Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Da Geezer]

Heh. good post on the maid of honor Ent.

I thought you were a Nebraska guy, not Ithica A+T.

[Dr. Strangelove]

We live in an age where Reaganomics and Thatcherism have been thrown out the window...by 'conservatives'

What a time to be alive!

[Dr. Strangelove]

Obama leaves office with a 60% approval rating. Bigly!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/18/obama-climbs-to-60-percent-approval-in-final-presidential-approval-rating-post-abc-poll-finds/?utm_term=.6ca25055f421

[iam416]

So when folks talk about i.e. how many more patents Chinese own over renewables technology, they mean just that originated there, perhaps.

They are probably referring to Chinese companies. All companies file for patents in the US and EU and probably Japan. Companies file for patent protection in the largest markets, quite rationally. I believe something like 2 or 3 of the 10 largest companies in the world are Chinese-State energy companies, so if they owned a ton of renewable patents that wouldn't surprise me.

To be clear, when I say patents are territorial, I mean they're enforceable only in the country that issued them. An exception is the EU, which has a centralized system that provides coverage with a single application in signatory countries to its version of the patent act. Individual countries also have patent systems, too. So you can get a German or UK patent.

US, EU and Japan are the 3 big places to file. China should be bigger but the predictability of its legal system, while getting better, isn't on par with the more liberal than not countries. India and Brazil are in the same boat.

[Dr. Strangelove]

[ame]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/821697182235496450[/ame]

[ame]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/821699672687448064[/ame]

[ame]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/821703902940827648[/ame]

[ame]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/821705440178348033[/ame]

[Wild Hoss]

...and a love of tacky palaces.

LOL

[froot loops]

4 years of this nonsense

[Da Geezer]

Jim Cramer (on CNBC) this morning said that the reduction in the corporate tax rate will be the biggest economic and political story of 2017-2018. Precisely. Hope you progs are noticing that the establishment Republicans are already talking about a 20% rate instead of the 15% Trump pledged. Trump's jawboning doesn't hurt, but its actual impact, if there is an impact, is minimal. A rational company will choose to locate production (and headquarters) in the US if the corporate tax rate gets to 15%.

But, as usual with the Stupid Party, The Rs are focused on repealing Obamacare, and the Ds are getting them to commit to concurrent replacement. The ACA was passed in 2010, and was implemented in 2014. Part D was passed in 2003 and implemented in 2007. Part D was well done, and ACA was a mess in 2014. How do the Rs expect to get this all done in the first 200 days? Someone posted here that the Ds should let the Rs hang themselves and "own" the health care issue, and from a D point of view, that's correct.

The Rs have foreclosed the D ability to filibuster the repeal and replace. IMO, the Rs would have been better off politically to have Obamacare implode in the next year, and then repeal it. I think they should even make a rule that a change of this magnitude just doesn't pass unless there is bi-partisan support. Of course, if the Ds are the Evil Party, and the Rs are the Stupid Party, then a bi-partisan bill would likely be both evil and stupid.

[hack]

Ireland's at 12%, plus you get the quasi-tax haven rate on IP. UK cut its rate to 17% by 2020. Post-Brexit, the UK could be moving toward that same quasi-tax haven status of Ireland, Netherlands, Delware, etc. Tax is a really interesting area right now.

[Jeff Buchanan]

If you saw Part I of the PBS two part Front Line series on America Divided last night at 9-11p, you'll have seen a very detailed portrayal of the rise of Populism, the failure of the Rs to harness and optimize a conservative version of it that precipitated the McCain/Palen defeat in 2008 and the huge R Congressional victories that swept a ton of D's out of office in 2010. Goes on to explain what this meant for the Obama Presidency, the ACA, among other presidential legislative initiatives and the impact of the Tea Party in his 8y term.

Part II is going to focus on Trump's rise to the Presidency. So far, the Front Line series has been balanced. It's explained the popularity of the Tea Party and why Congress is polarized to the extent that the traditional compromising associated with the legislative process, normally leading to reasonable legislative outcomes, is so significantly and dangerously impaired.

I'm hoping that Part II will speak to the dangers of a Trump presidency in this Congressional environment. Tune in.

[froot loops]

I'll have to check that out online.

[iam416]

IMO, the Rs would have been better off politically to have Obamacare implode in the next year, and then repeal it

From a political standpoint, correct. Let it run its course. If it works, it works. If it fails then it's a political victory.

Taking ownership of the issue is going to be a political disaster.

[Intentionally limiting comments to politics of the issue; not the substantive policy]

[entropy]

DSL... I'm still not sure what BO has done as a president that gives him the high performance review... outside of he's an excellent speaker. I mean excellent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[froot loops]

They ran on repealing it on day 1. Most of the politicians did not understand the law or the ramifications of a repeal.

[entropy]

"Most of the politicians did not understand..."

Water is wet