Politics

[Newboomer]

This scenario only plays out in the unlikely event that Biden is forced out and the whore doesn't appoint (or get approval from congress) somebody as veep. If she is also forced out before a new veep can be installed, then it would fall to the SoH.

Awesome thought, tho: an 81 yo woman who binge drinks vodka, and eats gourmet ice cream out of her SubZero refrigerator..

I like that, Sgt. Zim. A senile pedophile for POTUS, a common whore for VPOTUS and an old drunk with a sweet tooth for SoH. Great leadership slate. Where else but the dems could you find something like that.

 

[mdwest]

 

[sgt_zim]

yeah butbutbutbutbut the federal budget is diiiiiifreeeeeent.

 

[Brent in Az]

 

[Arthur Morta]

View attachment 416159

https://www.usdebtclock.org/index.html

If remotely accurate, those numbers are staggering...

 

[sgt_zim]

https://www.usdebtclock.org/index.html

If remotely accurate, those numbers are staggering...

It is even worse than most imagine. That debt is calculated on cash accounting, not accrual accounting (as is required for every publicly traded company in the USA). We are well north of $100T if the fedgov had to report in the same manner that all other incorporated entities do.

A math lesson.

Let's suppose the US budget is $3.65 trillion. Suppose I had the power to give that money to you, and that you could spend it however you wished with only 1 condition applied: you would only be allowed to spend up to $1,000,000 day.

It would take you longer than civilization has existed to be able to spend all that - about 10,000 years.

 

[Saul]

I would love to see all of that money kept at the local level where it has the most impact.

 

[mdwest]

I would love to see all of that money kept at the local level where it has the most impact.

and is spent by people that actually know what is needed locally and give a damn about the people that live there..

our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves seeing how big government has become, how its got its fingers in every aspect of our daily lives, and how the individual states rights have eroded in just a couple of hundred years..

 

[Vashper]

Sometimes I wonder is there any democrats on this forum and how do they respond?

Maybe there is, but under cover.
I could give a link to a forum where they frolic like a kindergarten on the lawn, but it's not welcome to give links to extraneous resources anywhere. Some participants know what it's about

 

[sgt_zim]

and is spent by people that actually know what is needed locally and give a damn about the people that live there..

our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves seeing how big government has become, how its got its fingers in every aspect of our daily lives, and how the individual states rights have eroded in just a couple of hundred years..

I don't generally find local pols to be any better stewards of their constituents money than federal pols.

I'd like to see a huge chunk of that money stay local - in the earner's hip pocket would be most appropriate.

For me, it *always* comes down to a number of passages from Bastiat's "The Law."

 

[wesheltonj]

I don't generally find local pols to be any better stewards of their constituents money than federal pols.

I'd like to see a huge chunk of that money stay local - in the earner's hip pocket would be most appropriate.

For me, it *always* comes down to a number of passages from Bastiat's "The Law."

They are not, they are too busy building stuff to put their name on.

 

[mdwest]

Sadly there is a lot of truth in that statement

 

[Saul]

But I think part of the reason why is because local gov has not had to take on as much responsibility as it should due to state/fed gov controlling too much, which in turn has decreased engagement with local gov.

 

[JGRaider]

There is no intention to ever pay back the debt we have accumulated. Defaulting is an easy pathto a one world currency.

 

[sgt_zim]

But I think part of the reason why is because local gov has not had to take on as much responsibility as it should due to state/fed gov controlling too much, which in turn has decreased engagement with local gov.

That presumes local pols are any more trustworthy than federal ones. I do not find this to be the case.

Furthermore, things are much bigger than they once were. While 901 Bagby may not be a long drive for anyone who lives under its authority, it might as well be on the moon. The common man has no more chance of getting his grievances redressed in a city of 2.3 million than he has at the state or federal level.

To my mind, the bigger and more impersonal we get as a civilization, the more important our autonomy becomes. Impersonal at scale ultimately and largely means indifference. Politics are going to get markedly worse, not better, as we grow.

 

[Saul]

That presumes local pols are any more trustworthy than federal ones. I do not find this to be the case.

Furthermore, things are much bigger than they once were. While 901 Bagby may not be a long drive for anyone who lives under its authority, it might as well be on the moon. The common man has no more chance of getting his grievances redressed in a city of 2.3 million than he has at the state or federal level.

To my mind, the bigger and more impersonal we get as a civilization, the more important our autonomy becomes. Impersonal at scale ultimately and largely means indifference. Politics are going to get markedly worse, not better, as we grow.

Yes, scale always causes problems, but I believe that most problems with local gov come from lack of public engagement since most people only seem to focus on national elections. If more decision-making power is given to local gov, then I think we will see greater public engagement and therefore more accountability.

 

[Vashper]

It's funny, but now almost no one remembers that initially, before Marx, the political trend "communism" did not concern the topic of ownership of the means of production and everything like that, but defended the primacy of local government at the level of local " communes " (in the Romance countries this name has been preserved) - in contrast to such movements as "etatism, statism" (a centralized state, then - royal power) or " anarchism " (in general, in fact, anarchy).
But then the term had a long evolution.

 

[sgt_zim]

Yes, scale always causes problems, but I believe that most problems with local gov come from lack of public engagement since most people only seem to focus on national elections. If more decision-making power is given to local gov, then I think we will see greater public engagement and therefore more accountability.

If we could still lynch politicians for being crooks, or at least tar and feather them or challenge them to duels, I think they would probably be more accountable.

My suspicion is if we could actually change things by voting, they'd make voting illegal.

I don't disagree with your premise WRT engagement, but I do not think it can ever be polite engagement. Politicians, like all crooks, seem only to understand force.

 

[Boyd Brooks]

 

[CoElkHunter]

I retired in 2016. Even at that time, we had difficulty hiring people and especially good people. These were positions mostly for unskilled and semi-skilled labor. There weren’t heavy labor jobs. Most were primarily production line workers and forklift drivers. There we’re also some skilled labor positions we had difficulty filling.
As for unskilled and semi-skilled, these were career jobs. A majority of our existing workforce had been there in excess of 15 years. We raised our starting rate and that didn’t change the situation. When we did hire people a high percentage of them left in a short period of time. These were primarily younger, under 30, people. Also, a number of the people we hired had no work ethic:. Call offs, abuse of FMLA, unauthorized breaks, smoking dope…
I’ve kept in touch with a number of people and the situation continues today.
This was a long winded way of saying that the work ethic has changed. A lot of people just don’t want to work.

Well, when you have 25-40 year olds living in their parents’ basements rent free or sharing an apt. with several other people, they don’t have to work much. Then add enhanced unemployment benefits and other free stimulus money and there’s no incentive to work. Their JOB becomes walking to the mailbox every week to get another free check via taxpayers and partying with the free money till the sun comes up. I have never seen anything like this before, it’s not sustainable and is destroying our economy which was never designed for this.