The Story of Broke.

[GreyGeek]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G49q6uPcwY8

[woodsmoke]

Re: The Story of Broke.

I have just one simple (two part) question and an example.

How much stuff is "way too much stuff" and WHO decides how much is too much?

What if a dyed in the wool, ultra-right wing Christian worker in the slums said that a liberal elite had "way too much stuff"?

My former environmental science book had as an example of a "gas guzzler" a generic image of a "Hummer".....how come they didn't put an image of a Mercedes Benz or a Jaguar, most models of which get a lot LESS mileage?

woodsmoke

[GreyGeek]

Re: The Story of Broke.

I have just one simple (two part) question and an example.

How much stuff is "way too much stuff" and WHO decides how much is too much?

That's just one gal's opinion, even if it is bolstered by misrepresentation of some of the citations she offers.

What if a dyed in the wool, ultra-right wing Christian worker in the slums said that a liberal elite had "way too much stuff"?
....

Remember when Clinton was getting BJs from Lewinsky and it was found out? The Left's response: a person's private life (or infidelities) have no bearing on their ability to be President. But, when when a Black man appears on the stage and roars to the top of the polls, even his race isn't enough to quell the charges that he isn't "good" Presidential material because he was unfaithful to his wife. Nice double standard which works very well when the "press" collaborates.


The point of the film that I thought was well presented was the fact that tax payers continue to subsidize corporations that report BILLIONS in profits on a quarterly basis, and give out hundreds of millions in bonuses, not to mention their tax write offs (even though taxes are passed on to consumers). I saw the result of subsidizes first hand here in Nebraska when Federal subsidizes PAID for the building of 16 Ethanol plants in this state (and I don't know how many in other corn belt states). The net energy in Ethanol is so small that it takes SEVEN gallons of Ethanol to replace ONE gallon of gasoline, but that didn't stop the owners of the Ethanol plants from cashing in big by taking money from the tax payers, and then making the tax payers pay more for Ethanol spiked fuel at the pumps. Corn prices were hovering around a 50 year price of $2.35/bushel. The price shot up to $7/bushel, or more if I remember right. Excess cheap corn fed the poor around the world. Seven dollar corn was too profitable so people starved.

But, if we shouldn't "police" the world, should we feed it? Is it moral to feed people who are too poor to feed themselves, if doing so encourages them to have more babies? How is that different from our own welfare queens who pop kids in order to get ADC aid that they spend on themselves while their kids run unsupervised in the streets?

Lot's of complicated problems and questions.

[Qqmike]

Re: The Story of Broke.

I'm seeing this everywhere, and where I don't see it, others see it and tell me from other parts of the country: An employee has a $10/hr job with a large national company (retail/service) that disallows overtime as if it's a cardinal sin and the local store manager will be fired if he allows it on his watch. Sometimes forced to work major holidays. If lucky, may have 40 hours/week (needs at least 32 to qualify for most so-called minimal "benefits"), but many employees are lucky to start with 20 or 30. May be lucky to have health insurance, in which case premiums and/or deductibles and/or co-pays are rising every single year (along with maximum out-of-pocket cash limits) => more cash out of pocket for necessary health care. If lucky, the employee qualifies for a bit of "profit sharing" (after, say, five years), but read the fine print and company contributions are capped at as close to zero as possible (2%, 3% of income, whatever the company gets away with)--unless you are the $80k-$120k+bonus store manager. Hours have been cut, so our $10/hr employee may be down to 37.5 hours/week, saving the company $25 a week and costing the employee $1300/yr. On and damned on. And you can be certain that the chiefs at corporate are not cutting anything on themselves.

What the hell happened to this country, our country, America? Just how bad is it in other countries that people still wish to immigrate here? (They'd better come in buddy pairs or triple-buddy pairs because you can't live on $10 an hour, better have a roommate or two.) It is increasingly hard to believe what is happening to this country. You don't have to cling to the latest 1%-vs-99% statistic to see it--it's obvious and it's everywhere.

[dibl]

Re: The Story of Broke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G49q6uPcwY8

Interesting -- thanks GG.

Well, I don't thinks she's all wrong, but when she presents the U.S. military as taking the first and largest bite out of the tax revenues, I'd say her story could use a little "truthiness adjustment", at least as per the wikipedia graphic for FY 2010:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U...._-_FY_2007.png

Looks like the Pentagon comes in a solid 3rd place on the major allotments from the budget, after Medicare and Social Security. You have to tell the truth, while attacking some other version of the truth, if you hope to be convincing .....

[oshunluvr]

Re: The Story of Broke.

One could argue that the Defense spending is the largest spending from the general revenue of the government because the Social Security and Medicare specific taxes could be used to offset the cost of those programs to the general fund. SS and Medicare taxes can only (supposedly) be spent on those programs where we don't have a specific tax for defense spending.

In other words (2010 numbers) SS/Medicare spending = almost $1.5 Trillion minus $.9 Trillion revenue equals .6 Trillion in cost to the general fund vs. almost .7 Trillion in defense spending from the general fund.

I realise this is splitting hairs, but that's how it's done in the Federal sector. Politions only report the numbers that make their personal agendas look good. There is very little "real" math being done in D.C.

Sidebar: I've never rounded to the nearest 100 Billion before. A new personal achivement!

[dibl]

Re: The Story of Broke.

Yeah, I know, oshunluvr -- your point is taken.

But, if you're going to pitch "here's the #1 bite out of the revenues", you really need to show the actual #1 bite out of the revenues. She didn't qualify it as "general fund", and admittedly the story would quickly get really boring if she did. She just fudged it and called the wheelbarrow full of money "taxes".

BTW, speaking of the funding source for Medicare and Social Security -- you realize that it is partially "on holiday" at the moment? And I'm wondering where the politicos will get the nerve to reinstate it. And if they don't, then what?

[SteveRiley]

Re: The Story of Broke.

Remember when Clinton was getting BJs from Lewinsky and it was found out? The Left's response: a person's private life (or infidelities) have no bearing on their ability to be President. But, when when a Black man appears on the stage and roars to the top of the polls, even his race isn't enough to quell the charges that he isn't "good" Presidential material because he was unfaithful to his wife. Nice double standard which works very well when the "press" collaborates.

I think it's simpler, really. Most guys dream of getting it on in the office. Clinton actually got away with it -- and in the most important (oval) office in the land. People who whine about it are just jealous.

Well, I don't thinks she's all wrong, but when she presents the U.S. military as taking the first and largest bite out of the tax revenues, I'd say her story could use a little "truthiness adjustment", at least as per the wikipedia graphic for FY 2010:

Have you seen the Death and Taxes project? They produce one of the best-researched infographic representing the US budget. Here's the 2012 summary:



Of the $3.699 trillion outlay, the Defense Department is the largest portion, at $881 billion or 23.8%. Add non-national security, at $462 billion or 12.5%, and "security" spending totals $1.343 trillion, which is 36.3% or the 2012 budget.

That is just insane. Remind me again, which enemy requires that kind of expenditure? Certainly not these guys, right?

[woodsmoke]

Re: The Story of Broke.

Welll....... I remember when I was in the Navy in the Gulf of Tonkin and were being lectured on not talking to the Gyrenes in country in "clear" and to use code. And we were shown a radio that had been pitched by a U.S. soldier that was powered with a bunch of grapefruits.

A modern nuclear weapon, and that is what a "rogue nation" would build is about the size of a large suitcase:

http://depletedcranium.com/nuclear-w...y-on-aircraft/

All it would take is ONE of them set off, after being CARRIED into the U.S. and left outside the LaBrea TarPits to make a very large hole in the ground and kill thousands of people.

Japan had a LITTLE Ricin attack in a subway....

Imagine one being carried out in the Mall of the Americas...

All it would take is a foreign national student who had studied at say.....Harvard....in chemistry.... to make it here and carry it to.....Mexico City.....or make it in Mexico City and carry it to..... The Rockefeller Center.

Remember the congressman who called for "gas detectors kind of like smoke detectors" in every subway in New York....as if it could sniff Ricin carried in a glass bottle in a glass bottle in a glass bottle.

again...it shows how clueless people are about the possibilities

woodsmoke

[dibl]

Re: The Story of Broke.

Have you seen the Death and Taxes project? They produce one of the best-researched infographic representing the US budget. Here's the 2012 summary:

No, I didn't know about that one -- thanks! There's a helluva disconnect between that depiction of the 2012 military budget and wiki's figure for 2010.

Moreover, there actually isn't a federal budget for 2012 .... what a mess!

>

[Snowhog]

Re: The Story of Broke.

Moreover, there actually isn't a federal budget for 2012 .... what a mess!

>

As of today, it has been more than 3 years since Congress has passed and presented to the President for signature, a complete Federal Budget!

TITLE 31 > SUBTITLE II > CHAPTER 11 > § 1105 BUDGET CONTENTS AND SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS

The Budget Act stipulates that the House should have given final approval to all of the spending bills by June 30.

Since the federal budget process rarely runs on schedule anymore, Congress will usually be required to pass one or more “Continuing Resolutions” authorizing the various government agencies to continue operating temporarily at existing funding levels. The alternative, a government shutdown, is not a desirable option.