
58309
they would build too much debt
987337
Printing more cash would simply raise inflation. You can print as much paper money as you like, sadly, without anything to back it up, its not worth a damn.  This is why large level counterfeiting can be so destructive.  By the by, a shortage of cash money is not the source of any economic woes.  Actually, by all rights the U.S. economy should be booming, and it is, so to speak. If you look at the numbers, the D.J.I.A.(DOW) has been over 11,000 for well over a year and the NasDaq is steadily over 2000. By this logic, the country should be kicking a$$ and taking names financially. The problem we're facing is the fact the Government, Bush specifically, has been spending money like a drunken whore.  Wars, regardless of your political postion, are not cheap.  We are wasting billions fighting this war, whether or not its a just war is up for you to decide, thats not what this question is about. The only way to actually boost the economy is to cut taxes, big time. Some would have you believe that tax-cuts only benefit the wealthy, but I even as a Democrat, would disagree.  Even if you only cut taxes for the Top 20% and the Bottom 20%, the repercussions would be two-fold. Companies would be paying less in taxes which would give them more money for expansion, thus more highering power. With the bottom 20% being relieved of bulls*** taxes, they'll have more money to do what they will. The only true way to make it fair is have a flat tax. This would make for a balanced Government budget along with a more high powered economy. If they did away with the income taxes system that is the status quo, and taxed an even 16-20% across the board, we'd be in a lot better shape. \n\n-J.
820975
As you know, the Fed caused this bubble by lowering the interest rate right after the .com crash in an attempt to prevent a recession. It didn't take much of an interest rate increase to slow it down and let the true nature of the economy catch up with it.\n\nIt is going to get worse. A lot of homes are going to be on the market for less than what they were purchased for. If you want to stay in the industry, come up with some creative selling and purchasing schemes like they did right after the PC crash in the early 90s.\n\nNow is the time to create visibility for your company. Make sure everyone in town has a flyer and business card. Set your self up as an expert on how to deal with and plan for the changing situation. Give free seminars. Issue free written plans offering alternatives that can be picked up from you office or downloaded from your web site. Do not appear greedy. Become the nice guy expert. People will hunt you down when it is time. Become the hunted.
595451
Good question. It seems to me like there's no use in working the system to enjoy the American dream when you can steal it from America's youth.