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Willy, I have to admit that I agree with you that there should be no salary cap on SS taxes. But that would assume that policy makers are serious about making it financially sound in the first place, which I do not believe. They could probably start by taking the SS surplus out of the general fund (a Reagan/Greenspan Legacy). Then they can quit lying to us about the trust fund, IOU's are not the same as money in the bank.
I believe the whole thing is a giant Ponzi scheme built on a foundation of latent trust and dubiouspromises. There appears to be no way out except a more frugal government, an increase in taxes andfees, a reduction in entitlement programs and a drop in our standard of living--all a very grim picture.If politicians did not lie their speeches would be much shorter and some would become mutes.I would also look at those 11 carrier groups also--the military budget in not sacred.Oh yes--one more thing--kill all the Lobbyists--slowly.
According to a vignette that supposedly happened early in planning stages of the New Deal an underling stated the biggest problem was lack of jobs… FDR opined we would just give everyone a job. The underling asked how we would pay them all the gov't had no money. “We are the government; we will print more.” was the reply from the Big Guy. 😀We have nothing to fear but fear itself (and the government :o)....
FDR__My hero--George Bush must have read a biography of his--nah!Kensians to the fore!
Keynesian economics is what prolonged the Great Depression, and is what is going to prolong our current economic recession/mini-depression. Cut taxes across the board, stiffen lending practices, and let the market bottom out so that real recovery can begin.
Keynesian economics may have prolonged the depression, but the policies may have saved us from a worse fate–consider The Kingfish. Fascism, dressed in more suitable clothes, is not dead here or in the world and like a virus it can keep mutating awaiting a chance to find an appropriate host.Beware beware, the black crier.
I believe the whole thing is a giant Ponzi scheme built on a foundation of latent trust and dubiouspromises. There appears to be no way out except a more frugal government, an increase in taxes andfees, a reduction in entitlement programs and a drop in our standard of living--all a very grim picture.If politicians did not lie their speeches would be much shorter and some would become mutes.I would also look at those 11 carrier groups also--the military budget in not sacred.Oh yes--one more thing--kill all the Lobbyists--slowly.
It is a Ponzi scheme but the only ones who wont admit that is the government anyway. As to military spending, the military is one of the few things I can think of where a good argument can be made that the feds should be doing it. Foreign policy is something else. I don't advocate foreign wars, even if they are fun. My biggest problem is cradle to grave coddling or support, however you want to put it.or those that don't want a military, I am more than happy to give them a rifle and tell them to defend themselves, if they would not wet themselves and run after the fist round. A volunteer military lets many of our citizens live free lives that they then spend lots of effort bashing the very freedoms they enjoy.I am reminded of the joke about "how do you define a conservative?..... A liberal that just got mugged."
Of course I want a military–it is a nasty world out there. There are questions as to whether it is too largeor malconfigured so as to meet the needs of the present situation. Eleven carrier groups does seem a bit much does it not? There is also the nagging question about the volunteer military. It always seemed tome and I was taught in school that it is the duty of a citizen to defend his country. I think the militarylearned a big lesson in Vietnam--drafting people--in essence conscripting them--for war, especially if it isor becomes unpopular, creates enormous headaches. Better to raise the pay and benefits, add a dose ofeducational opportunities and sell it to the American people with the argument that their sons will nothave to serve unless they choose to do so. My two Marine nephews explained that with the current jobsituation, serving in the military was the best deal they could find since college was not in the pictureand they were totally unskilled. I have this nagging feeling that what we have is a mercenary force (add in contractors for spice) who are in the military as a job--in other words they do it for the money. Thispermits Chauncy Brithmore III and his cousin Aldrich Avlislon to attend appropriate schools without the pesky problem of having to engage in irksome activities and consort with the lower orders. My thirdnephew, serving on a carrier in the Middle East ,has written me of the large number of black and brownshipmates he has. This came as no surprise--as I said--it makes good economic sense and it is a good social policy for the military and the government. Whether it is for the nation remains to be seen.
.... ...questions as to whether it is too large or malconfigured........
Isn't that usual? We are prepared for the last conflict we had or; under-prepared for the next because we (in our historic / hysteric distaste for a large, professional standing army since the AmRev) have sent everyone home except a small token force. What say you, all, to that?Witness Korea; we had the bomb, hence not really prepared for a conventional war.
I too have noticed a large number of minorities in the military and in the army at least most of them are in technical MOS's. I have a theory that many of these people join the military to get an education and a better chance of advancement in later life and there is nothing wrong with this. The key thing to me is not ethnicity but competence. I can care less about someones skin color or ethnicity as long as they can do their job and that is pretty much the way everybody else in the military thinks too.
KUDOSWe think alikeIn our family we have:JapaneseMexicansAfrican-AmericansWhite Folks like meAs my grandchild said--race in school has become irrelevant.
The tragedy is that people of color are the ones wailing about race so much while their supposed oppressors have largely moved beyond race. The attitude that they are deserved something; job preference, school placement, preferential scholarships, or whatever as a legacy/repayment for past discrimination is what breeds resentment now. The likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton don't help. I would submit that the black people in America as a group are more racist than the white people of America are. It is almost as if there is not enough that I can do to make up for the sins of my ancestors and I for one, am a little sick and tired of being lectured about how evil I am simply because I am white. If these agents of intolerance are not careful they might turn into prophets as people get tired of being preached to and told how apologetic they should be. I never owned slaves nor discriminated based on color, so what do I have to feel sorry for?. You would think that the fact that Obama got elected would show that America has moved beyond race despite any disagreement I might have with his politics, I don't care about his color.
The tragedy is that people of color are the ones wailing about race so much while their supposed oppressors have largely moved beyond race. The attitude that they are deserved something; job preference, school placement, preferential scholarships, or whatever as a legacy/repayment for past discrimination is what breeds resentment now. The likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton don't help. I would submit that the black people in America as a group are more racist than the white people of America are. It is almost as if there is not enough that I can do to make up for the sins of my ancestors and I for one, am a little sick and tired of being lectured about how evil I am simply because I am white. If these agents of intolerance are not careful they might turn into prophets as people get tired of being preached to and told how apologetic they should be. I never owned slaves nor discriminated based on color, so what do I have to feel sorry for?. You would think that the fact that Obama got elected would show that America has moved beyond race despite any disagreement I might have with his politics, I don't care about his color.Has anyone really called you evil because you are white? I would be very surprised if the answer were in the affirmative with the caveat that alcohol was not being consumed.Many black people hold the race card close and play it often as there is still guilt for America's original sin. Have you ever read Mau Mauing the Flack Catchers or the novel Bonfire of the Vanities by TomWolfe. He covers this subject beautifully and you will be laughing so loud you will feel pain.
