SamuelRSmith said:
Bacon salt would really irritate cuts and graises. |
It also makes for a great bacon sammich. Mmm sammich. But what I was getting at was a phoenix scenario. New countries are made by the ashes of the fallen. Bacon salt = flavoring of new food (new countries)
About time I remember my password...
noname2200 said:
Granted that the national debt will pose a massive problem, but I see nothing about it that's not insurmountable. It's certainly been higher, both in relative and absolute terms (again, the 70's spring to mind). Note that under the Clinton Administration we were able to eliminate a national debt that was roughly on par with what we're now experiencing. Note also that we're currently spending tens of billions of dollars on Iraq: eliminating that revenue drain will prove to be a massive aid for combatting our national debt (although unfortunately the earliest that will happen is in mid-2009). No, the biggest problem we face does not have to do with energy (as you yourself addressed) or the national debt (not directly, anyways). Instead, our hurdle is the Baby Boomers, who are set to retire very, very soon in large numbers. Fortunately for us, we've been replenishing our population via immigration and the birth rate, so we won't be hit as hard as Japan or Europe in this regard. Unfortunately, politics being what it is, we're also committing massive amounts of resources towards the elderly already, and that commitment will only deepen as time goes on. In short, we have a political problem coming up very shortly. Fortunately, political problems can be fixed politically; tighten our belts appropriately, and the damage won't be overwhelming. I believe that the political capital required to do so won't show up for a few more years, unfortunately, but I do believe it will appear before the damage proves irreversible. |
You see that little dip in the 90's? That was how much of a difference Clinton was able to make. I blame politicians like Reagan (see the big jump for when he was president?) who would cut taxes until our country burned to the ground. Tax cuts will destroy this country's economy, you heard it here first.
We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers…Also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. –Raoul Duke
It is hard to shed anything but crocodile tears over White House speechwriter Patrick Buchanan's tragic analysis of the Nixon debacle. "It's like Sisyphus," he said. "We rolled the rock all the way up the mountain...and it rolled right back down on us...." Neither Sisyphus nor the commander of the Light Brigade nor Pat Buchanan had the time or any real inclination to question what they were doing...a martyr, to the bitter end, to a "flawed" cause and a narrow, atavistic concept of conservative politics that has done more damage to itself and the country in less than six years than its liberal enemies could have done in two or three decades. -Hunter S. Thompson
By the way, one question which I've been meaning to ask... Will all the bad credit given by Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac be added to USA's national debt? Will this get the debt off the charts?
My Mario Kart Wii friend code: 2707-1866-0957
| akuma587 said:
You see that little dip in the 90's? That was how much of a difference Clinton was able to make. I blame politicians like Reagan (see the big jump for when he was president?) who would cut taxes until our country burned to the ground. Tax cuts will destroy this country's economy, you heard it here first. |
Hmm, interesting. If your source is accurate, then it appears that I've been misinformed about the debt. Granted things aren't quite as lopsided as the chart shows. Half the debt is money that the government owes itself, mostly to the Social Security and Medicare programs, each of which can be "erased" with legislation, hence my earlier post, although again good luck finding the political capital to do so. Further, the debt's been higher in relation to GDP (i.e. our ability to actually pay it off) before, notably in the 30's, 40's, and 50's, so we have been through worse debt-wise.
Still, I won't deny that the figures you've brought to the table are impressive, and in a bad way. Call me an optimist, but I still think we can get through this if we're willing to, and that we will get through this in the end. But you are correct that the debt is quite a load to bear. For now, I'll stick to my view that things will be okay in the long-term, although there will be short-term suffering. I concede, however, that things are worse than I had first thought.
| SamuelRSmith said: It's a shame that people don't realise that governments have very little to do with these economic issues, and there's little they can do to improve things. It's called a free market for a reason, people. |
There is no such thing as a completely free market, if there was one it would be total hell.
In America the government has a large say in the electricity energy market, regulating power suppliers and prices. Some countries have even nationalized oil, I remember when I was in Egypt and all the cab drivers were complaining about gas prices (wanting me to pay more) when gas went up to around 50 cents a gallon.
| PDF said: You might find this graph interesting  |
This is EXACTLY what I am talking about.
We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers…Also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. –Raoul Duke
It is hard to shed anything but crocodile tears over White House speechwriter Patrick Buchanan's tragic analysis of the Nixon debacle. "It's like Sisyphus," he said. "We rolled the rock all the way up the mountain...and it rolled right back down on us...." Neither Sisyphus nor the commander of the Light Brigade nor Pat Buchanan had the time or any real inclination to question what they were doing...a martyr, to the bitter end, to a "flawed" cause and a narrow, atavistic concept of conservative politics that has done more damage to itself and the country in less than six years than its liberal enemies could have done in two or three decades. -Hunter S. Thompson
ManusJustus said:
There is no such thing as a completely free market, if there was one it would be total hell. In America the government has a large say in the electricity energy market, regulating power suppliers and prices. Some countries have even nationalized oil, I remember when I was in Egypt and all the cab drivers were complaining about gas prices (wanting me to pay more) when gas went up to around 50 cents a gallon. |
The govt can do a lot for economic issues: Taxes being one of them.
but the Federal Reserve is not part of the govt, it's a free enterprise and I believe America's trouble today is due to Fed. Reserve more than the govt.
Coca-Cola said:
The govt can do a lot for economic issues: Taxes being one of them. but the Federal Reserve is not part of the govt, it's a free enterprise and I believe America's trouble today is due to Fed. Reserve more than the govt.
|
Yes. I'm a declinist, too. I believe that American is going to be in a different role in 25 years. I hope they transition well, like GB did, and not like the French Revolution - which goes along with all my other posts recently about keeping the masses happy.
I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it.
Nah, the federal reserve is badass. They know way more about the economy than Congress, and if anyone's power over the economy should remain intact it is the Federal Reserve, not Congress.
We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers…Also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. –Raoul Duke
It is hard to shed anything but crocodile tears over White House speechwriter Patrick Buchanan's tragic analysis of the Nixon debacle. "It's like Sisyphus," he said. "We rolled the rock all the way up the mountain...and it rolled right back down on us...." Neither Sisyphus nor the commander of the Light Brigade nor Pat Buchanan had the time or any real inclination to question what they were doing...a martyr, to the bitter end, to a "flawed" cause and a narrow, atavistic concept of conservative politics that has done more damage to itself and the country in less than six years than its liberal enemies could have done in two or three decades. -Hunter S. Thompson
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