Quotes from the past week on the Peoria.com Forums

“Today, we’re still fighting our way back from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The economy is growing again, but it’s not growing as fast as we want it to grow. Our businesses have created almost 4.3 million new jobs over the last 27 months, but as we learned in today’s jobs report, we’re still not creating them as fast as we want.” -Barack Obama
******
Market participants bolted out of risky equity and commodity markets on Friday amid fresh evidence that many of the world’s biggest economies are losing momentum at a dramatic pace. The blue chips erased their 2012 rally and the broader S&P 500 tumbled to the brink of correction territory.
******
The political implications are clear: If the White House wasn’t already in a panic about the spring swoon, it sure is now. Another Recovery Bummer. If you punch in a mild recession into the higher regarded Fair-Yale forecasting model, Mitt Romney wins 53-47 over Obama in the two-party vote share. But given the example of Jimmy Carter, who suffered a mild recession in his 1980 reelection year, the Fair model might be underestimating the damage to Obama from a double dip.
******
There is no vision from Team Obama about how to fix this mess, beyond these warmed-over proposals that made up the core of the (broadly unpopular) stimulus bill. What happens in a second term with the economy? Do we just keep limping on, while the president continually blames his predecessor, pushes small ball (and obviously poll-tested) proposals, and tries to pump more money into Democratic constituencies like the teachers and craft unions? I understand the political need to blame Bush, but there has to be more.
******
The concern for Mr. Obama, however, is not so much what might happen if the election were held today but what will happen in November. The economic news in recent weeks has been poor enough to suggest that if the economy finally breaks from its pattern of tepid growth in the second half of the year, it could be toward the downside.
******
And then there was this 2009 quote from the President: "If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.”

Let's hope that is one promise he does not fail to keep.

H/T ALLAHPUNDIT

And what are Romney's proposals other than cut taxes? If that worked we should have a booming economy already.

The cost of the stimulus bill was half tax cuts. What is the republican plan for stimulating the economy?

Obama has pushed infrastructure investment but can't get it through congress.

I've heard rumors of a long term highway bill, but no sure what its status is...

The problem is that too much of the stuff pushed through congress is short term - we need more long term stable investments. Too many government agencies FAA, FWHA, EPA are operating on short term budgets which leaves them with no long term plans. Its no way to run anything...

Well, the one's we've tried the past 4 years have not worked. Not sure I want to give them another four years. Wish there was someone other than Romney. This will be the first year since I've been eligible that I will not vote for a presidential candidate.

The government is also limited in what it can and should do.

Agreed, and I think a cut in all the regulations and regulatory agencies would boost the economy almost immediately.

It cracks me up how last year Obama started using the term "investment" for deficit spending

We're not stupid. His only vision is to spend or as he says "invest" more borrowed money from China. If it was possible to spend your way to prosperity we'd all be billionaires.

And what is the term that the republicans - the largest contributors to the deficit - use for deficit spending?

Which regulations in particular, if repealed, would stimulate the economy? and how?

One could easily argue it was lack of banking regulations that got us into the mess that we are in now.

Repeal the Community Reinvestment Act. Repeal Sarbanes-Oxley. Repeal Frank-Dodd. Repeal Obamacare. Abolish the EPA and the DOE. Abolish the DEA and ATF. Cut the FBI by 50%. Cut U.S. Attorneys by 50%. Combine the Army and Marine Corps into a unified land fighting force. Stop giving our enemies foreign aid money. Cut welfare to residents of cities over 75,000 in population and open food centers. They can pick from what's offered.

I have some ideas for using that new land fighting force along our borders as well, but you'd probably like that even less than what I proposed above.

And yes, along with many other reasons...THAT is why I'll never be President! But you asked....

How would repealing and abolishing those things stimulate the economy?

Good question. You should research it.

i have and it doesn't make sense. Perhaps you can explain it better.

is clean water soil and air valuable. historically the free market and the legal system weren't able to hold polluters accountable.

Deficit spending

NO the repubs didn't call it anything, they just kept "supplement military spending" out of the budget altogether, so the deficit didn't look as bad as it really was.

Does it crack you up when Romney talks about being ready to "invest in our national defense."... after-all if we are already running record deficits, any increase or sustained spending on the military IS deficit spending, not investments.. right?

No, not stupid, although many are blinded by party.

Odd. Because every budget out of the "opposing" party, has increased spending.. seems the only vision either party has is to borrow money from China.

You left out the largest expansion of government in recent History, the Un-Patriot Act and oh, add Department of HomeLand Security to the list as well.

I've always been on the fence in regards to the EPA. I think the damage of allowing corporations which we already know can't be trusted, to operate in our backyards without any type of oversight to the environmental fallout, goes a bit far for me. The state agency would have to be effective and each state would have to have one. Otherwise, I say keep EPA.