Talk Politics

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Comment by greg delany on January 26, 2011 at 2:43pm

Way to go CTYANKEE,

 

Keep preaching!!! I never thought the Berlin wall would come down in my lifetime, but it did and I was there to hammer off my pieces of it. Keep telling the truth, so maybe Mike will understand what it is one day too. lol
The Germans are also limited to the size and strength of their military after WWII and we rebuilt the infrastructure after the war to set them on a foundation to succeed. Japan was taken care of too for that matter. It is easy for them to focus all their energy on industry when they have someone else watching over them to protect them. We are rarely thanked for our efforts to boot.

Comment by ctyankee on January 26, 2011 at 1:45pm

Hi Mike,

 

Gulp?!  The welfare programs are at the heart of the problem -- the reason you're confused is because Uncle Sam categorizes them as "non-discretionary" and takes them "off-book".

 

The *real* federal budget is like "Dark Matter & Dark Energy" in our observable universe -- the stuff we see, the observable part of the universe; stars, planets, galaxies, is something like 4% of the total.

 

Remember Uncle Sam applies great effort to keep the people in the dark about how much money it takes in.  >12% of all wages go straight into the Social Security "lack-of-trust fund" -- which is broke.  Medicare takes in another slice.  And FICA -- even if you get a "refund", can be 1/4 to 1/3 of wages.

 

Then there is corporate taxes -- 38% of every dollar companies make in profits -- taxed away.  Excise taxes, fuel taxes, import taxes, licensing fees, etc, etc, etc...  The government is rolling in dough -- but they squander it!

 

Last summer we stopped at Mt Rushmore on the way to my son's assignment at Bangor WA.  It was a weekday and the park was *packed* $10/car and a not inconsequential lot and plenty of traffic flow.  The park was taking in tens of thousands of dollars per day -- something any business would be happy to do.  I bet the National Parks balance sheet shows Rushmore as a money loser...  Why would I think that?  Would you disagree with me?

 

Sorry for the long post, it's not just the welfare programs, it's not just the parks, it's not just the DoX "Dept. of Anything"; it's the Department of Everything that is rotten to the core.

 

As for fighting wars -- we are fighting wars we shouldn't be engaged in.  Long argument, many topics, another time.

 

As for Germany, there are some things to be said for their system.  How about that it's the size of New England + New York.  There are certain advantages to being "compact".  What about that they have not been tasked with keeping the world safe & fed since 1945?  Sure there are differences.

 

We *must* face the harsh reality that the gravy-train is going to stop.  It is inevitable --  we can delay it, we can bury our heads in the sand, we can deny the evidence, and we can obligate our unborn descendants to a hellish future... Or we can take responsibility, we can bear the pain, we can make the hard decisions.  Perhaps we can even *learn* that government is not, was not, will never be, the solution to happiness...

Comment by greg delany on January 26, 2011 at 12:11pm

German Economy

The Germans proudly label their economy a "soziale Marktwirtschaft ," or "social market economy," to show that the system as it has developed after World War II has both a material and a social--or human--dimension. They stress the importance of the term "market" because after the Nazi experience they wanted an economy free of state intervention and domination. The only state role in the new West German economy was to protect the competitive environment from monopolistic or oligopolistic tendencies--including its own. The term "social" is stressed because West Germans wanted an economy that would not only help the wealthy but also care for the workers and others who might not prove able to cope with the strenuous competitive demands of a market economy. The term "social" was chosen rather than "socialist" to distinguish their system from those in which the state claimed the right to direct the economy or to intervene in it.

Hey Mike even the Germans understand when the State gets involved things go wrong. Their economy is driven by the "so called rich " industries and not by Government social investments. It is the Reagan trickle down theory in practice! We would love to let the American market place fill the needs of our oun people and get the Government out of the way. The regulations and taxes are only hinderances.

Comment by Mike Stark on January 26, 2011 at 11:53am

@CTyankee -- so the answer is to fight wars without paying for them? The welfare programs, whatever their effectiveness, are not a major part of the deficit. Tax cuts from 2000 levels, medicare and the wars (along with the increase in the base defense budget) are the main reasons.

 

My question is, why does a country with a quarter our population out export us not only per capita but in absolute terms, and recover all the jobs lost in 2008? I of course mean Germany. Maybe we should look at how Germany runs their economy and copy what is working for them. We'd better do something different now, or we'll be looking to Brazil as a good example pretty soon.

Comment by ctyankee on January 26, 2011 at 11:47am

"Only five?" :^)

 

HOOYAH Greg! -- You beat me to it!

Comment by greg delany on January 26, 2011 at 10:29am

Only 5 reasons?

Comment by greg delany on January 24, 2011 at 10:52pm

Amen CTYANKEE!!!!

teach a man to fish instead of giving him a fish every day and we all learn to feed ourselves......

 

There is no such thing as a constitutional right to any free service from our government. Just the right to "freedom from government" to go for it ourselves.

Comment by ctyankee on January 24, 2011 at 5:32pm

Sorry Mike,

 

Tax increases won't help.  Never have, never will! 

Government needs to get out of the "sugar-daddy" practice.

 

If government *STOPPED* playing cash-cow then private industry *would* step up to fill the void -- *IF* there is profit to be made.

 

If the private sector *doesn't* step up to fill a "perceived need" then that "need" isn't a bona fide need -- that's to say if no one is willing to pay for it, then it's a *want* not a *need*.

Comment by Mike Stark on January 24, 2011 at 4:43pm

To be really serious about debt will require cuts to medicare and the defense budget, plus some tax increases. And it will hurt.

I don't think simply saying "no more" does it; you have to budget accordingly.

Comment by Mike Stark on January 24, 2011 at 2:47pm

Maybe doing something real to address deficit like the UK is doing might be a better idea than handing over the keys to global finance to the Chinese.

 

Your second issue will endlessly be debated by constitutional scholars -- how much we are a representative republic and how much a direct democracy. In the former, part of what representatives are supposed to do is be the adult in the room until mobs get over dumbass ideas. OTOH, the 71% who want to keep the debt ceiling as is are focusing on a real problem, even if carrying out their will would cause disaster. Which is why Congress should focus on non-disastrous ways of dealing with the deficit.

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