# A star spangled recovery



## Edward Campbell (15 Jun 2013)

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> ...
> 
> ... I think that "the U.S. should _"increase the resources devoted to internal as opposed to international challenges"; shift away from the Middle East toward East Asia, "the part of the world most likely to influence the course of this century"; and supplant military power with "economic and diplomatic tools."_" I believe the US is challenged, internally, by a horrid series of culture wars, for which I blame the Democratic and Republican "bases" equally and by rising tide of domestic political violence ~ some of it inspired by e.g. _al Qaeda_ and some inspired by _nativist_ tendencies which have been part of American culture from 200 years.
> 
> ...




Richard Hass' prescriptions, in his recent book Foreign Policy Begins at Home: The Case for Putting America's House in Order is a pretty simple two step programme:

     1. Put America's fiscal house back in order; and

     2. Use American power where and when it can serve America's vital interests.

The first step is, finally, underway, according to this article which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the _Globe and Mail_:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/a-star-spangled-recovery/article12579981/?page=all#dashboard/follows/


> A star-spangled recovery: Why the U.S. economy is showing signs of life
> 
> KEVIN CARMICHAEL
> WASHINGTON — The Globe and Mail
> ...




An economically strong America - hopefully with a strategic thinker for a president for the first time in 25 years, will, once again, be able to provide real _leadership_ for the West


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## GAP (15 Jun 2013)

> An economically strong America - hopefully with a strategic thinker for a president for the first time in 25 years, will, once again, be able to provide real leadership for the West



There is zero candidates that fall into that category. Not even close.


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## Retired AF Guy (15 Jun 2013)

GAP said:
			
		

> There is zero candidates that fall into that category. Not even close.



Yet. May be someone realizing how Obama is screwing up the country will step-up and take a run at the Presidency (and I don't mean Hillary!).


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## mad dog 2020 (16 Jun 2013)

Sadly to say, no-one gets elected on pure merit. With the media and election PR experts it is the COOL factor. In the US Hollywood and the cool crowd endorse Obama. So he is in twice?
Why buy a reliable and cost effective Ford when you will look so progressive in your BMW.    
I think after all the experience and exposure of advertising over the years we are reduced to 15 sec sound bites and 30 sec commercial and base our opinions on them. We are at the point where we will buy the shiniest trinket.
The sale of Manhattan for $24 worth of junk was nothing in comparison to what we buy into now.  
Common sense is gone. That pipeline would provide thousands of US jobs but the Eco loons that are loaded already are publicly against it. And they have the time to protest.
Not some under employed guy trying to feed 3 kids on two minimum wage jobs with no health insurance.  I will believe things are better when I see cities like Buffalo and Detroit look like cities and not war zones.


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## tomahawk6 (19 Jun 2013)

For recovery to occur there needs to be policies in place to promote economic activity.This is the major difference between the US and Canada.The Keystone pipeline is an example.Its a win win for the US as a job creator and a source of reliable energy.The Democrats don't like big oil and would rather fund so called green energy,while we still have a fossil fuel driven economy.Their agenda has hampered our recovery.


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## a_majoor (19 Jun 2013)

Policies like debasing currency and ZIRP might serve to cloud the issues and create bubbles in the stock market, but there are vast underlying structural issues which make me believe there is no real recovery, either now, or in the imediate future. The issue of debt and how to deal with it is the underlying obstacle (and preventing deleveraging is the 100% wrong way to do things), as this article demonstrates in one sector of the economy:

http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2013/06/18/clash-of-the-blue-titans-in-detroit/



> *Clash of the Blue Titans in Detroit*
> 
> Blue power is in big trouble in Detroit, where the threat of bankruptcy has both public sector unions and municipal bondholders at the barrel of a gun. Mary Williams Walsh’s report in the NYT today makes it clear that unless unions can find a way to make other creditors take all the pain, they’re going to be faced with a serious crisis:
> 
> ...



Before we feel too smug here, remember that Federal unfunded liabilities (mostly federal pensions and benefits) are estimated to be $500 billion dollars, and there are similarly huge unfunded liabilities at the Provincial and Municipal levels.


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## cupper (20 Jun 2013)

tomahawk6 said:
			
		

> For recovery to occur there needs to be policies in place to promote economic activity.This is the major difference between the US and Canada.The Keystone pipeline is an example.Its a win win for the US as a job creator and a source of reliable energy.The Democrats don't like big oil and would rather fund so called green energy,while we still have a fossil fuel driven economy.Their agenda has hampered our recovery.



There is also the proposed $30 Billion stimulus project being inserted into the Immigration bill in order to get the GOP Senators to vote for it. :sarcasm:

I find it ironic that the fiscal hawks on the right who want to cut spending to the bone want to add to the deficit with this proposal. :


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