AAAAUUUGHGGHG!!!
LOOK: http://www.usdebtclock.org/index.html
You can see our debt approaching our GDP now... It's already at over 99%...
Ugh. I mean, I ain't some debt-hating pinhead, but that's pretty bad.
We had a surplus under Clinton, before Bush bent it over a table and brutally strangled and assraped it...
Democrats are a little too much tax and spend, and Republicans are way too much don't tax and spend more on useless things.
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Comments
True... There's a lot of graft and wasted spending!
But... All of the useful services that government is best able to supply: infrastructure, universal health care, Social Security --- so easy if we had a truly progressive tax system!
The Repubs, however, reject all!
The only explanation for this is that their main strategy for success in 2012 requires that they make sure that our current administration be seen as a total failure by election time!
lol
Well that's just the kind of world we live in.
Ugh.
Why does nobody ever just, y'know... spend less?
And would this mean...
...that we'd need even fewer workers to produce goods? :(
I'd say that...
Most of the world's debt isn't from your average household. I'd say it's mostly from companies that aren't paid enough for their work to cover their borrowing needed to build/buy things for their products... such as farmers needing to build chicken coops (that cost about 50,000 each) and then they only get paid about 18,000 a year... for example.
and then, well, they get fired or go out of business without paying such debts off...
Anyways, how much do you spend? I can guess that you could spend less, too. So... I wouldn't exactly take that sort of tone unless you can back it up.
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That's redick!
I meant the government
I meant the government spending less. Seems like the way to not be obscenely indebted. And yes, I do spend less. I've never been in debt - although I haven't had much opportunity to, I know a lot of people my age are - and I hope never to be.
Ahkay, good.
I was like, well... the cost of the average household doesn't do much for NATIONAL DEBT LOL
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That's redick!
Apropos this very important subject...
raised by swimmerguy... I wish that all who have even a marginal interest in this country's current dire political and economic circumstance would read today's NYT column from my economic guru, Paul Krugman:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/opinion/panic-of-the-plutocrats.html?_...
Edit: If you read this earlier, the posted URL was in error!
eh...
OWS seems like a waste of time. They took 2.5 weeks to come up with a list of problems, all of which are completely obvious to anyone who's been paying attention, with no idea or vague plan on how to achieve them. Identifying the problems is the easy part.
---
"You can judge the whole world on the sparkle that you think it lacks" - Dawes, When My Time Comes (http://youtu.be/Z0FrcTX6hWI)
"Seems" is the operative word
Whether it will evolve into a true movement (3rd party?) that could inject some sense (i.e.: viable solutions) towards solving our embarrassing economic and political mess... remains yet unknown. However, it's still a tad too early to write off OWS out of hand... I just dunno. :(
But... where else does hope lie?
Well...
Our system doesn't support a third party, because the Democrats and Republicans run so close. It's like 48% people are hardcore Democrat, and 48% are hardcore Republican, and we spend millions of dollars to sway the 4 percent every time. I supported the Tea Party as a third party, since they would siphon votes from the right. But OWS siphons from the left. Last time we had a third party attempt on the left, Nader got 90,000 votes, and Gore lost Florida by 543 votes. I don't like the two-party system, but that is why there is always resistance.
The other problem is that OWS rejects the system, so they seem to be operating in the ether. None of their problems are tied to legislation, and many of them, which I support, aren't viable. I am against factory farmed meat, and that is one of their "demands," again, none of which is a real demand but more of a problem without a solution. But the problem is that you can't remove factory farmed meat without reducing meat consumption. Again, something I support, but it is hard to imagine that is something everyone would gravitate around and support.
There hasn't been one "demand" from OWS linked to a solution to solve it, except trying to fire police who legally pepperspray them, since they think "protest" is some magic term that makes all other laws void, which is untrue. When ACT UP had civil disobedience, they had arrest training and coordinators. Every time OWS gets arrested, they get all anti-police and livid, since they are "peaceful," so again, it is just a group who seem to like venting.
One of the viral clips going around is of one of their spokespeople taking potshots about Fox News in every question asked of them by a Fox News reporter. Their big complaint? His interview never aired. To be truly subversive, you should answer in a way to get your message *on* Fox News. More people would see that then the viral video that got cut.
Occupy Chicago is the first group that is interesting, although all of the Occupy groups being autonomous is sort of troublesome, as well, as they will start contradicting one another soon. But they actually link their demands to concrete things, legislation to overturn, etc: http://occupychi.org/2011/10/07/our-proposed-demands/
So, I'm not against OWS, but so far it's just a bunch of drum circles, chanting, and unfocused anger. If it turns into something, great, but it has a better chance of losing steam the longer it is just directionless and about emotion.
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"You can judge the whole world on the sparkle that you think it lacks" - Dawes, When My Time Comes (http://youtu.be/Z0FrcTX6hWI)
Not much with which I'd disagree...
However... I believe it is still too early to tell.
Let's hope that OWS develops a platform... and some leadership.
At this point, it looks unlikely... but...