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immovable object meets irresistible force - Page 2

post #41 of 88
7/15/11 at 12:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

No, I'm not. Sorry.




Shifting topics now? Yes, I agree that Democrats have consistently over time publicly supported government policies they think alleviate poverty.









They do, but they're not saying what you think.






Now that's downright hilarious! What's worse is you actually appear to believe that!


Just to further rub it in-

"These and other policies have produced not only lower unemployment under Democratic presidents but also more economic output and income growth. In fact, over the past 60 years, the real incomes of middle-income families have grown about twice as fast under Democratic presidents as they have under Republican presidents. The partisan difference is even greater for working poor families, whose real incomes have grown six times as fast under Democratic presidents as they have under Republican presidents."
~ http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/...9s01-coop.html

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #42 of 88
7/15/11 at 12:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

The Democrats consistently focus on the average person and below. That's what separates them from Republicans. That's what makes me favour the Democrats and that's why I don't buy into all this complete rubbish from the right wing.

That you prefer the Democrats' brand of tyranny over the Republicans' brand is obvious.

Those of us who have broken free of the 2-party false dilemma understand that tyranny is wrong, no matter who the tyrant is.

Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.

(I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.)

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Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.

(I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.)

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post #43 of 88
7/15/11 at 12:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

Just to further rub it in-

"These and other policies have produced not only lower unemployment under Democratic presidents but also more economic output and income growth. In fact, over the past 60 years, the real incomes of middle-income families have grown about twice as fast under Democratic presidents as they have under Republican presidents. The partisan difference is even greater for working poor families, whose real incomes have grown six times as fast under Democratic presidents as they have under Republican presidents."
~ http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/...9s01-coop.html

Picking your time ranges is important. I wonder why this author chose to start in 1948 for his analysis.

The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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post #44 of 88
7/15/11 at 12:58pm
An Easy Solution to the Government’s Debt-Ceiling Impasse

Quote:
According to the government’s own budget documents, the government expects to take in about $2.26 trillion (in dollars of 2005 purchasing power) in fiscal year 2012. So, to avoid the necessity of raising the debt limit–and hence the necessity of quarreling about the matter–the government need only reduce its expenditure to that amount. Such a reduction can scarcely be described as draconian, because an expenditure of this inflation-adjusted amount would bring the government back, not to the level of 1981, and certainly not to that of 1929, but only to that of the government’s average spending in fiscal years 2002 and 2003.

All but the youngest children will recall that during 2002 and 2003, we Americans were thriving: the economy was growing, interest rates were dirt cheap, and people with only a faint pulse could secure a mortgage that covered the entire amount paid for a new McMansion. Those were obviously, in retrospect, the Good Old Days. Who can possibly object to going back only a few years, especially when we recognize how fabulously everything was humming along at that time?

Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.

(I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.)

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Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.

(I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.)

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post #45 of 88
7/15/11 at 12:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

Picking your time ranges is important. I wonder why this author chose to start in 1948 for his analysis.


The same reason as everyone else- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #46 of 88
7/15/11 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

The same reason as everyone else- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

Yes but when you want to make these economic characterizations about one party vs. another should you be excluding the most prominent Democratic presidency of the 20th century?

It's easy to game the numbers when you exclude the biggest Keynesian disaster in US history.

P.S. Not everyone limits their analysis to the post-war era.

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post #47 of 88
7/15/11 at 1:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzguru View Post

An Easy Solution to the Governments Debt-Ceiling Impasse

Yay! Another great opportunity to take from the poor and give massive tax cuts to the rich.

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #48 of 88
7/15/11 at 1:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

Yay! Another great opportunity to take from the poor and give massive tax cuts to the rich.

Of for fuck's sake!

Yes...going back to 2002 spending is draconian, apocolyptic and practically anarchy.



This is utterly fucking ridiculous.

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post #49 of 88
7/15/11 at 1:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

Of for fuck's sake!

Yes...going back to 2002 spending is draconian, apocolyptic and practically anarchy.


Sorry, mj it's true. Hitting the middle class and the poor whilst massively enriching the very wealthiest stinks and that's what Dems are fighting.

I agree with you, spending could come down dramatically, but it won't help if all it does is reduce the middle and below income earners. Surely you can see that?

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #50 of 88
7/15/11 at 1:13pm
3 Reasons Why The Debt-Ceiling Debate is Full of Malarkey

Quote:
All anybody in Washington can talk about these days is the debt limit or debt ceiling – the total amount of money the federal government is authorized to borrow at any given time. After a decade in which spending increased by more than 60 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars and the debt limit was raised no fewer than 10 times, the government is about to max out its $14.3 trillion credit line, leading to fears that Washington is going to default on its bonds, stop cutting Social Security checks, and destroy the economy more than it already has.

But the current debate over the debt ceiling is full of malarkey for at least three reasons.

1. August 2 is a phony deadline. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has pushed back the drop-dead date when the U.S. finally reaches its limit a bunch of times already: March 31, April 15, May 31 were all cited as deadlines before August 2 was inked in as Armageddon. But this time, he means it, man, really.

2. Reaching the debt ceiling is NOT the same as defaulting on our debt – which would indeed be catastrophic.

Think about it: You can max out your credit cards but as long as you keep paying the minimum amount due each month, your creditors don’t go crazy. Interest on the debt is a small fraction of total outlays and the government has a series of tools – from using cash on hand to selling assets to scrimping on nonessential payments – to make sure interest payments are made and seniors aren’t put on an all cat-food diet.

3. Legislating-by-Panic is no way to run a country. The reason we’re in this mess is because government can’t stop spending. And the government can’t even pass a budget on a year’s notice. But we’re expecting them to come up with a good plan for the country’s borrowing in a couple of weeks? Trying to force through an expansion of the country’s credit line by promising cuts in spending down the road is exactly why we’re in this situation to begin with.

It makes far more sense to do something like sell some TARP assets -- the government is sitting on $320 billion in outstanding direct loans and equities investments -- to cover interest payments through the end of the fiscal year than to force Congress and the president to come up with a budget that cuts spending -- and borrowing -- for real, next year, not in some distant future.

Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.

(I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.)

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Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.

(I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.)

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post #51 of 88
7/15/11 at 1:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

Sorry, mj it's true. Hitting the middle class and the poor whilst massively enriching the very wealthiest stinks and that's what Dems are fighting.

Bullshit. The Democrats are not fighting for that. You've fallen for their propaganda. Secondly, screw your fallacious claims that cutting spending is the same as "Hitting the middle class and the poor whilst massively enriching the very wealthiest."


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

I agree with you, spending could come down dramatically, but it won't help if all it does is reduce the middle and below income earners. Surely you can see that?

No, I cannot see that because it is not true. It's only in your imagination.

The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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post #52 of 88
7/15/11 at 1:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

Yay! Another great opportunity to take from the poor and give massive tax cuts to the rich.

Please explain how reducing our spending to 2002 levels would be "taking from the poor" and "giving massive tax cuts to the rich".

Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.

(I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.)

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Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.

(I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.)

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post #53 of 88
7/15/11 at 1:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

Bullshit. The Democrats are not fighting for that. You've fallen for their propaganda. Secondly, screw your fallacious claims that cutting spending is the same as "Hitting the middle class and the poor whilst massively enriching the very wealthiest."




No, I cannot see that because it is not true. It's only in your imagination.

You and jazz need to read up on this. I'm not prepared to find very easy to find links for you, because this is level 1 stuff and both of you need to properly educate yourselves. Until you do, there isn't enough substance to your points to further this discussion. Seriously, go take a real hard look.

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #54 of 88
7/15/11 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

You and jazz need to read up on this.

I have read plenty and I have watched this happening for my entire life. You have been told a lie and you're continuing to believe it.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

I'm not prepared to find very easy to find links, but this is level 1 stuff and both of you need to properly educate yourselves.

If that's where w're going with this, then I would say the same to you but I'll get reported and get an infraction.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

Seriously, go take a real hard look.

Seriously, I have. You're wrong. You think you "understand" something that isn't so.

This quote seems rather apt:

It's not that liberals aren't smart, it's just that so much of what they know isn't so. Ronald Reagan

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post #55 of 88
7/15/11 at 1:31pm
If you can't back up your claims just say so, Hands.

Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.

(I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.)

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Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.

(I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.)

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post #56 of 88
7/15/11 at 2:29pm
Here's one piece to the puzzle.

Ryan's budget plan to reduce spending-

Low income program cuts- $2.9 trillion (e.g. Medicaid, Pell grants, food stamps, low income housing)

Other program cuts- $1.4 trillion
~ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...w8oC_blog.html

He favors massive cuts to clean energy too. He's an all round creep and he won't just harm just the poorest in society he'll harm the middle too, but then a lot of voters just don't get that part.

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #57 of 88
7/15/11 at 2:51pm
Here are some facts. In the most recent fiscal year, the federal government of the US spent about $3.5T. These are the major categories:

$800B for Medicare and Medicaid
$700B for Social Security
$700B for defense
$400B for other "mandatory" spending
$700B for so-called "discretionary" spending

Spending must be reduced. In order to get into balance, spending must be reduced by about $1.2T per year.

One way to do this is to make comparable cuts across all major categories here. About 35% would do it. This would mean:

$280B for Medicare and Medicaid
$245B for Social Security
$245B for defense
$140B for other "mandatory" spending
$245B for so-called "discretionary" spending

The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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post #58 of 88
7/15/11 at 6:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

$800B for Medicare and Medicaid
$700B for Social Security
$700B for defense
$400B for other "mandatory" spending
$700B for so-called "discretionary" spending

Now let's look at this from your family budget perspective.
Medicare/Medicaid is analogous to your family's health insurance. Would you cut that?
Social Security is analogous to the money you pay to keep your elderly parents alive, as well as the money you spend on your kids, and maybe the deadbeat brother you let live in the basement. You could kick the brother out on the street I guess.
The defense budget is analogous to the $10,000 per month alarm system and the team of security guards you hire to guard your house. But it's also the cost of the private security force you've hired to go around the bad parts of town to threaten the gang members into 'peace'. As well as homes and headquarters for that security force.
So... What do you cut first?
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post #59 of 88
7/15/11 at 6:30pm
Meanwhile, Obama andd the Conservatives are fucking insane. Means testing Medicare will cost more for administration and investigation than any 'savings' we might see. Moronic idea.
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post #60 of 88
7/15/11 at 7:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzguru View Post

An Easy Solution to the Governments Debt-Ceiling Impasse

Did you see the author's note in the comments section?

Quote:
That bulge in my face as I wrote about some of the attributes of the Good Old Days of 2002 and 2003 was created by my tongue pressing against my cheek. Still, one must admit, people loved all of those (as everyone now sees them) portents of doom at the time. Thats the beauty of an artificial boom! It may be unsustainable, but its still a boom. The trick is to enjoy it to the max and then die before the bust occurs.

Robert Higgs | Jul 15, 2011 |
eye
bee
BEE
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post #61 of 88
7/15/11 at 8:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tonton View Post

Now let's look at this from your family budget perspective.
Medicare/Medicaid is analogous to your family's health insurance. Would you cut that?
Social Security is analogous to the money you pay to keep your elderly parents alive, as well as the money you spend on your kids, and maybe the deadbeat brother you let live in the basement. You could kick the brother out on the street I guess.
The defense budget is analogous to the $10,000 per month alarm system and the team of security guards you hire to guard your house. But it's also the cost of the private security force you've hired to go around the bad parts of town to threaten the gang members into 'peace'. As well as homes and headquarters for that security force.
So... What do you cut first?

While your analogy is poor, I agree we should cut defense...a lot. I think we should end these wars. Now. I think we should close ALL of our foreign bases and return the troops home and move to a position of domestically based armed defense. Absolutely.

But that's not going to solve the problem as you can plainly see. Maybe that gets you $500B. You still have around $1T to go...and before you start...you're not going to get it by raising taxes on the rich. You just won't. Ain't gonna happen.

The US government has so-called "entitlement" programs that are ultimately unsustainable. These will need to be cut, and they can be without armageddon.

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post #62 of 88
7/16/11 at 7:30am
The Social Security 'trust fund'

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post #63 of 88
7/16/11 at 5:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

While your analogy is poor, I agree we should cut defense...a lot. I think we should end these wars. Now. I think we should close ALL of our foreign bases and return the troops home and move to a position of domestically based armed defense. Absolutely.

I agree some defense cuts are needed. There is no way I support closing ALL our foreign bases, nor does that have any chance in hell of happening. We have over 700 bases. What we should do is consolidate that to about 250 or so, maybe less. Like it or not, we're not going to go from utter hegemony to isolationism. If we're lucky, we can get the government to do LESS intervention. A miracle would be to only get involved in conflicts that directly affect our security and/or that of our allies.

Quote:

But that's not going to solve the problem as you can plainly see. Maybe that gets you $500B. You still have around $1T to go...and before you start...you're not going to get it by raising taxes on the rich. You just won't. Ain't gonna happen.

The US government has so-called "entitlement" programs that are ultimately unsustainable. These will need to be cut, and they can be without armageddon.

The other thing is that even IF taxing the shit out of rich was enough, it would only work in theory. The rich are not just going to sit back and pay it. Neither are corporations, as we know. Taxation affects human behavior. Amazing that no one is talking about that. They are just sitting back assuming that higher taxes means people won't change their behavior.
To save time, assume I know everything.
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post #64 of 88
7/16/11 at 5:31pm
Protecting individual rights (including law enforcement, courts and national defence) is the only legitimate function of government, and that's the first thing the Left wants to cut.
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post #65 of 88
7/16/11 at 6:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

I agree some defense cuts are needed. There is no way I support closing ALL our foreign bases, nor does that have any chance in hell of happening.

I never said it was going to happen. Of course it won't. Not until things collapse anyway.


Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

We have over 700 bases.

In foreign countries?


Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

Like it or not, we're not going to go from utter hegemony to isolationism.

I did not suggest isolationism.


Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

If we're lucky, we can get the government to do LESS intervention.

Agreed.


Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

A miracle would be to only get involved in conflicts that directly affect our security and/or that of our allies.

A real miracle would be if we only get involved in conflicts that are direct and imminent threats to the US.


Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

The other thing is that even IF taxing the shit out of rich was enough, it would only work in theory. The rich are not just going to sit back and pay it. Neither are corporations, as we know. Taxation affects human behavior.

Yep. That's exactly the situation.


Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

Amazing that no one is talking about that. They are just sitting back assuming that higher taxes means people won't change their behavior.

That's because the Democrats (the Republicans to a lesser extent) always seem to be idiotic enough to assume their wishful thinking is enough for things to go the way they hope. They are disconnected from reality on this issue. Their analysis is almost always static, simplistic and superficial.

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post #66 of 88
7/16/11 at 7:17pm
The US could probably save a few pennies here, or should I say they're-

"According to the Pentagon's own list PDF, the answer is around 865, but if you include the new bases in Iraq and Afghanistan it is over a thousand. These thousand bases constitute 95 percent of all the military bases any country in the world maintains on any other country's territory. In other words, the United States is to military bases as Heinz is to ketchup.


These bases do not come cheap. Excluding U.S. bases in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States spends about $102 billion a year to run its overseas bases, according to Miriam Pemberton of the Institute for Policy Studies. And in many cases you have to ask what purpose they serve. For example, the United States has 227 bases in Germany.


These bases can become flashpoints for conflict. Military bases invariably discharge toxic waste into local ecosystems, as in Guam where military bases have led to no fewer than 19 superfund sites. Such contamination generates resentment and sometimes, as in Vieques in the 1990s, full-blown social movements against the bases. The United States used Vieques for live-bombing practice 180 days a year, and by the time the United States withdrew in 2003, the landscape was littered with exploded and unexploded ordinance, depleted uranium rounds, heavy metals, oil, lubricants, solvents, and acids. According to local activists, the cancer rate on Vieques was 30 percent higher than on the rest of Puerto Rico."
~ http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.p...t=va&aid=12785

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #67 of 88
7/16/11 at 7:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

Here are some facts. In the most recent fiscal year, the federal government of the US spent about $3.5T. These are the major categories:

$800B for Medicare and Medicaid
$700B for Social Security
$700B for defense
$400B for other "mandatory" spending
$700B for so-called "discretionary" spending

Spending must be reduced. In order to get into balance, spending must be reduced by about $1.2T per year.

One way to do this is to make comparable cuts across all major categories here. About 35% would do it. This would mean:

$280B for Medicare and Medicaid
$245B for Social Security
$245B for defense
$140B for other "mandatory" spending
$245B for so-called "discretionary" spending

Instead of obliterating the poorest in what is already a remarkably extreme poverty ridden country. Why not spare them that indignity and living hell and instead focus on making medical treatment less expensive, massive prison reform, massive cuts to military spending and all the corporate welfare, that companies like needy downtrodden China loving Apple want?

The debt needs to come down but it doesn't have to be eliminated so fast that you have to make the poorest even worse off.

Getting rid of the tax cuts for the top 2% is so dear to the heart of Republicans and maybe to you too. Why not get rid of it until the poor have a leg to stand on? Just abandoning people to that misery is unnecessary.

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #68 of 88
7/16/11 at 8:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

Instead of obliterating the poorest in what is already a remarkably extreme poverty ridden country. Why not spare them that indignity and living hell...

What country are you talking about?!


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

...and instead focus on making medical treatment less expensive

I agree. The market can do this if allowed to. Currently it is being molested by government intervention.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

massive prison reform

Like what?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

massive cuts to military spending and all the corporate welfare,

I favor large cuts in military spending and elimination all corporate welfare. But this won't balance the budget. Not even close.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

that companies like needy downtrodden China loving Apple want?

Huh?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

The debt needs to come down but it doesn't have to be eliminated so far that you have to make the poorest even worse off.

It needs to be eliminated completely. And enough already with your question begging.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

Getting rid of the tax cuts for the top 2% is so dear to the heart of Republicans and maybe to you too.

Thanks for being honest about your desire to take other people's money.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

Why not get rid of it until the poor have a leg to stand on? Just abandoning people to that misery is unnecessary.

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post #69 of 88
7/16/11 at 8:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

What country are you talking about?!




I agree. The market can do this if allowed to. Currently it is being molested by government intervention.




Like what?




I favor large cuts in military spending and elimination all corporate welfare. But this won't balance the budget. Not even close.




Huh?




It needs to be eliminated completely. And enough already with your question begging.




Thanks for being honest about your desire to take other people's money.





The debt needs go come down. I'd be happy with it coming down quicker than it went up and to go into a surplus. You're making out that we need an across the board cut of 35%. How long under that scenario do you expect the debt to be paid off?

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #70 of 88
7/16/11 at 8:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

The debt needs go come down. I'd be happy with it coming down quicker than it went up and to go into a surplus. You're making out we need to an across the board cut of 35%. How long under thag scenario do you expect the debt to be paid off?

It depends. Those cuts only get things to balance. No surplus at all. But when the economy starts growing again and tax revenue begins to increase (with spending held firm at the new lower level) then you'd have some surplus. But it would still take a hugely fucking long time (and tremendous budget discipline) to pay down $14T of debt.

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post #71 of 88
7/16/11 at 8:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

It depends. Those cuts only get things to balance. No surplus at all. But when the economy starts growing again and tax revenue begins to increase (with spending held firm at the new lower level) then you'd have some surplus. But it would still take a hugely fucking long time (and tremendous budget discipline) to pay down $14T of debt.

No way. Your maths is cometely wrong. With a 35% cut you'd get the entire debt paid off within something like 10 years.

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #72 of 88
7/16/11 at 8:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

No way. Your maths is cometely wrong. With a 35% cut you'd get the entire debt paid off within something like 10 years.

How do you figure? The cuts I outlined only get the budget to balance. Actually there's still a small deficit with my numbers. You do realize the budget deficit is currently around $1.2T to $1.6T don't you?

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post #73 of 88
7/16/11 at 8:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

How do you figure? The cuts I outlined only get the budget to balance. Actually there's still a small deficit with my numbers. You do realize the budget deficit is currently around $1.2T to $1.6T don't you?

You're including the stimulus, the bailout and the biggest ever temporary middle class taax cuts. No wonder your maths are so skewed. With a 35% cut you'd effect growth but even so you'd get the deficit down very quickly.

I can't do the sums tonight/this morning though.

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #74 of 88
7/16/11 at 8:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

You're including the stimulus, the bailout and the biggest ever temporary middle class taax cuts.

I am? Maybe. I'm looking at total budget numbers for 2010. The $800B stimulus was part of the 2009 budget shooting that year's deficit to about $1.2T...but even since then in 2010 and 2011 the deficits have been north of $1T (around $1.4T and $1.6T respectively). I think we're beyond the mere $800B "stimulus" boondoggle.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

No wonder your maths are so skewed.

Instead of hand-waving here, lay out the numbers and show me.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

I can't do the sums tonight/this morning though.

The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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post #75 of 88
7/17/11 at 7:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

I never said it was going to happen. Of course it won't. Not until things collapse anyway.




In foreign countries?

Yes, in foreign countries. That was the last stat I heard.

Quote:




I did not suggest isolationism.

Closing all bases? That's isolationism.

Quote:




Agreed.




A real miracle would be if we only get involved in conflicts that are direct and imminent threats to the US.




Yep. That's exactly the situation.




That's because the Democrats (the Republicans to a lesser extent) always seem to be idiotic enough to assume their wishful thinking is enough for things to go the way they hope. They are disconnected from reality on this issue. Their analysis is almost always static, simplistic and superficial.

Agreed there for sure.
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post #76 of 88
7/17/11 at 8:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

Closing all bases? That's isolationism.

No, it's not.

Isolationism:

Quote:
Isolationism is a foreign policy adopted by a nation in which the country refuses to enter into any alliances, foreign trade or economic commitments, or international agreements in hopes of focusing all of its resources into advancement within its own borders while remaining at peace with foreign countries by avoiding all entanglements of foreign agreements. In other words, it asserts both of the following:

1. Non-interventionism Political rulers should avoid entangling alliances with other nations and avoid all wars not related to direct territorial differences (self-defense).
2. Protectionism There should be legal barriers to control trade and cultural exchange with people in other states.

Isolationism is non-interventionism (which I do advocate) plus protectionism (which I do not advocate.)

US Non-interventionism:

Quote:
Non-interventionism, the diplomatic policy whereby a nation seeks to avoid alliances with other nations in order to avoid being drawn into wars not related to direct territorial self-defense, has had a long history in the United States.

Quote:
Non-intervention, sometimes referred to as military non-interventionism, seems to some to be the antithesis of isolationism. Participating in global economic affairs would likely boost trade and expand US diplomacy, in the view of Edward A. Olsen.[

Non-interventionism:

Quote:
Nonintervention or non-interventionism is a foreign policy which holds that political rulers should avoid alliances with other nations, but still retain diplomacy, and avoid all wars not related to direct territorial self-defense. This is based on the grounds that a state should not interfere in the internal politics of another state, based upon the principles of state sovereignty and self-determination. A similar phrase is "strategic independence". Historical examples of supporters of non-interventionism are US Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who both favored nonintervention in European Wars while maintaining free trade. Other proponents include United States Senator Robert Taft and United States Congressman Ron Paul.

Nonintervention is distinct from isolationism, the latter featuring economic nationalism (protectionism) and restrictive immigration. Proponents of non-interventionism distinguish their polices from isolationism through their advocacy of more open national relations, to include diplomacy and free trade.

The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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post #77 of 88
7/17/11 at 4:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

No, it's not.

Isolationism:



Isolationism is non-interventionism (which I do advocate) plus protectionism (which I do not advocate.)

US Non-interventionism:





Non-interventionism:

You can post all the dictionary definitions you want, and we can play semantics. I maintain that the US closing all of its 700 bases amounts to isolationism. Why? Because it does.
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post #78 of 88
7/17/11 at 4:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

You can post all the dictionary definitions you want, and we can play semantics. I maintain that the US closing all of its 700 bases amounts to isolationism. Why? Because it does.

Priceless.

The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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post #79 of 88
7/17/11 at 4:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

Priceless.

Tell ya what. Go make the argument that closing 700 military bases around the world is not isolationism. Make it online. Make it verbally. See what people think...then get back to me.
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post #80 of 88
7/17/11 at 4:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

Tell ya what. Go make the argument that closing 700 military bases around the world is not isolationism. Make it online. Make it verbally. See what people think...then get back to me.

I just made the argument. I even used real words and their real meanings. You completely dismissed them with the wave of a hand. If this is what I'm to expect from others, then I don't expect much real thought to have been put to the question but rather answers from emotional irrationality.



Words have meanings. Emotion and irrationality and wishes and hopes don't change that.

The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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