Another help for those mortgages underwater.

[Texas Contrarian]

Originally Posted by WTF

Accounting tricks suck.

Welfare spending in the military is no different than welfare spending in the public sector. They are both spending OUR taxes. Draping one in the flag does not make it any more right than draping one in the name of charity.

I agree with you on those points.

I am a libertarian who believes that the military budget contains a lot of waste and pork. One of my best friends from high school spent 20 years in the Navy and Naval Reserves. He is a strong conservative (the old-fashioned kind) who believes in defending America as much as anyone I know. But he says that much of the stuff desired by the Pentagon was designed to fight the Soviet Union! He explained how pieces of many projects are spread across dozens and dozens of congressional districts, and representatives from just about everywhere (and armies of lobbyists!) all feed at the trough. He feels that if we did it the right way, we could reduce the defense budget by at least 25% without compromising capability and readiness.

But everything I've seen (both here and in the HPF) suggests that you have little objection to big spending in other areas. Do you believe that passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was a wise decision? If not, is that because it was too small, too large, or just poorly designed?

[Rudyard K]

Originally Posted by WTF

Accounting trick

http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm
The government practice of combining trust and federal funds began during the Vietnam War, thus making the human needs portion of the budget seem larger and the military portion smaller.

Yep, that's a sneaky trick. It occured about the same time as it was determined that Fed Gov borrowings from the trust fund were not to be counted as part of the defict. That's kind of like, if you are not going to count the debt (that is real debt to the trust fund) as borrowings, then we are going to require the reporting of the benefits as part of the Fed budget. Those sneaky accounting people. You wanted your cake and to eat it too.

[Rudyard K]

Originally Posted by WTF

Ok here goes, so RK don't get his panties in a wad.

I guess I just won my bet. Sadly, know one wanted the other side of the bet.

[Rudyard K]

Originally Posted by WTF

Is 10 minutes time enough?

I dunno. Did you wear out both wrists the last time?

[Marcus Aurelius]

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100407/...ge/us_no_taxes

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by WTF

Ok here goes, so RK don't get his panties in a wad.

PJ could you post what China's growth is over the last eight years. . .

Shall we assume their economic model ?

Its 9.5% -- a little less than Afghanistan and Kazakhstan. But then again, when you have such a low per capita GDP like China, its a lot easier to grow fast. Fast growth when you are 25% of the World's economy is a bit tougher. And just for the record, China adopted most of our economic model, not the other way around.

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by Marcus Aurelius

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100407/...ge/us_no_taxes

I didnt realize there were that many rich people not paying their fair share.

[Texas Contrarian]

Originally Posted by pjorourke

I didnt realize there were that many rich people not paying their fair share.

There you have it, P.J.

That's where all those rich tax-avoiders are hiding.

But the prez knows how to make 'em pony up. If it's too impolitic to hit 'em with an old-fashioned income tax, just smoke 'em out of their caves with a VAT!

[WTF]

Originally Posted by CaptainMidnight

But everything I've seen (both here and in the HPF) suggests that you have little objection to big spending in other areas. Do you believe that passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was a wise decision? If not, is that because it was too small, too large, or just poorly designed?

I do not care for either. Butttttttttttttt we have two choices as far as voting goes. Given that none of the above is an option , I vote on spending on our poor citizens rather than military. We spend more than the rest of the world combined in Defense. Were we to spend more than the rest of the world combined on education and health care I would probably vote the other way.

I might even join you right wing nuts for Tea! LOL

[WTF]

Originally Posted by Rudyard K

Yep, that's a sneaky trick. It occured about the same time as it was determined that Fed Gov borrowings from the trust fund were not to be counted as part of the defict. That's kind of like, if you are not going to count the debt (that is real debt to the trust fund) as borrowings, then we are going to require the reporting of the benefits as part of the Fed budget. Those sneaky accounting people. You wanted your cake and to eat it too.

You do understand that those sneaky Defense spenders took all that surplus from those trust funds and bought guns and things. Those social programs are fully funded if the Defense Department would pay off their IOU's.

Talk about eating all the God Damn cake....................and then bitching about having no desert. That is a Tea Party thingy. It is why I have a few problems with those fellers.

[Texas Contrarian]

Originally Posted by WTF

Given that none of the above is an option...

Yes, but voting Libertarian is an option! (Not that those guys are ever going to win more than a fraction of 1% of the vote, but at least you can register your dissatisfaction with our two dysfunctional major parties.)

By the way, WTF, didn't you say last year that you actually supported Ron Paul before getting intoxicated on all that Obama Kool-Aid?

[WTF]

Originally Posted by Rudyard K

I guess I just won my bet. Sadly, know one wanted the other side of the bet.

Well I could do as PJ did and argue that a mature economy will not grow as fast as a younger one.

We are much younger than the EU nations he referenced. China in the grand scheme of things just joined the party. He picks a time when we are insulated from half the world population as far as competition goes and we had bombed the fuc out of the other half. The half he chose.

What about Japan , PJ.

Ya'll do understand that we are saddled with this Defense spending that other countries do not have to tax for. Though that does give us , at least for awhile the rights to print money.

Looking foreward is much harder than looking backward. Like PJ said China looks pretty good even if PJ thinks they copied us....he fails to mentuion that they copied the good things and not the not so good things....like real Democracy.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by CaptainMidnight

Yes, but voting Libertarian is an option! (Not that those guys are ever going to win more than a fraction of 1% of the vote, but at least you can register your dissatisfaction with our two dysfunctional major parties.)

By the way, WTF, didn't you say last year that you actually supported Ron Paul before getting intoxicated on all that Obama Kool-Aid?

I said I voted for Ron Paul....so yes I pulled my SUV right in the middle of all those Bentley's and voted in the GOP primary. Voted for Obama over McCain. Would do the same again. Palin was a stupid pick.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by Marcus Aurelius

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100407/...ge/us_no_taxes

The flip side to that is that they payed a shit load in state and local taxes. It is called a regressive and progressive tax system.

To just mention one is not playing fair.

Damn, you righties are out in force today. Is there a Tea Party on Eccie today that I didn't read about!

[WTF]

Originally Posted by Rudyard K

I dunno. Did you wear out both wrists the last time?

LOL, I've never needed two hands!