Where do conservatives think we can slash the federal budget?
John Sides, a political science professor at George Washington University, dove deep into the results of a 2008 survey conducted as part of the American National Election Studies. He came back with something fascinating. (The ANES is an ambitious effort to probe the evolving thoughts of the American electorate over time. After the ‘08 elections, for example, ANES researchers conducted more than 2,000 face-to-face interviews.)
In one question, respondents were asked to rate themselves on a scale of 1 to 7, from extreme liberal to extreme conservative. In another question, they were asked whether they would support a reduction or elimination of federal spending in any of 12 different categories, from public education to highways.
Sides first identified those respondents who said they were conservative or very conservative. He then compiled that group’s answers to the question about possible cuts in federal spending. The results were posted at Salon, along with the following chart:
About 50 percent of self-identified conservatives said they would like to cut or eliminate foreign aid; roughly 35 percent said they would like to cut or eliminate welfare. About 20 percent said they’d cut or eliminate funding for child care.
But the most part, when offered specific spending areas to cut or eliminate, a majority of self-identified conservatives balked. (I tried to assemble a similar analysis of how self-identified liberals answered the question, but ANES posts only raw, undifferentiated data, and frankly I lack the capacity to tease out the answer to that question. Perhaps Sites or other scholars can conduct that research.)
I did, however, dig out a Kaiser Foundation study that helps put the Sides research into context. While it dates back to 1995, I doubt the results would have changed much over time. In the Kaiser survey, Americans were given a list of six programs and asked to identify the two areas in which the federal government spent the most money. (The possible choices were defense, interest on the debt, foreign aid, welfare, Social Security and health.)
The two choices mentioned most often as big-budget items were foreign aid (41 percent) and welfare (40 percent) (See Table 16). Those also happen to be the two areas in which conservatives are most eager to cut.
So you’ve got two areas in which the public thinks we spend huge amounts of money, and you’ve got conservatives eager to make substantial cuts in both areas. Theoretically, we seem to have a formula for cutting the deficit significantly. But there’s a problem.
In 2009, the federal government spent all of $22.1 billion on international development and humanitarian assistance, i.e, non-military foreign aid. (See Table 3.2, Item 151) That’s a mere 0.06 percent of the $3.5 trillion budget.
If you define welfare as a combination of federal housing assistance such as Section 8, plus food stamps and TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families), the federal government spent $173 billion last year, or 4.9 percent of the budget, on welfare. (See Table 3.2, Items 604, 605. For TANF number, see here.)
In other words, if you take the two areas most often cited for cuts by conservatives and you eliminate them entirely, you will have cut federal spending by 5.5 percent.
Then what do we do?
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341 comments Add your comment
U Maroon
February 25th, 2010
8:35 pm
medicaid = welfare
Milldred Towner
February 25th, 2010
8:40 pm
I sold my soles to the company store. Because I needed milk for the little ones more than I needed protection from the elements for the toes. The good old days of indentured servitude for life.
josef nix
February 25th, 2010
8:42 pm
U Maroon
The Interstate freeway system = welfare
The Fire Department = welfare
The Police Department = welfare
The Military = welfare
That’s well + fare
josef nix
February 25th, 2010
8:44 pm
Mildred–
That has to do with the overwhelming majority of corporations, as I said, I was blessed to be witness to what can be done when the company has a moral compass…it can be done…
Hillbilly Deluxe
February 25th, 2010
8:47 pm
Point of interest. To be eligible for Medicaid you have to have assets of less than $2000. Most likely if you own a car you don’t qualify.
U Must Be the Maroon
February 25th, 2010
8:52 pm
… if you think the military & police = welfare
getalife
February 25th, 2010
8:54 pm
It was all fun and games until the orange man scared grandma.
josef nix
February 25th, 2010
9:00 pm
maroon
they are there for the public well fare and paid for from the public coffer to provide that…
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
February 25th, 2010
9:01 pm
Which is not, I think, good news for the president. Mr. Obama will not have helped himself by his manner. The summit highlighted, even showcased, something unappealing and unhelpful there, a tendency to attempt to show dominance and command by patronizing, even subtly bullying, even trimming. All people in public life have moments like this—most people do, in whatever walk—but you’re not supposed to have them when you’re trying to sway minds, reach out and build support.
Which left me doubting that was what he was actually trying to do.
When you’ve lost Peggy Noonan, you’ve lost the squish moderates, just sayin….
getalife
February 25th, 2010
9:03 pm
It was a trap.
TGT
February 25th, 2010
9:03 pm
Any serious talk of cuts must include Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. As of 2008, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid make up 42% of the federal budget. Medicare alone has $36 trillion in unfunded liabilities. Also, according to the 2009 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report, the combined unfunded liability of these two programs has reached nearly $107 trillion in today’s dollars. Medicare and Social Security trust funds will be exhausted in 2017 and 2037, respectively.
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
9:27 pm
What a day from hell.
From the Artist Formerly Known As God:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K6_ZtTcMQI
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
9:30 pm
Slash and Privatize: How House GOP’s Shadow Budget Eliminates Deficit … In About 50 Years
So the “party of Fiscal responsibility” would take another 50 years to get us back to where we were 10 years ago, before the greedy idiots of Wall Street nearly sent us into another great depression. The same greedy idiots that these guys want to hand our Social Security and Medicare funds over to.
Uh, no thanks.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/one-gopers-budget-vision-social-security-and-medicare-benefit-cuts.php
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
9:34 pm
“Any serious talk of cuts must include Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.”
TGT–You are right on the money. Unfortunately, as was pointed out earlier tonight, trying to get elected on that platform is pretty much a guaranteed loss at the polls. The Senior Citizens are one of the most organized voting blocks there are, and they’re not going to accept any cuts ever.
josef nix
February 25th, 2010
9:35 pm
Bruno–
Hey! That bad, eh? Wouldn’t say mine was on the worst circle, but I’m certainly on the Sixth…
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
9:38 pm
The bottom line is that SS was never intended to be a person’s sole source of income at retirement. The current group of retirees draw far, far more than they ever put in. The easiest fix, of course, is to simply keep raising the minimum age for participation. But even that draws criticism from civil rights activists since most “minorities” have a significantly shorter life span and thus end up funding whitey.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
9:38 pm
GOP Rep. Dean Heller Claims Extending Unemployment Benefits Is Creating ‘Hobos.’
republicants don’t do economics well, and always fail at cause and effect. You don’t NOT create jobs and CUT OFF unemployment benefits at the same time. Mr. Geller, this is what would help usher in the Second Great Depression by stunting recovery.
The stupid is great in this one.
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/25/gop-rep-hobo/
Jeff
February 25th, 2010
9:41 pm
So those nasty conservatives don’t know where to cut? Do the liberals know where to get the new taxes?
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
February 25th, 2010
9:42 pm
Once again, on this very day, obozo reinforces the undeniable fact that we were aware of over a year ago, and why we voted for McSicko, that he is nothing more than a stooge, a political hack, a puppet, who’s only strength is regurgitating ignorant mindless talking points that OTHER PEOPLE HAVE WRITTEN FOR HIM.
Just sayin….
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
9:44 pm
Democrats say the TALK is OVER.
Here is the republicants “objections”…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4
josef nix
February 25th, 2010
9:54 pm
That time…gotta go hit the hay…at least tomorrow is Friday…report finished, too…thanks for the vent space here this p.m. Needed it…
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
February 25th, 2010
9:58 pm
Hey, at least every cave dweller, tree swinger, spastic, bone in the noser, zipperhead, tard and troglodyte now has hope of becoming the President of the United States, that’s something, isn’t it?
Maybe the libs will adopt YOU next time around, simpleton!
Finn McCool
February 25th, 2010
9:59 pm
Obama to Cantor and his paper prop: “Health care is complicated. We can pretend that it’s not, but it is.”
Maybe Obama could bring some crayons for the republicans next time. In case they get bored they could color awhile.
Republicans,
Sit back, relax, and let the adults do the work. We’ll call you when we need to vote on something uncomplicated that they can wrap their minds around.
Moderate Line
February 25th, 2010
10:06 pm
I an afraiid we will not see any serious consideration on balancing the budget until we are forced which includes increasing taxes or cutting spending. When that occurs we will have a serious reduction in the standard of living.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
February 25th, 2010
10:08 pm
Getting the government deficit down is going to take a strong mix of action. Its about a number of changes. Its about smart government. There is a definite need for regulation – keep lead out of toys, make sure products and food is safe, etc.
Where to begin? Taxes – eliminate the tax cuts to the rich. We have a progressive system and the rich have every reason to pay for the benefits the derive from bailouts and more. Reinstate estate taxes. Raise capital gains taxes. Simplify the tax code.
Cut spending. Close unneeded military bases, dont force the military to buy equipment they say they dont need. Eliminate DADT which forces out well trained military personnel who cost thousands to train. Eliminate no-bid contracts. Get rid of Blackwater (or Xe) and demand back the millions that they obtained by fraud.
Pass healthcare which will according to the CBO, save the government money and look into more cost savings in healthcare. Start focusing healthcare on wellness and part of that means increasing regulation and oversight of our food supply and product testing which is making us sick.
Del
February 25th, 2010
10:13 pm
Golly…Salon we can all depend on unbiased commentary from Salon. Keep doing the biological function in one hand and wishing in the other but be careful not to rub your hands together or you may not like to see what you have all over your wishes.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
10:14 pm
I’m neither for large government nor small government – I’m for smart government.
For eight years we had stupid government and it nearly ran our country into a ditch. We’ll be lucky to emerge from the Shrub Recession anytime soon. Meanwhile, conservatives who have rediscovered libertarianism sound more and more like anarchists, wailing about the end of America while demonizing even the most benign government policy proposals. Their concerns have become so hysterical as to be absurd.
I, for one, am happy to pay taxes as long as I think the money is being spent wisely. I’m not wild about funding a vast military-industrial complex whose expensive bombs neither educate our young nor add anything to our infrastructure. Yet I’m glad to contribute to our highways, our parks, our law enforcement, our emergency responders, our social safety net (pitifully limited though it may be) and the best legal system in the world. The tea partiers who whine about taxes seem to be railing against civilization and order. They are rejecting a social contract that doesn’t place the individual on a pedestal but rather forges a balance between individual liberty and the common good. After the financial markets melted down, Alan Greenspan admitted that the core assumption of his entire financial life had been wrong. Markets are not perfectly self-regulating. They don’t always get it right. What conservatives and the tea partiers fail to understand is that individuals are also not perfectly self-regulating. Most of us humans are not fully rational adults, but rather complex adolescents that often make bad, short-sighted choices. For that reason, smart government is the embodiment of pragmatic compassion.
Programs like Social Security exist because we recognize that if we leave retirement decisions to individuals, many of them will make bad choices that fail. Without a safety net such people would perish, so we collectively established a system that decreases liberty but increases security, and this was a wise choice. It has become clear that this logic should be extended to health care. If that means a slight increase in taxes in the future, that doesn’t bother me. I don’t see government as a sinister boogeyman bent on controlling every aspect of my life. Smart government is the embodiment of our collective wisdom, fine-tuning the mix between liberty and the common good.
President Obama and the Democratic party are trying to adjust this mix, especially when it comes to the broken and greed-driven health insurance industry. Conservatives and the GOP have no real policy proposals because they dream of doing away with government and letting individuals fend for themselves – which merely sounds like a recipe for chaos and suffering.
JOHN ODD OWL
February 25th, 2010
10:14 pm
Cut spending… Cut spending… Cut this, Cut that… The neo-con naysayers of doom have surrendered. They’ve given up the ghost. Apparently those unemployment extension checks have made these loafers lazy. The reason you Gen X-ers and Gen Y-ers pay such high SS payroll tax and fed. income tax is because you and your parents voted for Reagan, Bush-1, Gingrich Revolution, and Bush/Cheney. They’re the ones who doubled your taxes in every category. Your problem lies in the fact that you listen to what Republicans say and ignore what they do !!! You big house middle classers who vote Republican are penny wise and pound foolish. presumptuous arrogance ooze from the pores of the “X” and “Y” generations like puss from a festering sore. I am a product of the 60’s. We babyboomers are 75 million strong and we’re approaching the age of retirement. That means that you gen X-ers and gen Y-ers must pay for our SS pension, medicare, medicaid and all the other social programs that we enjoy today. You middle class people allowed the Republican politicians to dump the tax burden in your lap. Rich people only pay SS payroll taxes on the first $115.000 they earn. I’ve paid into the system for more than 40 years and i’m going to get everything coming to me by collecting for about 40 years. So all of you gen X and Y need to find a second job so you can pay more taxes so i can enjoy my golden years. LOL
TnGelding
February 25th, 2010
10:19 pm
Freeze all spending and reduce the Pentagon to a triangle like Newt suggested 20 years ago. Eliminating waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid and Medicare would save at least $150 billion. Letting people die (death with dignity) would save tens of billions more. And collecting taxes owed under current law would bring in at least $500 billion. Simplifying the tax code would save another $500 billion. And a one time tax amnesty should bring in up to a trillion dollars. Legalizing drugs should be a net $200 billion bonanza.
We’ve got to get the debt under control or it, not health care, is going to be our ruin.
Kamchak
February 25th, 2010
10:21 pm
Jenifer
Well said!
TnGelding
February 25th, 2010
10:21 pm
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
10:14 pm
Great stuff, thanks.
TnGelding
February 25th, 2010
10:22 pm
Kamchak
February 25th, 2010
10:21 pm
Scary!
Del
February 25th, 2010
10:22 pm
Sure didn’t resemble adults to me or at least those adults who have the best interest of America in mind. Looked more like spoiled little brats who cave into peer pressure and just have to go along to get along amongst there little narrow group led by the commander and chief narcissist. Yeah I’m talking about the dumocrats at this little theatrical performance today. November will weed out this trash in our government.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
10:23 pm
Hi Kamchak & TnGelding,
Thanks!
Kamchak
February 25th, 2010
10:24 pm
TnGelding
Mick
February 25th, 2010
10:34 pm
Jenifer – couldn’t have said it any better-
RW-(the original)
February 25th, 2010
10:35 pm
Third time is the charm?
It’s not nice to plagiarise.
Southern Comfort
February 25th, 2010
10:38 pm
Jenifer
That 10:14 was quite a piece of writing. I’d have to give you a polite golf clap for that one!!
Southern Comfort
February 25th, 2010
10:39 pm
RW
Just when I thought something meaningful was said… You went and ruined it for me.
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
10:40 pm
Out of curiosity, are even ONE of you Libs here tonight concerned about the unsustainable level of spending that is going on in Washington right now?
RW-(the original)
February 25th, 2010
10:41 pm
SoCo,
When someone that has never written anything like what they suddenly post doesn’t it set off your BS meter? Considering your career choice I would hope it would and if you look at my 10:35 you’ll see that it set off mine.
Good to see you by the way. Do they have doing double duty in the air?
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
10:42 pm
“It’s not nice to plagiarise.”
RW–I knew without a doubt that Jenifer didn’t write that post, and even googled some of the phrases to find the source, but couldn’t track it down. Good detective work.
Mick
February 25th, 2010
10:42 pm
RW
Thanks for the expose’ you win the sherlock holmes revelation of the day..
RW-(the original)
February 25th, 2010
10:43 pm
Oops! I was still typing when you responded SoCo. I need one of those gizmo’s like Jay B has that let’s me see what people are typing before they post.
RW-(the original)
February 25th, 2010
10:44 pm
Mick,
Is there a prize? I so hate honorary awards….
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
10:45 pm
Alright, I figured it out–just gotta google the whole thing to narrow down the search. The phrase searching creates too many near matches.
RW-(the original)
February 25th, 2010
10:46 pm
Bruno,
S/he did change Bush to Shrub so maybe that counts as original work.
RW-(the original)
February 25th, 2010
10:47 pm
Bruno,
Phrases usually work just fine as long as you put them in quotes.
Kamchak
February 25th, 2010
10:48 pm
Out of curiosity, are even ONE of you Libs here tonight concerned about the unsustainable level of spending that is going on in Washington right now?
I’ll let James Galbraith field that one.
It would appear however that apostasy is an acquired taste. In The New American Economy Bruce ladles it out with gusto, and with a message that should cause an entire generation of the American Right true heartburn. The message? That John Maynard Keynes was really one of their own.
John Maynard Keynes? The John Maynard Keynes? How can this possibly be?
Bruce’s dark secret, here exposed, is that he is primarily a historian. He has a keen interest in the musty words of thinkers from a past day, and he actually goes off to read them. A good part of The New American Economy concerns itself with the old American economy–the economy that collapsed in the Depression and that was revived-or, more accurately, rebuilt-in the New Deal.
Though English, Keynes was central to the ferment of New Deal ideas. Bruce here admirably introduces him as, among other things, the greatest enemy communism had in those years. Why? Because Keynes understood that if capitalism were not saved, revolution would result — and because he felt that revolution would be worse. Drastic measures were therefore justified, whatever the business leaders of the day thought. As Bruce notes, this assessment agrees with one made decades back by my father, who characterized FDR’s motives in similar terms.
Mick
February 25th, 2010
10:49 pm
RW
You already own the best prize – busting someone out; but hey if you’re ever in miami the first three rounds are on me..
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
10:50 pm
I never said I did. It expresses my feelings completely, and to me, that’s all that matters.
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
10:52 pm
“I need one of those gizmo’s like Jay B has that let’s me see what people are typing before they post.”
Over on the old W2W blog, one of the regulars named JokesOn was able to give the technical explanation of how the blogs go from your keyboard to your own screen then to everyone else’s screens. Because of that sequencing, timing errors sometimes appear in the “final” product. It also explains why some of your own posts can be viewed from your computer, but no one else’s. I believe you previously stated that it was some type of intentional action by the blog when that happens, but it’s not according to JokesOn.
Mick
February 25th, 2010
10:53 pm
jenifer – I inferred that they were your words..take your lumps and move on… I still dig your posts and links..
RW-(the original)
February 25th, 2010
10:53 pm
Mick,
I prefer the West coast having spent all my formative summers around Indian Rocks Beach, but for three rounds I’m there!
/unless you meant Miami, Ohio in which case I’ll see you at the Rally in the Alley in Columbus where they lose all track of that round thing.
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
10:54 pm
“I never said I did. It expresses my feelings completely, and to me, that’s all that matters.”
I would say that it’s standard protocol to attribute quotes, even on blogs. To not give any attribution implies that you wrote it yourself. But don’t worry, Jen, your Admiration Society won’t mind a bit, and the conservatives saw through it from the beginning.
Kamchak
February 25th, 2010
10:55 pm
Jenifer
Put it in quotes or slanties next time.
It’s not like you are the only one who has done this
Mick
February 25th, 2010
10:57 pm
**conservatives saw through it from the beginning**
Let’s not get carried away and pile on..
RW
Yes its miami FLA.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
10:58 pm
“jenifer – I inferred that they were your words..take your lumps and move on… I still dig your posts and links..”
I can’t help what you infer, and, believe me, there are no lumps.
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
10:59 pm
“if you’re ever in miami the first three rounds are on me..”
The first three rounds. Holy Toledo, how many more can you go after that?? Usually one is my limit, two max.
RW-(the original)
February 25th, 2010
11:00 pm
Bruno,
I said that there is code that allows the blog server to ban you but make your posts still appear as if they were published and there is. I never said I thought anybody at the AJC was capable of implementing that code.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
11:00 pm
“It’s not like you are the only one who has done this”
Oh I know, Kamchak, the biggest critics here are the ones who do it regularly.
md
February 25th, 2010
11:01 pm
“I never said I did.”
No quotation marks says you did.
Pitiful.
Mick
February 25th, 2010
11:02 pm
jenifer – so you are saying that you don’t think your post was misleading or maybe leading one to believe that they were YOUR original thoughts and words?
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
11:03 pm
“I would say that it’s standard protocol to attribute quotes, even on blogs. To not give any attribution implies that you wrote it yourself. But don’t worry, Jen, your Admiration Society won’t mind a bit, and the conservatives saw through it from the beginning.”
As if I would listen to you, HA!
Southern Comfort
February 25th, 2010
11:03 pm
RW
In the words of Jesse Jackson, I was trying to “keep hope alive”. I’ve been reading from time to time, but decided to cut back on posting. There’s way too much bitterness here at times. I’m choosing to stay positive and work on keeping us safe. I’ll let the partisans bicker back and forth. Words mean nothing without action to sustain them.
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
11:04 pm
“I can’t help what you infer, and, believe me, there are no lumps.”
Now THAT sounds like the Jen we’ve all grown to know and love.
“Yes its miami FLA.”
Ya know, Mick, about 10 times a year I ask myself, why are you still living in GA and not Miami? I keep hearing that the property taxes and insurance are astronomical compared to GA. I’m still only paying about $1400 property taxes per year in Gwinnett, and a little more in Cobb. My sisters in NJ pay around $6000 to $7000. I have no idea what my sister in San Fran must be paying.
“Let’s not get carried away and pile on..”
Aw, c’mon, Mick, why deny a guy the cheap glory?
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
11:05 pm
“jenifer – so you are saying that you don’t think your post was misleading or maybe leading one to believe that they were YOUR original thoughts and words?”
What I am saying is the writer’s words perfectly match the way I feel. Now if that’s difficult for you, or anyone else, to deal with, that’s your problem, not mine.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
11:07 pm
““I never said I did.”
No quotation marks says you did.
Pitiful.”
Boo-hoo! Need a hanky?
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
11:08 pm
“As if I would listen to you, HA!”
Someone is just itching for a good spanking, I see.
RW-(the original)
February 25th, 2010
11:11 pm
SoCo,
Every time I see/hear that my mind heads right to some of the few times SNL is funny anymore. The Jesse stuff never gets old.
Jenifer,
It’s one thing to accidentally post somebody else’s words, it’s another to start accepting compliments on them with no acknowledgment.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
10:23 pm
Hi Kamchak & TnGelding,
Thanks!
Mick
February 25th, 2010
11:11 pm
Jenifer – I am disappointed cause when I read that post I was with those thoughts too but I also thought you authored them. If you can’t see why that might matter, well…..
md
February 25th, 2010
11:12 pm
“Ya know, Mick, about 10 times a year I ask myself, why are you still living in GA and not Miami? I keep hearing that the property taxes and insurance are astronomical compared to GA.”
I did a comparison not too long ago and it came out about even if you were still paying income tax since Fl has no state income tax. South Ga coast has a lot of the same benefits as north Fl if one is looking to escape the madness of the atl and put up with a little cooler winter if not still paying tax as the insurance drops significantly north of the St Marys river.
md
February 25th, 2010
11:14 pm
The sad part is she doesn’t get it, or seem to care, oh well.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
11:15 pm
I will, from time to time, post words that I did not write. If I happen upon something that I agree with, I will post it. If you want to read my posts, please do so. If you don’t want to read my posts, please don’t. It’s as simple as that.
I know many of you do the same, whether you admit it or not. I’m cool with that.
Mick
February 25th, 2010
11:16 pm
md
Here is the secret of living in miami – don’t! Live on miami beach and RENT. You can get unbelieveable deals for under $1000. No property tax, no insurance, its a renters dream. Plus it full of young, vibrant people who speak english.
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
11:18 pm
“Because Keynes understood that if capitalism were not saved, revolution would result — and because he felt that revolution would be worse.”
Big yawn, Kamchak. For every economist who still believes in Keynesian economic theory/policy, I can show you one who disagrees. In the final analysis, New Deal policies likely extended the Great Depression many years beyond what it should have been if the government hadn’t taken such an intrusive role.
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
11:18 pm
“I know many of you do the same, whether you admit it or not. I’m cool with that.”
Big BS there, Jen. Keep trying.
Mick
February 25th, 2010
11:19 pm
RW
A double, one more and its a hat trick..
RW-(the original)
February 25th, 2010
11:20 pm
Jenifer,
If it was your personae to post unattributed comments or even excerpt articles without linking it would be viewed as an honest mistake even after your 10:23, but you’re known for almost always spamming the board with links and never adding anything of your own so spare us the “they do it too” BS.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
11:20 pm
“It’s one thing to accidentally post somebody else’s words, it’s another to start accepting compliments on them with no acknowledgment.”
How could a person accidentally post someone else’s words? Geez…
And Kamchak and TnGelding don’t seem to be upset, so I have to wonder…why are you?
Kamchak
February 25th, 2010
11:21 pm
The sad part is she doesn’t get it, or seem to care, oh well.
OH MY GOD!
Jenifer posted something and didn’t acknowledge credit to someone else!
The sadness is ALMOST UNBEARABLE!
WOE IS ME!
Southern Comfort
February 25th, 2010
11:22 pm
RW
We’ve been sending officers to the Southern border because of all the drug stuff. I haven’t offered my services for that assignment yet, and hopefully they won’t start picking at random. I always tend to get picked for stuff that I don’t want to do. I’ve been brushing up on more Immigration law to boost my chances at becoming an instructor. It takes up a good bit of my free time, but hopefully it will be worth it in the long run. I’ll have to start putting my $.02 more often so people don’t forget about me.
I was trying to pull up Jesse’s green eggs and ham on youtube, but the site isn’t playing well with others this evening.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
11:23 pm
“Jenifer – I am disappointed cause when I read that post I was with those thoughts too but I also thought you authored them. If you can’t see why that might matter, well…..”
Mick, they were my thoughts as well, that’s why I posted them.
md
February 25th, 2010
11:24 pm
Mick,
If thats the secret, might want to keep it to yourself or you’ll suddenly be overrun by folks from jersey
.
I left the atl awhile back when it kept getting bigger and more congested. Found a nice place (not telling) that actually has a much better (for me) quality of life. Sitting in a car 2-4 hours a day just getting to work was no longer an option. I never thought I’d leave atl, but now wonder what took me so long.
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
11:24 pm
“since Fl has no state income tax.”
Well, I guess that might even things out if I was pulling down YOUR bucks, md. I’m a licensed doc, but non-md.
BTW, J A Solar jumped up .30 to get back above $5.00 today. Made me feel a little better. That First Solar stock has taken a huge beating lately, though. They’re the company that the Chinese government is backing directly.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
11:25 pm
“The sad part is she doesn’t get it, or seem to care, oh well.
OH MY GOD!
Jenifer posted something and didn’t acknowledge credit to someone else!
The sadness is ALMOST UNBEARABLE!
WOE IS ME!”
Exactly. The crybabies do this all the time, but won’t admit it.
Mick
February 25th, 2010
11:27 pm
Jenifer – How hard would it have been to say sorry? I think RW was pretty cool the way he brought it to our attention. I guess I’m just old school and will be till I’m extinct. Case closed.
md
February 25th, 2010
11:28 pm
Nice to know my drama is minor compared to the drama king.
Kamchak
February 25th, 2010
11:28 pm
For every economist who still believes in Keynesian economic theory/policy, I can show you one who disagrees.
It’s painfully obvious that you didn’t get or read what Galbraith was talking about. Bruce Bartlett is a supply-sider who wrote a book looking at the history of Keynes from the supply-side point of view.
Geez.
RW-(the original)
February 25th, 2010
11:28 pm
SoCo,
Lot’s of people in the agencies I work with have been running A.M. duties even though most of them are more qualified to spot an oak fungus so I was kind of hoping they were sending someone like you, that I trust to know what they’re doing, on these assignments.
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
11:30 pm
“Jenifer – How hard would it have been to say sorry? I think RW was pretty cool the way he brought it to our attention. I guess I’m just old school and will be till I’m extinct. Case closed.”
Why would I say I’m sorry? I’m not. As I said before, if I find words that express my feelings, I will post them. Grow up, Mick.
Mick
February 25th, 2010
11:31 pm
md
Have a place in melbourne (space coast) great town. Jersey people grumble and threaten to move all the time but never get around to it, thankfully.
Southern Comfort
February 25th, 2010
11:32 pm
RW
They called up a few of ours too. I don’t know how long it will go on, but I put my name on that list. Haven’t heard the outcome yet.
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
11:32 pm
“Here is the secret of living in miami – don’t! Live on miami beach and RENT. You can get unbelieveable deals for under $1000. No property tax, no insurance, its a renters dream. Plus it full of young, vibrant people who speak english.”
And I keep wondering if the topless beaches full of models would ever get “old”. What say you, Mick?
I had a great time hanging in SoBe in 2008 while on hiatus from work. I hooked up with a Dominican girl that I met online. Quite an experience to say the least…..
Mick
February 25th, 2010
11:33 pm
**Grow up, Mick**
really?
md
February 25th, 2010
11:33 pm
“Well, I guess that might even things out if I was pulling down YOUR bucks, md.”
Careful with assumptions, you know the saying.
Self made middle class through and through, and like Mick still appreciate the smaller things in life ( that our newer generations seem to have never learned)
Jenifer
February 25th, 2010
11:35 pm
“**Grow up, Mick**
really?”
Really.
Bruno
February 25th, 2010
11:36 pm
Here’s a musical tribute to Jenifer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2e4NlnLr28
Mick
February 25th, 2010
11:37 pm
Bruno
I love miami beach, been going there since high school. Back then it was populated by old retired paeople from up north. Today, it seems perpetually youthful. Still swim in the ocean until I hear the jaws music then I know its time to get out.
Mick
February 25th, 2010
11:38 pm
Jenifer – OK if you say so…