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Bush surrounded himself with synchophants and loyalty to him and party was much more important than policy and competence. There is lots to dislike about Bill Clinton before him, but he had pretty good people working for him, and they all took real national policy seriously. I don't advocate for his wife as President, but this is what we need most out of the next presidency. If somebody who can lead/inspire/bring together like Obama (debatable - I know) would do this it would be a huge improvement. |
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I personally try to put things in terms I can relate to: There's another tech here at Nissan, an old Japanese guy, who's a REALLY awesome dude. His wife has some *serious* health problems. They typically have trouble affording the care she needs, which is frequently needed, to say the least. I stop and think to myself: "if there were some kind of healthcare reform, that caused me to shell out a bit more from my paycheck, in order to help me AND people like this who I care about, that's something I can definitely live with in order to make things better for ALL of us in the long run." Just my $0.02 I'm not big on politics by any means, but I've got my opinions... :D |
Yep. Taxation is neither inhernetly good nor bad. Personally, I only care about the need for what's being spent for, and how efficiently it's being spent on. And if some of my tax dollars are spent on programs that have no direct benefit for me- so what? Programs that DO benefit me do not benefit everybody else. That's how democracy works- sometimes you get what you want, and sometimes you have to let other people get what they want too.
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The only way to solve economic problems is to stop funding war. Thats where all the money is going and they all know it. The problem with stopping the war effort is that for it to work, every country in the world would have to do the same. Sure there are other things that will "help" but even watching the show Future Weapons you have to say "damn I wonder how much that cost to develop?".
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So while some people are earning their livelihood due to military spending, the benefit that gives to the economy overall is probably far outweighed by the fact that that money their earning is borrowed. If we were running a budget surplus, spending that money on a war would be a different story (though, IMO any surplus would be much better spent on paying back the $9T we owe ourselves, like we were doing under the Clinton administration...) Here's a fun chart: http://zfacts.com/metaPage/lib/National-Debt-GDP.gif With the exception of Regan and the Bush's, all of our administrations reduced the national debt. That massive debt starting in 1950 was from WWII. Does anyone remember the recession in the early 90's? Anyone think perhaps that might have been related to the tax cuts and high spending of the 1980's? Does anyone feel like we're being setup for another recession by the current tax cuts and high spending? |
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The total military spending for all current engagements and other areas is less than 5% of GDP. The U.S. is the largest manufacturer and exporter of military hardware and that industrial complex employs a boat load of people, and represents a significant amount of our exports contributing to GDP, but I can't find any useful numbers. A significant amount of innovation that eventually reaches the consumer in some manner is funded by military and related research, and it is not just better guns. Communications, water filtration, composite materials, better engines, medicine, So, is war bad, yes, but is it taking us into a recession, nope... |
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5% of GDP is kind of a crap number in this conversation. GDP is basically an indication of the size of the economy... so sure, when compared to the size of the economy we're not spending that much on our military. Buuuuuut.... the military is entirely funded by the discretionary fund, which is our tax dollars... $717 BILLION of our tax dollars... 67% of the discretionary fund. That means two thirds of every tax dollar that's not going to social security coming out of your pocket goes to the military. Who cares what percentage that is of the GDP... especially when you consider we have a trade deficit in this nation... which means that the Net Domestic Product of the nation is negative. I'm not saying military spending is causing a recession, but massive reduction of military spending could put a bunch of money back into our pockets which does help the economy. 'Course, I've never been a fan of cutting military spending, not without guarantees for troop safety and national security. i.e. I wouldn't cut the military's budget without first getting out of the middle east and repairing our image in the world. My point is just that military spending is downright MASSIVE when compared to the rest of the gov't budget. |
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I think the thing that bugs me the most is the way this election process works. Its been said in this thread that basically "we need to pick the guy who will F the country, the least.". What kind of a system is that?
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Anyway... I know what you mean. |
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Mostly I was referring to guys like Churchill and Teddy Roosevelt and Kennedy. |
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Did I mention he's a cross dresser?;) http://oliverwillis.typepad.com/phot...ianiindrag.jpg If Giuliani is our modern-day Ike then we really really ARE in f-ing trouble... |
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Negatives: He's a dick, and strikes me as a guy who wants the power of elected office more than he wants to be in a position to affect what he sees as positive change. |
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Matt I think you nailed it... Rudy *is* today's Ike... he's the guy running on a platform of popularity due to being in charge during a terrible event. We are, in fact, screwed.
Just like Rudy is no Ike, 9/11 & Iraq is no WWII, and Americans in general are self-congratulatory, arrogant, entitled, a-holes rather than humbled, hardworking people that know you have to earn what you have in life. There's something about having to grow up in the Depression only to have to fight true evil for freedom in the world that makes you into a generation that really can be considered the "greatest". I fear that our arrogance since then will mean our children are going to have to follow in our grandparent's footsteps. |
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