Reality therapy can be harsh for those with repressed memory
I know I’m not supposed to do this.
Modern economic history is now said to begin on Jan. 20, 2009, the day that Barack Obama took the oath of office as president, and nothing that occurred prior to that date is supposed to be mentioned in polite company. In fact, anybody who dares to look back more than 18 months is deemed guilty of “dredging up the past,” which has become a thought crime of the highest order.
Well, to hell with that.
From The Washington Post, Jan. 2, 2010:
“There has been zero net job creation since December 1999. No previous decade going back to the 1940s had job growth of less than 20 percent. Economic output rose at its slowest rate of any decade since the 1930s as well.
Middle-income households made less in 2008, when adjusted for inflation, than they did in 1999 — and the number is sure to have declined further during a difficult 2009. The Aughts were the first decade of falling median incomes since figures were first compiled in the 1960s.
And the net worth of American households — the value of their houses, retirement funds and other assets minus debts — has also declined when adjusted for inflation, compared with sharp gains in every previous decade since data were initially collected in the 1950s.”
I know that’s quite a shock to many of you. Bringing back such deeply repressed memories can be very, very traumatic. But I want you to gather yourself because we’re now at the important part. Try to remember: What was the primary economic strategy during that decade that we are now supposed to block from our memory banks and pretend never happened?
Two words, seven letters. The first word begins with T…
Who said “tax cuts?” Very good. I see it’s all coming back to you now.
And what is the GOP’s primary economic strategy for the next decade, their sole prescription for restoring lost jobs, income, hope and opportunity (all of which began disappearing Jan. 20, 2009)?
That’s right, more tax cuts. As John Boehner told us the other day, “We’ve seen over the last 30 years that lower marginal tax rates have led to a growing economy, more employment and more people paying taxes.”
Is that really what we’ve seen, class?
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437 comments Add your comment
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
10:13 am
Bosch: “Kennedy himself preached it. Tax cuts = job growth.”
Some people really don’t get relativity.”
Okay…So let’s go back to the tax rate his administration put in to place…77%.
Perhaps it was due to the fact that he thought 91% was too high at the time… did he lower them to 35%? He would have thought that absurd back in his time.
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:13 am
Normal – 10:07 – cue the “blame the unions” anthem
Bosch
July 28th, 2010
10:14 am
USinUK,
“do you not understand that there IS a bottom below which you should not cut at the risk of increasing deficits???”
You know I hate it when people speak for others, but I’m going out on a limb here and saying……no.
And um, make sure they are Ritz crackers? Kthx.
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:15 am
Bosch – be careful of going out on limbs … Normal still doesn’t want to talk about it …
Ritz crackers??? ooooo … aren’t WE fancy schmancy!
Doggone/GA
July 28th, 2010
10:17 am
“Ritz crackers??? ooooo … aren’t WE fancy schmancy!”
Only ELITESTS use RITZ crackers! Whatsamatter? Plain old soda cracker not good ‘nough for ya?
professional skeptic
July 28th, 2010
10:17 am
Jay,
The Swiss banking industry thinks your post is a bit one-sided and would appreciate it if you would also highlight the tremendously stimulative effects that US Tax Cuts have had on the Swiss banking industry.
@@
July 28th, 2010
10:17 am
Wellllllll, since my capacity to earn didn’t begin until the 80’s, I’m holding steady. My husband’s, having begun in the 70’s, brought into our relationship, some tough lessons that would serve to benefit our financial stability. What was that, you ask?
Never put off saving tomorrow, what you CAN save today. Never listen to a Democrat…they’ll have you jonesing on the jones’s…financial troubles to follow.
So let me get this straight….recessions and bubbles go hand in hand, and now we’re supposed to find solace in the government’s impending GREEN BUBBLE???
When it bursts, the stench will be unbearable ’cause it’s been sitting on the shelf for decades accumulating political gas.
Be the MASTER of your OWN destiny, people, ’cause nobody else cares….really.
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
10:18 am
TGT…and we had troops stationed in Japan and Germany as well… The Korean war? That was in the early 50’s!
bay of pigs??? You’re going to equate that with Iraq or Afghanistan????
Also…the Cold War was simply part of our Military Industrial Complex which allowed us to spend MASSIVE amounts of our tax dollars on defense spending…but we were NOT sending troops around the globe to combat the Soviets and Communism… well at least not until Vietnam… and STILL what did Nixon lower the tax rate to when he was in office? 70%…NOT 35 %
Come on…you can do better…i know you can…
mm
July 28th, 2010
10:19 am
This just exposes the GOP as liars and their supporters as gullible morons.
Facts beat lies every time, unless you are a gullible moron.
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
10:20 am
@@ said: “Be the MASTER of your OWN destiny”
Oops…for a second I thought you said “be the master of your own domain”… and George Constanza popped into my mind.
Dave R.
July 28th, 2010
10:22 am
“You’ll have to agree…it makes for a pretty strong argument.”
Only if you’re in the 2nd grade math class, Saul. Again, you hide behind raw statistics as if they are some weird sort of talisman that can protect you from harm. Do you not think that (as I’ve said many times before) that the climate surrounding the end of WWII had a bit to do with it? Americans were CONFIDENT. They had just defeated what was probably the biggest threat to world peace ever, they had a war hero for a President, followed by another, younger and more energetic (seemingly, though we know now that wasn’t the truth) one who cut their taxes. People trusted their government to at least try to do the right thing.
Those days are over. We don’t have anyone out there to inspire us, we have a President who relishes in talking us down to the world. When he looks forward, he doesn’t look forward to individuals achieving greatness, he looks forward to government managing that greatness to reasonable levels so that they don’t become too big to fail.
Different times, Saul. The details behind the raw statistics that make all the difference.
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:22 am
Saul Good – King of the Castle?
ncgreybr
July 28th, 2010
10:22 am
Bushies blamed Clinton for 8 years for anything and everything. It rained on Wednesday? It was Clinton’s fault! Hillary probably did it!
But…don’t blame Bush for anything! NOTHING that happened for 8 years was Bush’s fault!
Same for Carter…Republicans are still blaming him for things happening today!
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:25 am
so much for the NRB ban …
Bosch
July 28th, 2010
10:26 am
USinUK,
Won’t dad be back at 11?
obama's fault
July 28th, 2010
10:27 am
Hmmmm….wonder what that number would have been if the Dems didn’t take control of Congress in 2006. Wonder what that number would have been if Frank, Dodd, and Clinton didn’t push through legislation that created a huge bubble in our housing market.
Jay, you say that Cons are wrong for getting on anybody who blames things on the past admin. The problem is that the Libs are still not taking ownership for even their legislation recently passed, much less the stuff they pushed through in the past. Can you please do us all a favor and tell us when this admin and this Congress actually assumes responsibility for their actions? Just give us a date. Nobody has done that yet and I think it would really bring closure on this issue if somebody would finally say “From this point forward, we are accountable our policies and are willing to accept the consequences, both good and bad, for our actions.”
I thought Obama campaigned that he would bring hope and change. He said he would bring change and that is what his voters believed he would do. I haven’t seen the change. Have you? No, its the same BS politics, same blame the other party, the same lack of transparency, the same lying, the same lack of accountability or responsibility. Even when he tries to accept responsibility, he manages to blame somebody else and for the most part, it is conservatives and the previous administration. People voted for him because he said he would solve it all. We are still waiting. But hey, at least he solved the problem on what non-allergenic dog he should buy for his kids in 6 months, which is a lot more time he spent on real issues affecting this country.
John Birch
July 28th, 2010
10:28 am
Saul – Get off the 91% and 70% nonsense. You do realize that although those were the max marginal rates nobody actually paid that much don’t you? There were tons of tax dodges available to anyone making that much money. Look at total federal, state, and local tax revenues as a percentage of GDP for say 1964 compared to 2010 and you’ll see the government is getting twice what used to.
TGT
July 28th, 2010
10:28 am
You guys keep talking about top marginal rates as if you want a return to 77% or 91%! So if it was SOOO disasterous that those rates were cut and cut through the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, WHY DID WE HAVE CONTINUED JOB GROWTH???!!!
And what about that growth from 2003 to 2008?
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:28 am
Bosch – Dad better be packing some SERIOUS disinfectant.
I nearly forgot to tell you – the mister and I tried to watch the 2-hours Battlestar Galactica teevee movie on Sunday (supposedly told from the cylon perspective) … we’re going to give the series a try.
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:29 am
“There were tons of tax dodges available to anyone making that much money”
as opposed to now.
TaxPayer
July 28th, 2010
10:30 am
Saul,
Cook your statistics, like the conservatives of the Republican faith do.
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:31 am
“You guys keep talking about top marginal rates as if you want a return to 77% or 91%!”
yeah. that’s EXACTLY what we’re advocating.
oy.
Outhouse GoKart
July 28th, 2010
10:32 am
@@ is correct…ignore the foul weather forecasters and do YOUR thing, not theirs.
A penny saved is a penny earned.
Penny wise pound foolish.
In for a penny in for a pound.
Find a penny pick it up.
Henny Penny the sky is falling.
Pinching Penny.
Like a bad Penny it keeps coming back.
The Penny Arcade.
Normal
July 28th, 2010
10:32 am
“You delusionists should be institutionalized…”
AmVet…but…but…but, that would be socialism…
John Birch
July 28th, 2010
10:33 am
We ended our last real prosperity, that of the 50’s and 60’s, by steadily outsourcing manufacturing for the last 50 years. We compensated for that with voodoo economics, personal and government deficit spending. Now that bubble is about to burst and we’re going to be left with a very mediocre economy and lower standards fo living for all but the very rich. Tax cuts, or increases, really has very little to do with the overall health of our economy.
TGT
July 28th, 2010
10:34 am
I’m enjoying this trip down memory lane. Thanks Jay!
Gammer
July 28th, 2010
10:34 am
Everytime one of these is posted, I can’t help but laugh. Please enjoy. H/T Prof. Reynolds.
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/?s=they+told+me+if+i+voted
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:34 am
TGT – “And what about that growth from 2003 to 2008?”
you mean the job growth that was driven by the housing industry?? and the housing industry that was built on leverage??
that bubbly job growth?
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:36 am
yep. nrb was banned because he’s “not liberal”
oy.
obama's fault
July 28th, 2010
10:36 am
Also Jay, In looking quickly at past tax rates and comparing them with the chart you showed, you see that since the 60’s the overall tax rates have pretty much gone down over time and guess what, our job growth continued to go up. This data that you presented showing one decade, is pretty much garbage. It is not conclusive in any way.
TGT
July 28th, 2010
10:37 am
Let me add: I’m not so naive to believe that simply shouting (or enacting) “tax cuts” is the answer to all of our economic woes. But neither is a tax increase as simple as an individual with financial struggles getting a higher paying job to increase his/her revenue.
Scout
July 28th, 2010
10:37 am
Lord Help Us:
Quit spending like a maniac !
Scout
July 28th, 2010
10:38 am
BADA BING:
“Re-Po” LOL !!!
Scout
July 28th, 2010
10:38 am
Obama ……….. the David Blaine of Presidents.
Scout
July 28th, 2010
10:39 am
Jay and libs., et al:
Were any of you Boy Scouts ?
pat
July 28th, 2010
10:40 am
The miserable economic track record is, in part, a quirk of timing. The 1990s ended near the top of a stock market and investment bubble. Three months after champagne corks popped to celebrate the dawn of the year 2000, the market turned south, a recession soon following. The decade finished near the trough of a severe recession.
But beyond these dramatic ups and downs lies an even more sobering reality: long-term economic stagnation. The trillions of dollars that poured into housing investment and consumer spending in the first part of the decade distorted economic activity.
Capital was funneled to build mini-mansions in Sun Belt suburbs, many of which now sit empty, rather than toward industrial machines or other business investment that might generate economic output and jobs for years to come.
“The problem is that we mismanaged the macroeconomy, and that got us in big trouble,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. “The big bad thing that happened was that, in the U.S. and parts of Europe, we let housing bubbles get out of control. That came back to haunt us big-time.”
The housing bubble both caused, and was enabled by, a boom in indebtedness. Total household debt rose 117 percent from 1999 to its peak in early 2008, according to Federal Reserve data, as Americans borrowed to buy ever more expensive homes and to support consumption more generally.
Tax cuts had zero to do with the bubble based economy. It was bad lending and inesting practices. Mostly it was people biting off more than they can chew.
If you make $50,000 you cannot afford a $300,000 house that is actually worth $160,000.
Bubbles don’t happen if consumers don’t make stupid decisions.
There’s reality…Choke on it.
Lord Help Us
July 28th, 2010
10:40 am
Scout, ‘Quit spending like a maniac !’
Which programs would you cut/reduce and how much would that save?
jewcowboy
July 28th, 2010
10:41 am
but but…corporate profits are up…doesn’t that mean everyone is raking in tons of money from their stock portfolio’s…who needs to work?
Wait…you mean some people don’t have stock in Dow and Caterpillar? They use the money they make to put food on the table rather than invest in Berkshire Hathaway? Pathetic losers…let ‘em starve to death if they aren’t strong or smart enough or have been born with connections on Wall Street.
jconservative
July 28th, 2010
10:41 am
To further muddy the waters:
The 20% job creation in the 1980’s and the 1990’s was accomplished after a Reagan tax cut, a Reagan tax increase on Social Security, 5 Reagan tax increases on corporate profits, the Bush 41 1990 tax increase and the Clinton 1993 tax increase.
In the 2000’s we only had a tax cuts and job growth fell off the table.
In the first two years of Obama we have only had a tax cuts. And job creation is still off the table.
The death of the Bush 43 tax cuts is pending. Will that passing be accompanied by an increase in jobs in 2012? Just asking.
Scout
July 28th, 2010
10:43 am
You know ………. sometimes there is justice in this world. Just think about this:
Every time Miss Hillary sends Chelsea a Christmas card, birthday card, anniversary, “whatever”, she is going to be reminded of “insky” (Marc Mezv”insky”/Monica Lew”insky”) and Bill will catch it all over again ………………
(That is unless she plays the women’s lib. card and doesn’t take his name)
TaxPayer
July 28th, 2010
10:43 am
Why isn’t “NRB” up to “NRB9″ yet? Of course, I am assuming that he operates on base10.
Outhouse GoKart
July 28th, 2010
10:43 am
I was a Cub Scout…
Obama hates the Boy Scouts of America but I bet if the name was Muslim Scouts of America he would be in attendance.
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:43 am
JCB – “but but…corporate profits are up…doesn’t that mean everyone is raking in tons of money from their stock portfolio’s…who needs to work?”
more like “doesn’t that mean corporations want to increase hiring because we live in a consumer-based economy, so the better the employment rate, the stronger the demand for their goods” …
Paulo977
July 28th, 2010
10:43 am
USinUK
re: 9:46am ..well I guess the NBER must be a fairy tale to him!!
obama's fault
July 28th, 2010
10:44 am
US in UK
“you mean the job growth that was driven by the housing industry?? and the housing industry that was built on leverage?? that bubbly job growth?’
And how did that bubbly job growth start? Well, with Frank, Dodd, and Clinton deciding that everybody must have a house.
Lord Help Us
July 28th, 2010
10:44 am
NRB3, ‘Social security, medicare/medicaid, foreign aid, end the two wars, pull out all military bases around the world, save ohhhhhh I don’t know 50-60% of the spending?’
Which candidates support your position? Why?
Scout
July 28th, 2010
10:45 am
Lord Help Us:
I would bring in the experts and believe me we would find it.
First to go would be the Deparment of Education. That is a state matter/function.
Lil Sasha
July 28th, 2010
10:45 am
Daddy why do you hate the Boy Scouts?
Lil Sasha
July 28th, 2010
10:46 am
Daddy are you and Whoopi Goldberg making a love child?
Normal
July 28th, 2010
10:47 am
Do you not understand that the criminal child-molestors in Washington need to (gasp!) spend less?
When I see that kind of statement Jason Vorhees pops into my head…
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
10:47 am
Taxpayer @ 10:30am :
“Saul,
Cook your statistics, like the conservatives of the Republican faith do.”
Statistics? Why look at them… basically all I heard/read above was EXACTLY that… more like excuses.
Yet still the scream that we need to cut taxes more. Gee…now THAT won’t increase our deficit will it? With taxes this low (since we STILL have those Bush Tax cuts in place…the very ones that have been in place since Obama took office)…I ask of them…WHY have they not created JOBS???? We STILL have the tax cuts. So…WHY are companies NOT hiring?
Feel free to explain. typical excuses welcome.
jewcowboy
July 28th, 2010
10:48 am
USinUK,
“so the better the employment rate, the stronger the demand for their goods” …”
Take a look at Harley-Davidson…motorcycles sales have tumbled…but they are raking in higher profits now..after slashing workers.
Balance Our Budget
July 28th, 2010
10:48 am
The Congressional Budget Office reports that during the first nine months of fiscal 2010 — which ends September 30 — the federal government spent $1 trillion more than it took in. That’s another $1 trillion added to a total national debt that stood at just over $13 trillion as of the Fourth of July.
Lord Help Us
July 28th, 2010
10:48 am
Scout, ‘First to go would be the Deparment of Education. That is a state matter/function.’
How much would that save?
‘I would bring in the experts and believe me we would find it.’
All you have is a commission of ‘experts’ and getting rid of the Dept of Ed…You got a long way to go, pal…
jewcowboy
July 28th, 2010
10:48 am
“Daddy why do you hate the Boy Scouts?”
Because their leaders are bigoted idiots.
Fly-On-The-Wall
July 28th, 2010
10:49 am
AmVet @ 9:27 – Amen brother!
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:49 am
“And how did that bubbly job growth start? Well, with Frank, Dodd, and Clinton deciding that everybody must have a house”
ohsweetjeebus.
Ronald Reagan did the same, saying home ownership “supplies stability and rootedness”
George HW Bush called for extending home ownership because it created better communities
George W Bush called for expanded minority home ownership to “spread the dream of home ownership”
you want to blame this entirely on Dems? not so much.
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
10:49 am
Otay Republicans…
Here’s what I propose…let’s DO AWAY with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Will cutting those “socialist” programs and all they cost us work for you? Think of all the SAVINGS and JOBS we would create by getting rid of those pesky Government “Socialist” programs.
Which of you will sign up first and pledge to do all you can to eliminate those programs?
jt
July 28th, 2010
10:51 am
A Federal thug showing up at your business to count the acceptable race/ratio does not show up in your little “tax” statistics. Nor does the government lawyer/person ratio.
Nor does how much BP had to grease Federal inspector personnel.
At one time, this was only for Banannna Republics. It’ the rule in this Obamanation.
You people need to bone up on Government bribery etiquette.
Lord Help Us
July 28th, 2010
10:52 am
‘Which is why we need more Tim McVeighs’
Cons…he’s one of you…proud?
HDB
July 28th, 2010
10:53 am
Dave R. July 28th, 2010
9:22 am
If you fully read Paul Ryan’s plan, only those in the top 1% get a break. Those in the lowest tax percentiles see an INCREASE of almost 35% in their rax burden….with an almost 70% reduction in social services! Such draconian cutrs were not even being considered by the Republican majority in Congress!!
Granted, there needs to be certain cuts…but there also needs to be a tax INCREASE. Please explain when the US has ever paid for wartime efforts without an tax increase prior to now!!!
TGT July 28th, 2010
10:28 am
And what about that growth from 2003 to 2008?
It wasn’t as pronounced as you’ve been led to believe! Ask those who were laid of as an effect of 9/11 if they have recovered yet!! Many that I know have yet to recover from the unemployment that created!! Certain segments of the populace LOST jobs during those “years of growth”……..
Fly-On-The-Wall
July 28th, 2010
10:54 am
NRB3 – your 10:38 comment was totally out of line, not out of character but definitely out of line.
josef nix
July 28th, 2010
10:54 am
Norm
@ 10:02
That’s the facts of the matter.
USinUK
Where’d you get that commodity cheese? Makes the best mac and cheese you ever put in your mouth! A delicacy for cooking purposes….
Several years back one of my neighbors came by with a modest-sized chunk. His sister in Texas was in an area that had been hit hard by a flood and the gubmint came in handing out the cheese. She had packed a block of it and sent it UPS to her brother here in Atlanta. He in turn had shared with his fellow connaisseurs..
.
Where's My Party?
July 28th, 2010
10:54 am
LOL…whatever makes you feel better about this incompetent and pathetic joke of a president we now have in office, have at it.
Fly-On-The-Wall
July 28th, 2010
10:56 am
NRB3 – you really need some professional help. Please get some soon before anyone gets hurt.
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
10:56 am
USinUK , (from your 10:49am post):
Which relates to: Obama’s Fault post from above your own:
Here’s one for ya:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/housing/2004-01-20-fha_x.htm
Posted 1/20/2004 1:31 AM
Bush seeks to increase minority homeownership
By Thomas A. Fogarty, USA TODAY
In a bid to boost minority homeownership, President Bush will ask Congress for authority to eliminate the down-payment requirement for Federal Housing Administration loans.
In announcing the plan Monday at a home builders show in Las Vegas, Federal Housing Commissioner John Weicher called the proposal the “most significant FHA initiative in more than a decade.” It would lead to 150,000 first-time owners annually, he said.
Nothing-down options are available on the private mortgage market, but, in general, they require the borrower to have pristine credit. Bush’s proposed change would extend the nothing-down option to borrowers with blemished credit.
The FHA isn’t a direct lender, but guarantees loan payments for mortgages on moderately priced owner-occupied property. The FHA guarantee now permits private lenders to finance as much as 97% of the purchase price of a home for millions of low- and middle-income borrowers.
In the proposal soon to be delivered to Congress, Bush would allow the FHA to guarantee loans for the full purchase price of the home, plus down-payment costs. As a practical matter, the FHA would guarantee mortgages as high as 103% of the value of the underlying property.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SO… it was BUSH who literally stomped his feet begging the FHA to do NO MONEY DOWN LOANS FOR AS MUCH AS 103% of the homes appraised value.
Still looking for WHOM to blame with the housing Bubble crashing? Try looking at the Bush administration. It’s a good start.
Scout
July 28th, 2010
10:57 am
Lord Help Us:
That’s o.k. “PAL”, I’d get ‘er dun !!
josef nix
July 28th, 2010
10:57 am
NRB
“Which is why we need more Tim McVeighs.”
Do you actually believe this or are you just trying to stir up sh*t?
Balance Our Budget
July 28th, 2010
10:57 am
Saul Good
Count me in.Throw the new Healthcare Plan on the scrap heap also.
Doggone/GA
July 28th, 2010
10:57 am
“let’s DO AWAY with Social Security”
but remember…if you do away with Social Security, you ALSO have to stop the SS deduction. That means lowering INCOME, not just expense.
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
10:58 am
NRB3….so based on what YOU said…we can do away with DEFENSE SPENDING as well (since the money belongs to US and NOT our Government)…right?
I agree! Let China protect us. I mean how many years have we “protected” everyone else on our nickle? (Well…I mean UNTIL we decided to invade Iraq that is)… yup…we “protected” many there….
getalife
July 28th, 2010
10:59 am
cons will never admit they are clinging to a failed ideology and will vote for it again knowing it destroys their country and causes a depression.
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
10:59 am
jonix – 10:54 – them froggy-frogs ain’t got NUTTIN’ on good ol’ US gummint chese!!
(actually, I always thought that was a myth – you say it realy exists??)
josef nix
July 28th, 2010
10:59 am
LHU
Calling NRB one of the cons because of that McVeigh comment is as over the line as the comment itself…
Doggone/GA
July 28th, 2010
11:00 am
FOTW – “Please get some soon before anyone gets hurt.”
Trust me on this, he’s been told that repeatedly. Just ignore him. Jay will take care of it when he gets back.
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
11:00 am
jo nix – 10:57 – it’s crap like that that got him banned …
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
11:00 am
OKAY…So we have Balance Our Budget aboard!!!!
Anyone else signing up to do away with those “socialist programs” I named above?
I’ll gladly add the new health plan into the equation… one just needs to swear off taking ANY Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid… simple…right?
HDB
July 28th, 2010
11:01 am
Scout July 28th, 2010
10:45 am
“First to go would be the Deparment of Education. That is a state matter/function.”
Not quite – it’s BOTH state and federal functions! Note of all of the federal monies that go to higher education…particularly in student grants and loans! What about the RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS that the government subsidized (like GT, UGA, MIT, Texas….).
There are areas in the government that can be eliminated:
1) Government procurement: Note the multiples for each area of government; merge into ONE department!
2) Eliminate no-bid contracts and cost overruns…particularly in military contracts
3) Close tax loopholes for corporations that take jobs offshore
4) Streamline the tax code…
That’s a beginning…..
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
11:01 am
Opps…lots of posts to catch up on….are we talking about “Reagan Cheese” now?
Cool!
jewcowboy
July 28th, 2010
11:02 am
I think NRB3 has some mommy issues to work through…
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
11:02 am
“Nor does the government lawyer/person ratio.”
wow. so you’re saying that the combination of the branch of government that WRITES the laws and the agencies that ENFORCE / ENACT the laws have a lot of LAWYERS working in them???
the hell you say!
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
11:03 am
USinUK : “Saul Good – King of the Castle?”
ABSOLUTELY!
Not that there’s anything WRONG with that.
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
11:03 am
“That is a state matter/function.”
yep. because North Dakota competes with China all by itself.
oy. oyoyoyoy. oy.
Lord Help Us
July 28th, 2010
11:04 am
Scout, ‘I’d get ‘er dun !!’
Dude, it’s ‘Git-R-Done!’
If you are going to quote one of my heroes, please do so accurately…
Also, your inability to articulate any ideas (other than the Dept. of Ed.) on how reduce the budget speaks volumes about the depth of your ideas…
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
11:04 am
Saul – that is probably one of the top 5 funniest sit-com episodes ever written. c-LASSIC.
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
11:05 am
Doggone: “but remember…if you do away with Social Security, you ALSO have to stop the SS deduction. That means lowering INCOME, not just expense.”
Shhhh!!! Please don’t try and confuse them… They don’t look at things that way…
Doggone/GA
July 28th, 2010
11:06 am
“Please don’t try and confuse them”
But it’s so much FUN!
Lord Help Us
July 28th, 2010
11:06 am
jn, ‘Calling NRB one of the cons because of that McVeigh comment is as over the line as the comment itself…’
Do you think he is ideologically conservative, moderate or liberal?
If the shoe fits…
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
11:07 am
USinUK… they ran the two “best of” episodes they created last night. usally I’d rather watch the shows in their entirety… but I have to say…I nearly PISSED myself watching.
BTW… where’s DAD? I mean it’s after 11am! Still cool to blast the music? And WHOSE going to clean up this mess????
Scout
July 28th, 2010
11:07 am
Lord Help Us: No, your just not going to take up all of my time this morning.
NRB: If you said that you are on very thin ice.
HDB: Fair Tax !
Scout
July 28th, 2010
11:07 am
excuse me ……… “you’re”
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
11:07 am
“But it’s so much FUN!”
Must be why we keep coming back for more!
josef nix
July 28th, 2010
11:08 am
USinUk
Didn’t you go to public schools and eat in the cafeteria? Before Food Stamps, those threatened with hunger were given a hand out of government surplus staples each month The cheese was about the only thing in them that was even palatable or usable, much less a delicacy, It was worth its weight in gold in the barter market with those who were not “eligible,” Finest families in town would take their more priviledged neighbors “over to the Welfare Office” to pick up their commodities and get some cheese in return for the lift! I kid you not…
Balance Our Budget
July 28th, 2010
11:09 am
Is Jeremiah Wright ideologically conservative,moderate or liberal?Just playing the game you started.
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
11:09 am
Saul – “BTW… where’s DAD? I mean it’s after 11am! Still cool to blast the music? And WHOSE going to clean up this mess????”
welp, I’m still blasting Everclear (Songs from an American Movie, pts 1&2) … I’ll pick up the beer bottles – you and Bosch get the ashtrays
Dave R.
July 28th, 2010
11:10 am
“WHY have they not created JOBS???? We STILL have the tax cuts. So…WHY are companies NOT hiring? ”
Saul, because there is no LEADERSHIP at the top.
And HDB, I’ve always been consistent about the need to raise taxes to balance this budget and get rid of the deficit, but like many I want to see the cuts FIRST, just to see that someone in Washington is addressing the real issue first and is serious about it.
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
11:10 am
josef and UK…
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/474287
(read the posts below where people talk about it).
josef nix
July 28th, 2010
11:11 am
LHU
I think he’s a piece of sh*t if he believes that and where he falls on the political spectrum outside the is not even at issue…
USinUK
July 28th, 2010
11:12 am
jo nix – “Didn’t you go to public schools and eat in the cafeteria?”
yep. and that’s why I still don’t eat lima beans – to this day, the smell of them makes me gag.
I remember seeing food stamps but I didn’t know about the surplus staples – VERY interesting!
Saul Good
July 28th, 2010
11:12 am
“welp, I’m still blasting Everclear (Songs from an American Movie, pts 1&2) … I’ll pick up the beer bottles – you and Bosch get the ashtrays”
it’s okay…Jay never notices the smoking… Just remember to fill his Gin and Vodka stash with water to the little line he made on them