Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[iam416]

Buchanan:

If you're really interested in distribution of wealth, you should read Piketty as well as the volumnious and largely correct criticisms lodged against him. It's the joy of peer-reviewed work and discussion. It's all quite accessible.

Wingy:

Heartbreaking stuff.

[Jeff Buchanan]

talent ...... I'll do that. I'm interested in the actual global distribution of wealth only as a matter of muting the claims of anti-globalists that wealth inequality is a serious threat to international stability. I believe that claim is exaggerated. As are most things, they are never as bad as they appear to be.

[iam416]

Ah, well, likewise. Here's a quote that may speak to you:

All the worries, from Malthus to Piketty, share an underlying pessimism, whether from imperfection in the capital market or from the behavioral inadequacies of the individual consumer or from the Laws of Motion of a Capitalist System. During such a pretty good history from 1800 to the present, the economic pessimists on the left have nonetheless been subject to nightmares of terrible, terrible faults. Admittedly, such pessimism sells. For reasons I have never understood, people like to hear that the world is going to hell, and become huffy and scornful when some idiotic optimist intrudes on their pleasure. Yet pessimism has consistently been a poor guide to the modern economic world.

Anyway, I'd read up on Piketty. Different people had different issues of varying degrees of significance with his work. And gads of people had issue with his preposterous solution. But, his underlying work is worth undertanding as well as various very credible pushbacks.

Anywho, carry on...this thread still sucks out loud. I'd rather read about the ultra-anticipated Peach Bowl!

[froot loops]

Clearly the market was spooked by the shenanigans of Trump and Mnuchin, but it's not 2008 thankfully. He would be best advised to STFU about the Fed.

[Kapture1]

we have to fight back against China's bullshit. is it best to do it when our economy sucks or when it's booming?

[Dr. Strangelove]

Mr. Personality is now huffing and puffing about shutting down the US border to all trade unless he gets his Wall funded, LOL. This is the sort of shit that spooks investors, Jeff.

Gets repetitive to keep harping on this but either the man genuinely doesn't understand how Trade works or (maybe worse) he pushes blatant misinformation to win points with the rubes. We would make money by ending all trade with Mexico? Ludicrous. He goes on to say NAFTA caused the car companies to move jobs out of the US. The truth is they were moving plants to Mexico as early as the 1960's, long before NAFTA.

[Dr. Strangelove]

BTW, I thought NAFTA was dead? Replaced by the Trump-approved, totally kickass USMCA in which we do so much winning? Even Trump forgets about that

[Kapture1]

BTW, I thought NAFTA was dead? Replaced by the Trump-approved, totally kickass USMCA in which we do so much winning? Even Trump forgets about that

has congress approved the USMCA? no?

[Dr. Strangelove]

has congress approved the USMCA? no?

Ah, fair enough. I guess we're stuck with the money-losing NAFTA disaster for a while

[Kapture1]

"This suspect, unlike Ron -- who immigrated to this country lawfully and legally to pursue his lifelong career of public safety, public service and being a police officer -- this suspect is in our country illegally," Christianson said. "He doesn't belong here. He's a criminal."


This is the officer who was brutally murdered with his family Christmas morning, 5 hours later he was killed.




DvYFk9QWsAEsLpP.jpg

what a striking contrast in everything the right wants in immigration vs everything the left wants.

This is why everyone knows the dems are on the losing side of this argument and it will damage them with everyone in the country minus their base to keep their heels dug in and the border open.

[Kapture1]

Fuck CNN

[Dr. Strangelove]

Random election factoids. Note that while turnout was high for a midterm across the board, the Dems came closer to matching their 2016 numbers than the Republicans did in each state. The totals may be slightly skewed because each state had a district where no Republican bothered to run. But with the gap being around 200-300K in each state, those highly Dem districts could not have made up the difference.

Wisconsin has 8 congressional seats. No Republican even ran in the ultra-liberal WI-2 seat (Madison area).

Republican candidates received 1,172,964 votes (2016 Trump - 1,405,284)
Democrat candidates received 1,367,492 votes (2016 Hillary - 1,382,536)

Michigan has 14 congressional seats. No Republican ran in the 13th district (Part of Detroit + burbs)

Republican candidates received 1,853,459 votes (2016 Trump - 2,279,543)
Democrat candidates received 2,175,003 votes (2016 Hillary - 2,268,839)

[Dr. Strangelove]

How dare the ultra-liberal Senator Lankford undermine muh President like this! Maybe you aren't worried about the hordes of illegals in <<checks notes>> Oklahoma... but in the heartland we have real concerns! Coastal elite scum!!

[Ghengis Jon]

Where's Stan at?

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/28/politics/house-democrats-investigations-lawyers-hiring/index.html

[Ghengis Jon]

Beyond the rhetoric, the BBC looks at building of a wall.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-d60acebe-2076-4bab-90b4-0e9a5f62ab12