1 Doom.  It's what's for breakfast.

2 Oh, and FIRST!!!

3 I only come here for the kitteh pics....the DOOM! I get all.day.long.

4 It looks like S&P opted to knuckle under. Shame that. Had they instead flooded the court of public opinion with a case against the CRA, the GSEs, Dodd, Frank, and the CBC, Holder would have run away with his tail tucked between his legs.

5 Dell and Asus can't manufacture here because of one thing, massive federal regulations. Get rid of those and that Chinese company goes under because productivity here is higher.

6 King Putt, hahahha

7 Why cant the fed make you borrow money, recall Wilsons brownshirts beating people who didnt buy bonds (another glorious progressive moment forgotten by educators).

8 And Monty, let's not miss this one:

Byron York saying something I have been saying all along.

And a lot of Morons have given me grief about it. SS, Medicare, and other “entitlements” are not what got us where we are at now. They may be a problem a few years down the road, but we got hear when the Dems and Obama raised discretionary spending through the roof and then moved it into “mandatory” spending.

9

Oh yay we haven't had an intergenerational Boomer fight in weeks!  It'll make a nice change from the purity wars.  (Bloomberg link is fubar'd btw).

There is some truth to the labor mobility issue.  So long as the real estate market is fairly robost, then it's fairly easy to ignore.  If it's not, well, then the asymetries in job distribution become plain. 

Also, Obama is a stuttering clusterfuck of a miserable failure. 

10 Boomers link has an extra few characters.

11 I guess what the boomers will have to start doing is making a "why generation x'ers suck" every other post.

12 Posted by: Vic at August 23, 2011 08:52 AM (M9Ie6)

We used to make microchips here...until regulation and OSHA and EPA nonsense got so restrictive that they moved to low-wage markets. The yields aren't as good, but profit is higher.

13

I hear chicks are kinda DOOMed in the Peace Corps and that the dems like it like that.

Now why I ask, would the dems block investigating this?  Rape is a good thing on the left? 

14 OT/ Has anyone seen the monstrosity of a statue of Martin Luther King? It's awful. And to make matters worse it was done by a Chinese artist. MLK made in China?

15 14, No shit, It's like he got tired and said fuck it, I'm done.

16 I don't think this deal about keeping the young, and minorities for that matter, out of work will end well. 

17 When you say the Germans will opt for stable money over European integration you're not suggesting the Germans still have a nationalistic bent, are you??

18 What is urgently needed is a speech.

19 Barack Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable failure.

And good morning, Morons.

20 SS, Medicare, and other “entitlements” are not what got us where we are at now.

You know my feelings on that, Vic. I've shown you the charts, the forecasts, everything else. You can choose not to believe it, but that doesn't make it false.

Entitlement spending is the main driver of our debt because we can't spend huge amounts on entitlements and do everything else the government is supposed to do. To say that our borrowing is disconnected from entitlement spending is just dumb.

21

The author blames stubborn unemployment numbers on a lack of labor mobility, and there is some truth to that, but a bigger issue is the asymmetry between the skills being demanded of the workforce versus the skills that the citizens are actually learning. ItÂ’s a failure of the educational system first and foremost.

I had mentioned this in a thread a while back.

In 2006 the U.S. Department of Labor spent $4B to put 189,000 people in jobs they otherwise would not have had.  At that rate we could have simply cut everyone a check for $21K and eliminated all the overhead that administered that funding for a net savings.

Federal jobs programs do not work.  They do not work in large measure because of the failure of the public education system.  Half the people in these programs (I know because I worked in them) can't read, write, or do math at the level require to get a job, so the "jobs program" becomes a remedial high school.  For those that do have the high school background, they end up training for the wrong jobs available locally because the training takes too long and all too frequently, thanks to bureaucratic inertia,  is in the wrong job sector.

If you're a DOL bureaucrat, it's easier to stick you in the 5-week hairdressing class that starts next week than it is to find the exact right fit for the person.  If you do it that way you can get back to your coffee and crossword puzzle sooner.

Exaggerated?  Yes, but really not by all that much.

People with GEDs are not snagging high-tech jobs at $65K/year.  No Federal program is going to fix that.

22

Link to Bloomberg Article

23 I record all of his best speeches. Saves me a lot of money at christmas time.

24 Waaaaaaay too many links

25 Boomers link has an extra few characters.

Should be fixed now. Sorry about that.

26 You know my feelings on that, Vic. I've shown you the charts, the forecasts, everything else. You can choose not to believe it, but that doesn't make it false.

Yes, but you are wrong. You are confusing mandatory spending with entitlements. The point is, our CURRENT deficit is not driven by entitlements. It is driven by Obama tripling spending.  There will be problems down the road if they don't do something but the CURRENT mess is all Obama. 

And I have shown you the charts.

27 Posted by: Vic at August 23, 2011 08:57 AM (M9Ie6)

By definition, the only "mandatory" spending is "entitlement" spending (this straight from the lips of Joe Barton- no, no link, it was in verbal remarks and I happened to be at the venue).  Basically, for them to have made "discretionary" spending "mandatory" they would have had to change it into some entitlement program (which I'm sure they could do).

The only thing that makes spending "mandatory" is if someone qualifies (that is: is entitled to) for a specific program.

So, yes, it is specifically entitlements which must be reformed.  Just because some of those entitlements are new doesn't change the fact that they're entitlements.  And however we got here, the biggest offenders are SS, Medicare, and Medicaid.  The new entitlements accelerated and empowered the DOOM, but they did not create it nor set it in motion.

28 When half of the people in the country pay no federal income-tax at all, they have no skin in the game.

I see that you are against the concept of 'fair share' as contemporarily defined by the left.

29 Monty, Good catch on the "labor mobility" thing. Back in '93-'94, "job lock" due to health insurance non-portability was a convenient bludgeon for pushing single-payer. It was an overreach on the left's part, and HIPAA '96 addressed the corner cases identified. The only correct response to any "labor mobility" noise is a knee-jerk, "How about we stop turning places into socialist shitholes and avoid the problem altogether?"

30 Obama is a stuttering clusterfuck of a miserable failure.

31 There will be problems down the road

Down the road? Jesus, Vic, we're flat busted broke right now! How much more "road" do you think we have? Medicare is right on the edge of collapse, and SS won't be far behind. (SSDI, as I pointed out yesterday, is already pretty much insolvent.)

32 By definition, the only "mandatory" spending is "entitlement" spending (this straight from the lips of Joe Barton- no, no link, it was in verbal remarks and I happened to be at the venue).

NO NO NO

Mandatory spending is not all entitlements. It is anything that they passed into law and stuck in the mandatory category. Obama stuck all the stimulus welfare programs in the Mandatory category.

When the current crop of shit-weasel politicians talk about "entitlements" they are talking about SS, Medicare, etc.

33

The point is, our CURRENT deficit is not driven by entitlements.

Vic, when you say that you are excluding all the other cumulative effects of entitlement spending BO (Before Obama).  Interest we pay on the debt today ("current" in your parlance) form previous borrowing to support entitlements is still part of the deficit today.

Yes, JEF exploded the rate of spending.  Or as AlGore used to say, "blew a hole through the budget."

But that doesn't make the borrowing that occured before Obama somehow not part of today's calculation.

34 Posted by: Sean Bannion at August 23, 2011 09:05 AM (sbV1u)

So here's a theory.  What if Government, as a "Jobs program," issued block grants to companies (of any size).  To qualify for a grant (amount based on the size of your business, your industry, and your average salary) you had to hire and provide training for a number of employees.  Those employees' salaries would be paid by the block grant (that is, we'd take the formula to find a salary for one employee, multiply by the number of employees you decide to hire, and you get that much tax-exempt money).

Now, I'm not proposing this idea, and I think, as a Federal program it would be terrible (not to mention unconstitutional), but purely theoretically, do you think that would work better than the current situation?

35 Down the road? Jesus, Vic, we're flat busted broke right now!

Yes, due to the Obamanite tripling of spending!

As for SSDI I have been pointing out that fraud for over a year. Over half of it is downright fraud.

36 Who Doesn't Want to be Rich?

Exactly.  I always enjoy the articles on the American Thinker.

37 In coming months, Germany may have to make an agonizing choice: stable money or European integration.

It is only a matter of time before someone in Europe begins to propose that what is necessary is for these disparate countries to made to become more alike - that they should be truly one.  Things should really get exciting then.

38 Yes, all of our problems are due to Gen X and Y slugs electing communists to office and being too lazy to work and pay taxes.

That is the problem.

39 As for that Bloomberg paper, what it neglects to mention is that most of that stock sell off will come from 401K accounts that people are REQUIRED BY LAW to start selling off by a certain age.

40 Mobility is a major obstacle in hiring right now.  Husband had 10 positions, ranging from entry-level to executive, and it was a bear hiring into them.  Most people simply can't move. 

Now, it is irritating as heck when someone gets all the way through a job interview process to the offer stage and then announces they can't move, but I guess Mr Y-not and I are the only ones on the planet who actually do those life calculations before applying for jobs. 

41 This is only $42,279.72 per second over the last three years. Not to worry though. The JEF and Congress have worked out a deal to trim one days worth of spending.

42 Have you seen the pants-crease on that MLK statue? It looks like they sawed off Mao's head and glued MLK on. Got to be some _sub-text.

The reason nobody wants to hire Americans is that Americans sabotage products. Ask Boeing. Forty years back, the Brits did that. Killed them.

43 38, If they baby boomers would have picked up a belt and whipped their spoiled little asses now and then, told them NO and meant it, maybe they wouldn't feel so FKN entitled to everything.

44 Huntsman is a douchebag.

45 The JEF and Congress have worked out a deal to trim one days worth of spending.

Crying Boner and McGonnell have made a "deal" to make it better! They will decrease the rate of increase.

Delta-$/Delta-T < 100T/Month

46 The problem with entitlement spending is that it eats up too much of the budget, borrowed money or not. Just three programs account for most government spending: Defense, Social Security, and Medicare. That means everything else -- highways, national parks, etc. -- has to operate on borrowed money. So to say that the entitlements aren't contributing to our indebtedness and spending binge is just madness. Of course they are.

Here's an analogy:

Let's say you take home $1500 a month. You send Grandma $500 a month to help her meet expenses. This is fine if your own expenses are $1000 per month or less. But prices and expenses rise over time (and lately, much faster than wages). When your expenses go up -- if the rent goes up, if gas prices rise, if your car breaks down, if you get sick, etc. -- all of a sudden that $500 going to Grandma every month is looming very large in your economic world. It might come down to giving Gradma less money or going broke yourself -- and if you go broke yourself, Grandma will get zero dollars per month instead of the lesser amount.

Grandma might argue that her $500 a month isn't taking the majority of your paycheck, and that's both true and beside the point. Her $500 is the margin between solvency and insolvency, and it is the most elastic part of your expense picture. That expense must fall if you are to stay solvent because you cannot do without any of the other expenses.

47 I love what you guys are frequently up too. Such clever work and reporting! Keep up the terrific works guys IÂ’ve added you guys to my blogroll.

48 Posted by: Vic at August 23, 2011 09:11 AM (M9Ie6)

Sorry, Vic.  I'm going to believe Joe Barton and his staff over you on this one.  What makes spending mandatory is that whatever program "shall" be funded.  The only way to add that little clause is if there is some qualification (so, with Medicare, it's being age 65, or a small number of other things.  With SS, it's having paid into SS and reaching an eligible age.  With Medicaid there are income requirements and a few other things).  Any new program in "mandatory" spending has some kind of qualification: that is, some way that some entity can say, "Hey, I qualify for this money, you have to give it to me."

You could not, for instance, make road projects "mandatory" spending.

And, yes, when politicians say "Entitlements" they may mean, specifically, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.  So what?

When a vase breaks, does it really matter where the golf-ball hit it?  If I pour sugar in my gas-tank, does that mean I should only have to replace the gas-tank?  The answer to both of those is "no."  Once the vase is broken, it's broken all over.  Once the sugar is in the gas tank, it's going to screw up the entire engine.

49 Did not read the rest of the E. J. Dionne article. Had to click on the credit card advert. New card comming WHEEEE! It's autographed by the spittering doodlefuck of a miserable failure.

50 Read the E.J. Dionne piece. A). What a douchebag. B). I'm really getting tired of having Warren Buffet quoted as wanting his taxes raised. Only this time, he favors increases on dividends and capital gains, too! Here's a fun fact about your hero, asshole. His company, Berkshire Hathaway? It has NEVER paid a dividend.EVER. Of COURSE his secretary pays a higher tax rate, dumbshit. Buffet pays himself a nominal salary, but he controls everything. He's sheltered the bulk of his estate from the death tax by "donating" it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who will appoint any of his heirs he designates as "directors", who will then "control" and have the use of all that money. Oh, and the foundation? It can invest and make profits. TAX. FREE. Fuck E.J. Dionne, fuck Warren Buffet and fuck all the idiots who think this dick is an altruist because their lack of financial literacy means they'll never have two nickels to rub together.

51 Love the mindless stupidity of liberal haters. This should be worded quite differently:

Famous People Sarah Palin Doesn't Like
 
Sarah Palin has taken issue with quite a few well-known people over the past couple of years. See who's not on Sarah's good side!

Full List:
David Letterman
Levi Johnston
Katie Couric
Ashley Judd
Oliver Stone
Michelle Obama
Alec Baldwin
Rachel Maddow
Tina Fey
Kathy Griffin
Common
Arnold Schwarzenegger

52 The author blames stubborn unemployment numbers on a lack of labor mobility, and there is some truth to that, but a bigger issue is the asymmetry between the skills being demanded of the workforce versus the skills that the citizens are actually learning. ItÂ’s a failure of the educational system first and foremost.
-----
I guess people don't learn on the job any longer. 

There's education, job training, and on the job training (experience).  Education should provide the skills you need to learn not just the things in the classroom, but throughout your life.  A well-educated person can adapt to new situations and translate skills from one arena to another.

That's not the same thing as job training (certificate programs, internships, etc) or experience.  Those are required, too, especially in certain career tracks or for higher level positions. 

53

Now, I'm not proposing this idea, and I think, as a Federal program it would be terrible (not to mention unconstitutional), but purely theoretically, do you think that would work better than the current situation?

I worked in the Bush Labor Department.  We tried to rewrite the Workforce Investment Act (which expired in 2003 BTW) to block grant funding to the States.  I know your idea is to businesses, but Feds are not allowed to provide money to a private concern to do something that private concern would otherwise do.  States can do that...Feds can't.

You know who stopped that?  Dems.

After Dems heard from their (mostly Dem) constiuency among the "workforce professionals" who were afraid that taking money out of establish programs and giving it to the States meant that State "merit system" employees would lose their jobs.  Maybe.  Probably not, but that's what they thought.

Now, if you're a Governor, you love the idea of a block grant because it gives you flexibility to react to circumstances which may not have been foreseen.  They liked it.

If you're a merit system employee you hate the idea of the Governor having flexibility because his "flexibility" might mean the loss of your job.  Especially if the Governor is a nasty Republican.

::: sigh ::::

So trying to reform the workforce system to make it more responsive to the needs of job seekers was, in the end, torpedoed by State merit system employees.  I could hear Mel Brooks all the way back to DC.

"We've got to protect our phony baloney jobs!"

One of the reason I left DOL was for shit like this.  When I used to run into people like those workforce system employees my line was, "We run a jobs program.  That doesn't mean a jobs program for you personally."

As you can tell, I was well liked.

 

 

54 Well, Byron York agrees with me. I am not going to argue anymore.

55

When half of the people in the country pay no federal income-tax at all, they have no skin in the game. Everybody should pay something for the government they receive, just to remind them that government isn't free.

Yup.  I don't care if it's $5, everyone needs to pay something that they don't get back.  It drives me nuts when I hear people talking about going to Washington DC to see the sights because "they're free".  No, you (by which I mean me since I actually pay freaking taxes) already paid for it, you blithering idiot!

56 Posted by: Y-not at August 23, 2011 09:18 AM (5H6zj)

Some people apply to those jobs in the hopes that the offer will be enough that they can move, or will include relocation assistance.

57 Precedent Putzalot is a stuttering clusterfuck of a miserable failure.

58

Yes, all of our problems are due to Gen X and Y slugs electing communists to office and being too lazy to work and pay taxes.

Simple solution to this problem.

Death penalty for anyone over age 60.

59

Full List:
David Letterman
Levi Johnston
Katie Couric
Ashley Judd
Oliver Stone
Michelle Obama
Alec Baldwin
Rachel Maddow
Tina Fey
Kathy Griffin
Common
Arnold Schwarzenegger

WHOA! What a coincidence those guys are on my list too! Mine's waaaay longer though.

60 "Mobility is a major obstacle in hiring right now." I don't disagree, and I *know* you are right, but the left are bad-faith actors, and noises about mobility are invariably the bait lead-in to some major social-engineering switch. Nearly twenty years ago it was, "Job lock means that we need single-payer." In the linked article it is, "Lack of labor mobility means that we need to force lenders to accept coercive refinancing." It is a mistake to latch onto the diversion hand when you know that the other hand is swinging a club right at your head.

61

Death penalty for anyone over age 60.

Posted by: Gen X Slug at August 23, 2011 09:24 AM (sbV1u)

How about people who don't pay taxes can't vote.

62 Posted by: Sean Bannion at August 23, 2011 09:23 AM (sbV1u)

Okay, but that still doesn't speak to the merits of the program, unless you were implying "yes, that's the way it should work: block grants to States, and then States allocate the funds."

And I think the DOL is unconstitutional anyway.

63 14 million Americans out of work... 12 million illegal aliens... hmm.

64 57 Posted by: Y-not at August 23, 2011 09:18 AM (5H6zj)

Some people apply to those jobs in the hopes that the offer will be enough that they can move, or will include relocation assistance.

---

No, people are trapped in their houses.  They need to confront the fact that they will either be selling at a loss or need to rent out their property until the market turns around. 

There are very few positions in higher ed that would cover the cost of your mortgage until you sign on the dotted line.  Most of the ones I know about are at the level of President, Provost, Athletic Director, and sometimes Sr. VP... and mostly in California.

65

Death penalty for anyone over age 60.

Obamacare has that covered.

66 Death penalty for anyone over age 60. Not only that. If we rendered them the fat could be used as a bio fuel. Create heat, turn a turbine, make some electricity. My Computer doesn't run on unicorn farts.

67

Pardon the mixage, but IÂ’ve thought that Katy Perry has been a little over the top in pushing the envelope.  I forgive her.  She can be as hot as she wants.

68 Education should provide the skills you need to learn not just the things in the classroom, but throughout your life.  A well-educated person can adapt to new situations and translate skills from one arena to another.

Education is what you have left over after you have forgotten everything you've learned.

69 51 EJ Dionne is borderline retarded.Alright,not borderline,he IS retarded.Buffet should DIAF.

70 until you sign on the dotted line

after you sign on the dotted line... more coffee...

71 Speaking of "free" crap, the Obama Administration's plan to expand the "free" school meal coverage to people has already been covered, but it bears repeating again and again -

Obama Baits the Dependency Trap

The Obama administration is busy expanding the exact type of vicious, ungrateful underclass which recently exploded in London.  An administration program will expand free school meal coverage to millions of young people who are not even supposed to be eligible.

A stated goal of the program is to eliminate the stigma of getting a free lunch.  But that stigma is one of the only things separating dignified free people from wretched government dependants.  There is a lot of gray in between, but the Obama program would take students from a young age and nudge them in the wrong direction.

72 Posted by: Vic at August 23, 2011 09:26 AM (M9Ie6)

I like that plan.  Unfortunately, it'll never fly.  But I like it anyway.

73

And I think the DOL is unconstitutional anyway.
Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) is tired beyond tired of the trolls at August 23, 2011 09:27 AM (8y9MW)

Yes that is what I was implying.

And I am with you on the Consitutionality argument - weakly.

I am more down with the argument that says, "It doesn't work.  Kill it."

74 70 Warren AND Jimmy.Cheesburger in hell,douche!!

75

How about people who don't pay taxes can't vote.

Posted by: Vic at August 23, 2011 09:26 AM (M9Ie6)

That works too.

76 If we totally eliminated the Dept of Education, the Dept of Energy, the Dept of Labor, the Depart of Agriculture, Health and Human services and ALL of their assorted regulations the decrease in spending with the increase in the economy would not only balance the budget but would start paying off the debt.

77 Republicans Oppose Payroll Tax Break Extension
Translation: Republicans support increasing payroll taxes.

I wasn't even aware that there was a 2 point cut in the employee side of the social security tax. Doing the rough math in my head that seems to be about a 15% cut in the total Social Security tax (employee and employer tax combined).

This did nothing to the employer's 6% contribution, only the employee side was cut. And since it was legislated to only last a year, and no one has called for a permanent cut, AND a permanent 15% cut in Social Security to pay for it where do they think the money will come from?

Last I checked Social Security was at a break even (hand to mouth) accounting situation, with massive red ink in its future.

78 Posted by: Y-not at August 23, 2011 09:27 AM (5H6zj)

I didn't say "all" I said "some."

Indeed, when I was looking to move from Abilene to DFW I had to look until I found a job that would pay enough to pay back the expenses I would incur in moving.

I didn't have a mortgage at the time (and even if I had, it was before the bubble burst), but the same thing factors in even now.  If I were looking to relocate, I would have to find a job that would pay well enough to cover rent at an apartment AND my mortgage payment until I could sell my house, for instance.

79 "UPDATE 1: Those evil GOP bastards want to tax the poor! Well...yeah. When half of the people in the country pay no federal income-tax at all, they have no skin in the game. Everybody should pay something for the government they receive, just to remind them that government isn't free."

funny, words mean something, huntsman, this is the first time I've seen him except for the debate, was on squawk box and characterized this beautifully when face with the question "how come republicans suddenly want to tax?".....he said he wants to "broaden the tax base" and eliminate gifts to corporations....

the other two might do well to listen and learn....start using the "broaden the tax base" idea, it sounds so much nicer and more civilized than "taxing the poor"..............

80 77, Throw in raising the retirement age and means testing for entitlements and I think you got something.

81

I am more down with the argument that says, "It doesn't work.  Kill it."

Posted by: Sean Bannion at August 23, 2011 09:29 AM (sbV1u)

You bitter clingers just don't understand the intricacies of government spending. If a program doesn't work, the problem is that it has not been funded correctly. Government programs by definition are good for the country. So if one isn't working, just up the budget!

Don't worry, we know what we are doing. We all went to Ivy League schools.

82 "Throw in raising the retirement age and means testing for entitlements and I think you got something." Heh. "But when the taxman comes to the door, Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes."

83 Throw in raising the retirement age and means testing for entitlements and I think you got something.

Posted by: Oldsailor's poet at August 23, 2011 09:34 AM (ZDUD4)

They already did that twice and simply spent the money. Those kind of "fixes" do not work. The only way to "fix" it is to privatize it or get rid of it totally.

84

As for that Bloomberg paper, what it neglects to mention is that most of that stock sell off will come from 401K accounts that people are REQUIRED BY LAW to start selling off by a certain age.

Yup.  Also, and I could be way waaaaay wrong about this, but I do believe that much of that is in tax deferred not tax exempt holdings.  If that's correct, then expect massive, massive shrieking about how unfair it is to be taxed at regular income rates for required selloffs on assets that are now worth 1/3 of what they were pre-2008.   The whining, it will be epic.  Oh and that's not a shot at Boomers, I think anyone, of any generation, would be pissed as hell as taking what is perceived as a double loss. 

That's assuming, of course, that I'm not utterly wrong about the tax implications.  I haven't been following this too closely.

85 Vic, I understand your anger and fear. You're a Moron and you don't want to wind up in a casserole dish of Hobo Helper at a Moron Meetup 20 years from now. Relax, buddy. Your skull will have a place of honor as a "Moron Hall of Fame" series beer stein or cigar ashtray. Don't take it personally.

86

You know how I know that weÂ’re DOOMed?  I look on this mug and say to myself, “Self.  WeÂ’re toast.”

ThatÂ’s the look of, “When your money runs out, youÂ’re dead!  And IÂ’ll kill you!”

87 Yeah, I'm not meaning to give you such a hard time, AllenG.  But someone applying for a position below VP in higher ed (particularly in a public institution) should not expect more than a basic moving package.  They cannot expect the institution to assume the risk of their mortgage until their home sells. 

It's a waste of everyone's time to go through the song and dance of interviewing, particularly if you're an out of state applicant. That requirement should be raised in the first screening phone call.

88 85, Really Vic? I worked with a 68 year old electrician that made 100K a year. He was supplemented with a $2200 a month SSI check. It doesn't sound like they fixed shit.

89 Calling BS on this in the Slate article:

The theory that these people don't appreciate how much the government is moving around money is just that: completely theoretical.

It's not just theoretical.  I'm well aware of Federal (oh, yes, and State) gas taxes.  I don't factor that into the price of a gallon of gasoline- largely because it is specifically an "invisible" tax (gas stations aren't allowed to tell you how much of that price-per-gallon is going to taxes).  And, while I know about my (theoretical) 8% (or so) Payroll taxes (SS & Medicare), those are withheld from me, so I never actually see that money in the first place.

Now, I'm not some policy wonk, but if I can see that this one sentence is that full of crap, how bad is the rest of the article?  The fact is, if you're not paying income tax you're not paying your "fair share."  You don't get to scream about "fairness" when you're paying $0.00 or less (in way too many cases) in income taxes.

90 SS first step: Means testing with a lump sum (non-taxable) payout to the heirs if the beneficiary kicks it before needing to access what they paid in. 

91 Pasted due to it being behind a pay wall. Real world example of how privatizing social security makes millionaire retirees instead of hundredaires. For the same end user cost.
-------
ACHIEVING REAL SOCIAL SECURITY     
Written by Richard Rahn    
Thursday, 15 May 2008 

Berlin, Germany. If you were asked to name one person who has enabled more people to gain wealth and security than any other person on the globe, who would you name?

In 1881, here in Berlin, Otto von Bismarck started the world's first modern pay-as-you-go social security system which served as the model for the U.S. Social Security system and that of many other countries, including setting the retirement age at 65. No, Bismarck is not the answer to the opening question. 

The answer is a fellow named José Piñera.  Here is why.

Bismarck's social security system was basically a Ponzi scheme whereby young workers pay taxes to support the retirees. It only works over the long run where the population is growing and where most retirees do not live very long.

These conditions no longer exist in the high-income countries. And even in low- and middle-income countries, population growth has slowed, and lifespans increase rapidly. As a result, many of the world's social security systems have become retirement insecurity systems as they head toward bankruptcy.

Thirty years ago, a young José Piñera, who had earned a Ph.D. at Harvard, was Chile's labor minister. He saw the coming disaster in the government old-age pension system.

Inspired by an idea from the late Nobel Prize winning economist, Milton Friedman, he developed a solution that empowers workers and gives them real financial security. Pinera-type social security systems have now been adopted by more than 30 countries and cover several hundred million people - for a very simple reason - it works!

Under the Piñera-type social security systems, workers are required to invest in highly diversified, qualified funds. Because they actually own their pension funds (like 401(k) funds in the United States), workers can choose their age of retirement, whether it is age 50 or 80. The longer they work, the more money they will have - but again each individual determines his or her own retirement age. (The very poor and those unable to work are still covered by a government system.)

Mr. Piñera is here in Berlin, selling his concept to German opinion leaders, as part of a multi-country "Free Market Road Show" sponsored by the European Center for Economic Growth and the Hayek Institute of Vienna, Austria.

The Chilean privatized system began in 1981, exactly 100 years after Bismarck instituted his system in Germany. It has been 29 years since the system went into effect in Chile so Mr. Piñera now can answer his critics, not only with theoretical arguments, but with hard data. 
The results are remarkable. Chile's citizens have on average experienced a 10 percent per year, above inflation, compounded growth rate in their pension funds for the last 29 years. The result is most Chileans are no longer poor, but are, in fact, "small capitalists."

The Chilean government, increasingly freed from paying pensions out of tax funds (almost all Chileans have moved into the private accounts, though they could have stayed in the old government system), is now running a budget surplus of 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), which could pave the way for the abolition of the income tax.

The new Chilean system has provided so much investment capital that Chile moved from being a poor country to being a solid middle-income country with the highest per capita income in South America.

Critics in the U.S. and elsewhere claim investing pension funds in stocks and bonds is risky, but the real risk to the elderly is being trapped in government social security schemes headed toward insolvency.

In 1981, the Dow Jones stock average stood at about 800. Despite all the ups and downs over the years, and the turmoil of this last year, the Dow Jones average stands about 12,800 or about 16 times where it was in 1981. Those Americans now retiring on Social Security will unfortunately receive only very modest payments in relation to what they could have received if their political leaders had not kept them locked into a fiscally unsustainable government system.

Some critics of privatized social security claim that even though the returns are better under a privatized system, the "transition costs" are too great. In fact, there are no economic costs to the country of the transition, as Chile and other countries which have adopted the privatized system have shown.

We now know that both in theory and practice privatized social security works far better than pay-as-you-go government systems. Opponents can only keep their citizens from adopting Piñera-type systems by keeping them ignorant of the benefits, and making false statements about the privatized social security system's successes.

Fortunately, the world still has a very vigorous José Piñera, who for three decades has made it his life's work to empower workers and make them small capitalists, freed from the government foot upon their necks. Mr. Piñera has already made life more secure and prosperous for millions, and with luck it will soon be billions of people.

John McCain and Barack Obama, are you listening?

Richard W. Rahn is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth.

92 http://is.gd/SBHFak  The newest Insider.

93 Posted by: alexthechick at August 23, 2011 09:37 AM (VtjlW)

The whole idea was that you would be taxed at a lower income rate after you retire. IOW most people would be taxed at the 15% rate after retirement vs the 30% rate while working.

What a lot of people did not allow for was inflation and the fact that if they built up enough funds they could still wind up being taxed at the 30% rate.

I saw that coming and a lot of my retirement holdings are NOT part of a tax deferred 401K.

In any case, if you have to sell at a loss even if it is a 401K you can still take a capitol loss on those holdings to offset all or some of the tax deferred part.

94 O/T, but people have been asking: I finally got my email from RickPerry.org.  Just an introductory one with links to giving site and volunteer page.

Still nothing from Americans for Perry.

95

Top o' the mornin', M&Ms! 

Just skimmed over the comments to Cantor's op-ed at the WaPo, and read the EJ Dionne article.  Teh stupid is strong over there.  Actually, it goes beyond stupid into outright delusional. 

96 Whadda mean I can't use the projected tax revenue from a mature 401K as collateral to finance entitlements today?  You what?  You cashed out early?

97 Yeah, I'm not meaning to give you such a hard time, AllenG.  But someone applying for a position below VP in higher ed (particularly in a public institution) should not expect more than a basic moving package.  They cannot expect the institution to assume the risk of their mortgage until their home sells.

Ummm... I don't think I said that.  I'm talking purely about salary (and maybe some basic relocation assistance specifically with moving costs).  If I were to relocate, the salary at the new position would have to cover those things.

And I don't know of any major position which posts the exact salary someone would be making, since those are negotiable so often.

Like I said, that's why you wait until the offer.  It may also be a negotiating tactic (if so, they're doing it wrong).  The actual tactic goes something like, "Well that's a nice salary and benefits package, but I can't afford to move all my stuff.  I'll have to decline."  At which point they're hoping you'll have liked them enough that you'll say, "Oh, don't worry about moving.  We'll pay for a moving service!"

98 Really Vic? I worked with a 68 year old electrician that made 100K a year. He was supplemented with a $2200 a month SSI check. It doesn't sound like they fixed shit.

Posted by: Oldsailor's poet at August 23, 2011 09:39 AM (ZDUD4)

They raised the retirement age and started taxing SS income over a very small amount. That is a form of "means testing". They did that increase on two separate occasions to get past the so-called "baby boomer hump".

So yes, that electrician was paying a large portion of the SSI check back to the government in the form of double taxation.

99 Yeah, we're in a depression - I've known it all along, and am somewhat gladdened to have a few others join in the misery of reality.

100 Surprised at the absence of artist design in the MLK statue. What a hideous sculpture. Looked like Sparky's styrofoam temple.

101
And I don't know of any major position which posts the exact salary someone would be making, since those are negotiable so often.

OK, that's our disconnect.  Higher ed publics post salary ranges as well as the salaries of incumbents. 

In addition, salaries (maxima) are generally discussed up-front in the screening call. 

102 " ...they canÂ’t force people to borrow money."

Oh, really - not borrowing money seems to be more "commerce" than not buying health insurance.

103 102 Surprised at the absence of artist design in the MLK statue. What a hideous sculpture. Looked like Sparky's styrofoam temple.
----
First thing that surprised me was that his heirs didn't sue for illegal use of trademark. So I can only conclude they were paid off big time.

104

The point is, our CURRENT deficit is not driven by entitlements

It certainly is in part. Medicare, Medicaid, SSDI, and Social Security spend more than they take in.

105 Simply quote an MLK speech, and sit back and wait for the cease and desist letter to come in the mail.

106 Death penalty for anyone over age 60.

Star Trek did it.

107 38 Yes, all of our problems are due to Gen X and Y slugs electing communists to office and being too lazy to work and pay taxes.

That is the problem.

Posted by: Vic at August 23, 2011 09:15 AM (M9Ie6)

I hope that was sarcasm. 

108

Ha!  I got something right!  Go Team Me! 

What a lot of people did not allow for was inflation and the fact that if they built up enough funds they could still wind up being taxed at the 30% rate.

I saw that coming and a lot of my retirement holdings are NOT part of a tax deferred 401K.

In any case, if you have to sell at a loss even if it is a 401K you can still take a capitol loss on those holdings to offset all or some of the tax deferred part.

I'm presuming that the loss would be an actual loss vs. loss of prior accumulated earnings.  In other words, sure, you get the loss if you have to sell for less than initial investment.  I'm talking about the situation where people are looking at their statements from three years ago, hell, three weeks ago, as opposed to what they are selling for today and then finding out that not only have they lost a metric fuckton of the prior gains, hey, you owe 30% taxes on what's left as well.  That's going to leave a mark. 

I'm not advocating that any of that be changed, I'm simply saying that when people have to pay out the taxes in a lump sum, well, it's shocking.  For example, a few years ago I received a very large bonus.   When the actual check was finally issued it was for just about half of the gross amount after state, local and federal taxes.  My mother was horrified by this while I wasn't shocked since I'd taken that into account when determining what I would actually received.  I have a sneaking suspicion that the vast majority of those making these sales are going to be calling their brokers furious about where 1/3 of their money has gone.

109 108 Death penalty for anyone over age 60.

Star Trek did it.
---
As did logans run, but the age was 35 I think

110 Go Big. Go Long. Go Global. And get pissed off.

Now, any questions?

111 #105, His heirs got  800,000 for use of his quote on this monstrosity.

112 Nobody is talking about the U.N.  Why?  Why isn't anyone talking about what a waste of a sinkhole for money that is?  Not to mention the anti-west, anti-democracy tilt.  We need to be out.

113 Posted by: Y-not at August 23, 2011 09:47 AM (5H6zj)

Oh.  Okay.  Yes, then, in that circumstance, anyone even applying when they know they won't take the position is kind of stupid.

It doesn't work that way in the software biz.

114

Pardon the mixage, but IÂ’ve thought that Katy Perry has been a little over the top in pushing the envelope.  I forgive her.  She can be as hot as she wants.

Did you read the update?  Apparently, her request for a "prayer for Israel" wasn't as specific as originally thought - she pulled it back.

115 Nobody is talking about the U.N.  Why?  Why isn't anyone talking about what a waste of a sinkhole for money that is?  Not to mention the anti-west, anti-democracy tilt.  We need to be out.

Drop in the bucket.  In the grand scheme of things, we don't send the UN that much of our money.  So, yes, we need to get out (and let NY start charging them going rate for the use of that land), and that would save us some money, but it's not major enough to get a lot of air time.

116 Moslems pray for Israel 5 times a day. Its the content of the prayer that matters.

117 Is Barry going on TV today?  Just wondering because I don't really feel the DOOM unless he's on TV. 

118 The child tax credit should be nullified for anyone on welfare! Raise taxes that way. If you don't have any kids but make 34,400 per year you pay 25% taxes. 8,500$ Just in federal each year. How could you ever buy even a small home or save for retirement? Rent,food, gas, taxes and your broke. (The tax rate for people who make 350k is 35%) Does that sound like someone who needs to have their taxes raised? We all know some long term unemployed people on welfare and several kids in government housing who get 3-6k tax rebate checks each year on no paid taxes. Whose kids will all cost 150 =/- to 14 year "educate" at the end of which will go on welfare and will and repeat the cycle. That's your problem right there. http://www.moneychimp.com/features/tax_brackets.htm

119 On that link in the sidebar about Muslims asking for no-interest student loans.

I know it won't happen (we'll capitulate, I'm sure) but I'd love to say to them: You don't have to pay interest on a student loan.  The way you avoid it is by not taking the loan.

So which is more important, your religion, or your education?  I don't care which you pick, but they are incompatible in this particular instance.

120 correction 150 = 150k$ in k-12 education costs

121 'Mandatory spending'--why is it that when it comes to cutting spending, 'You can't bind future Congresses', you have to spend ever increasing amounts on 'mandatory spending', thus indicating you very clearly can?

I suspect I already know the answer, just wanted that one out of my system.

122 Home Sales  DOOM!

Home sales fall third month in a row to lowest level since 1963.

123

Did you read the update?  Apparently, her request for a "prayer for Israel" wasn't as specific as originally thought - she pulled it back.

Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at August 23, 2011 09:55 AM (9hSKh)

Yeah. I saw it.  I didn't really see all that much wrong with it.  She doesn't want people to kill people.  Plus, I'm sure she's as pragmatic as anyone else in keeping her fans pacified and buying her songs.  Didn't work too well from the comments.  Maybe she'll see the inherent Anti-Semitism of her fans and see the problem there.  She still prayed for Israel.  That's the important thing, imo.

124 Drop in the bucket.  In the grand scheme of things, we don't send the UN that much of our money.  So, yes, we need to get out (and let NY start charging them going rate for the use of that land), and that would save us some money, but it's not major enough to get a lot of air time.

Sometimes, it's not the amount, it's the effect.  And I posit the UN is now having a net negative effect far out of proportion to the actual dollar amount expended.

Kind of like the amount expended on regulatory regimes vs. the amount they retard the economy.

Sonofagun.  There really is a multiplier effect!

125
  Cannot understand why I should be forced to withdraw some of the money in my retirement accounts. This is scheduled to happen to me shortly--afaic, the ultimate disposition of MY money should rest with ME. If that means making a small neat pile and burning it in the driveway, so be it. I don't need some shitfaced asshole instructing me on what and when to do something.

  Not earth shaking, but DAMN, that crap gets old quick.

126 118 Moslems pray for against Israel 5 times a day. Its the content of the prayer that matters.

Posted by: Jimmah at August 23, 2011 09:57 AM (XEK+4)

FIFY.

127 122 correction 150 = 150k$ in k-12 education costs
---
90% comes from local property taxes & some state money. Feds kick in 4% to control the whole thing.

I'm pretty sure I could have hired someone for $450k to get my 3 kids to 12th grade level of education, and they probably could do it in half the time.

128 I'm not advocating that any of that be changed, I'm simply saying that when people have to pay out the taxes in a lump sum, well, it's shocking.

Tell me about it. Part of my early retirement was a lump some payment. In any case when you reach the age for withdrawing 401K funds you begin to withdraw them on a reverse amortization schedule. You don't withdraw then at once.

In fact, if you withdraw more than the scheduled amount (or less) you have to pay a 10% surcharge tax on top of what ever your normal tax rate is.

As for people who see their total drop by a huge amount due to the stock market collapse they should know what they have and they will certainly know what they are withdrawing when they take it out of the 401K.

And BTW, my 401K dropped about 25% during the collapse but soon recovered. In any case, I am making withdrawals of the dividends now which do not change as long as the company does not change their dividend payout. You don't pay a penalty on the dividends as they are not reinvested and are not tax deferred.

129 Hurricane kitteh.

130 Someone was suggesting a drinking game every time there's a positive article on Perry... pointing out that one for each negative article would soon lead to blood alcohol poisoning and death. 

What is always "fun" to watch are the ways the media/entertainment complex spread out their bias.  For example, how many positive stories have we seen about home gardens and "meatless Mondays" etc since entering the joy-joy world of Barry and Michelle's fabulously fun depression?  And how many positive stories have their been about Portugese water dogs at doggy sites and Sunday supplements?

Anyway, I am predicting a wave of stories about how over-bred Labrador retrievers are and how irresponsible it is for people to buy them. 

131 I guess what the boomers will have to start doing is making a "why generation x'ers suck" every other post.

Posted by: Vic at August 23, 2011 08:59 AM (M9Ie6)

Don't give them any fucking ideas.  We of the post-Boom are already royally boned.

132 If you don't have any kids but make 34,400 per year you pay 25% taxes. 8,500$ Just in federal each year. How could you ever buy even a small home or save for retirement? Rent,food, gas, taxes and your broke.

Not necessarily.  If you're talking a married couple, without kids, making 34,400, then, yes, you're right, they probably don't have enough to save very much (though you'd be surprised at how little you have to save to "save for retirement" if you do it right).  But, if they're a married couple without kids, why are they only making 34k/yr?

Is it because they're "just starting out?"  Well, then, in a couple of years they'll probably be making more money (not to mention having a kid or two so they, too, can get that child tax credit (no, not supporting the ctc, even though I get it and really, really like it)), and then it's a different ball of wax.

Are they only making 34K/yr because they've decided to be a one income family, and that's the best job the bread-winner (probably the husband, but not always) can make?  Well, maybe they need to re-evaluate their priorities, and the other spouse can go get a job.

The fact is, we look at income in working years like it is static, and it isn't.  In just the last 2 years (by switching jobs as I became more marketable) I've had about a 50% raise.  That's what happens when you're still fairly young and gaining more experience and skills.  At some point, that will "top out" for me.  I'm in software development, so that "top out" point will probably be between 80 & 110k/yr.  A family of 4 can live on 110k/yr and have a house, and save for retirement, and all kinds of other things- if they budget properly and spend wisely.

Now, if you're talking about a single person, those numbers change again.  YMMV based on cost of living, but in DFW, a single person making 34,400/yr might not have their own house, but they're not going to be hurting, either.

133 My father-in-law sent me an e-mail yesterday complaining about Perry and suggesting he may vote for.....Ron Paul.

I banged my head repeatedly on the desk.

134 Another morning push for 11K, but I don't think it will hold.  +107.36 (0.99%)

135 I think the statue of MLK is perfect. But then, I don't like the man.

136 First thing that surprised me was that his heirs didn't sue for illegal use of trademark. So I can only conclude they were paid off big time.

Posted by: Jimmah at August 23, 2011 09:48 AM (XEK+4)

I don't think I've seen a family that's been so blatantly shameless in their overarching desire to cash in on every opportunity of reference to MLK.

137 I banged my head repeatedly on the desk.

Wrong head, Jane.  ;-)

138 The one year cut of 2% in employee side SS taxes is exacerbating the SS problem, particularly since it went into the red on an actual cash in/out basis this year. So it is adding directly to the deficit. Here are some of my other thoughts on this issue.
 
While I am against tax increases, this isn't one. It is a return to regular tax law. Also keep in mind that the courts have ruled that it is not a savings account, but just a tax.
 
The liberals would naturally target this tax is it is levied against your very first dollar of earnings and is not refundable at the end of the year.
 
I actually want the whole thing scrapped and a 401k type system set up in its place. One thing is obvious -- it must be reformed somehow.

139 Posted by: Y-not at August 23, 2011 10:11 AM (5H6zj)

Keep it clean ladies!

140 140 The one year cut of 2% in employee side SS taxes is exacerbating the SS problem, particularly since it went into the red on an actual cash in/out basis this year. So it is adding directly to the deficit. Here are some of my other thoughts on this issue.
 
While I am against tax increases, this isn't one. It is a return to regular tax law. Also keep in mind that the courts have ruled that it is not a savings account, but just a tax.
 
The liberals would naturally target this tax is it is levied against your very first dollar of earnings and is not refundable at the end of the year.
 
I actually want the whole thing scrapped and a 401k type system set up in its place. One thing is obvious -- it must be reformed somehow.
------
(R's) proposed that in 2006 (or was it 2003?) in the big reform fight. Dems flipped out. And what reps proposed was an extrememly watered down version of what would have needed to be done to save Social Security.

141

 My father-in-law sent me an e-mail yesterday complaining about Perry and suggesting he may vote for.....Ron Paul.

I banged my head repeatedly on the desk.

I'm right there with you on the parental head/desk.  I went over to my parents' house last night for dinner for to catch them up on the Wedding O'Doom and discovered that my father fell and broke his collar bone on Friday but they didn't want to call and tell me because they didn't want me to worry.  And they wonder why I am considering functional alcoholism as a life choice.

142 I really am a stuttering clusterfuck of a miserable failure.

143

http://yfrog.com/kkrb60j

Talk about a photo being worth a thousand words.......


Taken at the National Cemetery in Minneapolis on a June morning as it appeared in the Minneapolis Star/Tribune.

This should become an official Memorial Day, 4th of July and/o r Veterans Day remembrance photo; "Our symbol standing guard".

144 "Fortunately, the world still has a very vigorous José Piñera, who for three decades has made it his life's work to empower workers and make them small capitalists, freed from the government foot upon their necks." Is a Piñera even possible without a Pinochet to set the table? Or asked another way: Why is it that conventional wisdom holds Social Security reform to be the third rail of politics?

145 But he [the Indonesian Imbecile] has also made clear that he would never support the type of structural changes to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security needed to make these programs solvent as envisioned in our budget — even if Republicans agree to his demand for tax increases.

Cantor is screwing the pooch, again.  I am getting SOOOOO sick of this shit.  It's pathetic.

First of all, he speaks about Barky as if the Indonesian were a serious person whose thoughts merited any consideration, at all.  They don't.  I'd sooner listen to a 7 year old opine about anything than treat Barky as if he were a sentient being.  Barky can barely breathe without the aid of machines.  Who cares what the Indonesian Imbecile has "made clear"?

The second problem - and the worst - is that Cantor is, yet once again, conflating SS and Medicare with MediCAID, as if they are all the same.  THEY ARE NOT.  Not even close.  To continue to speak about them as if they are the same is to miss one of the most important points and to aid the Indonesian in keeping ObamaCare alive, so that it can insure the ruin of America, even if SS and MediCare were totally cut to ZERO - which Barky wouldn't mind doing.  Cantor is helping the America-hater out in this, as the rest of the GOP leadership has been doing.

We need to get rid of the whole of this GOP leadership.  They all suck shit.

Cantor shows what a dipshit he is by continuing on:

While a compromise on the way to strengthen entitlements may be one thing,

This is the sort of thing that only an idiot would even think to say.  Cantor let Barky slap himi down during the debt-limit "negotiation" and he then shut his mouth for the duration.  Cantor has the distinction of being the first person on the right who Barky trash-talked in the media about and whho actually shut his mouth because of it. 

Cantor's a loser.  He loses for himself.  Get him out of the leadership so he doesn't lose for America, too.

146 Why is it that conventional wisdom holds Social Security reform to be the third rail of politics?

Because "conventional wisdom" really means "what the media supports."  And the media supports complete dependance of the peasantry upon the noble class. 

Liberalism = Neo-Feudalism.  Never forget it.

Also: Barack Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable failure.

147 111 108 Death penalty for anyone over age 60.

Star Trek did it.
---
As did logans run, but the age was 35 I think

Posted by: Jimmah at August 23, 2011 09:54 AM (XEK+4)

Anything to get rid of David Ogden Stiers as a love interest.

148 I think the statue of MLK is perfect.

Mrs928 loves it.  Quote:  If I ever had a statue made of me, I want it to look like that.

149 "Anything to get rid of David Ogden Stiers as a love interest." Heh. Backport it to M*A*S*H and apply it to Alda. That would be cooking with gas.

150 Posted by: progressoverpeace at August 23, 2011 10:22 AM (F5tJy)

It's been a while since I took organizational behavior, but I recall that there are pressures to conform as the decision-making group gets larger. This is the issue in congress; they lose their convictions when faced with the pressure of the group.

Unfortunately this tells me that our politicians are, by and large, cocksucking cowards.

151  A family of 4 can live on 110k/yr and have a house, and save for retirement, and all kinds of other things- if they budget properly and spend wisely.

Where?

152

The statue body does look like Mao. It's creepy.

153 William Dyer (of Beldar blog, the Texas trial atty) had been keen on Ryan.  His latest post is up in which he reacts to Ryan's decision to not run and touches (some) on Perry.  Comments do, too. 

154 Posted by: Jean at August 23, 2011 10:28 AM (WkuV6)

Arlington, TX, among other places.  Between us, my wife and I make less than that.

155

Re:  Boomers

Just the kind of monkey slinging shit analysis I've become accustomed to around here...BTW, I'm a retired military business owner...My handyman is seventy and gets more done than the two whiny 35 year olds I had before.  When I see how hard that guy works and think of the mindless insults directed at him and others by people like you...Fucking pathetic punk comes to mind, flinging shit from the safety of your electronic world...Weak!

156 Nozzle,
There's a subset of folks here who toss agisms around like grenades.
We don't all do it. 

157

You know how I know that weÂ’re DOOMed?  I look on this mug and say to myself, “Self.  WeÂ’re toast.”

ThatÂ’s the look of, “When your money runs out, youÂ’re dead!  And IÂ’ll kill you!”

Posted by: Hussein the Plumber at August 23, 2011 09:38 AM (jx2j9)

Holy shit, it's Thulsa Doom in drag!

158 On second thought, how appropriate is it to have a statue of a black man in DC erected in 2011 that was created by the Chinese and paid for with borrowed Chinese money/grants. The civil rights marches have come full circle. Hope that some of  those people weeping at the memorial know that MLK was a republican and pro-life. I guarentee that none do.

159 Here in NoVa that would be food stamp territory.  Esp. if that was 2 incomes, instead of a single earner, and childcare was needed.

160 Where?

Posted by: Jean at August 23, 2011 10:28 AM (WkuV6)

Just about anywhere in the South.

161

I'm pretty sure I could have hired someone for $450k to get my 3 kids to 12th grade level of education, and they probably could do it in half the time.

The average amount spent per pupil in this country is $10k, which means that for an average class of 30 the cost is $300k.  I know plenty of people who'd be willing to take $200K to teach 30 kids for a year, and pay for the cost of a building and supplies.

162 156 Posted by: Jean at August 23, 2011 10:28 AM (WkuV6)

Arlington, TX, among other places.  Between us, my wife and I make less than that.

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) is tired beyond tired of the trolls at August 23, 2011 10:29 AM (8y9MW)

In Arlington Va, not so much. But then you can use the public schools.

163

The average amount spent per pupil in this country is $10k, which means that for an average class of 30 the cost is $300k.  I know plenty of people who'd be willing to take $200K to teach 30 kids for a year, and pay for the cost of a building and supplies.

Posted by: Alex

 

Yup. Like any Catholic school for example. And this is why vouchers are being fought.

164 Posted by: dagny at August 23, 2011 10:33 AM (YFYRZ)

If my wife were to keep working next year (our plan is for her to stay home with our kids) we could afford private school.  Indeed, it would be cheaper than the daycare we're paying right now (avg. private school tuition for a year in my area is about $7,000/yr per kid.  Right now I'm paying better than 20k/yr (combined) for my kid's daycare.)

165 159

You know how I know that we’re DOOMed? I look on this mug and say to myself, “Self. We’re toast.”

That’s the look of, “When your money runs out, you’re dead! And I’ll kill you!”

Posted by: Hussein the Plumber at August 23, 2011 09:38 AM (jx2j9)

Holy shit, it's Thulsa Doom in drag!

----

Gonna need an old priest and a young priest to fix that ladies problem.

166 It's been a while since I took organizational behavior, but I recall that there are pressures to conform as the decision-making group gets larger. This is the issue in congress; they lose their convictions when faced with the pressure of the group.

It might well be retarded peer pressure that Cantor is succumbing to, but that is just another argument why such a sheep shouldn't be in the leadership.  As Alexander the Great said,

"I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep."

Unfortunately this tells me that our politicians are, by and large, cocksucking cowards.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJConservative) at August 23, 2011 10:26 AM (LH6ir)

They are.  But, all we need are a few brave souls for the leadership.  Bachmann has never been cowed by any of these people and she has shown herself fairly immune to peer pressure. Marsha Blackburn, for example, is another one I'd rather see in the leadership than Cantor of the Weeping Boner.

167 The Doom Post by Monty.
(Cliffs notes version)

Whimsical or Amusing lede.

Eeyore paragraph.

Whine paragraph.

Short seller pushes doom story.

Boomers suck paragraph.

More whine or a boomers suck paragraph.

More short seller prognostications.

Snark and/or Seniors suck paragraph.

Amusing kitteh photo.

168 Has anyone mentioned yet that Ben Stein has come down with a case of the stupids. He has contracted Buffetitis Sorolis.

169 Today's Rasmussen Obama approval:
Strongly approve: 19%
Strongly disapprove: 45%
Total approve: 44%
Total disapprove: 56%

"Approval index": -26
"Abyss index": -1

The first time he's hit 19.  He's had higher strongly disapproves before.

The base is not happy.

170 A family of 4 can live on 110k/yr and have a house, and save for retirement, and all kinds of other things- if they budget properly and spend wisely.

Damn it's expensive where you live.  Come to rural Texas where you can do it with half that.

171 This should become an official Memorial Day, 4th of July and/o r Veterans Day remembrance photo; "Our symbol standing guard".

Posted by: dagny at August 23, 2011 10:21 AM (YFYRZ)

Wow.  Talk about heart in the throat.  Got the chills.  Absolutely awesome pic.

172 Strongly approve: 19% I want to ask these people some questions. Clearly reality isn't their thing.

173 Posted by: Bob Saget at August 23, 2011 10:36 AM (F/4zf)

We'll be able to make it (albeit with a tighter budget) on just my 62/yr starting next year, if some things line up properly (it looks like they will).  I was just pointing out that 110/yr is more than enough.

174 On Saturday's NBC Today, White House correspondent Kristen Welker fawned over President Obama's 10-day excursion to Martha's Vineyard, declaring: "...his first public outing...A bookstore in Vineyard Haven where he, Malia, and Sasha bought eight books." A crowd outside the store could be heard chanting: "Four more years! Four more years!"


_sigh

175 So, what's with the MLK statue?  MLK is the only individual who seems to rate a federal holiday - no one else was nearly as important to the development of our nation, evidently.  Isn't that personal federal holiday enough?  He needs a statue in DC, too?

This is ridiculous.  Beyond ridiculous, actually.

176

Talk about a stupid Fox headline/link:

The Fall of Qaddafi Could Mean Big Boost to Struggling U.S. Economy

Analysts say a post-Qaddafi increase in Libyan oil production could mean lower prices at the U.S. gas pump.

Good old unknown “analysts” say that huh. Well I say they are full of shit because we get no oil from there and the Europeans are already getting a large amount of oil from there so there will no impact. Soi go suck Obama’s nutsack some more.

177 Pro over Peace@147

This is what I have been saying.  If they are allowed to cut SS and Medicare, it will not result in savings, as Medicaid  will continue to expand and eat whatever profits there are.  I don't know when they were all grouped together, but since they are grouped, they should throw welfare in the group, as that might make the distinctions visible to people.

178

Posted by: I don't know WHO I am anymore at August 23, 2011 10:36 AM (iniPz)

Nobody's making you read it.

179 87 Vic, Relax, buddy. Your skull will have a place of honor as a "Moron Hall of Flame"
__________

FIFY

180 "MLK is the only individual who seems to rate a federal holiday - no one else was nearly as important to the development of our nation, evidently." Technically, "Presidents Day" is still on the books as "Washington's Birthday" in celebration of George Washington. We also celebrate a carpenter and a hypothetical, calculating son-of-a-gun.

181

Good old unknown “analysts” say that huh. Well I say they are full of shit because we get no oil from there and the Europeans are already getting a large amount of oil from there so there will no impact. Soi go suck Obama’s nutsack some more.

Posted by: Vic at August 23, 2011 10:44 AM (M9Ie6)

Besides, I thought that that asinine release of OUR oil from the SPR (I would call that another impeachable act by Barky) was argued to be needed to specifically offset the difference in Libyan production.  Maybe the writer wasn't watching the news that day?  Or, has everyone in the MFM forgotten about the SPR release, already?

182 Things if Obama did would finally lower the 19% Strongly approve. *say unicorns aren't real *raise taxes on hairplug treatments *go swimming without waterwings *caught on camera using 2+ squares of toilet paper *say he was pretty sure moon landing was real *be caught on camera, with a white non marxist *be attacked by a demon rabbit *ask Jimmy Carter for Presidentin advice *declare a preference for underwear brand *Mention that hes a Leo

183 AllenG - daycare here roughly runs 1K per month, I just paid 12K for two kids in Catholic school, so yes, as each one moves up to Kindergarten I get a big raise, a few more to go then maybe I can get a new used car.  That math doesn't work at the HS level; going to have to move out ot the farm and enjoy a hell commute.  10K in property taxes also sucks.

184 87--hahahaha! the flaming skull for a new generation of maroons.

185 my father fell and broke his collar bone on Friday but they didn't want to call and tell me because they didn't want me to worry

Parents can be bizarre with adult children. I drove my mother her doctor last week and when we came to a T intersection she told me I had to wait for the cars on the upright of the T to turn left in front of me.  Thanks, mom, for the vote of confidence.

186 A crowd outside the store could be heard chanting: "Four more years! Four more years!"
Posted by: Jane D'oh

Yeah, right. I wonder how much that crowd cost?

187 "I don't know when they were all grouped together, but since they are grouped, they should throw welfare in the group, as that might make the distinctions visible to people." Divide and conquer. Fight fire with fire. You may not be interested in class warfare, but class warfare is interested in you. Yesterday's story about the woman's outburst over Medicaid in Weiner's old district highlights this. There is an overwhelmingly huge chunk of the population who believe in the "Social Security Trust Fund" and think of it as a lockbox thanks to Democrat demagoguery. Those annual statements that SSA send reinforce the concept. Medicaid is a straight-up welfare program. Get this chunk to see it this way, and we can go after SSDI fraud and abuse next.

188 Singer is blunter. About Washington's impact on the economy, he says simply: "Congress subtracts value."

My old man always used to tell me, "the opposite of progress is...."

189 188 A crowd outside the store could be heard chanting: "Four more years! Four more years!"
Posted by: Jane D'oh

Yeah, right. I wonder how much that crowd cost?

Posted by: Hobbitopoly at August 23, 2011 10:51 AM (h1p5V)

That's confidential, er, I mean, how dare you insinuate such a thing!

190 Yeah, right. I wonder how much that crowd cost?

Posted by: Hobbitopoly at August 23, 2011 10:51 AM (h1p5V)

In Martha's Vineyard? They were probably sincere. Which is even worse than if they had been a rent-a-mob, if you ask me.

191 Nobody's making you read it.

Pfft. DOOM is like crack. Once I've got you hooked, it's impossible to look away!

192 Technically, "Presidents Day" is still on the books as "Washington's Birthday" in celebration of George Washington.

We also celebrate a carpenter and a hypothetical, calculating son-of-a-gun.

Posted by: FRONT TOWARD LEFT at August 23, 2011 10:47 AM (cbyrC)

By name and by all the rhetoric that accompanies the holiday, there is nothing but MLK Day.  It's a joke.  "Washington's Birthday" has had all specific references to GW removed, in favor of a general holiday celebrating The Presidency (which is pretty un-American, frankly).

What's next?  Muslim Day, to celebrate the many (though secret) contributions of muslims to America (over the few decades that the US has actually been unlucky enough to have muslims here)?  Maybe NASA will donate an old rocket for it. I'm sure they can find a muslim who worked as a janitor in one of the companies that had something to do with the construction of the rocket ... muslim contribution to American space exploration!

193 I think "King 3-Putt" would be more accurate.

Obama never even makes par.

194 Barry,

Relax baby, you can blame me for all your problems, especially after I hit NYC early next week.  I might even bring a "black"cloud over the Vineyard if you're lucky.

195 I'm sorry, but The Fed is a stuttering clusterfuck of a miserable failure.  Too.

196 Posted by: Jean at August 23, 2011 10:48 AM (WkuV6)

Ouch.

Yeah, we're paying almost 1500/mo in daycare right now.  That's actually down significantly from the 1700/mo we were paying just a couple of months ago (as the kids get older, their rates decrease, so that's something).  But that's more than my mortgage.  We figured out that my wife only brings in a little more than their daycare each month (net, of course).  So, once my van is paid off (end of the year, in theory), she could stay home with them, and that would still free up room in our budget from where we are now.

197 Now why I ask, would the dems block investigating this?  Rape is a good thing on the left?

Sweetheart, it's not rape-rape.

198 Shiggz,
You gave a link to the tax brackets page but failed to use the calculator they provided!

First off, $34,400 is in the 15% tax bracket..  A person filing singly pays $4,735, not the $8000 plus you quoted.. Their effective tax rate as a percentage of income is 13.76%.

Even people in the 25% rate don't pay 25%.  A single person making $36,000 pays $5125 in taxes, for a real rate of 14.24% of income.

http://www.moneychimp.com/features/tax_brackets.htm

199 178

Talk about a stupid Fox headline/link:

The Fall of Qaddafi Could Mean Big Boost to Struggling U.S. Economy

Analysts say a post-Qaddafi increase in Libyan oil production could mean lower prices at the U.S. gas pump.

---

Headline at MSNBC?

What about Haaalibuurrton!!!!!

Blood for oil!!!!

200 We can all imagine how vulnerable to Obama's reality the "marthas vineyard" crowd is. What it would take for Obama to lose Marthas Vineyard crowd -photographd drinking wine that comes in a box -If gas goes over 150k$ a gallon -speak with a "negro dialect" during non inner city campaign speech. -go to a church that likes American values -buy a "used" car -send his kids to public school -build government housing in Marthas vineyard -add salt to a meal

201 "Some economists are already arguing that Bernanke should go beyond QE3 and deliberately engineer higher inflation, which would gradually reduce the real (inflation-adjusted) value of debt. Theoretically, this is an attractive option."

Wouldn't an articulated and deliberate policy of inflation be against the Federal Reserves charter of stable money?

Federal Reserve Act Section 2A. Monetary Policy Objectives

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee shall maintain long run growth of the monetary and credit aggregates commensurate with the economy's long run potential to increase production, so as to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.

202 Be a shame if Irene were to plant herself over Martha's Vineyard as a heavy wind/rain event.

A crying shame.

203 Yeah, we're paying almost 1500/mo in daycare right now.  That's actually down significantly from the 1700/mo we were paying just a couple of months ago (as the kids get older, their rates decrease, so that's something).  But that's more than my mortgage.  We figured out that my wife only brings in a little more than their daycare each month (net, of course).  So, once my van is paid off (end of the year, in theory), she could stay home with them, and that would still free up room in our budget from where we are now.

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther)

 

I once again thank God for my mother in law,who is a very nice person, and who not only watched our kids, continues to come over to the house and watch them before and after school. The kids are safe, Mrs Hen is happy and our budget probably wouldn't have survived without it. When we moved, we chose a house close to her (but I nixed getting a house in the same neighborhood).

204

Barry has settled on title for new book,  “The Monumental, Breathtaking Audacity of Hypocrisy.”

205 ". . . so as to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates." Heh. It may as well read, ". . . so as to eat our cake and have it, too."

206 toby - all of the wonks here in DC plan on inflating their way out of the debt load, it is just a baseline assumption for them - that is why they don't care about it.

207 brb, capturin' Quadaffy.  And you're welcome.

208 182
We also celebrate a carpenter and a hypothetical, calculating son-of-a-gun.
Posted by: FRONT TOWARD LEFT at August 23, 2011 10:47 AM (cbyrC)

Just heard that for the first time two weeks ago while visiting our Troop's participant at NYLT ...

209 177 So, what's with the MLK statue?  MLK is the only individual who seems to rate a federal holiday - no one else was nearly as important to the development of our nation, evidently.  Isn't that personal federal holiday enough?  He needs a statue in DC, too?

This is ridiculous.  Beyond ridiculous, actually.

Posted by: progressoverpeace at August 23, 2011 10:42 AM (F5tJy)

I kind of like it.  I was born in 1973 and what you don't hear from my generation is why MLK was so great.  Oh, he was great and all -- you're supposed to say it -- but, especially for those of us who didn't grow up in the South, Jim Crow happened a long time ago in a country far, far away.  So he's a guy who made a speech about the content of one's character that's constantly quoted by right-wingers.

He was also murdered.

Oh, and we hear things every once in a while about a plagiarized dissertation and philandering, but that never gets too much play.

And that's about it.

Meanwhile, we have the First Black President, which is an accomplishment.  Someone who "achieved" public office, could actually do things...and he looks like an ant in comparison to King.

210 toby - that also circles back to Monty's statement that the Fed cant issue negative interest debt -- What if the Fed issued a 10y, negative interest, inflation neutral, I-bond?

211 http://is.gd/YhyGq8   This article from Human Events lists where all of the QE's have been going.  Contents obtained due to FoIA.

212 "Some economists are already arguing that Bernanke should go beyond QE3 and deliberately engineer higher inflation, which would gradually reduce the real (inflation-adjusted) value of debt. Theoretically, this is an attractive option."

LOL.  What geniuses.  You can only inflate yourself out of EXISTING debt.  But, when you have to roll your debt over often (as the US national debt is now more concentrated in the shortest maturities than ever before - which is pathetic as long maturities are at record low rates, which we are not taking any advantage of, at all), then the engineered inflation becomes part of the varying interest rates (varying UP).  Further, you build up even more debt as spending isn't changed. 

You can only inflate yourself out of a debt if you stop accumulating debt at that point.  If you are still accumulating debt (as we are and will be for the foreseeable future) then inflation just makes things that much worse, and destroys the transactional utility of the currency (which things far, far worse - especially given our JIT inventory controls and dpendence on transactional processes in real-time more than ever ... just to keep food on the shelves for more than a few days).

213 "Just heard that for the first time two weeks ago while visiting our Troop's participant at NYLT ..." Here's a bit you likely did not hear: "The queen she gave him three fine ships, Each one a triple-decker. The queen she waved her hankerchief, And Columbo waved his. . . "

214

Posted by: Vic at August 23, 2011 10:44 AM (M9Ie6)

 

Beckel tried floating that canard, yesterday.

215 AmishDude, he was also blackmailed by Adam Clayton Powell Sr. into supporting the ruinous policies of Democrats for the African-American community.  That has been forgotten.

216 iowahawkblog David Burge Don't think of it as "Martha's Vineyard." Think of it as Sturgis for Gulfstreams.

217 Hurricane hitting north side of Haiti tonight. Damage is estimated to be in the $100's.

218 211
Meanwhile, we have the First Black President, which is an accomplishment.  Someone who "achieved" public office, could actually do things...and he looks like an ant in comparison to King.
Posted by: AmishDude at August 23, 2011 11:05 AM (73tyQ)

One who, contrary to MLK's expressed wish, was elected for the color of his skin and not the content of his character.

219 Just heard that for the first time two weeks ago while visiting our Troop's participant at NYLT ..."

Here's a bit you likely did not hear:

"The queen she gave him three fine ships,
Each one a triple-decker.
The queen she waved her hankerchief,
And Columbo waved his. . . "

Posted by: FRONT TOWARD LEFT

 

leather doublet?

220 215
Here's a bit you likely did not hear:
Posted by: FRONT TOWARD LEFT at August 23, 2011 11:06 AM (cbyrC)

LOL - you are correct!

221

Failure of the favored obamaite hard left Alinsky Method tactics being exposed when Alinsky Method deployed against Perry. 

222 A family of 4 can live on 110k/yr and have a house, and save for retirement, and all kinds of other things- if they budget properly and spend wisely.

Where?

Posted by: Jean at August 23, 2011 10:28 AM (WkuV6)

Texas, easily.

223 Jebus, just spent a few minutes reading the comments to Cantor's op-ed. I cannot believe that, in this day and age, with such easily available information, there are so many self-proclaimed educated people who willingly spout such nonsense.

That 0bamacare reduces medical costs and the deficit . . .
That 80% of the wealth in the country is in the hands of 20% . . .
That the 47% who don't pay taxes only have 2.5% of the wealth . . .
That those who don't pay taxes really do pay their share through sales, gas and property taxes . . .
That Jon Stewart is an authority . . .
That corporations don't pay taxes, causing the deficit . . .
And pretty much any insult they can think of along with a sprinkling of death wishes.

Yeah, we are totally fucking doomed--these willing fools are allowed to vote.

224 A family of 4 can live on 110k/yr and have a house, and save for retirement, and all kinds of other things- if they budget properly and spend wisely.

Where?

Posted by: Jean at August 23, 2011 10:28 AM (WkuV6)

Barry is working on fixing that little issue.

225 "Eat your peas."

Now where's my statue?

226 Update 2 is frightening

227 Posted by: Blue Hen at August 23, 2011 11:02 AM (326rv)

Yeah, my parents live 3 hours away, and my in-laws live 5 states away, so that wouldn't work for us.

228 "I cannot believe that, in this day and age, with such easily available information, there are so many self-proclaimed educated people who willingly spout such nonsense." So long as the only acceptable defense against lies is truth delivered with civility, lies will always win.

229 225 Jebus, just spent a few minutes reading the comments to Cantor's op-ed. I cannot believe that, in this day and age, with such easily available information, there are so many self-proclaimed educated people who willingly spout such nonsense.
Yeah, we are totally fucking doomed--these willing fools are allowed to vote.
Posted by: Jimmuy at August 23, 2011 11:14 AM (JRjWw)

That's why one campaign plank should be to install the poleax in its rightful place at the voting booth. It would be a small sacrifice the 52% should be willing to make for the good of all, especially the children.

230

EPA Chorus releases new single, “All We Are Saying, Is Give DOOM a Chance.”

231 Hurricane hitting north side of Haiti tonight. Damage is estimated to be in the $100's.

Actually, it did $1,000's in improvements.

232 Doom? ~shrugging~

233 We're Doomed, all right, as long as fawning idiots like this commenter from Politico continue to vote:

Politico's rather gloomy portrait of the public's perception of our president's prowess as Commander-in-Chief and leader in world affairs may be based on some insider interviews and some polls, but I think all that will change in a year. President Obama clearly has restored dignity and respect for the USA around the world. He is immensely more popular than the Bush/Cheney Republicans with their disrespectful, arrogant bullying foreign policy that led to worldwide American contempt and an enormously expensive, heavy-handed, cowardly pre-emptive-strike, basically go-it-alone strategy militarily. We are finally seeing what smart mutual respect, trust and cooperation can achieve around the world. In next year's presidential race Obama will dwarf any Republican candidate on foreign policy and military issues. No one but Huntsman has any foreign policy experience on the Republican side and no one has the gravitas our president has. I think President Obama's low-key military humility concerning military triumphs and the tragedies of war and death is more fitting any military leader and will prove more appealing to most Americans.

234 Thanks Chi-town, I was going by the chart not the calculator. Doesn't change my point though. That the child tax credit should not apply to people on welfare. Its culturally destructive. If you don't think so find a run down neighborhood on food stamp day and walk around the grocery store. Do you think those kids like being raised by parents who see them as a way to increase their "paycheck?" Not all of them of course, but there are many and its ripping apart our civilization like we see in the UK. My used to be working class with a redneck vibe neighborhood has gone lord of the flies and its only accelerating. This dynamic happening all over. Even in middle class neighborhoods, the leftists are building large subsidized government apartments and moving those who "have babies and vote" for living in to turn republican neighborhoods into net democrat neighborhoods. The "one bad apple spoils the bunch" is exactly whats happening to the kids in the neighborhood. A cultural and civilization hole is being dug right now, with our own money, that will probably never be reversed. Don't worry soon the left will do this in your neighborhood. Even when they lose elected office, they still totally own the bureaucracy so this stuff doesn't get interrupted.

235 leather doublet?

longbow?

236 Doesn't change my point though. That the child tax credit should not apply to people on welfare. Its culturally destructive. If you don't think so find a run down neighborhood on food stamp day and walk around the grocery store.

Join the chorus of "17% Flat Tax.  No Deductions.  Income now defined as 'any money you make' regardless of source."

237 Here's another bit you likely did not hear:

For forty days and forty nights
they sailed in search of booty
When on the shore, they spied a whore
By God, she was a beauty!

They went over the rails by heads and tails
a-tearing off their collars
In 14 minutes, by the clock,
she made nine thousand dollars.

238 Can anyone explain why the IRS isn't going after the wall street guys who used all of those mortgage schemes as tax dodges, w/o the proper paperwork?

239 235 No one but Huntsman ...
Posted by: Jane D'oh at August 23, 2011 11:20 AM (UOM4

Subtle! Subtle and futile!

240 Posted by: Jean at August 23, 2011 11:23 AM (WkuV6)

Two words:
Campaign.  Contributions.

241 Barack Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable failure.

242 Enough of this Doom shit!  New cancer cure!

http://tinyurl.com/pmfk6

You can thank me later.

243 Posted by: Jane D'oh at August 23, 2011 11:20 AM (UOM4

That's exactly what I am looking for...when I sock! But I haven't found the correct balance of utter stupidity and ignorance coupled with overweening pride and arrogance.

244

NPR geniuses say smart shit that Tea Partiers are too racist to understand.  But I didnÂ’t understand the smart shit they said so the first sentence is just a guess.

245 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJConservative) at August 23, 2011 11:25 AM (LH6ir)

That does sound a lot like your socks.  How can we be sure that wasn't you, and your persona here isn't a sock?

Hey! Everybody! CBD is a Marxist infiltrator!  Ban CBD now!

246 245 Posted by: Jane D'oh at August 23, 2011 11:20 AM (UOM4

That's exactly what I am looking for...when I sock! But I haven't found the correct balance of utter stupidity and ignorance coupled with overweening pride and arrogance.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJConservative) at August 23, 2011 11:25 AM (LH6ir)

I love the use of the word "humility" in the same paragraph with Obama.

247 244 Enough of this Doom shit!  New cancer cure!

http://tinyurl.com/pmfk6

You can thank me later.

Posted by: Bill Clinton at August 23, 2011 11:24 AM (vSiVD)

I'm cured! Uh, wait.

248 Hmm, Richard Posner finds the Obama administration's miserable failure "surprising". Another dipshit who didn't pay attention during 2008, I guess.

249 One.  Heartbeat.  Away.

250 Little Barry blew;  he needed the money!

251 President Obama clearly has restored dignity and respect for the USA around the world. He is immensely more popular than the Bush/Cheney Republicans with their disrespectful, arrogant bullying foreign policy that led to worldwide American contempt

This lying dickbag doesn't get to make up his own facts.  Bush was extremely popular in India from his steps to improve relations; El JEFe not so much.

252 no one has the gravitas our president has.

Gravitas.

253 Talk about your smart shit; I saw on TV yesterday a leftist administration toady actually touting Obama's record of accomplishment.  He said something about the number of months of sustained growth under Obama as if the growth under Obama was a good thing.  Talk about your scratching the bottom of the barrel.  I guess they don't want to be accused of having nothing to run on.  I'm sure that will work out swimmingly for them.

254

I once again thank God for my mother in law,who is a very nice person, and who not only watched our kids, continues to come over to the house and watch them before and after school. The kids are safe, Mrs Hen is happy and our budget probably wouldn't have survived without it. When we moved, we chose a house close to her (but I nixed getting a house in the same neighborhood).

Holy F. You should build a statue of her and have M-in-l day and friggin rub her feet. You have no idea what a blessing that is. I've moved heaven and earth for 20 years finding and managing part time work that would allow me to not be absent from the kids. Some years I didn't work at all. Hubby can't be less than 150% at work so it's left to me to manage.

255 Talk about your scratching the bottom of the barrel. I guess they don't want to be accused of having nothing to run on. I'm sure that will work out swimmingly for them. Posted by: Hussein the Plumber at August 23, 2011 11:32 AM (jx2j9) Wait till the real campaign starts. I bet you did not know obama invented white bread and penicillian?

256 LOL!  From the Vineyard Gazette:

Mr. Obama was back at home in Chilmark before 5 p.m. before the motorcade carrying the President sped down Lambert’s Cove Road, and then bottomed out (four times, according to a pool report) on the rocky (“big, scary boulders,” said the pool report), unpaved John Cottle Road to attend another informal reception at the West Tisbury home of Aileen and Brian Roberts. Mr. Roberts, a seasonal resident, is chief executive of Comcast.

257 Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) is tired beyond tired of the trolls at August 23, 2011 11:27 AM (8y9MW)

Because even when I try, I can't be that stupid. That is a rare skill.

258 President Obama clearly has restored dignity and respect for the USA around the world. He is immensely more popular than the Bush/Cheney Republicans with their disrespectful, arrogant bullying foreign policy that led to worldwide American contempt

This lying dickbag doesn't get to make up his own facts.  Bush was extremely popular in India from his steps to improve relations; El JEFe not so much.

Posted by: Captain Hate

The sad part is that if this clown came here, squatted and emitted that, he'd be torn apart for making such pathetic fan boy comments without even attempting to support them. There, he's paid to do it.

259 Posted by: FRONT TOWARD LEFT at August 23, 2011 11:06 AM (cbyrC) The First Mate, The First Mate His name was Stanley Morgan The only instrument he could play Was his sexual organ. The Cabin Boy, The Cabin Boy That dirty little nipper! He packed his ass with broken glass And circumcised the Skipper! Said the world was round-o! Said it couldn't be found-o! Hypothetical, navigatin' Sonofabitch Columbo!

260 Posted by: Captain Hate at August 23, 2011 11:31 AM (yKL37)

Captain, you're forgetting that "worldwide" means "France" in liberal parlance.

Let me translate that statement from libard into Moron:

President Obama clearly has restored dignity and respect for the USA around the world. He is immensely more popular than the Bush/Cheney Republicans with their disrespectful, arrogant bullying foreign policy that led to worldwide American contempt

The SCOAMF has clearly made us a complete laughing stock to our enemies, and lessened the trust placed in us by our allies.  He is much more popular- in the way the "easy" girls are- than Bush/Cheney with their principled, no-nonsense foregin policy that led France to wet itself.

261

BarryÂ’s laser-like focus on jobs is like a master stroke of genius.  We bask in the awesomeness of his unfathomable wisdom.

262 Actually the taxes are even less than people are saying on a 32k income - because you would have a personal income deduction of $9350 (presuming this is a single person) and the taxes on 22650 are 2983. So the real rate is 2983/32000 or about 9.3%. What will be worse though is that FICA will take another 7.65%. (okay 5.65% actually Obama did cut taxes)

263

I once again thank God for my mother in law,who is a very nice person, and who not only watched our kids, continues to come over to the house and watch them before and after school. The kids are safe, Mrs Hen is happy and our budget probably wouldn't have survived without it. When we moved, we chose a house close to her (but I nixed getting a house in the same neighborhood).

Holy F. You should build a statue of her and have M-in-l day and friggin rub her feet. You have no idea what a blessing that is. I've moved heaven and earth for 20 years finding and managing part time work that would allow me to not be absent from the kids. Some years I didn't work at all. Hubby can't be less than 150% at work so it's left to me to manage.

Posted by: dagny

 

We had her over for dinner last night. As others have mentioned before regarding employment, we based our house buying decision upon her 'range'. it was a clear factor as to what and where we bought. It clearly was to our advantage.

264 Looking more and more like Hurricane Irene may spin harmlessly out to sea. Keeps shifting East.

265

@263

He's got a team of 1000 focused like a laser on keeping his job. And a team of 20 focused on putting together a plan for the rest of us.

266 You know...  I was thinking about DOOM this morning, and the following random thought came to mind.  We've been on a $8+ trillion "stimulus bender" for the better part of 11 years.  $8+ TRILLION IN 11 YEARS.  At some point, you can't be stimulated any further.  Once you have a ragin' hard-on from popping viagra, you simply can't make it any harder by popping even more viagra.  At some point the hard-on hurts like a motherfucker.

267 That PPP poll in the sidebar...

Well, it's PPP, but I have to say, those numbers give me the tinglies.  Go Perry!

268 Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) is tired beyond tired of the trolls at August 23, 2011 11:35 AM (8y9MW)

By "France" I hope you mean the elite shitbags that aren't worth the effort it takes to type about them; because the regular "man on the street", at least when I was there, is much more down to earth and in contact with reality than those effete fucksticks.

269 159

You know how I know that we’re DOOMed? I look on this mug and say to myself, “Self. We’re toast.”

That’s the look of, “When your money runs out, you’re dead! And I’ll kill you!”

Posted by: Hussein the Plumber at August 23, 2011 09:38 AM (jx2j9)

Holy shit, it's Thulsa Doom in drag!

----

I've worked in Inglewood (Hollywood Park). She's one of the nice ones. 

270 Posted by: Captain Hate at August 23, 2011 11:42 AM (yKL37)

Well, yes, I meant "official" France.  Their politicians and "elites."

271 David Frum wants you DOOMers to cut Obama some slack.

272
"Just heard that for the first time two weeks ago while visiting our Troop's participant at NYLT ..."

Here's a bit you likely did not hear:

"The queen she gave him three fine ships,
Each one a triple-decker.
The queen she waved her hankerchief,
And Columbo waved his. . . "

Posted by: FRONT TOWARD LEFT at August 23, 2011 11:06 AM (cbyrC)

Or better yet, this verse:

"The captain had a cabin boy,
A perky little nipper.
He packed his ass with pieces of glass,
And circumcised the skipper."

273 Of course the Fed will inflate.  That's how they transfer money from the middle class.  Inflation is the "hidden" tax that congress doesn't have to vote for.  It does not matter what the Fed is legally supposed to do, its real purpose is different.  I remain amazed that people still think that "business cycles" are natural.

274 138First thing that surprised me was that his heirs didn't sue for illegal use of trademark. So I can only conclude they were paid off big time.

Posted by: Jimmah at August 23, 2011 09:48 AM (XEK+4)

I don't think I've seen a family that's been so blatantly shameless in their overarching desire to cash in on every opportunity of reference to MLK.
-------

Ha, my suspicion was correct. Looks like they were paid $800K to allow the use of a sentence and his image.

WASHINGTON -- The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s family has charged the foundation building a monument to the civil-rights leader on the National Mall about $800,000 to use his words and image -- and at least one scholar thinks that Dr. King would find such an arrangement offensive.

The memorial is being paid for almost entirely through a fund-raising campaign led by the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation.
 
"I don't think the Jefferson family, the Lincoln family [or] any other group of family ancestors has been paid a licensing fee for a memorial in Washington," said Cambridge University historian David Garrow, author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Dr. King. ". . . [He would've been] absolutely scandalized."

Financial documents revealed that the foundation paid $761,160 in 2007 to Intellectual Properties Management Inc., an entity run by the King family. They also showed that a $71,700 "management" fee was paid to the family estate in 2003.

275 Zerohedge (I know, I know): "As 4 Week Bill Auction Close At 0.000%, Bill Rates Now Negative Through November 08/23/2011 11:45 -0400"

276

Posted by: progressoverpeace at August 23, 2011 10:55 AM (F5tJy)

Frankly, "Independance Day" is our most ironically named holiday, since our government promotes and celebrates dependance at all levels.

277 Kratos,  that free lunch for all thing to keep the stigma off of some is pure crap. 

At my grandkids school everyone pays the lunch fees on line or by check to the system's office.  Each child has an account on computer and simply goes through the line,  gives their PIN number,  and the lunch cost is deducted from their account.

Kids who qualify for free or reduced lunches have the aid money added to their account. NO ONE knows who is on free lunches except whoever it is in the central office who does the entries into the accounts.

So the entire excuse for this program is totally bogus.

278

wrt Boomer Hatred: The system was in place long before we came along. We just tried to do our best to live within the parameters we were given. We didn't help much, after we came of age and started voting, but the same can be said for Gen X, Y and the Millenials.

 Plus...

"Lie for years and get fat bonuses.Tell the truth and get fired."

 Guess who gets all of the promotions in the workplace? (The person who tells the truth and gets promoted is usually being set up as a future fall guy.) Tact? Yeah, that's a common military term. Tactics are used in warfare...where lies are used to fool your enemies and are a common part military strategy.

 What that says about our society is that we would sooner believe a lie than to hear the unvarnished truth. Yeah? Think about how you react when someone tells you the unvarnished truth about something you already believe, or something you think you already know? How do you react? Dont lie to yourself, now.

 How do you react when someone tells you exactly what you want to hear, just the way you want to hear it?

 Hint: The person telling you exactly what you want to hear, just the way you want to hear it is usually trying to pick your pocket or steal your stuff.

 iow, we have to rexamine everything we think we know about ourselves and our society, kids...because what we know obviously isn't working.

279

Optimal  flv to dvd converter s ipad 3 converter

Video to ipad Converter is then designed ipad video converter for iPad fans to convert avi to iPad

280 test