Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Jeff Buchanan]

That's a nice bit of information to know, DSL. Related, I was planning on my SS and Military retirement pay potentially temporarily ending with a prolonged government shut-down. Those two income sources comprise a big chunk of my total monthly income. In order to even make a reduced budget spending work, I'd have to move a hefty chunk of cash from reserves.

The good news for me is that my SS, Military and VA payments won't stop if a CR isn't passed. Why is that? Some of the government's spending is mandatory and is not subject to annual appropriations by Congress. Money for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security benefits along with military retirement and VA payments are some of the government's mandatory spending. In the case of these payors, they all have "dedicated funding." It's outside of the budget process. All the money for those payments are already in place to be paid out. It doesn't have to be appropriated.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Elon Musk - involved in politics = evil

George Soros - involved in politics = good

I'm glad we got that straight.

Elon Musk involved in politics = good

George Soros involved in politics = evil

Elon Musk Net worth = $442 billion

Jeff Bezos (dined with Trump the other night) = $235 billion

George Soros = $7 billion

Yet rightwingers think it's Soros and his significantly smaller fortune controlling millions of puppets and agents around the world

[Dr. Strangelove]

[Da Geezer]

The Republicans want the debt limit lifted so they can make the Trump tax cuts permanent. You may remember that in 2017, when they were proposed, the Congressional Budget Office scored them as a huge money loser for the budget. Intelligent people, particularly economists, understood the Laffer Curve, which postulates that cuts in taxes create enough additional revenue to the Federal Government, that they "cost" nothing. And that is what happened in reality. The REASON the tax cuts expire in 2026 is that the only way the CBO would OK the tax cuts was if they were not permanent. Trump is trying to avoid this nonsense this time around.

The problem is with the scoring. The CBO is peopled with Kensysan fools who don't know economic history. The Laffer curve has proven correct in all three major tax cuts since 1960. That would be the cuts by Kennedy, Reagan, and Trump.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I'm not at all a fan of Elon Musks' involvement in politics. I have a ton of appreciation though for him having turned Twitter into a legitimate free speech platform, but I'd prefer that it end there.

With that said,he's a piker compared to Larry Fink, George Soros, and Bill Gates when it comes to throwing his unelected billions around. And in Larry Fink's case, it's not even his own billions.

Monetized twitter increasingly sucks. Most of the blue checks value engagement above everything else. I personally am finding it harder to tell when someone is expressing an outrageous opinion because they sincerely believe it or they just want the clicks.

[Dr. Strangelove]

In 2012 Kansas Governor Sam Brownback basically handed control of the state's finances over to Art Laffer and Grover Norquist. Kansas went from having a budget surplus to a $200M deficit overnight. The school system nearly went broke, Brownback's popularity plummeted, and it led to a Democrat becoming Governor for the past 6 years. By the end of the experiment Kansas had weaker economic growth than almost all the neighboring states.

Kansas experiment - Wikipedia

That an optimal tax rate for revenue maximization exists seems pretty common sense. Yet I have never heard Laffer or his backers ever once suggest that the optimal rate is higher than the current rate. They ALWAYS, without exception, push for tax cuts. And when that fails to raise revenue they always make excuses and say that their only mistake was not cutting taxes even more.

[THE_WIZARD_]

No. Conservatives have agency in society, not just the Left. "Look what you made me do, you only have yourself to blame" is an argument a child abuser or wife beater would use.

LMAO!!! The denial is rich.

[Dr. Strangelove]

LMAO!!! The denial is rich.

When Democrats misbehave, you say that's on the Left

When Republicans misbehave, you say that's also on the Left.

This is not how this works. You don't get to evade all responsiblity for your actions because you whine like a child and scream "you left me no choice". There's always a choice.

[Hannibal]

Elon Musk involved in politics = good

George Soros involved in politics = evil

Elon Musk Net worth = $442 billion

Jeff Bezos (dined with Trump the other night) = $235 billion

George Soros = $7 billion

Yet rightwingers think it's Soros and his significantly smaller fortune controlling millions of puppets and agents around the world

That's because he is actually deploying his fortune to control puppets around the world. Elon is just getting started. Let's wait until he starts shoveling huge amounts of money to influence local elections in Egypt or Poland before we put him on the Soros scale.

[Hannibal]

Monetized twitter increasingly sucks. Most of the blue checks value engagement above everything else. I personally am finding it harder to tell when someone is expressing an outrageous opinion because they sincerely believe it or they just want the clicks.

Community notes has been a great addition and it's one that other social media should adopt in some form. It's the best compromise for countering misinformation that anyone has come up with. Fakes and lies can be debunked in real time, which is something that I have a lot of appreciation for.

Maybe it's just me, but I get a great mixture of stuff that's just red meat for my political beliefs but stuff that challenges me too. I've got no complaints about the algorithm.

[Hannibal]

What has me concerned the most is not that Elon is involved with politics that it's Donald Trump in charge with Elon getting involved in politics. Elon probably has better manipulation capabilities than most of the other folks that Trump has surrounded himself with and Trump seems genuinely star struck by the guy. The joke about him being president elect is an exaggeration, but the joke works because it's rooted in truth.

[THE_WIZARD_]

When Democrats misbehave, you say that's on the Left

When Republicans misbehave, you say that's also on the Left.

This is not how this works. You don't get to evade all responsiblity for your actions because you whine like a child and scream "you left me no choice". There's always a choice.

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[Dr. Strangelove]

[Dr. Strangelove]

Community notes has been a great addition and it's one that other social media should adopt in some form. It's the best compromise for countering misinformation that anyone has come up with. Fakes and lies can be debunked in real time, which is something that I have a lot of appreciation for.

Maybe it's just me, but I get a great mixture of stuff that's just red meat for my political beliefs but stuff that challenges me too. I've got no complaints about the algorithm.

Community notes genuinely is a good addition. And on my following list I don’t see much crap. But as soon as I get bored and check out the “For You” tab, good Lord, I’m hit with a barrage of Alt Right horseshit. Mainly because anything Elon likes or responds to is automatically boosted. And I doubt you would disagree that Elon is far, far more active than Jack ever was. Elon posts, retweets, and responds literally hundreds of times a day. All while being an “essential” part of 3-4 major companies, the Trump Administration, and father to 12+ illegitimate kids.

[THE_WIZARD_]

GTFO