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time to start banning gas stoves to prevent our youth from dropping on the courts!!!!
in other news, healthy young athletic lineman dies after using stove to cook lunch before classes:
alternative headline: healthy young athletic lineman dies after a blow to the chest, while brushing his teeth, at a critical time during the cycle of a heartbeat.
This is practically a Ron Paul quote, I love that man.
In all seriousness, consider this:
The US government has demonstrated time and time again that it has an apparently limitless capacity and willingness to print money and to accrue debt.
In 2020 alone, the Fed created $3.8 trillion in new money. That was with a Republican-controlled senate and a Republican President.
$3.8 trillion is nearly the entire federal budget for 2019.
It's also been running a net deficit of at least a trillion dollars per year for the past two decades.
Given this, how is it even justifiable to collect any taxes at all anymore? Why bother collecting any revenue from the people, when you can just keep increasing the debt ceiling (or, more recently, arguing that it should be eliminated entirely) and devaluing the currency by doubling its supply every few years?
Is it just historical inertia? We've been paying taxes for so long that we can't fathom not paying taxes?
Is it because taxation is a useful political tool, where leftists can pledge to make the wealthy pay more taxed, and the rightists can pledge to reduce everyone's taxes, despite the fact that neither of them actually has a plan for following through with those promises? And, if they somehow manage to do it, don't worry, the next administration will just pass a law striking down whatever the previous one did.
I'm just sick to death of hearing people claim that everything will be better if we all just vote for [color of party here]. Republican, Democrat, if there ever was a meaningful distinction between the two, there isn't anymore. Sure, the two parties want to infringe on our liberties in different ways, and embezzle our money via different intermediaries, but believing that there is any one single party which doesn't want to infringe on anyone's liberties, or steal anyone's money, is hopelessly delusional.
Originally Posted by Braineack
alternative headline: healthy young athletic lineman dies after a blow to the chest, while brushing his teeth, at a critical time during the cycle of a heartbeat.
The US government has demonstrated time and time again that it has an apparently limitless capacity and willingness to print money and to accrue debt.
In 2020 alone, the Fed created $3.8 trillion in new money. That was with a Republican-controlled senate and a Republican President.
$3.8 trillion is nearly the entire federal budget for 2019.
It's also been running a net deficit of at least a trillion dollars per year for the past two decades.
Given this, how is it even justifiable to collect any taxes at all anymore? Why bother collecting any revenue from the people, when you can just keep increasing the debt ceiling (or, more recently, arguing that it should be eliminated entirely) and devaluing the currency by doubling its supply every few years?
Is it just historical inertia? We've been paying taxes for so long that we can't fathom not paying taxes?
Is it because taxation is a useful political tool, where leftists can pledge to make the wealthy pay more taxed, and the rightists can pledge to reduce everyone's taxes, despite the fact that neither of them actually has a plan for following through with those promises? And, if they somehow manage to do it, don't worry, the next administration will just pass a law striking down whatever the previous one did.
I'm just sick to death of hearing people claim that everything will be better if we all just vote for [color of party here]. Republican, Democrat, if there ever was a meaningful distinction between the two, there isn't anymore. Sure, the two parties want to infringe on our liberties in different ways, and embezzle our money via different intermediaries, but believing that there is any one single party which doesn't want to infringe on anyone's liberties, or steal anyone's money, is hopelessly delusional.
So....the US Government should emulate FTX?
Put us back on the gold standard--or some facsimile of it--and then see what happens. And add a balanced budget amendment to at least slow down the blatant graft--it will always happen.
Put us back on the gold standard--or some facsimile of it--and then see what happens. And add a balanced budget amendment to at least slow down the blatant graft--it will always happen.
That'll never happen.
I mean, it could. But it won't. Congress has no incentive to do it, and a lot of incentive not to. This would be like asking a room full of six year olds to vote in favor of imposing a limit on the amount of ice cream which can be in the house at any given time.
You know how every few years there's a big media frenzy about the need to raise the debt ceiling? And how, right now, certain Democrats (including Warren) are politicizing the idea that the debt ceiling should be eliminated altogether?
The debt ceiling is like the credit limit on your credit card. Let's say that it's $20,000. Now, a responsible person wouldn't have $20,000 on a card to begin with, but if they did, then once they hit that limit, the bank would stop allowing the card to be used until they'd paid off a chunk of that balance.
Congress having the ability to raise the debt ceiling arbitrarily is like an individual consumer having the ability to raise the credit limit on their own card, once it's already maxed out.
In reality, no reasonable bank would permit that sort of thing. But in the case of Congress, it has that power.
So... just stop raising the debt ceiling. Now that Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House, they could do this. Just dig in and refuse to let it happen. And keep refusing, and do not concede. Let people see what will actually happen when the limit is reached.
The whole country isn't going to suddenly shut down, or instantly default on its debts. It would merely force the Congress and the Executive to actually pay attention to their spending for a change, and behave in a fiscally responsible manner. It's not that the government would lose the ability to spend money, it would merely lose the ability to spend MORE money than it has.
But it won't happen, because Congress doesn't have any incentive to make it happen.
I mean, it could. But it won't. Congress has no incentive to do it, and a lot of incentive not to. This would be like asking a room full of six year olds to vote in favor of imposing a limit on the amount of ice cream which can be in the house at any given time.
I am so sick of people who are famous for nothing except a name being in the news. Jeff Beck, one of the greatest guitarists of all time died, and that news is lost in the noise about a person who's only claim to fame is being born to famous parents.
01-11-2023, 11:29 AM
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