So, what would YOU have given the Queen?

What would have been so hard about this idiot seeking the advice of of State Department, or those advisers who are knowledgeable in protocol to pick an appropriate gift? Do you REALLY think an Ipod is an acceptable gift that reflects respect and statesmanship? As to the economy... Reagan turned a far worse economy around than what this bozo "inherited". Cut spending and taxes... and the economy would recover, as long as government stops interfering. It was government interference that created this problem in the first place.

I would go along with something that was custom made...something americana...maybe a quilt or a painting by an American painter. Not something I can pick up at Walmart. 1) pull out all tax breaks to company that are off-shoring jobs. I would use that money to subsidize hiring in small businesses. 2) limit the entry of people from other countries --- we are losing enough jobs to other countries, we don't need people that are coming here and getting the few jobs that are available. 3) encourage people to go to school, encourage innovation. 4) subsidize companies that are ready to remove our dependence on foreign oil -- permanently. We need good cheap energy that is dependable. If we know that cost of energy is stable then we can plan our spending accordingly. If people start realizing that a trip will cost xxx dollars than they can start to plan trips and vacations, people doing this will generate jobs. More jobs mean more money, means more spending which means more jobs.

let me start with this, there's as we speak a bill trying to get through that would raise the electric bill of every american in our country 3,100 dollars x-tra a year to have . that's 3 thousand 1 hundred per house hold. every time you would turn a light on bam tax,a bathroom light bam energy tax, thats what is in the works now to "pay off" what we just "payed out". i am not kidding, if it weren't for 12 of obama's democratic senators going to the other side because they believe the taxpayers have been screwed enough.. it had 1 more vote to go and is still on the table. did i mention 3,100 per house hold x-tra a year.and i dont blame obama, he's new ,has no experience and i think he needs to sit down and take time to think about whats happening. he's really getting slamed with alot all at once. i'd get all new blood, at 65 if your in congress your out, retired, done. i blame nancy pelosi and her cohort's. now as for the queen, i would have did some research to find out what her vice was, a certain kind of chocolates, a favorite designer, or what ever my lady loves the most and surprise her with it.

I would given Liz something small and personal . like a case for her field glasses when she watches the horse races. It would be have HRH on it and my initials . like to Hrh fron SrB. As for the economics , I have no idea.I would just resign.

That's a really good question about what to give the Queen. I wouldn't want to have to get the woman, that has so much freakin money that she can buy herself whatever she wants, something. I also wouldn't know where to begin fixing this wreck we call an economy either. I don't care if they paid me that much money, I wouldn't want that job at all. I hope you get some answers but, I'm not holding my breath

I'm sure America has plenty of objects in our museums that symbolize our relationship with England. And it's not that I think an iPod is such a horrible gift. It's just that we're talking about a Queen of one of our closest allies. Something commemorative would have been a more appropriate gift. And when it comes to fixing the economic situation, politics should never enter into it. This republican-democrat war is silly. Instead of trying to fix the economy based on your particular ideology, you have to do it based on PROVEN economic principles. 1) You cannot tax the highest-earning people more to create "balance." You must create new taxpayers! You do this not by punishing success, but rewarding it with incentives that will ultimately create new jobs. The government's intereference in private business is a gigantic deterrent. Although I believe most of the moves are well intentioned, they're simply not perceived that way. The government needs to back off of over-regulation and offer incentives to work. 2) You cannot say that this is "the worst crisis since the Great Depression," simply because it IS NOT. People have to hear the truth: Things are bad right now, and it's due a lot of factors, including government intereference and ultimate negligence, greed at the highest levels, and a lack of personal responsibility shown by everyday consumers. The rhetoric used to describe the crisis needs to be toned down dramatically. 3) You can't ignore the future just because there are immediate problems. Instead of the Fed printing up over a trillion dollars and the government's insistance on guaranteeing everything (which, btw, is part of the reason we're in the mortgage crisis), it's up to the free market to level itself out. It does this by running its course through a downturn and ultimately coming out ahead once failing institutions are no longer sucking up the spare change and trying to turn it into dollars. 4) I know it's not a popular notion, but universal healthcare has to wait. The taxpayer has to pay for this, and until we get a handle on illegal immigration, reign in our world spending due to war, and snap out of this recession, spending on social programs needs to wait. In its place, I would have given a tax credit (amount determined by employment status) to taxpaying workers for their families to receive a healthcare package. 5) It's estimated that barely 20% of the trillions of dollars being spent is actual "stimulus." Instead of using this crisis as an excuse to push through my agenda, I would have waved taxes altogether for at least 2 months. This would enable the working people of America to have more cash to spend and save. The government spends our money with the reason that it will help us. Well, I would have let everyone keep their money -- to do with as they please. All these trillions of dollars do in the end is cause rampant inflation and stick our grandchildren with a burden. 6) I would have told the rest of the world to back off! America is not your savior. While we've flourished as a capitalist economy, with problems like these arising every two decades or so, other countires - primarily countries leaning toward socialism - are dramatically failing and insisting that America is to play both the culprit and the savior simultaneously. By having the rest of the world pitch in to create an uberstimulus, we become a one-world economy that cannot function under separate principles. Thus America loses its identity in the future and has no choice but to operate as a consensus. But more importantly, it's not what I'd do to fix the economy; it's what I wouldn't do. I wouldn't interefere with a free market that has consistently proven to be the most successful in world history. People love citing recessions as a reason that we need "ground-up change," and that's just false on SO MANY levels. I would pull the government out of the business of lending and insuring and turn it over wholly to privatized ventures. I would completely back off of the MEGA-EXPENSIVE solar power project and drill for oil and natural gas in our own land. America has opportunity right here for millions upon millions of jobs. We have opportunity to have affordable (not free/universal) healthcare. We have a quick and easy way to drive the home prices and food prices back down: Stay out of the market's way! There's a weird and scary movement going on in America where millions of our citizens are adopting a nanny-state attitude. We want the government to take care of us. The government has never taken care of us. I'd back off to avoid reliving the Carter years.

I have no idea, I would maybe consult with my staff to find out what an appropriate gift would be. I am not up on tradition like that because I am not in that area. As far as the economy I admire Obama and I think he is doing a good job, and I certainly couldn't do any better.

First of all, if I were to fix the economy, stimulus packages aren't the answer. I haven't taken Economics classes at all, but wouldn't it be better to fix the economic crisis at the source? I'd have to find the core problem that's causing this economic mess and try to repair it, and if it can't be repaired, then i'll have to find another way to restore the economy back to the way it was before. If only our economy had a "System Restore" feature... Second of all, if I were to give something to the Queen of the United Kingdom, it would have to be something that would be equal to her royalty. Since's she is a part of a royal government, she deserves a royal gift while keeping up with the modern era. Obama almost got it right by giving her an iPod, but if it were me, i'd have the inner casing decked out in gold, silver and diamonds. Give her some serious techno-bling. Plus, for the music, i'd have given her classical music. On the other hand, i'd give her technology that would help the Queen's life a lot. No expenses should be spared for "Her Majesty", but it shouldn't cross over with out currently chaotic economy, and it should be simple for her to use.

It's not a silly question at all! From what I've heard the Queen liked her gift and it certainly looked like she LOVED the Obama's. I'm sure she has palaces full of "stuff" she's gotten as gifts from various world leaders. I have NO CLUE what I'd have given the Queen and I also have no idea how I'd fix the economy. One thing I hope I wouldn't do is just criticize those who do have ideas without having any of my own as alternatives. Basically, I think the gift Obama gave the Queen was fine and I'm hopeful the things he's doing for our economy might just work. I don't expect it to work overnight, we didn't get here overnight, but I think it's better than doing nothing or just more of the same. Annie

I don't know what it should be, but I think I would try to give her something that represented the friendship our two nations share with each other. As far as the current financial situation, I would leave the market alone to heal itself. In other words, no bailouts. And I'd implement the "Fair Tax." If we had a consumption tax rather than an income tax, no one would get away with not paying taxes.

i would give the queen a nice big hug, snap a photo of her and make some big bucks of it

What to get the Queen...the iPod is a statement of sorts. It's telling the world that 0bama isn't some stiff like the presidents before him. It's trying to convey the message that he's young and in touch with society. I'm not much into gift giving unless I know exactly what someone wants. As tacky as it is, I'm a huge fan of gift cards or money. But like the Queen needs money. She's on the money. If I knew exactly what her tastes were, perhaps a piece of art or a painting for a room in their house? Perhaps a DVD signed by her favorite actor. I can see the Queen now jamming in Buckingham Palace to that iPod she got from 0bama. Economic stimulus. Fixing the auto makers and fixing the banks does nothing to help ME. I pay my car note on time every month. I rent my townhome and do not own. If he wants to help the economy, throwing good money after bad isn't the way to go. You can give the automakers money left and right, but the fact is that Americans don't have the money to spend like we once did. I know as times are right now, I can't afford to trade my car in and get a new one. I'm paying on mine as we go along. If he wants to fix the economy, he needs to start with the ones supporting the economy: the tax payers! We are the ones who work for a living and then go out and spend our money. The bills keep getting higher and our incomes either stay the same or they keep getting lowered by the taxes and the fees imposed. First of all, I'd do away with the new legislation he signed pretty much eliminating the mortgage credit and the charitable contrubitions credit. I know right now if you buy a home, you're eligible for an $8000 credit I believe. Well that's fine. But what about the people who OWN their on home right now and use that mortgage interest credit to reduce their taxable income? 0bama got rid of that. He just raised taxes without raising taxes. I'd bring that back. Plus I'd give tax credits to not only those WITH kids, but those WITHOUT kids. Those people who are not going to have kids deserve credit for not using the earth's resources. They don't pollute the environment with lots of things that parents do. He should be concentrating more on ways to help the average tax payer and not those who make 6 or 7 figures a year on a single income. It's the average or middle class that always gets shafted. Always will and always have.

pump money into the econemy quickley share things give them a mug saying pimp on it

I don't think a gift would be appropriate for this occasion. There is no gift a sovreign can accept as Obama was not even there to ask anything in paricular to the queen of england, it was just a business trip if you can call it that way. In any case, if the president of a country should make a gift it should consist of something tipical of that country or something that can stand out in the endless gift collection the queen of england might have...a miniature of the bell of Philadelphia...that seems ok..it is definitely a discussion starter!

Obama's job is not to fix our economic problems. Obama's job is to exacerbate them. Don't believe me? Research headlines about "New World Order", particularly on Time online "Obama's New World Order." American sovereignty needs to be crushed to ring it in, and a good way to do it is to destroy our currency by the creation of trillions of dollars of debt out of thin air. This puke of a man has broken every promise he made. What should he do, you ask? Nothing--because he's a shill, a puppet, a liar, a theaterpiece--his job is to be a pretty face to ring in the globalist elite's plan--ever noticed his voting record as a senator--voting FOR everything that Bush wanted?--and now his policies being a continuation of Bush policy in every way? Hope people start to wake up soon. David A. Reedy...

Ok, I'm going to attempt to tackle these two very important, pertinent questions. I wouldn't give the Queen an object (she's a queen, I'm sure she has everything she ever wanted), I would find her favorite charity and donate my TIME to helping them, or any charity organization she favors. I think giving of yourself is much more important these days (I know I'm not rolling in the dollars these days). As for fixing the economy, let's first look towards where it started....the mortgage industry. You have many, MANY people that helped write the mortgages that could have never been paid back in this lifetime (and those are probably the same people who fell asleep during their modern American History classes in high school). Sadly, many of those people, as well as their bosses STILL have a job (maybe for less money, but they still have a job!). And what about the fat cats at these mismanaged companies (I'm thinking the Big 3 auto manufacturers now)...where does it say in the Constitution that they get a 'golden parachute'? When I lost my job in 2005, my boss had to get drunk first before he could break the news to me! It was on December 1st, and I didn't get ANY severance (7 days of vacation pay--whoo hoo!). And these stupid unions these days...I think that unless you work in truly dangerous conditions, NO ONE SHOULD STRIKE!!! Just be glad you have a job! Obama has the right idea about working on the infrastructure...it will create jobs. When folks have jobs, they feel good about themselves--heck, they might even be able to contribute to the economy! The stimulus program has been flawed from the beginning (I'm criticizing BOTH parties here)...didn't anyone learn from the Katrina fiasco? You can't just dump money into the economy with no real plan. I was ineligible for the first stimulus...and the second one is tied to having a job...but what about someone like me who is probably losing their job again? And from what I read, those that make the least (and need it the most) will only get their stimulus when they file taxes NEXT year.... I've been talking Depression for some time (since last year), and now I'm hearing it from others. If anyone doesn't believe me, substitute stocks on margin with unrealistic mortgage values and you'll understand...we recreated 1929 all over again, just no one's killing themselves in such a public and gory way.

I think the Queen is rich and powerful. She can almost have anything she wants. So an ordinary gift will not be impressive. In my opinion, I think the man-made handcraft or some arts such as the painting will be a good gift for her. As it is unique and priceless. I love China

I know she's passionate about horses and horse racing, so I would have given her something along that line. I'm sure I'd be able to come up with something appropriate and it wouldn't be made in China either. Obama didn't even try.

Here is my take on it... Who cares what he gave her?!! LOL Geez, the stuff people worry about just amazes me. They have to find something to complain about. I liked it but even if I did not, so what? I think people who need a life (not you) and have too much time on their hands need a hobby.

Anything that anyone from the U.S. would give the Queen would be scrutinized to be the worst gift ever given to the Queen by all the haters of that particular person who gave that something to the Qeen. Any idea (even if it works) to help the economy recover would be torn down by all the haters of the originator of that idea. So be it.