Quote: (08-12-2012 05:00 PM)Brian Wrote:
Look CEO, here's the deal - the US has a major problem. We're spending about 3.5T and taking in about 2T, give or take a few hundrew billion. Eventually the whole Ponzi scheme is going to collapse.
The alternative to collapse is to increase revenue by increasing taxes. I can't say it's a solution to get excited over, but it works. What some of you people don't understand is that these two wars have a real price tag that exceeds the cost of WW2. In WW2 the people in the top income bracket were paying 94% in taxes, in addition the federal government sold a shit load of war bonds, and they still had to run a deficit.
Quote: (08-12-2012 05:00 PM)Brian Wrote:
Ask Greece how thats working out for them, or Spain, where unemployment is 25% and youth ununemployment is 50%. In order to stop a complete all out collapse you're going to have to take away the punchbowl.
What about the social collapse that comes as a result of telling millions of people they have to fend for themselves? I realize that you buy into the myth of the welfare queen, but the majority of people who have sought out public assistance in recent years are people who do work hard, but can't find work. Many of them aren't bottom feeders from urban ghettos. Many are educated and possess legitimate work skills and experience, but they simply can't find a job. If you tell enough people to fend for themselves, they will. They'll survive by taking what they need from you, and there won't be enough cops to protect you.
Quote: (08-12-2012 05:00 PM)Brian Wrote:
Maybe Granny doesnt get that extra 6 months of life, but if it saves $1M of medical costs we dont have so be it.
This is a legitimate issue. But a broken clock is right twice a day.
Quote: (08-12-2012 05:00 PM)Brian Wrote:
But its pretty obvious the path we're on is completely unsustainable, and the idiot in charge has done nothing to change it.
Actually he's made many proposals to try to change things, but in case you missed the part in high school civics class about checks and balances, the president needs congressional approval to implement any significant policies. During the first two years of his term, the obstructionists made frequent use of the filibuster to prevent any action from being taken, and in the past two years the republicans have killed every idea outright in the House.
Quote: (08-12-2012 05:00 PM)Brian Wrote:
If you think a community organizer and substitute law professor is a better option to fix this mess then a guy who has had an incredible amount of success turning around companies in trouble its your choice to vote for whomever you want, but I can pretty much guarantee you its not going to end well.
Name 5 companies that Romney saved that didn't involve massive layoffs and/or outsourcing.
Quote: (08-12-2012 05:00 PM)Brian Wrote:
And if you think Ryan is an extremist because he is the only one who actually came up with an idea, while Obama has spent the last flying around to fundraisers and playing golf, well everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Ryan's plan: cut all social spending, raise taxes on everyone but the rich, lower taxes for the rich. Brilliant plan there. The same tried and true republican bullshit they've been pushing for decades now. It perpetuates the silly myth of trickle down economics. Guess what? It doesn't work. It's never worked. It will never work. For years the republicans have demanded tax cuts and claimed they will promote job growth. And every time taxes have been lowered no jobs have appeared. And every time, they say the same shit "it's because they weren't lowered enough." It's bullshit. The only time in the past 30 years or so where we had any significant job creation was during the late 90s. Care to guess why? Maybe it had something to do with the fact that income taxes were increased during the early 90s? I don't want to imply causality, but there might be a connection.
Quote: (08-12-2012 05:00 PM)Brian Wrote:
How come the Senate cant even pass a budget in the last 3 years?
As I said before, it's called the filibuster. Republicans in the senate made it abundantly clear that their only objective was to obstruct anything from the democrats, and to make Obama a one term president.
Quote: (08-12-2012 05:00 PM)Brian Wrote:
Is that Bushes fault?
He certainly didn't help the situation by charging off into 2 wars without planning a way to pay for them.
Quote: (08-12-2012 05:00 PM)Brian Wrote:
Are they racist?
If you're talking about republicans, yes, many of them are. If they weren't, more of them would speak out against the birther bullshit.
Quote: (08-12-2012 05:00 PM)Brian Wrote:
Or are they just incompetent?
Again, if we're speaking of republicans, I wouldn't call them incompetent. They're doing exactly what they set out to do.