A Boomer Tries to Rub the Blindspot Away: Michael Kinsley - Page 4

Do they pay a rate that enables all the services you mention?


Much like Noah mentioned, I have no idea to what you are referring. No one here has been suggesting massive tax cuts. The arguments has been about the most minimal of spending decreases. "Radical" solutions are seeking to take us back to 2008 spending levels when Bush and the Democratic Congress were "ONLY" running $450 billion a year deficits instead of $1.5 trillion. Bush spending levels are now RADICAL.


I responded but you haven't supported anything nor responded. Half a dozen people have asked you to clarify aspects of the Hong Kong model and you just ignore the points and insult them. See above as an example.

Denmark drills wealth out of the ground and spends it on people. People in the U.S. would love for this to be our policy.

Regardless of what you claim Denmark does export more than information and runs a trade surplus with Europe and the U.S.

As I've said each time this is brought up. If we drilled to the same degree, didn't let our currency be debased, just like Denmark did by not joining the Euro, and demanded fair instead of free trade, we'd solve a lot of our issues as well.

The points being brought up to you are not hyperbole. They are facts and figures. They are real points. If I ask you if the peasants picking veggies have Hong Kong provided health insurance or are paid wages to enable them to purchase insurance that is a question that can be answered.

Societial goals and claims about entire nations of happiness cannot be confirmed. You are talking from utopian delusions in your head. How exactly does someone debate from a future foward position? You are not asking someone to respond to reality but to what you imagine the world should be in your head and lashing out angrily when people won't debate your head.

I'd say I've seen six, sure.


Are you claiming the tax rates, laws, immigration policies, etc cannot be looked up for Hong Kong? Items like police can stop and question you for any reason, and you must have ID on you can easily be looked up. Items like borders are closed, city is walled off, and peasants from China cannot just waltz in and grab whatever services they desire can be looked up. The actual income tax rates of Hong Kong can be looked up easily.

Why don't you look up say, your statement on happiness and the United States and prove that the only people in the U.S who are happy are a few billionaires while everyone else is unhappy. Please support your hyperbole and then we can move on to utopia in your brain and you can attempt to support those statements as well.


As has been pointed out the income tax rates much lower than those in the U.S.


Are you suggesting there isn't a property tax in the United States?


The bubble is a function of currency. China has been manipulating their currency for a long time. The U.S. is basically at war with them and the weapon of choice is inflation. I've posted in several threads about this and regardless of what you want to claim about logic, it is dead on. Governments passing laws to try to obscure their own bad currency policy doesn't fix the policy.

The reason people are trying to "speculate" is they want to own something tangible with their money since the government is devaluing it to keep a trade advantage with the United States.

I would seriously suggest you do some reading on inflation and bubbles. As much as I enjoy discussing things with you Tonton that statement is akin to saying it is okay to drink and drive. It is literally the type of statement that reflects future self-harm.

Sure the rich take a haircut when the results of inflation play out. Inflation is an invisible form of taxation that governments use to cover the costs of deficit spending. The poor and middle class get hurt the worst though by far. The often have no inflation hedged investments and no investments beyond some savings or annuity, both completely devalued by inflation.

Tonton, the yuan is also pegged to the U.S. dollar. You fail to see that in flooding the world with US dollars, and forcing currencies pegged to the dollar to also inflate that what it does is create inflation in three different economies rather than one. The U.S. is doing this on purpose. Be pissy if you want but you note the effects but don't desire to see the cause.

How can you so completely fail to get the big picture on this?!?!?

I mean seriously.

The yuan was and is being kept artificially low. The Chinese agree to let it float a small bit in relation to where it honestly should be compared to the dollar.

The yuan begins to appreciate against the dollar. This increases it's purchasing power relative to the dollar. It should be appreciating much more, because of how debased the dollar has become.

Mainland Chinese nouvaux riche are investing huge amounts in local real estate.
As a result, real estate is hugely overvalued in Hong Kong and it's presenting a problem.

Those are your words. The Chinese economy has absorbed all the inflation it can absorb. The currency is allowed to float up just a small bit and it is causing housing bubbles in Hong Kong aka it is exporting the inflation to Hong Kong.

The change is recent. Sorry if pegged is too strong a word and got you upset. The change is recent and is part of a what amounts to a currency war going on.

Here's another example from today.

The yuan was pegged until mid 2010. I'm trying to convey how the U.S. is pumping inflation out and how it is moving through various economies. If you don't want to understand that, then that is your prerogative.

Do you want to have a discussion or do you want to play gotcha? I could note you only noted the 1983 peg and not the small trade range it is allowed to float from 7.75-7.85 since 2005, etc. Oh man, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.

But really what would the point be there? This should be discussion, not gotcha. Do you want to discuss the ramifications of inflation or play games instead?