Budget thread

[yclept]

I started this to redirect extraneous stuff from DI's thread, though I'm pretty much done with the topic myself. I'm deleting my last post there and transferring it here.

[yclept]

"Yclept, 90% of the people are too scared to leave their job for any reason but have the same opportunities to become the top 10% if they could only get through their fears of losing everything. I have always held great respect for those who have took the plunge and have still lost everything in trying and greater respect for those who picked them selves back up and tried again. This is why our Country is the best place to live in. We Never want to take that away, The Dreams that people have to make them succeed in life."


The great majority of the wealth concentrated in the top 10% is inherited, not earned, or gained through risk taking. I know, I know, throw up Bill Gates to counter me (though the majority of his wealth came through what should have been judged illegal monopoly, not risk-taking or managerial brilliance), and I'll throw back Paris Hilton. To say the inequality in this society is primarily based upon successful entrepreneurship is to drink the Kool-Aid. It is far too simplistic and ignores the inequalities of education and opportunity that exist. These situations are only getting worse with the continuing decline in our educational system.

There are far better measures of a country's success than simply money, among which are equitable distribution of wealth and opportunity. You have to scroll down to 114 on the linked table to find the US.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Planet_Index

And that's from 2009; you think it's improved since then? But we've got Zimbabwe beat by a lot, reckon there's some solace in that

[rovo]

Our President just announced a solution is near on the budget problem. Wonder how the market will react.

[tyfighter3]

Then there was Facebook. Education, I think they where in High School, Money, didn't take them to much to get started. Where are they at today? What does it really take to be successful. A good Ideal and the guts to put it to work. You can Always hire the Educated to help you run it because that's all that some of them want in life. Take a Dream, make it work and be successful and then have the government take it away from you to give to the ones that don't care because you where too successful doesn't cut it with me. JMO

[yclept]

Haven't seen the Obama statement. Probably just an attempt to spray oil on the waters.

I did stumble upon this from Bloomberg:
Yields on Spanish and Italian 10-year and Greek two-year bonds hit euro-era records yesterday. Spanish 10-year yields fell 15 basis points to 6.17 percent as of 11:09 a.m. in Rome, narrowing the spread over German bunds to 346 basis points. Greek two-year yields surged 113 basis points to 37.10 percent, while Italy’s 10-year bond yield dropped 23 basis points to 5.74 percent.

[yclept]

Personally I give Facebook another year or maybe two before it joins Myspace. I suspect that employers will soon have the ability to filter (or at least monitor) this garbage out of not only their employer-supplied computers and wireless devices, but also the wireless access to their workplace. "Use your smart phone for junk like this on company time -- hit the street. There are plenty of applicants out there to replace you!"
I use Twitter a little bit, though the 140 character limit is absolutely ridiculous.
These things are adding to the downfall of the economy as more and more people waste time that might otherwise be devoted to useful production of some good or service (and time for which some poor employer is often paying them). I can't think of a single thing about Facebook that adds to the GNP of the nation. It's a pure waste of time.

[yclept]

"Take a Dream, make it work and be successful and then have the government take it away from you to give to the ones that don't care because you where too successful doesn't cut it with me. JMO"

You are again neglecting the fact that the majority of the 80% of the wealth owned by the top 10% of the populace is inherited, not earned or the result of any entrepreneurial enterprise. Even of the "earned" new wealth, a large portion of it is by sports figures and entertainers whose efforts add nothing to the real GNP of the nation.

[tyfighter3]

I'd just as soon give my money to my Kids and let them squander it away as to give it to the government to squander that is if I where in the top 10%. or if I was in the 100%. The top 10% does have a lot of grants for education, they give a lot of it away to Charities and help with small buisenes grants and they do pay a lot of Taxes already. Thats not saying we should take a few of their loopholes away that they don't need.

[danshirley]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_state
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_capitalism
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_republic
:-)

also:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism

[yclept]

ilene.typepad.com/.a/6a010536583aff970b01538ff9556a970b-popup

Just a cartoon.

[Trongersoll]

Constantly raising the Debt Ceiling is like not having one.

[yclept]

Having a debt ceiling is a ridiculous, arbitrary, constraint to begin with. The time to exercise control over the budget is before the money is spent, not after. All the ceiling represents is notice to the world that we may not pay our debts -- that the "full faith and credit" of the United States is subject to after-the-fact arbitrary whims of a bunch of politicians who didn't do their jobs in the first place.

So, yes, you're right. We should eliminate the debt ceiling legislation which was enacted in 1917 as a measure by isolationists to try to limit the war bonds that could be sold. It has caused nothing but trouble ever since.

[danshirley]

www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/05/17/136363196/the-history-of-the-debt-ceiling
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt