jcd11235

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Everything posted by jcd11235

  1. jcd11235
    SCOTUS's job is to strike down laws that exceed those powers granted in the Constitution. Yes. And the framers granted very broad powers to the federal government, so laws exceeding federal authority are not as common as many conservatives would like us to believe. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  2. jcd11235
    Apparently you don't understand the purpose of the judicial branch. Their job is to interpret law. Limits on the federal government are set by the Constitution, and its framers saw fit to give the federal government pretty broad powers. The primary problem they sought to fix when they drafted that document was, in fact, a small, powerless national government. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  3. jcd11235
    It is a competitive market. You're free to move to another country that provide a cost/benefit ratio more to your liking. If you go to a grocery store in a reasonably large town, odds are they will have the best price on some items while other items are priced much higher than at their competitors. People will still fill their basket with both kinds of items, despite what you learned in your Intro to Macroeconomics class. To a point, the store can charge whatever they want, because they've already got you in the store, and they know that going to multiple grocery stores is too much trouble to bother with for most people. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  4. jcd11235
    So, you're saying a 100% tax would be ok? Of course not. Both 0% tax and 100% tax produce zero revenue. It still wouldn't be theft, though, just bad policy. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  5. jcd11235
    "Poking" at indicators of poor health does not imply intentional poking at Americans. Obesity is a valid metric, even if using it as such is inconsistent with your imaginary excellent (current) American health care system. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  6. jcd11235
    I named my team Underdogs. Perhaps that gives you an idea of how much effort I plan to put into it! It's WAY down my list of priorities. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  7. jcd11235
    If you had a better understanding of the subject at hand, you would understand that a life annuity is, in fact, the investment vehicle that SS most closely resembles. That they are not exactly identical doesn't change that fact. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  8. jcd11235
    Yes, people who don't pay the taxes they owe are thieves (though not necessarily in the legal sense of the word). Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  9. jcd11235
    Property taxes tend to go to local government. Income taxes tend to go to state and federal government. Taxes aren't theft any more than a retailer expecting customers to pay for merchandise they leave with is theft. Taxes are the cost of services provided by government. Tax evasion is theft of those services. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  10. jcd11235
    Do you have any references for this? I'd be interested to read them. A quick search found this one, among others. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  11. jcd11235
    At 55%, it will be. Disagree. Taxes are not theft. Tax evasion is theft. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  12. jcd11235
    As you usually seem to do, you're too busy shooting the messenger to bother with the message. Did you read the article, and if so, what exactly didn't you like about their analysis? It's ludicrous to believe that we can cut taxes to increase revenue and decrease the deficit. We're on the wrong side of the Laffer curve for that. Further, if spending cuts are going to be used to decrease the deficit, those cuts have to include large defense spending cuts. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  13. jcd11235
    I understand it just fine. That the inheritance is non-liquid assets is irrelevant. Taxes should still be paid. It certainly isn't "theft by our government." Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  14. jcd11235
    It's hard to imagine that a NewsCorp publication would turn to a neo-conservative think tank in response to research by the Brookings institution, one of the most widely respected non-partisan think tanks. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  15. jcd11235
    Good questions. The gaming industry has begun hiring (or contracting) economists to study the virtual economies in their games. These economies have the advantage (with respect to being studied) of having every transaction recorded. It will be interesting to see what is learned over the next few years that can be extrapolated to economies in the real world. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  16. jcd11235
    I was thinking that same thing recently. I've no insight regarding the location of the zero derivative point, though. Where do you think that point is for % taxes vs revenue generated. Higher than current rates. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  17. jcd11235
    I was thinking that same thing recently. I've no insight regarding the location of the zero derivative point, though. About $15 an hour. How did you arrive at that figure? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  18. jcd11235
    Right. I understand how the color tags are supposed to work. I just found unexpected behavior when I accidentally deleted only the opening color tag on a reply to a comment, leaving the closing tag, like this. It changed the font size of all text that followed, which was an unexpected behavior, which I tend to consider a bug. This is the forum where bugs are reported. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  19. jcd11235
    Best answer: "That's the only kind of plane I WANT to ride to altitude in." Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  20. jcd11235
    I've been talked into giving fantasy football a chance this season. I've never played before, so I'm also interested in others' opinions. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  21. jcd11235
    I was thinking that same thing recently. I've no insight regarding the location of the zero derivative point, though. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  22. jcd11235
    The most comprehensive study I've seen suggests that increases in minimum wage (typical increases, not up to $100/hr that you mentioned) have a small positive effect on employment. So, if we accept that an increase in the minimum wage to $100 would decrease employment (sounds reasonable), the intermediate value theorem tells us that there exists a non-zero increase in minimum wage for which the net effect on employment is zero. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  23. jcd11235
    Yes. Of course, that's what Social Security, i.e., Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, is, government insurance. again, not remotely. An annuity has a specified payout and duration. Some do, others, such as a variable life annuity, specify neither concretely. Others specify one, but not the other. Still others partially specify payout and/or duration. What part of most closely resembles do you not understand? Incidentally, the government could, in principle, not make good on their guarantees of other insurance programs. That possibility isn't exclusive to SS. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  24. jcd11235
    http://xkcd.com/263/ Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!
  25. jcd11235
    Pssst … Obama did release a budget proposal for 2013. Pssst...so did I. Neither Obama nor I got any votes. His own party wouldn't even support him. That's even more pathetic than to have just continued without one. I see. So now you're changing your position from claiming that Obama didn't release a budget proposal to claiming that his proposal didn't get any votes. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!