Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[hack]

Yeah. Business can make fun of idiocy in non-commercial ventures all it wants, but that's nothing to do with the smartness or stupidity of the people involved. For anyone of any level of ability, generating profit is a much simpler task than governing, development, etc.

[Hannibal]

Yeah. Business can make fun of idiocy in non-commercial ventures all it wants, but that's nothing to do with the smartness or stupidity of the people involved. For anyone of any level of ability, generating profit is a much simpler task than governing, development, etc.

Stupid and/or inefficient people are drawn to and more likely to succeed in organizations where there is no bottom line accountability. Making profits might not be more complex than governing, but there is at least a quantitative measure at the end of the day that tells you how you are doing.

Attempting to actually run government like a business is a fascinating question.

I'm at the point where I don't think that it could get a lot worse. There's nothing else left to be tried. It's either Trump, Obama's third term, or George W's third term.

[Wild Hoss]

I'm at the point where I don't think that it could get a lot worse. There's nothing else left to be tried. It's either Trump, Obama's third term, or George W's third term.

We could try Vladimir Putin. He's a strong leader. Vibrant. Rides horses and shit.

[hack]

That's a ridiculous generalization. People who aren't necessarily interested in money are drawn to them. People who are easily seduced by bullshit are drawn to them. People who lack focus are as well. I think you are right some of the time, but not close to all of the time.

[hack]

I'm at the point where I don't think that it could get a lot worse. There's nothing else left to be tried. It's either Trump, Obama's third term, or George W's third term.

Just my prediction, but we are gonna feel the Bern in the next cycle or three. Every four years brings in a new round of voters open to it, and at the same time shrinks the older demographic most likely to protest. This is what we're going to try next. It isn't even just because of Bernie, either. There's a whole bunch of new stuff out there. In four years the amount of transparency over the finances of multinationals is likely to be fundamentally different and have a great impact on campaigns.

[Hannibal]

Just my prediction, but we are gonna feel the Bern in the next cycle or three. Every four years brings in a new round of voters open to it, and at the same time shrinks the older demographic most likely to protest. This is what we're going to try next.

I don't know. Maybe? If we do it won't be because the next Bernie offers "transparency" or a more efficient government. It will be because the number of people hollering for a massive Gimmiedat expansion will finally outnumber the people who see how absurd and unrealistic it is. I won't deny that it's possible. We're probably not very far from that tipping point.

This is, ultimately, why I see immigration as, more than anything, a huge economic issue. I'm looking down the road and seeing how unlikely it is that the teat will ever be pulled away, and if anything, the feeding trough is going to get bigger. If full-on Capital "S" Socialism is inevitable, the least we can do is try and stop importing new mouths to feed from the third world.

[hack]

I don't think it's about entitlement programs at all. I think it's about an alliance of multinationals, finance, and government that cannot go on. We are not as far along as some European countries in demanding tax justice, but take a look at what Google is going through in the UK and France over back taxes. Bernie and OWS have just introduced concepts that are further developed there, but via the OECD, Dodd/Frank Section 1504, and a handful of other things, there will be less secrecy over how this stuff works. When the next campaign cycle rolls around there will be plenty of whip-up-the-base anecdotes about evil corporations. For the most part they've not been doing anything more than taking advantage of the legal environments in which they exist, so IMO the real bad guys are in government, but the point is that all that anti-big biz sentiment is set to climb.

[Wild Hoss]

I don't think it's about entitlement programs at all. I think it's about an alliance of multinationals, finance, and government that cannot go on.

This is where I'm at. I don't subscribe to Bern's free college proposals and the like, but we have been conditioned to point fingers down the socioeconomic ladder for blame vis-a-vis wealth dissipation. We are only now beginning to seriously discuss how much wealth is vanishing upwards as well.


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[iam416]

Vanishing?

[Wild Hoss]

Effecticely so, yes, in regards to circulation where it benefits society as a whole.

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[Hannibal]

I don't think it's about entitlement programs at all.

It's absolutely about entitlement programs, and you're kidding yourself if you think otherwise. Dig into the rhetoric of the Berniebros and you'll inevitably find some verbiage about needing Bernie to pay off their huge college loans or their health insurance costs by making the rich pay their "fair share".

[iam416]

Effecticely so, yes, in regards to circulation where it benefits society as a whole.

Yeah, you and I really part ways on that.

It's absolutely about entitlement programs, and you're kidding yourself if you think otherwise. Dig into the rhetoric of the Berniebros and you'll inevitably find some verbiage about needing Bernie to pay off their huge college loans or their health insurance costs by making the rich pay their "fair share".

The 1%!!! The 1%!!! Yeah, this is glaringly obvious.

[Wild Hoss]

Yeah, you and I really part ways on that.

If we?re going to have a lesson on Voodoo Econ, I suspect so!

[froot loops]

Rounding up 11 million Mexicans and forcibly deporting them is definitely an economic issue. It could depress GDP 5.7 percent per year and create an increase in the Federal deficit.

[iam416]

If we’re going to have a lesson on Voodoo Econ, I suspect so!

Yeah, no. Seems to be plenty of wealth in the US. Per capita income is by far and away the highest among any country with a real population. The goods and services accessible to the poor are staggering.

I guess it's a question of measures -- "inequality" or "absolute wealth." Would your rather, e.g., have everyone making $10,000 or would your rather your poor folks making $15,000 and your richest folks making $1M?

It's an easy answer for me. It's why I prefer the US to, say, Ethiopia where inequality is relatively minimal.