TomAiello
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Everything posted by TomAiello
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I don't watch (or read) FOX news. However, the GOP has been proposing various healthcare reform packages for at least 3 years. The fact that the media isn't reporting them would tend to indicate some bias, wouldn't it? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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That does look interesting. I've found it in several places on-line, but can't seem to locate it in stock. Is it a seasonal, or something, or is it just that on-line beer sales aren't really all that? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Just looking on the forum here I see exactly the opposite picture - a lot of "a very little crazy", and only few reasonable. Dude, you're reading an internet forum and thinking it represents a cross section of the real population? Now, that's crazy. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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They cost a lot less to run if they're not busily engaged in shoveling trillions of dollars into military adventurism in remote corners of the world. Cutting our insanely out of control military spending is a much more logical step than trying to support it further by jacking up our top tax rates further, especially given that we have the most progressive taxation in the world already. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I might think about it. But someone is going to have to buy me some cans to try to convince me. If you want, I can PM you my shipping address. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Why do we need to get blood from anyone? How about we stop spending all that blood, so it doesn't need to be extracted from people? You're viewing the economics in a frozen time frame. Over time, a broad wealth distribution correlates with an increase in overall societal wealth, because it encourages new production. So, which do you want, a bigger pie, with larger slices for all, or a smaller pie, with perfectly equal, but small, pieces for everyone? Are you so jealous of the other guy's big piece of pie that you'd be willing to take a smaller one yourself (and give your kids a smaller one) if only you could knock his down a bit? What kind of crazy reasoning is that? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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When you say 'give up' what does that mean? Reduce their taxes by 15%. If you could guarantee everyone a minimum income of 50k/yr, but had to reduce taxes on the top earners to do so, would you do it? Or is your jealousy so great that you must punish those evil rich people, even if it means you hurt the poor, as well? I don't expect you to answer that question honestly here. I'm just asking you to consider it privately, and candidly examine your own motivations. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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That's true, provided the rich are willing to pay much higher tax rates. If they aren't, then wealth disparity is indeed a problem. We can't have it both ways. ??? Would you rather live in a country where everyone makes $1 per year (perfect income equality), or one where the lowest earner makes $100k/yr, but the highest makes $100,000k/yr (higher income, but with much less equity)? Trying to tear down the top earners simply because they make more than you is just pettiness. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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OK, I don't know of it, but a questiuonaire? The OECD sends those questionnaires out to the governments of it's member nations--not the citizens. OECD web site. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development information from wikipedia. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Inequality of wealth distribution is not necessarily a problem. Leaving aside good old fashioned jealousy (which I think is probably a major motivator for those calling for more taxation), it hurts you not at all if your neighbor makes a million dollars a year. The real issue that people ought to be concerned with is where the bottom of the curve lies, not the top. It's all good if there are a ton of people taking home millions. What we don't want is a ton of people only taking home $10k/yr. Eliminating the latter is a noble goal. Eliminating the former is a sop to petty jealousy. If you could guarantee everyone in the US $50k/yr in income, but you'd have to give up 15% of the tax rate on the top earners, would you do it? Look into yourself, ask that question, and answer it honestly, then evaluate your motivations. Is there really not a trace of jealousy in there? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Um, the OECD isn't exactly an anti-taxation group. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Rogue Dead Guy is very good. I like their Imperial Stout, too. I actually drink mostly American micro-brew type beers. I've drank beer all over the world, and hands down the best beer I've ever had was the (not available in stores) microbrew at the Main Street Brewery in the dusty little town of Cortez, Colorado. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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You may think that, but I don't. There are many things I'd like to change about the US. That's not to say that it's terrible (or ideal). Given a choice of living anywhere (with citizenship) the US would be in my top five, worldwide. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Not really, it's big but not as big as undertaxing the rich. Our tax system burdens the top earners far more than any other country in the industrialized world. (Source). If we wanted to be more like the rest of the world, we'd need to reduce taxes on the wealthy. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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You know why American beer is like making love in a canoe, right? I'm actually something of a beer snob. If it comes in a can, I'm pretty much not going to be drinking it. Have you tried Cooper's? The one that you are supposed to roll back and forth on it's side before you open it? That's an Australian beer I'll drink. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Fosters: It's Australian for "piss." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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What does your rejoinder have to do with my point? I'm saying that the dems try to hold up and publicize the crazy bits of the GOP, and do their best to ignore any serious proposals or reasonable people coming out of the GOP. Which is exactly what you were doing with your previous post (focusing on the crazy bits and ignoring the reasonable proposals). Please explain how that has to do with people in the democratic party saying things about Sarah Palin or "death boards." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Which is exactly the democratic party line, Bill. The truth is that the GOP has plenty of alternative ideas, and only a very little crazy (kind of like the dems). But the current dem strategy is to hold up the crazy bits and scream loudly about how all republicans are just like that. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I'm actually a big fan of Switzerland. If it was even remotely possible for me to acquire Swiss citizenship, I'd be moving there. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Please explain how a trade deficit increases government debt. I really don't understand what you are saying. Defense spending is direct government spending. It is funded by either taxation, borrowing or printing money. Borrowing (or printing money--and with our system they are virtually the same thing) necessarily devalues the currency in circulation. Taxation does not (it has lots of other negative effects, of course). Trade deficits are aggregate numbers indicating total purchases and sales to customers in other nations. They do not directly impact federal budget deficits, because they do not represent direct federal spending. Trade deficits _do_ directly impact the value of the currency (Kallend's point), but they do not have an immediate effect on government indebtedness. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Sure. But by far the biggest contributor is massive government borrowing, mostly to fund military adventurism in far flung places. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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The reason for the weakness of the US dollar is massive government borrowing. That has nothing to do with moving right or left, or whatever. It's just the simple fact that our government spends way more money than it has. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Sure, and by that logic, saying that "dozens" of people voted for Obama would also be an "accurate and responsible description." I mean, dozens is clearly a subset of millions, isn't it? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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No, he definitely stated that the US had a less progressive tax system than western European countries, and he definitely stated it as a fact. The "something along the lines of" was because I don't have a transcript of the show in front of me, so I can't quote it exactly. It was the host of the show, not someone being interviewed. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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You mean the woman who withheld pain medicine from people in intense pain because suffering is good for the soul? You've got to love religious fanatics. What a winner. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com