The Current Events, News, and Politics Thread
07-13-2012, 09:46 PM
#2401
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You don't like Nancy or Grover's math, but your math seems to be 1 = 1. One job is just like another. One calorie is just like another. One wildly inefficient government worker who is not replaced when he retires is equal to the private sector employee who puts in 55-60 hours per week and actually produces something, grows a company and causes others to be hired.
1 public sector employee who is fired = 1 private sector employee who is fired
WHEN IT COMES TO EMPLOYMENT DATA CALCULATIONS.
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07-15-2012, 09:01 AM
#2405
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Here's another good read. This is what happens when the kids get the credit card, and why government needs less power.
Gonzalo Lira: A Beginner’s Guide to the European Debt Crisis
Gonzalo Lira: A Beginner’s Guide to the European Debt Crisis
ive had a CC since i was 15. I have nearly a perfect credit score today. I'm around 840 out of 850.
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07-15-2012, 02:27 PM
#2406
No need to work any more. Obama knocked out the work requirement from the Clinton-era welfare reforms--by executive fiat--so we can all just lay around and collect checks.
Obama to Clinton welfare reform: Drop dead - Right Turn - The Washington Post
Obama to Clinton welfare reform: Drop dead - Right Turn - The Washington Post
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07-15-2012, 05:23 PM
#2407
good news
I can't end the weekend without some good news...
BBC News - Shale will free US from oil imports, says ex-BP boss
BBC News - Shale will free US from oil imports, says ex-BP boss
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07-15-2012, 06:34 PM
#2408
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This story dovetails nicely with the Euro crisis. In other words, what would happen if our credit suddenly got really expensive--expensive enough that it caused a crash...
Moody
Moody
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07-16-2012, 02:36 PM
#2410
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eh. iirc those laws dont hold up very well, and iirc the supreme court has already ruled that if that ---- is done in public, you have all the rights in the world to film/record/flap to it.
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07-16-2012, 02:48 PM
#2411
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1. The cops can arrest the people doing the recording, take them down to the precinct and let them sit in jail for X number of hours, then decide not to prosecute - effectively ending the recording and inconveniencing the hell out of the person doing the recording without actually violating most current laws.
2. When police departments are hit with civil suits and groups when six or seven figure settlements, where does that money come from? Is "losing a big civil settlement for flagrant abuse of power" a line item submitted in each year's budget?
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07-16-2012, 02:50 PM
#2413
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whatever you do, dont read this:
EXCLUSIVE: NYC taxpayers may have to pay for private school for bullying victim - NYPOST.com
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07-16-2012, 03:37 PM
#2414
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Investing and Politics don't mix (insider trading not-withstanding)
I talk about this a lot but really enjoyed the visuals from a presentation by Barry Ritholz of The Big Picture.
In 2003, after a multi-year drop in the equity markets, Greenspan brought short-term interest rates down to 1% and Bush & Congress passed $1 trillion in tax cuts...
In 2003, after a multi-year drop in the equity markets, Greenspan brought short-term interest rates down to 1% and Bush & Congress passed $1 trillion in tax cuts...
[...] many of my Democrat friends on Wall Street - fund managers, traders and analysts - were highly critical of the tax cuts. At the time, I heard all the reasons why they were so bad: They were deficit-busters, unlikely to create jobs, giveaways to the wealthy.
Last edited by Braineack; 10-08-2019 at 09:48 AM.
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07-16-2012, 03:53 PM
#2416
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I totally baited you in to posting that. 
But then you have rates slashed, stimulus passed, accounting rules tweaked and lots of other accomodative practices implemented.
Fast-forward six years to the recent credit crisis. The S&P 500 had fallen 57.69 percent. By March 2009, op-eds in the Wall Street Journal blamed the crash on President Obama.
[...]
My GOP pals were lamenting the occupant of the White House. I heard things like "Obama is a Kenyan, a Muslim, a Socialist. He is going to kill business."
[...]
My GOP pals were lamenting the occupant of the White House. I heard things like "Obama is a Kenyan, a Muslim, a Socialist. He is going to kill business."
Last edited by Braineack; 10-08-2019 at 09:48 AM.
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07-17-2012, 09:49 AM
#2417
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Feeling a bit grumpy today.
".000063 percent -- 196 Americans -- have given more than 80 percent of the super-PAC money spent in the presidential elections so far." [Source unverified by me]
".000063 percent -- 196 Americans -- have given more than 80 percent of the super-PAC money spent in the presidential elections so far." [Source unverified by me]
Barry Ritholz writes
We see this throughout government, a product of even a debate that has been corrupted. The framework is not “How can me make government more effective, efficient, responsive?“ Instead, the debate has degenerated into “How can we get government out of the way? How can we make taxes lower?”
It's not that I want big government, I want effective regulations. It's not that I want to pay higher taxes, I want efficient government that can accomplish things. I don’t want to live in a corporatocracy, I want to live in a nation where there is a Rule of Law.
The only way to make this happen is to change the campaign finance laws. Without that, we are a plutocracy governed by lobbyists.
Hence: Its the bankers world, we just live in it . . .
We see this throughout government, a product of even a debate that has been corrupted. The framework is not “How can me make government more effective, efficient, responsive?“ Instead, the debate has degenerated into “How can we get government out of the way? How can we make taxes lower?”
It's not that I want big government, I want effective regulations. It's not that I want to pay higher taxes, I want efficient government that can accomplish things. I don’t want to live in a corporatocracy, I want to live in a nation where there is a Rule of Law.
The only way to make this happen is to change the campaign finance laws. Without that, we are a plutocracy governed by lobbyists.
Hence: Its the bankers world, we just live in it . . .
Last edited by Scrappy Jack; 07-17-2012 at 10:13 AM.
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07-17-2012, 10:03 AM
#2418
I was wondering about that last night (not the larger issue, just the fundraising). Romney was in town for a $50k per plate dinner. A friend tweeted a rather partisan comment about the dinner, so I looked it up, and sure enough, Obama's done his share of $40-50k per plate dinners as well. As I understand it, each ticket delivers the $2500 maximum individual donation, then the rest gets divvied up to the DNC or RNC and the to individual state party organizations as the donation limits allow. Of course, that money simply gets cycled back up through the system.
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07-17-2012, 10:19 AM
#2419
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Does it tie in with "lack of competition?" Can you have a "free market" when a small handful of people or groups have a disproportionate say?
Because picture thread (click for huge infographic):
[Bollocks. Apparently the site automatically shrinks it down to an unreadable level. Click here for full-size
Because picture thread (click for huge infographic):
[Bollocks. Apparently the site automatically shrinks it down to an unreadable level. Click here for full-size
Last edited by Braineack; 10-08-2019 at 09:48 AM.
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07-17-2012, 10:22 AM
#2420
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edit post and add the image again with [img] tags. It got resized when it was attached to our servers. if you do this it won't do it again, just dont erase the first.
or just give us the link.
or just give us the link.
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