You guys are reaching. Your getting desperate. The conservatives time is almost at an end. 

 Glenn,

The business cycle isn’t an inevitable result of markets. It is a function of credit out-supplying the money stock. Economists like Jesus Huerta de Soto have explained for ages how our banking system creates the cycle. If banks held 100% reserves, we wouldn’t have the cycle, and we could actually live without recessions.

To blame “socialism” is simplistic propaganda. 

Due to my work, I spend half the year in Europe and I can tell you that Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain were all slammed by a housing/construction boom that went bust—the same thing that started the American meltdown. I was there, in the mix, and trust me–it wasn’t pretty. 

But look at the really “socialist” countries of Europe: Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, etc.
If “socialism” is the problem—then why haven’t they crashed?
And why has our “socialist” neighbor to the north fared this recession so much better than us?

And funny that the global recession did not start in Europe…and not under a leftist leader…but started right here in good ole America, under a republican president. Lets overlook that fact. And lets overlook the fact that even as we slam the socialism of Norway, and the communism of China—we go to both of those countries for handouts–and have been doing so for decades!! We slam the systems of these countries as being bad economics—and then in the next breath ask them to bail us out of our economic problems. LOL!
“You should be more careful with your money, you’re going to go broke. By the way, can I borrow ten bucks?” LOL

And I say “socialist” because most Americans have no idea what socialism is. To them, anything that doesn’t bleed red, white, and blue, and come in Big Gulp size is “socialist.” My uncle criticized a recycling bin being placed in his workplace as “government socialism”. ( I WISH I was joking about that….)

I beg to differ on the Without Recessions Part…

Mother Nature and Natural Disasters can and WILL Cause Economic Recessions!  When a Tornado wipes out a town there is Always Financial Devistation for Those That Lose Everything.  It does not matter how much money there is in a Banks Reserves, it matters how much is in the Individual Accounts for people not to feel the Financial Pains (and how readily they can access it).  Sure they might be able to take loans, but then the Bank No Longer Has A Reserve (Thus Another Financial Cycle Begins with hills and valleys.).  Plus, not everyone would be in a position to take out loans, take an elderly person that has done hard manual labor all their lives.  They are in pain, broken, without assets, and/or a way to pay back a loan; especially if they Rent where they live!  The Banks Would Refuse A Loan Without A Good Chance of Repayment, they are NOT Charitable Organizations (they are in it for the money 100%).  What if they also have to pay for a Funeral or Two cause relatives passed away in the tornado?  You make it sound like the rich are going to just give away money because they have excess reserves (Naive)!  Some people would end up poorer than before the tornado and there is No Gov’t That Can Protect Everyone!  BAD THINGS HAPPEN to Good, Honest, Hard Working, Responsible People…

edtoohey, You are leaving out a Huge Part of things that happen in Most Socialist Countries…

People are Killed Indescriminately by the Gov’t and/or Bad Guys, and in very huge numbers (Stalin, Mao, Mussolini, Hitler they killed Millions Upon Millions of People!  But, You Are OK With That…!).  Approximately 30 Million Chinese Died To Make It Pretty For The Olympics (but you are okay with that because Others Got to Enjoy the Fruits of Their Efforts After They Were Gone!).  That is Not The America We Want, Do us Americans a Favor and go back to Europe!!!

Correct me if I am wrong, but Glenn Beck has been predicting this “collapse” for years now. 
All the while, Americans have ignored nay sayers like Glenn and helped pull the economy back from Bush’s cliff.

yes this is what glenn has been saying for yrs its about time Americans wakeup quick the obama donor machine and the TV blitzes about republicans and how horrid we are b/c we want fiscal responsibility and sm govt and the constitution and save oil and coal OMG i hope they are prepared obama will b his usual lying nasty self.  prepare

You are confusing totalitarianism for socialism.  Socialist systems are in use in Norway, Finland etc as he mentioned and none of those countries are killing anyone.

Market hit an all time high yesterday, housing prices are up, unemployment down, yes, it’s the end of the world.

Perfect!! This post is perfect! Beck fans constantly rally against “extremist” when in reality they themselves are extremist. The cannot differentiate the varying degrees of political systems. While Moa is considered ultra-left, Hitler was considered ultra-right. There are murders on both sides of the political spectrum.

You speak with extremist rhetoric. This does not happen in most socialist countries. You are speaking in very broad generalizations. Out of the 13 wealthiest nations in the world I believe 10 of them are socialist or have a socialist leader. Also as I mentioned above Hitler was considered to be far-right not ultra-left. Actually not to be the asshole who compares everyone he doesn’t like to a Nazi but Hitler has much in common with the Republican party. He was xenophobic. Hitler used the Jews as a scapegoat for Germanys economic crisis. Anyone see any similarities between this and Republicans blaming Hispanics for “takin’ er jebs?’ Also the Hitler sought to inspire nationalism within his country by proclaiming Germans were superior and the Aryan race supreme and the Jews were threatening this. Does this sound familiar to the Republicians whining about the “war on Christmas?” I am just making simple connections here my friend.

You are not very smart are you?

If welfare is rising it is common sense things are getting worse.If dept keeps rising it also is common sense it is getting worse.Real unemployment rates are nearly 15%,which also tells you by common sense things have gotten worse.

An entire government and country works the same as you not paying your bills in your own house on time.

The Only difference between Totalitarianism and Socialism is Who Is In Charge and How They Handle Things!  All it takes is the Wrong Person Taking Control (sounds Familiar with Obummer Crashing America into an Abyss).

The way I look at it is Socialism “can be” the gateway into worse things, just like Marijuana is considered a gateway into heavier drugs!  Not everyone who smokes pot gets into Heroine, Cocaine, Meth, and other Narcotics; but when they do the results are usually catastrophic to them, their families, and friends…

“If “socialism” is the problem—then why haven’t they crashed? And why has our “socialist” neighbor to the north fared this recession so much better than us?”

Good question, edtoohey:

Answer: Not all socialist regimes are equal. This is simply because not all peoples and leaders are the same e.g., some leaders are highly aggressive and militarily dominate and others less so; some populations demand less military spending & intervention and they have a better work ethic than others. Natural resources and/or geographical locations are also major factors, e.g., Canada is rich in natural resources and it is located right next to a friendly superpower; therefore, Canada enjoys unpaid protection from the U.S. and doesn’t need to shell out billions of dollars in defense spending. 

There are many, many factors why some socialist countries do better than others, but let’s focus on leadership. Take, for example, Bhumibol Adulyadej who is still the reigning King of Thailand. The king was first enthroned on June 9th, 1946, ( not long after Hitler died) and he is the longest reigning monarch in history. He is beloved by the Thai people because he is considered the most benevolent king they ever had. His picture is on all Thai currency and in almost every home and business. Moreover, Bhumibol Adulyadej voluntarily gave up his power in order for Thailand to form a democratic, socialist type of government. So, Bhumibol Adulyadej ruled his country far differently than Adolf Hitler did Germany back in the late 1930′s and early 1940′s. 

Does this mean then that because some monarchs are better than others that I want a king ruling over me? Or does this mean that I want to live under a socialist democracy? 

It is true; the fact that America has become worse in many respects than many of the socialist democracies. I, too, do a lot of traveling, and it’s absolutely true that America when compared to many other countries has fallen from being # 1 in every important metric. America has become amerika; and.amerika is a lot worse in its overall quality of life than many of the peaceful socialist countries. 

Does that mean that socialism is superior to a constitutional republic and a free market economy?

amerika is not what she used to be. amerika has become a welfare-warfare country which is bankrupting itself with too much socialism and too much warfare. Spending two-hundred million on a single fighter jet is more than wasteful or ridiculous, it’s criminal. There are many examples I could give on just how criminal Washington has become, but the bottom line is amerika is no longer a constitutional republic; it’s a full-blown kleptocracy.

Matt, all it takes is One Person to Influence Many to change a nation, whether it is for good or bad…

Out of curiousity, how many of those Nations rose up the ladder with Assistance of America (either Gov’t or Individuals Purchasing their products).  And have you ACTUALLY Talked To Their People and see if they are happy?  Financial Wealth does not mean they are good to their people…

Why are we also hitting Record Highs In Welfare If Things Are So Great?  How come many northeastern states have 1/4 of every block with vacancies for both families and businesses?  How come 17 States would absolutely crumble without assistance from others (Big Gov’t Putting Their Damn Noses Into States Business With Laws & Regulations!!!  Their Motto is Weaken Them Into Submission!)?  How come I get 25% Less Food for the Same Amount of Money than even a year ago?  How come my Utility Bills Keep Going Up Without an Increase in Usage?  How come 25% of those under Twenty-Five are Unemployed?  How come so many people of all ages are Failing at Repaying Student Loans for College?

MOST IMPORTANTLY – How Come the Federal Reserve is Still Printing/Depositing Money into the System Like There Is No Tomorrow To Worry About…?????????????????????????????????????

So it is extreme saying to the government stop running my life I will remember that next time you liberals try to push gay marriage.

What no race baiting today? 

Liberals can’t seem to get the fact that it been the unemployment rate has been moving up and down for the past six months. Oh big victory we are stuck between 7.7 to 8 for six months and they want to claim everything is going great. Well like economic experts pointed out two the liberal morons that they don’t count the people unemployed that are not picking up the unemployment checks but the refuse to see 10% of America as they do a victory lap around their lord and savior Obama still blaming Bush when he has not been our leader for four years. Liberal lies and propaganda still leading the foolish.

Give it time they will fail to once they run out of rich people money.

Americans know nothing about taxes.
You want to talk taxes?

Sweden: 56% for those making over $85,000 a year.
Denmark 55% for those making over $70,000 a year.
Netherlands: 50% for those making over  $70 000 a year.
Belgium: 50% for those making even $45,000 a year!! 

http://www.therichest.org/business/the-top-ten-countries-with-the-highest-tax-rates/

And yet Americans squeal anytime they have to pay over 20 percent! All those European countries, by the way, have higher standards of living and better social mobility than America. 
Those countries also rank at the very top of the people happiest with their life, and the Danes list their high tax rate as on of the reasons they are happy. They feel they are invested in and thus responsible for their high standards of living. They are actually proud to be taxes!

Americans like to say “Freedom isn’t Free.” Other countries actually get what that means. 

http://www.therichest.org/business/the-top-ten-countries-with-the-highest-tax-rates/

But that’s just it: They don’t rely on rich people. They rely on everyone.

In Denmark, the AVERAGE tax rate is fifty percent. 

And if they were going to run out of EVERYONE…well, that would’ve happened a long time ago. Because they’ve been paying these sort of taxes for a looooong time. 

Well, that battle is pretty much already in the books. You lost that one the minute Massachusetts allowed it.

Guns. THAT’S the battle you guys can win. 

You listed communist/fascist countries and leaders. 

Countries like Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia are routinely listed as the happiest on earth:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/01/09/the-worlds-happiest-and-saddest-countries-2/

And having worked and lived there, I can assure you they are happy.

And hey— it’s not like you see many Danes flooding into America fleeing their “socialism”, is it?

But you are right about one key thing: America did help these countries reach their prosperity. During the Cold War we kept the Soviet Bear at bay, thus allowing those countries to dump money into their people…as we dumped money into building a massive military.

Since WWII America has had a hugely overbloated military force, and I served from 87-95 but believe that we Never Needed Such A Huge Military Force (if we kept to ourselves, but the U.S. has never gone more than 17 years without a war since we became a country.  My question is who is getting Rich Off of the wars (besides the Bush Family and their sales of Oil Products to the Military Machine which we already know)?

I am for it as long it protects both sides of the argument of gay Marriage. I believe the gay marriage ban is a big government idea on my side of the isle and should not be law. My point was that you guys have your arguments when it comes to government telling people how to live their lives am I right about that?

How long?

edtoohey, Facist is just a term used for someone/group that Others Use that do not agree in their handling of Socialist Agendas, but Socialist Agendas got them into Power!

Decades. Go back to the rebuilding Europe had to do after WW2. 
Course around WW2, the highest earning Americans had to pay massive taxes—some as high as 90 percent. And even in the 50′s and 60′s the highest earning Americans were paying much more than they do now. And our economy boomed.
The truth is, our economy has seen it’s biggest economic booms at the time taxes were high. But goof luck convincing anyone here of that. LOL!
For those who want the truth though: 

http://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-tax-rates?op=1

I think I’ve admitted in the past that I’m not above using the government as either a shield or a sword.

Excellent post.
I wasn’t saying that America should follow the lead of European socialist countries—we couldn’t afford to.
Primarily, I was bemoaning the fact that someone like Bill O Rielly can say: “Does America want to become a socialist nightmare–like SWEDEN!” 
(He actually said that. No joke.)

LOL! Anyone who has actually been to Sweden can tell you it’s anything but a “nightmare.” 

I don’t see us ever getting back to an unemployment rate of five percent.
For way too long America had a false economy, built on our over-consumptive ways, the printing of money, and everyone having easy access to credit. Our five percent unemployment rate was merely a byproduct of that false economy.But this went on for so long we began to see it as the norm. So now we think we’re in “bad” times, when in fact we are in a more realistic time. 

And given that the average American carries over $7,000 worth of credit card debt we’ve got exactly the government we deserve. 

I seem to recall the Republicans were against the Illegals taking away the jobs not legal citizens.

Also,  Hitler was the leader of the National Socialist Party ( I think that is on the left) thus the name Nazi Party.

That is why I don’t trust the government in this country to run anything including my life. They can’t even run themselves the right way to begin with let alone the economy. I refuse to think that this is the end for this country it can be fixed we just need people in power that know what the hell they are doing.

But you don’t need the government for ether all their job was to protect us not rule over us. Freedom is a great thing if you let it grow. I don’t care if it cost me my life I will stand for the rights of the people until they kill me.

They also have a different culture there. I think that is why it does work there and for them I just don’t want it here.

Well, your optimism is admirable. If not a little contradictory…
You say you don’t trust the government to run anything…and then in the next breath say things can be fixed as long as we get the right people in.

I know what you mean, though. You trust “the people” more than the government. 
Though if anything led to the economic meltdown it was the people…idiots who make $35,000 a year going out and buying a $450,000 dollar house. Yes, the government helped them do that…but dear me…
Look at Americans—they’re greedy, shallow, materialistic, naive…just plain dumb. 
If anything, America tends to get a better government than it deserves. 

The housing bubble burst because of the Dodd-Frank bill which a Democratically controlled House urged Bush to give in to, over and over and over again.  He did finally. He did exactly what the Democrats wanted and it turned sour and he took the blame for it.  Socialism is an idea.  It means take take take take take.  Countries like Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands…the ones who are doing okay are doing so due to foreign investments.  The Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spanish investors take their money out of the bad economies and move onto the other socialist nations.  The reason that a housing/construction boom happens in the first place is that when a middle class gets weakened, namely by paying higher taxes and working less hours, they can’t afford rent or mortgages and people get approved for loans (Dodd-Frank principle again) they had no ability to pay.  Massive layoffs in combination with massive loans are the key ingredient to any economic crash.  It happens in every single solitary socialist nation in the history of man.  The very act of thinking socialist is this, “it is the duty of wealthy men to give up what is asked of them by the government for the sake of the greater good.”  Look at the Stieg Larsson mentality.  That man professed till his dying day that the wealthy men of Sweden were fascists trying to undermine the government.  He makes the segue way that because of the Nazi holdovers hiding wealth in Swedish banks that all wealthy people in Sweden are therefore Nazis if they don’t fall into line.  He forgets that even Leftist people can be born poor, become self made, and become wealthy, without being a fascist!  This is because of adapting to the market!  Why are you going out of your way to defend socialism anyway?  It takes every effort you’ve ever undertook and hands the fruits of your labor over to someone who made no effort.  

Republicans are xenophobic…stereotype.  Republicans are racist…stereotype.  Republicans think like Hitler, patent falsehood.  You hate Republicans…I’m just making a simple connection.  You can’t think of Republicans as individual people.  I, a registered Republican voter, do not discriminate against anybody.  If you claim otherwise about me, it will show that you know nothing at all, in any respect, in any form about me as an individual man.  You’ve made specious claims about another group of people.  You think only in generalizations and shame on you.  No matter what flag you fly, no matter how you feel about politics, the measure of your integrity is how you treat people who disagree with you.  There are good Liberals and I know it.  Everywhere I look I see Liberals raising families and working hard and using their brains to get past xenophobia.  Unfortunately you are too blind to see that there is most assuredly a similar percentage of Conservatives that are exactly the same.  You are a hater and there is no way in hell that you’ll admit to it.

“It takes every effort you’ve ever undertook and hands the fruits of your labor over to someone who made no effort.”

That’s what Americans have been taught to think. And most Americans will never see Sweden or Holland or these types of countries so they will continue to believe the propaganda. 
In Denmark, the average tax rate is fifty percent—that’s not what the rich pay, that’s what the AVERAGE person pays. The people there are happy to do so because in return they get free health care, VERY low crime, free college education, and a very high standard of living.
You’ve been taught to see taxes as a penalty…as a punishment. The Danish people see taxes as their chance to buy a little civilianization. They look to America and they see the huge wealth gap, the millions of homeless, the embarrassingly high crime rate, the horrendous lack of education amongst the masses, the lack of heath care, etc, etc…The Danish people want more. They want better. And they are willing to pay for it. 
 We can’t be like that. I understand that. We simply couldn’t afford it, as too many Americans would abuse that sort of system. 
 And most Americans are fine with this country as it is. I also understand and accept that. All I’m saying is that before Americans whine about taxes and socialism, they should at least learn a little about those things. And not just what Fox News tells them. Or even what MSNBC tells them. I wish more Americans would see for the world themselves. Don’t take Glenn Becks word, don’t take my word…pick up a passport and GO! 

I really don’t have a giant problem with what you are saying. I have not been “taught” to think the way I do though. Me being an American has nothing to do with my feelings about socialism. The resources will run out in Denmark and Sweden. Going to Denmark might broaden my horizons on some levels but it won’t change my outlook on a damn thing. I want to know what the hell a “wealth gap” is. The standard of living in the United States narrows the life expectancy of every individual. You can be broke as hell and still have a roof over your head and a big TV. There is absolutely no lack of education amongst the masses in this country whatsoever! The public school system has made sure of that. FAFSA has made sure of that. Denmark is going straight downhill in short order, same as Sweden. Pretty common knowledge that the U.S. military is a HUGE trading partner with those two countries, but since we are cutting the expenditures of our military as a first priority of budget cuts, it sinks the socialist utopias. The problem with 50% tax rates and socialism in general is that there is absolutely no emphasis on hard work, muscular work, long hours, none of that. Socialism has to feed off of something. There is no way around it.

I disagree with almost everything you said except for one key thing: the fate of those countries IS very reliant on what happens here in America. You are right about that.

In fact, those countries are only able to exist as they do BECAUSE of America.
During the Cold War, America built up a massive military, to keep the Soviet Bear at bay. Us doing that allowed many European countries to put their money back into their people. Those countries didn’t have to spend billions on defense because WE were. They relied on us to fend off the Soviet Union. But what if he hadn’t done so? Then those countries would have had to spend gazillions on defense…and their little socialist utopias would have never been possible. 
I DO sometimes remind my European friends of that. I tell them, “Yeah, you’ve got it good—but we paid for it”. LOL
 I’m not a die hard patriot, needless to say…but I do realize Americas worth to the rest of the world. 

Neither of us is dumb dude but we sure disagree. A given person either thinks socialism is sustainable and another person believes it to be insolvent. We are the bank that sustains these nations but WE are going broke man! Did you disagree that the life expectancy here in America is the same whether you are rich or poor? I’d say that won’t be the case very soon. HMOs were killed by hypochondriacs and everyone is afraid to admit that. The socialized medicine model goes downhill for the same reason, if you don’t pay for health care you’re not afraid to go to the doctor for a little scratch. If you pay high taxes and watch your government programs become inefficient by unqualified and usually underpaid employees then you start getting mad about those taxes. When the size of the government increases because of program after program, you watch the revenue get squeezed out of the GDP because socialism by and large has to deplete a GDP SOMEWHERE in order to sustain itself. Just my opinion though.

 tinyurl.com/cnaff79