1 In before the kitteh!

2 Ace of Spades: Come for the Valu-Rite, stay for the natural, nuclear, and fiscal DOOOOOOOOM!

3 Boned!

4 In before the kitteh!

Yeah, where's the kitteh!?

5 I want Albany and NYC to fail asap.  Get it over with.  Get the smug public unions to do their tantrum and then STFU.

Slightly, slightly related:  I was down by the WTC yesterday to take the PATH trains to NJ.  The Freedom Tower. 1 WTC is approaching 40 stories.  I'm surprised you don't hear any news about this, but more important WHO WILL WANT TO WORK IN THIS BUILDING?  Not just the risk of another terrorist attack, but talk buildings are SO unnecessary and inefficient.  What company is going to want to rent space in this boondoggle--Boomdoggle?

6 Rods are melting.

7 Cheer up!  Comrade Obama and his crew of Commissars have another whole two years to finish wrecking the country.

8 And none of these kittehs with the smushed faces either.

9 Monty:

For non flat faced kittehs, google "sweet kitten" in images.

Although google does like their flat faced kittehs.

10

i saw a democrat on a sunday morning show that sounded kinda worried about getting the budget done this year because nothing would happen in 2012 because it is an election year.

i think it was a virginia democrat

11 I just can't do the cute kitty-cat picture any more. Just having to look those cat photos up in the Google makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth. lauraw wanted me to do it to ease the burn, but I'm all about the burn, dude.

12 It's okay, no need to worry. A very sweet, accomodating close relative by marriage, who is both generous and liberal to a fault, made some offhand comments that reminded me why politics go undiscussed between myself and some family. With some people, nothing will cause the veil to be lifted. First came the remark that public employees deserve every penny of their pensions and salary because they didn't go out in the world and choose to make tons of money like all the rest of us. Then came a comparison so bizarre it remains impervious to comprehension... "How many billions does Gaddafi need? How many billions does Bill Gates need?" Finally, a remark that revealed nothing short of walking to the bank to find it shuttered will get through to such people... "Anyway, maybe there really isn't any financial crisis, it's just the ultra-rich putting out a story so they can get more." All I could do was shrug. This person has an advanced degree in medicine.

13 Ain't the Age of Obama wonderful?

14 The nuclear plants that are having difficulties need power and clean water - why haven't we seen the Ronald Reagan showing up there?

15 Quality of life is often touted by the Dems and RINOs when they want to pay for bike paths, Community centers etc. These are nice things yes but does govt really need to pay for them all.

Well as built currently yes because every project is loaded with crap that is well beyond the  basic. some examples around me are. 

A park and ride lot with a large brick building  topped with a copper roof

A mostly empty community center with watersides and subsidized daycare.

There are plenty of private water parks around why am I paying for one?

16

So you're saying if I make 70k/year a year and spend 250k/year, that i shouldn't try to fix my problem by praying that i land a 250k/year job, but instead cut my spending back to 70k/year or even less?

 

interesting..

17 I would have rebuilt the Twin Towers if I had my way. On the opposite corners from the orginal two, one story higher each, reinforced as much as feasable, with non-melting steel (lol), nd topped off with a SAM battery. And yes, I would have an office on the top floor. I'm not into this "skyscrapers provoke Muslims" thing that some leftards have.

18 Kitteh pic (gigantic size).

19 This article explains in detail why even a robust economic recovery (much less the tepid one we're likely to get) won't actually solve any of the governmental buget problems, either federal or state. These problems are structural, not cyclical. They aren't going away, and can't be papered over with increased investment returns or higher tax revenues.

20 ll things funded by municipalities, and all things in dire danger of being cut unless the states and cities find some way to get their spending and debt under control.

You're fucking really, really stupid.

Unlike me, who lacks the capability to do anything but post the same shit over and over again. Shit I read somewhere else.

Hey, you know who has murdered a lot of religious people? Communists in Russia, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, and other places.

Yeah, I know. It's the cognitive dissonance that makes me so stupid-loony. It also explains why I enjoy putting lightly chilled fruit in my exhaust port.

21 Ok, no kitteh, I understand. We'll probably have to eat the kittehs eventually and oughtn't dwell on their cuteness. But what about the sprig of mint?

22 When people talk about "quality of life", they are in part referring their local environment. Roads, parks, police, civic centers, playgrounds, little league baseball, firefighters, schools...

But what about public employees' unions?  If they have to contribute to their own benefits packages, their lives will be RUINED.  Ruined, I tell you.

23 Drudge joins the bullshit fallout coming to Caliphornia chorus.

24 The wailing and gnashing of teeth over the Education budget has already begun here in Texas.  The tears of teachers and administrators are a sweet nectar, and the sound of their lamentations is music.

If there is any group of people which -as a rule- is as incapable of accepting responsibility as teachers, I haven't found them.

25 In totally unrelated news, I heard in church on Sunday how California's budget woes will force severe cuts, and how the most vital (like health insurance for kids) should have priority over other things (like cowboy poetry - yeah, wrong state, but ...)

So, at that exact moment, on the sidewalk outside the church, is some guy selling food, paying no business tax, having no health permit, collecting no sales tax, and probably paying no income tax.

Tell me why again I wake up in the morning.

26 Here in California, Jerry and the Dems feel the real fix to the problem is...wait....here it comes.....TAX...TAX...and more...TAXES.  Run the State, Counties, and Cities straight into hell, until every penny is spent.  At that point the "California Apocalypse" begins.  First in the large cities of L.A. and the Bay Area...then it spreads across the state. It's coming, just a matter of months. 

27 I would have rebuilt the Twin Towers if I had my way. On the opposite corners from the orginal two, one story higher each, reinforced as much as feasable, with non-melting steel (lol), nd topped off with a SAM battery. And yes, I would have an office on the top floor. I'm not into this "skyscrapers provoke Muslims" thing that some leftards have.

Our theory (can't claim it for my own) was to rebuild them exactly as they were, a foot higher, and put some intensively bright spotlights shining into the sky that reflect off a couple satellites and shine down on Mecca 24 hours a day so they would never know what time they were supposed to pray.

28

On a completely unrelated note. The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan is considering selling their 66% controlling share of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  A franchise thought to be worth a billion dollars.

You read that right. The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan owns the Toronto Maples Leafs.

29

You should hear the absolute howling going on in PA because Gov. Corbett has actually proposed a budget that is slightly less than last year's.  These idiots are acting like all the teachers are going to be fired, the colleges will have to double their tuition, the hospitals will all close, old people will be thrown out of the streets, etc. etc. 

The president of my State U. (in another state, not PA) unexpectedly annpounced his retirement a few months ago, in large part because the state funding for the U. has remained static despite his pleading for more more more every year.  Nevermind that the overall U. budget has almost doubled in his 10 years, the U. just built the biggest pharmacy school building in the WORLD (mostly with donations from those eeeeevil Big Pharma companies) and the state is one of the poorest in the nation. 

I am sick of these "educrats" as much as I am of the public employee unions.  Our states and localities are getting hammered by the seemingly insatiable appetite of schools and colleges for more money, with negligible result from all that spending.  New Jersey is spending vast gobs of money on K-12; almost half the state budget goes to education.  It is a much bigger problem than state employee pensions.

30 You're fucking really, really stupid. Erg! What's up, my homie? Are you on a day-pass from the sex-offender center, or did you finally get internet access from there? When's the chemical-castration thing, by the way? Did they ever set a date for that or did your lawyer get you a stay?

31

24 FlaviusJulius

Must be the daylight saving thingie but I'm here with you even though it is after 2.30am Tuesday here in Sydney

A HUGE thank you for linking the YouTube series of lectures about ancient Rome the other week - I'm really enjoying them and exercising those brain cells to ward off dementia - much appreciated!

 

 

32

Posted by: Damn Sockpuppet at March 14, 2011 11:29 AM (YmPwQ)

I would have gone a bit further... and built the largest Pyramid structure on the site possible... (pyramids are extrememly durable and stable)... then put in a built in SAM site.

Then advertised it as the saftest place in the world to have an office... and a NEW Wonder of the World...

33 Cob-logger fight!!!

*puts $20 on humpy*

34 Tell me why again I wake up in the morning.

^{Posted by: Chuckit at March 14, 2011 11:33 AM (80Aey)}

Your love of the Jewish people?

35 Do you know why I stopped listening to Glenn Beck? Because I got tired of hearing stuff I already knew. I want to hear/read ideas, plans, and solutions. I know things suck. I know what's coming down the road. What I don't know is what we can do to right the ship.

36 See, here's the problem, at the state level the highest income tax rate is about 11% and at the federal it's 35%, which means that in the eyes of dems and the media there's still a whole lot more taxin' to do and as long as that's the case, spending will never decrease. The end goal of dems and their pals in the media is confiscation of all monies.

37 While the rest of us lose our quality of life, the state pensioners will live in gated communities and go about with heavy security. It'll be a blast from the past.

38 A Nice Frosty Glass of DOOM, With A Sprig of Mint

I like my DOOM with a splash of carnage.

39

You read that right. The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan owns the Toronto Maples Leafs.

Posted by: Ben at March 14, 2011 11:38 AM (wuv1c)

But, but, its for the kids!

40

Posted by: Chuckit at March 14, 2011 11:33 AM (80Aey)

/drives an hour and a half to the Coast... looks around..

Nope... no drillin... they aint serious...

41

I know things suck. I know what's coming down the road. What I don't know is what we can do to right the ship.

Posted by: Soooooothsayah at March 14, 2011 11:40 AM (uFokq)

There isn't anything that can be done.  The will to do what needs doing does not exist in America any longer.

It is not for nothing that Monty says we are terminally boned.

We really are.

42 The Dean of Medicine at UC was fired back in August. Fired and this is what the Chump gets as part of his severance -

• $601,035, or one year's pay, according to his contract.

• $236,385 to buy out the rest of his contract running though 2012, plus his tenured faculty spot.

• $60,005 in accrued vacation pay.

Oh and he worked at the University for five years.

Unreal.

43

When people talk about "quality of life", they are in part referring their local environment. Roads, parks, police, civic centers, playgrounds, little league baseball, firefighters, schools...

I remember recently here in the burgh that a township fired one of its police dogs because it couldn't afford it. There was a big outcry, a ton of people showed up at the township meeting, a lot of media coverage, and the dog was reinstated.

people just have no freaking concept of what is coming.

Just wait until some of the things people take for granted are taken away. Things people don't even think about like subsidized schoo lunches, afterschool programs, debris clean up by municipalities after storms, road repairs, etc.

44 33 I need to finish watching those.

45

Let me be clear.  Many, if not all, of these fiscal difficulties will be solved when my high speed rail program kicks in.

 

Now, hand me my seven iron.

46 @#36 Nah, it might be tasty, but a blintz is just a circumcised pancake

47 Annnnnddddd.....erg's got nothin'.

Expecially after we take it all away.

48 I want to hear/read ideas, plans, and solutions. The fact that there is a problem does not imply a solution. Or, rather, the "solution" to this problem is so unlikely to happen that it can be safely disregarded. We are probably never going to have enough voters to implement the steps necessary to get our spending under control: in a country were one-third of all income comes in the form of a government check, and half of all the citizens pay no income tax, and 60% of the federal budget is targeted at entitlement programs, there is no political will to make any fundamental changes. We (as a people) know what we have to do to solve this problem; we just don't want to do it. The welfare state is too big and too entrenched. So: the only alternative is for market forces to force the changes on us that we will not willingly undertake ourselves. We won't like the solution the market imposes on us, but it's the consequence of not handling the problem ourselves.

49 All is well! Social security is fully-funded. Huffington Post told me so!

50

1.  Spend too much invest in un-needed things...

 

2........

 

3. Profit!

51

The president of my State U. (in another state, not PA) unexpectedly annpounced his retirement a few months ago, in large part because the state funding for the U. has remained static despite his pleading for more more more every year.  Nevermind that the overall U. budget has almost doubled in his 10 years, the U. just built the biggest pharmacy school building in the WORLD (mostly with donations from those eeeeevil Big Pharma companies) and the state is one of the poorest in the nation. 

I think Corbett was cutting PSU's budget by like 52% or some really high number.

I guess we're no longer subsidizing tens of thousands of kids who want a piece of paper after getting drunk for four years

52 The strategy is pretty clear. What we and our gubmint will do is more of the same. No one will make substantial spending cuts, taxes and issuance of debt will rise. Let's stop worrying about what the answer may be. Perhaps we should try to espy the shape of the consequences of continuing to spend like drunken teachers, because that is precisely what we will do.

53

W   T   F

The daily beast headline

2,405 Shot Dead Since Tucson

criminal reporting going on here

54 #53 I think Corbett was cutting PSU's budget by like 52% or some really high number.

I guess we're no longer subsidizing tens of thousands of kids who want a piece of paper after getting drunk for four years

Gov. Corbett has a novel solution for PSU.  How about they *gasp* cut spending?

Corbett urges Penn State to trim spending, not raise tuition

55

^{Posted by: Monty at March 14, 2011 11:46 AM (4Pleu)}

I'd like to see my State assume a position between my wallet and the Federal Gov't. 

 

56 53. the reason the cuts seem so high is because for the past two years they were getting sah-weet stimulus dollars !!! I love the article locally today about Lincoln U - oh noes they will have to cut! What a useless school that is. just close it.

57 I'd like to see my State assume a position between my wallet and the Federal Gov't. Oh, they would be happy to be the first to have a crack at it.

58 Corbett has been AWESOME. He had a good quote last week about PSU whining, something like "Well when they were getting more and more state moneys they were raising tuition like crazy, so obviously getting the state money doesn't mean they won't raise tuition astronomically!"

59 I am really, really enjoying all the whining among my educrat friends here in PA. It's been just heartwarming. btw I know what they do all day. Na. Da.

60

Corbett has been AWESOME. He had a good quote last week about PSU whining, something like "Well when they were getting more and more state moneys they were raising tuition like crazy, so obviously getting the state money doesn't mean they won't raise tuition astronomically!"

Actually, I am really disappointed he didn't address WAMs and the Legislature's pay.

I'm pretty happy with the rest of the budget though, but those were two issues that needed to be addressed.

61
Yeah, boned and lovin' it bitches!

62 I totally agree on having to bring fiscal sannity back but we really need to spend 500 billion on High Speed Rail!

63 I'd like to see my State assume a position between my wallet and the Federal Gov't. Won't happen, for reasons the article I linked makes clear. The States gave up federalism during the New Deal and Great Society, and are now completely in thrall to federal money. Yes, technically, they can "opt out", but none will, because they'd go bankrupt about 24 hours after letting go of the government teat. Medicaid is the big dog here, but there are others: education and transportation funding being other major ones.

64

Oh, they would be happy to be the first to have a crack at it.

Do doubt.  

But they are a lot easier to affect.

65 O/t: Is someone going to give me props for my art?  C'mon!  How hard do you have to fish for compliments around here?

66 I'd prefer a slice of lemon with my Doom, please.  And if I am indeed doomed, I demand a cute kitteh to ease the pain.

67

/t: Is someone going to give me props for my art?  C'mon!  How hard do you have to fish for compliments around here?

Wait, you painted the picture in the side bar??

Good job, I didn't realize it. It does look a lot like the traditional asian sea paintings

68

Is someone going to give me props for my art?

At least it wasn't the art of the 'featured artist'  that was shit...was yours the tryptic with the tree and Barbed Wire? 

 I liked that one...

69

Posted by: Red Shirt at March 14, 2011 11:49 AM (FIDMq)

I really hope Obama runs on gun control in 2012, he'll be in for a suprise when he sees how the public will react

70 And remember: debt is a symptom; spending is the disease. The problem is too much damned public spending, not too little public income.

That's not very kind and gentle of you.

71 Edumacation, "health," welfare and pensions make up 68% of the Clownifornia budget. This does not include any police or fire services, or any of the other crap the State fails at. 68% and not a penny of that for keeping the streets clean, lights on and cops armed.

72 Thanks Ben and Garret.  Thing is, it's not a painting.  Look closely.  Guess again.

73

 really hope Obama runs on gun control in 2012, he'll be in for a suprise when he sees how the public will react

Alinsky is still the rulebook . He's using it to fire up the ultra-left base.

He will become increasingly polarizing (I know!) as we approach the 2012 Election.

74 debt is a symptom; spending is the disease What rouged trollop that's worth her whoring wouldn't be a close friend to contagion?

75

Speaking of Corbett, I was kind of bored yesterday and was watching WVIA from Scranton. They were having a fund drive for "Pennsylvania Polka" because state and federal funding had been cut to the bone and the money 'was not coming back' according to their tag line. Looks like Corbett is really really on the right track. I kind of wish I would see the same things from Jersey public television, but nothing yet. 1 question though. Some lame attack ad on Bloomberg came on, typical teachers union propaganda. But the interesting thing, the lady says that NYC has a 143 billion surplus right now. WTF ? I'm pretty sure no fact checking needed to see that she's FOS but any idea where that number comes from ?

76

Thanks Ben and Garret.  Thing is, it's not a painting.  Look closely.  Guess again

I know it wasn't a Shrinky Dinks. 

77 Hint:  You can see Japan in it.

78

Rasmussen poll dumps of the day

- Obama Approval At 44% (Dems - 77%, Reps 11%, Indys 44%)

- 47% say daylight savings time pointless, 43% disagree

- 62% want healthcare law repealed

- 27% have positive view of bailouts

79 26 So, at that exact moment, on the sidewalk outside the church, is some guy selling food, paying no business tax, having no health permit, collecting no sales tax, and probably paying no income tax.
_________

Let me guess: bacon-wrapped hotdogs. Clearly a scofflaw.

80

Things will certainly get interesting. 

If spending, that is - government consumption of the produce of the country - continues, eventually it will have to be overtly  monetized.  That will cause a higher level of inflation, but it's hard to guess at this point how high.  It would already be happening if they were spending this much in more normal times, but since we have so much slack capacity right now it's not showing up.  And, of course, our taxes (real taxes - not just income tax) are so shockingly high already that this maintains a pretty strong demand for dollars.

Once that happens, the question will be whether the government wants to let the inflation go, or hold it to some arbitrary level.  If they let it go, things could get really interesting for a few years until it runs its course, like in Brazil (a nation that currently has a booming economy but endured a lot of pain).  If they want to hold it down, which is to say that they want to drive up the demand for dollars, the only sure routes I'm aware of are tax increases and interest rate hikes.  I assume interest rates will not be raised, since they may hold back economic expansion or depress the economy further.  That leaves taxes.  Who to tax?  And by what means?  What is the best way to extract dollars out of circulation without starving the lower classes, and not crippling investment? 

Not easy problems.

81 Aw, Barky's poll numbers must be down.

The AP is up to its old shenanigans.

82 The federal and state governments don't have budget problems anymore than I have a weight problem.

83 Regarding the budget: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

84 All I could do was shrug.

This person has an advanced degree in medicine. Posted by: George Orwell at March 14, 2011 11:27 AM

And no doubt bitches about malpractice insurance while voting for socialists who are in the tort lawyers back pocket

Also the person is aghast when he hears people bitch about doctor fees and how rich doctors are ripping off "the folks"

85 The government doesn't need to trim the budget, and I don't need to trim my waistline.

86 It's lunchtime in the East, so I won't be any more specific ...

87 I know things suck. I know what's coming down the road. What I don't know is what we can do to right the ship. Posted by: Soooooothsayah at March 14, 2011 11:40 AM (uFokq) Then you aren't listening to Beck closely enough. Or do you don't like what he is proposing as a solution. Mark Levin was giving him a ration for saying that the solutions to our problems are NOT political. But he's right. Having John Boehner as Speaker of the House hasn't fixed our fiscal problem. And you know what, even if we elect Sarah Palin or Tim Pawlenty or Ron Paul! as President, the problems won't be fixed. Our problems are much more fundamental, and we need to get the fundamentals right so that the politics will start to matter again. What kind of place elects Jerry Brown as Governor? Again?!? A place that is fundamentally unserious about its future. California won't get unboned by electing a Republican governor, it will get unboned by being serious about its future. Electing the right government will follow. And so the right thing to do about the coming doom is to be prepared. Louis Pasteur said that chance favors the prepared mind. Beck has been laying out the solutions for a while: be ready for the storm, take care of yourself and your family, be ready to help others in need, and awaken as many to the problem and solution as you can. He doesn't have a ten point plan to include stop minting pennies or whatever because that isn't the answer.

88 No diet for the federal budget, and no diet for me.

89 May I ask a serious question I have been wondering about in recent days: Is America broke, or is the U.S. Government broke?

Is is possible there's a distinction here? Is it possible that the Government going belly-up is something that can happen without catastrophic impact on the rest of the country.

If the Government closed shop tomorrow, the rest of us could still grow crops, manufacture things, provide services to one another. Our poor and elderly might not get their SS or their Medicare, but we could find ways to take care of them, couldn't we?

Over time, could we not band together to replace many of the services formerly provided by the Government?

90

There isn't anything that can be done.  The will to do what needs doing does not exist in America any longer.

It is not for nothing that Monty says we are terminally boned.

We really are.


And the Ray of Sunshine award for best motivational speaker goes to. . .

91 But we can only cut 4 billion in spending from the 3.8 trillion dollar budget.

92 Posted by: Reactionary at March 14, 2011 12:08 PM (xUM1Q)

No, it is easy.  It's just unpleasant.  And the conflation of those two terms/ideas is part of the problem, here.

Any 10th Grader can figure out the problem here: Government is spending too much, and every time they increase their own revenues (even just on paper) they don't choose to use those funds to pay down debt or anything, but instead to spend it on something completely new.

What's "not easy" is that the Democrats have convinced Gram and Gramps that doing any of the structural things which are necessary to fix the problem means they won't get "their" money and that they'll have to live on dog food without their Viagra.  They've also convinced various other "victim groups" that any cutting in spending will be the death knell for them, and that the only people who have any concern for them are the Democrats themselves.

Turning that around is what isn't easy.

93 Rush quoting some statistics about TMI vs Chernobyl. 

Interesting because my mom was going to class in Millersville during the TMI  incident and when they canceled classes, she went home. 

She lived in Middletown, which is right near TMI.  She turned out alright after TMI...and so did I (well, some people will dispute that, ). 

94

My town in Illinois has a canal that cuts through it.  Four bridges cross the canal.  The middle two were closed last year because they need to be worked on (general maintenance) and are currently considered unsafe (they were basically OK until the bridge in Minneapolis collapsed but now, not so much, since the standards are a little higher, I guess).

There is no work being done.  There are no plans to have any work done, until, you know, "we get money from the state."  Yeah, good luck with that.

So until then, it's like a foreign army bombed the bridges (they always go for the bridges first, you know).  The middle of the town is cut in half.

Absolutely ridiculous.  But hey, at least the people not working on the bridges have great pension plans.

 

 

95 We're bored.

96

Posted by: blaster at March 14, 2011 12:14 PM (l5dj7)

 

You're right.  The founders of this country warned us about the absolute danger of the lack of spiritual morals.  Morality and responsibility for one's actions are the backbone of freedom.

97 The fact that there is a problem does not imply a solution.

The last stage of grief--acceptance.

I am finally there. The crash is going to happen. It can't be averted. Your typical voter doesn't have the brains, discipline, courage, and self-honesty to reward politicians for doing what must be done.

So they'll continue to play kick-the-can in whatever short time we have left.

I post stories like this constantly on social media. My friends and acquaintances rarely comment on them. They don't care. They just ignore what's happening and stay focused on trivialities.

I estimate that less than 10% of the populace actually get it. It may be as low as 1%.

Most of America is in for a very nasty surprise.

Oh, well. You can't make people learn and educate themselves. You can't make them acknowledge the very simple and inescapable math. And you can't make them give a shit.

We're fat, dumb, greedy and lazy.

And that means we're fucked. Congratulations, lefties. The social, cultural, and educational rot has finally eaten away the last of our exceptional-ism.

You got what you wanted. And when you experience the ugly result, you'll still blame it on the nebulous, all-purpose boogey-man, "The Rich."

98  What we have out here in California, and other underwater big-spending states, I'm sure, is the Cargo Cult of Growth.

They saw the tsunami of cap-gains tax revenue from the dot-com boom begin to roll ashore in the mid '90s, and as they all conclude we're permanently flooded in money it suddenly recedes back into the ocean in 2000* leaving the state desolate.

They saw the tidal currents of the real-estate boom begin to rise a few years later, once again built up the pillars of state spending to ride atop the new sea of lucre just as the waves break and roll back into the sea, leaving us all propped up atop giant pillars of government spending.

And now they're desperately hoping for the next wave before those pillars rot and dump them all into the mud that remains.

99 So until then, it's like a foreign army bombed the bridges (they always go for the bridges first, you know).  The middle of the town is cut in half.

I have NEVER seen any city cut the socialist spending during any of these budget cuts. Normally all they ever do is raise taxes during hard times and then increase spending on more socialism if the economy ever does recover.

100  * it's not really a coincidence that the dot-com bubble popped in April 2000, everyone was sitting on giant cap-gains tax bills from the 1999 run-up and their option grants, and had to start dumping holdings to pay the tax bill. 

101 Does this mean we get an extra hour of The Lightworker toiling hard for the American People down at the links?

102 On top of everything else, we've sacrificed our space program / shuttle launches.  Perhaps one of our astro-men would have located a hot blonde genie in a bottle, who could blink our pension funds to solvency.

103 Over time, could we not band together to replace many of the services formerly provided by the Government?

The problem is the assholes, no one will want to support them, either individually or collectively.  Government handouts are asshole enabling.  When support has to come out of the pockets of family or charity, it will be off to the ice flow with them.

The world will be a healthier place though.

104

 Over time, could we not band together to replace many of the services formerly provided by the Government?

The problem is the assholes, no one will want to support them, either individually or collectively.  Government handouts are asshole enabling.  When support has to come out of the pockets of family or charity, it will be off to the ice flow with them.

The world will be a healthier place though.

Yeah, it's like that situation a year ago about the fire department letting a guys house burn down because he didn't pay his bill.

Everyone was outraged, but I kinda sided with the fire department.

As I have said before, I want to live in an America with consequences.

 

105 Posted by: Gregory of Yardale at March 14, 2011 12:15 PM (PLvLS)

Effectively the two are so inextricably linked that one failing will cause the other to fail.

If private enterprise fails, there's no money (and even printing more won't really help) to keep the Government going.  If Government fails, you can be sure it will have taxed every dollar it possibly can, first, so private enterprise will go down with it.

Now, in a sane world, we would never have allowed that intertwining to happen.  However, if there has ever been a sane world, it must have been during the antediluvian age, and my Bible suggests that wasn't such a sane world, either.

106

Hint:  You can see Japan in it.

it's too small and my eyes aren't good enough

107 5 I want Albany and NYC to fail asap.  Get it over with.  Get the smug public unions to do their tantrum and then STFU.

That's how I feel about CA (where I live). Just let it tank and get it over with!

108 Hint: You can see Japan in it.

And Russia. And Sarah Palin's house, too.

109 I wondered the other day, and still don't know the answer to this question, to whit:  Can the Treasury print as much money as they want?  I'm not talking about selling bonds, since that creates debt, and the total debt is limited by law.  I mean, can they just print $100 bills 24 hours a day and pay for stuff with that?  What prevents it?

110 What prevents it?

Posted by: toby928™: Popular Front for the Liberation of Wisconsin at March 14, 2011 12:48 PM (GTbGH)

Nothing.

111 Funny story--this weekend I took my 4 yr old to the park. On the way home, we crossed through a downtown area where there were a bunch of protesters waving signs about Ohio's SB-5, the bill that will limit public sector collective bargaining and cut their bennies.

My kid asks, "Dad, what are those people doing with those signs?"

Me: "Protesting."

Kid: "What's that?"

Me: "They want more money."

Kid: "If they want more money, then they should work more."

4 years old! 4 years old and he gets it!

So, I told him that they thought they deserved to live better than me, and that I should be taxed more to pay for their pay increases.

He said, "That's not fair."

I laughed and told him that they were nothing but useless bums and bozos. Then we drove past the protesters and gave 'em a big 'ol thumbs down.

Afterward we cracked up all the way home about the "bozos having their big stupid bozo party on Bozo Street."

4 year olds are fun.

112 I mean, can they just print $100 bills 24 hours a day and pay for stuff with that?

Sure they can.

113

The federal budget is a shambles, ...

I can deal with that because I know there'll be a kitty picture soon.

114

... but that's only half the story: ...

Oh, this is bad, but the kitty picture will get me through. ...

115 What prevents it? The real question is: How badly do we want to keep the USD as the default world reserve currency? If the answer is "not much", then we can print all the funny money we want. If we *do* want to keep the reserve currency, then we can't just print because the resulting inflation would bring the bond vigilantes to our door in nothing flat. In countries like Argentina and Brazil and even Russia, they can shrug this off. The bond-holders get burned, and interest rates go way up for awhile, but eventually things settle back down. I don't think the US can do this. We are sui generis - the largest economy in the world, the financial center of the universe, the biggest debtor nation, and holder of the world's reserve currency. If we default, the world economy goes straight into the shitter -- for decades, probably. China won't save us; the EU won't save us. You can't extrapolate the experience of other countries to the US regarding inflation or default scenarios.

116 Okay, checked the cash in my pocket;  Federal Reserve Note.  Who owns the mint?  Is that Treasury?  Do they print bank notes on consignment at the orders of the Federal Reserve?  If they went rogue, would it constitute counterfeiting?

117

Yup, state budgets are in big trouble, and the government employees/public sector unions will make sure there's hell to pay if they even think about touching their salaries, benefits or pensions for the sake of long term solvency.

 

Yeah, we think WI was bad.  Wait until congress starts benefits cuts on fed workers (if it happens).  Or if congress prohibits fed public unions.  Even better; what happens when taxpayer support for GM retirement bennies runs out.  Any one or all of these scenarios will provoke the burning to start.  BUT, they will happen one way or the other.

118 " No cute kitty-cat pictures unless some other cob-logger (ahem: lauraw) wants to add one. Just looking at those treacly pictures of cats makes me want to vomit.]" Thank you, Monty! The only things worse than kittehs are squirrelehs and bunnehs.

119 then we can print all the funny money we want.

I'm drawing a distinction between increasing the money supply legally, through borrowing, versus coinage.  Can the Mint print unlimited amounts of cash at Barry's orders?

120

If we default, the world economy goes straight into the shitter -- for decades, probably. China won't save us; the EU won't save us.

If we default who suffers more? America or the world?

Sure we won't be able to borrow at low rates, but many nations will have most of their savings completely disappear. China hold some 2 Trillion in our debt right? What happens if it is worth 0?

I'm not saying this is optimal, but I have a feeling that the world might get it worse in the default.

121 The US Federal Reserve ("The Fed") is the United States Central Bank. It issues currency and handles the monetary side of fiscal policy. The Treasury, on the other hand, manages and controls the issuance of debt -- i.e., bonds. In theory they are completely separate departments, but there's a lot of commingling these days. The Fed is a relatively recent creation, being implemented in 1913 by the Federal Reserve Act. (The so-called "Creature from Jekyll Island".) Prior to that, the US had several schemes for issuing currency -- most banks had the power to print and distribute currency (which is why they were called "bank-notes"). This was when we were still nominally on the gold-standard, though.

122 The Fed can in theory issue unlimited currency because the USD (like nearly all currencies nowadays) is a "fiat" currency unanchored by any underlying commodity like gold. The main thing keeping the currencies in equilibrium is the robust system of international trade -- that's how we know how much a USD is "worth" compared to a Euro or Yuan or Yen. If the USD fails, then this whole system of international trade -- much of which is denominated in dollars -- would almost immediately become non-operative. No one would know how to properly value anything. International trade would take a huge hit until some other common monetary regime came up. Russia and China, in fact, have been agitating for a "world reserve currency" to replace the USD for awhile now. It would be a construct backed by a basket of commodities rather than an actual currency, and mainly exist as a "standard weight" to compare tradeable currencies to. I don't see it happening anytime soon, though -- none of the fiat-currency nations particularly like the idea (including the two who proposed it).

123 Monty, Monty, Monty.  Enough with the negative waves.  Spring is coming!

http://tinyurl.com/b3cdol

124 84 Aw, Barky's poll numbers must be down.

The AP is up to its old shenanigans.
Posted by: laceyunderalls at March 14, 2011 12:11 PM

They really lightened his skin in that pic, didn't they ...

125

the disaster that is Illinois

 

Disaster is too nice a word for the complete catastrophic financial pit that Illinois is in. But have no fears, the genius Gov. Quinn has a solution - tax everything in sight

126 If the USD fails, then this whole system of international trade -- much of which is denominated in dollars -- would almost immediately become non-operative.

International trade has been around a lot longer than the dollar and I'm not sure why you think the world needs a "reserve" currency. There are active markets in all kinds of currency crosses like Aus$/Yen, Euro/Zloty, etc. Not every transaction on the planet gets routed through a dollar exchange. This idea that merchants worldwide, including the US, will curl up in a fetal position due to a devalued dollar is a bit histrionic.

127 The Fed can in theory issue unlimited currency because the USD (like nearly all currencies nowadays) is a "fiat" currency unanchored by any underlying commodity like gold.

So the answer is No, nothing stops the creation of US Dollars but policy?  Not the debt limit or any other law.  It's just that the Congress has declared that Federal Reserve Notes are legal tender.  Just as tomorrow they could declare eggs as legal tender, yes?

As an aside, are the mints, where the actual printing takes place, owned by the Federal Reserve?  Or the treasury?

128 My question is, when your position is overrun and you're firing the last of your ammo as the zombie hordes come closer, is it more appropriate to cry, quote scripture, or laugh as your mind snaps?

Me, I'm leaning toward giggling uncontrollably over some unbidden recollection from my high school years, like the time I tripped and went ass-over-teakettle at marching band practice.

(I left off "get stupid drunk" because that's a beforehand-type activity.)

129 so should I quit putting money in my Roth IRA and just indulge my degenerate gambler tendency?

130 Public spending of taxpayer's money on non-taxpayers (bribes), stimulus (paybacks) and frivolities (binge spending) is not a disease.  It is an addiction.

The crazed increase in spending since the Dems passed their first budget for FY2007, and their reaction to any criticism, has all of the hallmarks of a fill-in-the-blank addiction.  What do addicts do when confronted with their addiction?

1.  Blame someone else.
2.  Make excuses.
3.  Deny there is a problem.
4.  Attack the messenger.

BHO and the Dems are pathological in their addiction to spending.  The disease (mental disorder) is Liberalism/Progressivism/Collectivism.

131 I can say for the empty suit in the WH who apparently is a clueless schmuck when it comes to a sport he should know. Fashionmonkey.org Coach Outlet Store Online