OP ED-"Little Timmy Wants to Know Why Nobody Likes Airplanes Anymore?

[flyboy0681]

No it's not quite that easy. You sure do put anyone who doesn't agree with you "in a box."

No one is saying there is no place for government at all. Remember my statement on this thread that we need state insurance commissions to regulate insurance companies? That brought mystery Tom out if the woodwork, spouting off about "regulatory capture."

Anyone who doesn't want socialism or big government take-over hates the elderly and sees them as a drain on society? Haha! Oh stop it!

I could refute every one of those extremely biased and untruthful characterizations, but I have things to do today. (Like going to visit an elderly man whose wife is bed ridden and has dementia and bring him home cooked food from our family. That really is where I am going now - conservative hater that I am!)

You forgot to mention that anyone who is for free enterprise hates the environment and wants dirty air and dirty water! Haha!

 

Sorry you missed it Dave, but the responses were directed based only upon at Scott's replies, no one elses.

[flyboy0681]

Thank you for pointing out my ignorance. So it appears the visual of the eleven states was borrowed from a different statistic ... ? and does not truly represent the FACT that one can make more as a parasite off the taxpayer than by going to work.

Or the simple but TRUE point that in our compassion to see no one in the United States go hungry or without shelter, we have as a consequence take away any motivation for those on government benefits to go back to work. I am SURE you were about to acknowledge that flyboy, right after you called me ignorant, with your kind and non offensive remark.

*******So according to the 2014 Department of Human and Health Services report (a report that is required by law annually) "the percentage of Americans on welfare in 2011 was the highest yet calculated." (2011 is the latest data available) *******

I am sure you were just about to acknowledge that? Maybe you forgot? You have so much knowledge, not being ignorant like me, you probably just don't have room on the forum to share your vast wealth of superior knowledge with us ignorant folks?

According to this report 23.1% of Americans were welfare recipients in 2011. That is the highest ever recorded.

38% percent of all children 5 and under were welfare recipients.

As of the forth quarter of 2011, there were 108,592,000 people living in household that received benefits through "means tested" government programs. Those "means tested" government benefit recipients according to the Census Bureau equaled 35.4% of the people in the United States (US population = 306,804,000 at the time).

When recipients of "non-means tested" government programs (social security, Medicare, unemployment, and veterans benefits were added to those receiving benefits from "means tested" government programs, the total receiving government benefits in the forth quarter of 2011 was 151,014,000 according to the Census Bureau. That equalled 49.2 percent of the total population.

49.2 % of us live off the government in some form or another.

The rest of us: 50.8% need to pick up the load and pay more of "our fair share." Especially those evil, disloyal businesses that create jobs and already pay 28 cents of every dollar they make to the government, like Aon which was referenced in a previous post. They need to stay here and be loyal. How dare them move! Those 50.8% need to stay here and support the 49.2% who live off our tax dollars. It's a matter of loyalty folks. The government doesn't need to cut spending or weed out the free-loaders and mooches. How dare us question "the government?" We just need to be loyal, go to work, and hand over more and more of our pay. Aon needs to move back and pay even higher taxes!

Me, I would never dream of moving. I am loyal.

Don't just sit there and be ignorant folks! Now you are empowered with knowledge! Get off this forum, and get to work folks! Pick up some overtime! Work the weekend! Park the airplane! Eat ramen noodles. Those 49.2% who are sitting at home watching satellite television, drinking beer and smoking ghanja, getting piercings and tattoos and talking on their Obama phones or brand new iPhone 5S's ... are depending on you!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wRRwZDSmTVI

 

All of these statistics are now several years old. With unemployment down (if you believe it's down since 2009-2010 levels), the welfare rolls have come down as well. According to the SNAP site, the number of persons receiving food stamps from June 2013 through June 2014 has decreased by 3% (not a lot, but down).

 

As you stated the 49% figure includes not only welfare recipients but Social Security beneficiaries as well as people on military pensions et al. If the feds issue a check, it's included in that figure. One day you too will be included in that figure, as will I. The important figure you presented was that 35% receive some form of welfare. As the GOP presents it (Mitt for example), they would have us believe that the 49% includes only those on welfare. 

 

One question that I have is this. Much to their credit, the Republican's sent, and Clinton signed, the Welfare Reform bill. The legislation calls for lifetime maximum of 60 months of benefits. What happened to this? It sounds like people are receiving welfare payments as they have in the past, for decades on end.

 

The radio show was interesting (the call letters are funny), but if you dug deeper you would have found out that all was not what it appeared and "Lucy" fabricated a lot. Seems Lucy called into the show at a later time and had come clean with a different story. Seems that she was only on welfare, but for a short time at which time she got her act together and got on with her life by making an honest living. However, I realize that the original story she told is all too common and yes,  it is deplorable.

 

http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2013-11-23/klbjs-false-flag/

[flyboy0681]

I usually miss quite a bit. I am certainly " not he sharpest pencil ... "

However, I didn't miss that you quantified and characterized him (is that a personal attack?) after it was posted that he has been suspended for two weeks and is unable to respond?

 

It wasn't meant as a personal attack but the differences between his philosophies and mine.

 

He is on record as saying that there's not a single government department that deserves to be in existence (not the FAA, not even the ATC system). He did also say that Medicare and Social Security should be outlawed and that if a senior didn't save enough to take care of their own healthcare and living expenses once retired that it's their own fault. During that "exchange" I asked him what a senior should do if they saved $200k for retirement and found themselves with medical bills exceeding $300k. He didn't respond to that one.

[flyboy0681]

Now for the above:

Dude, you remind me of that book "Ameritopia" by some conservative talk show host? I wish that just by being born ... or just by crossing the border into America ... I never had to worry about food, clothing, housing, health care, education ... (I never read the book; just heard about the idea.) Daddy government is going to meet all my needs.

I know you have experiences that make you want that utopian America to exist. But it's a pipe dream. It's not reality. It will never be reality. Empowering big government, and bankrupting our country will not bring about your "Ameritopia." Not that I don't care. Not that we should not do what can. The reality is we are broke. Our economy is stalled. Look at the HHS numbers of my previous post. Are those healthy numbers? Do they indicate a healthy country? A healthy economy?

The America I grew up in was about THE UNLIMITED OPPORTUNITIES in a free nation. It wasn't about being born and never having a care: giving everyone everything and never having to worry for anyone. Don't confuse my assessment of reality with the idea that I don't care for people. I do. The Progressive socialist solution just won't work. Giving an already corrupt government the power - will definitely not stop greed corruption and thirst for power ... it will proliferate the problems ...

 

As I said in a previous post, I don't believe in nor am I a utopian. Nor am I a socialist. But I do believe, just as Reagan did, that the best years are ahead and that there still are unlimited opportunities and you ain't seen nothing yet.

 

No doubt the budget is a spectacular mess, but I also wonder what it would have looked like had McCain won in '08 and followed through with the 7 wars he would have committed us to (Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran and Ukraine).

[flyboy0681]

Unemployment down? No one knows the truth anymore, after Obama arbitrarily changed the way unemployment numbers are computed.

 

Well, I knew that one was coming.

 

I don't necessarily believe the Department of Labor Statistics but I tend to believe the payroll reports that are released by ADP. They have a stranglehold on the American payroll system and believe their numbers are accurate. Based on many metrics they are able to determine who switches jobs, who left their payroll system (termination or possibly a new job that uses a competitor such as Paychex) and who hasn't been on payroll for a while (new hire). I feel this is a more accurate way to track the employment situation than calling x number of households. Add to the mix that their business depends on employment and they have been doing very well.

[Marauder]

[carusoam]

Nope!

[aaronk25]

That's one way to spin it.

Spin it? That's exactly what happened? Boy you are screwed up.

NOPE!

[chrisk]

 

I was kind of hoping to attend Little Timmy's funeral.  The thread that wouldn't die.

[BorealOne]

How did we get to Page 21 of this thread without reaching the obvious conclusion?

 

 

Blame Canada!

[flyboy0681]

My mistake. For a minute there you just sounded like a utopian socialist?

 

Honest mistake, could happen to anyone.

 

If I wanted to visit Utopia, I'd pull out the old Ronald Coleman film, Lost Horizon.

[Tom]

Feel free to chime in here any time Tom. (Snicker)

Between roughly 1946 and 1970 the US enjoyed global production dominance while the rest of the pre-WWII industrialized countries were rebuilding.  During this ~25 year period the US greatly built up and reinforced its infrastructure.  After roughly 1970 the rest of the industrialized world began to catch up.  In the last 20-30 years S. Korea, and namely China haved entered the scene in force.  The world is different now, but some of us seem to have a hard time accepting the reality for what it is and like to hang the blame on entitlements or immigrants or the like while others of us accept the external forces as being dominant.  Regardless, to keep everyone happy, the US govt has figured out a way to continue to prop up our economy.  It helps that the rest of the world considers the US to be the most politically stable and therefor best place to dump their surplus capital.  But that doesn't mean that the US economy is strong, or that the future is intrinsically bright.  Rather, so long as everywhere else continues to be a dump, we're the best thing going.  If this reality sounds unpatriotic, get over it as we have hard work to do.

The insurance commission is a joke.  I haven't been to church enough to love my neighbor the paper shuffler who can somehow afford a house, car, plane, boat, vacations, all through shuffling paper.  There are govt beaurocrats and there are private side beaurocrats.  I simply can't listen to people proclaim to be "conservative" who themselves leech off of the producers.  We need insurance, just like we need roads and a strong defense.  But we don't need bloat, whether governmental or private.  I just wish modern "conservatives" would be as against private-side bloat (where regulatory captures and/or monopolies exist) as much as they are anti-government.

Dave, I'm not pushing for the government to run healthcare.  That being said, who would you prefer run healthcare?  The VA?  Morgan Stanley executives?  Kaiser?  Who?

Government control=Cronyism, bloat, works program, nepotism, waste, politics, money influence, hard to fire dead wood, etc

Private control=Cronyism, less bloat, rare works program token employee, nepotism, waste, politics, money influence, profit, can fire people unjustly, requires regulation (per the heads of private industry!), etc

Of the two choices, I prefer the one that is 1)the most sustainable, 2) offers the most freedom, and 3)is more efficient.  I otherwise don't see one type of entity as inherently better than the other.  I do appreciate that it easier to conceptualize the world as being good vs evil.  Research says many of us are disproporionately wired to think in terms of good and evil.  These people seem to cause the most problems. 

[flyboy0681]

Interesting? You don't trust the numbers the government puts out, but trust data provided by private industry! But you do trust the government to take care of the elderly, to take care of everyone's healthcare care and everyone's retirement? Feel free to chime in here any time Tom. (Snicker) (No insult to you intended Flyboy ... Just prodding the prowlers. Boy I need to find something else to do for "fun!")

 

ADP has to answer to a higher authority: shareholders.

 

All kidding aside, their entire business model is based on employment in this country and who would know more about those numbers than the guys who print the checks?

[flyboy0681]

Between roughly 1946 and 1970 the US enjoyed global production dominance while the rest of the pre-WWII industrialized countries were rebuilding.  During this ~25 year period the US greatly built up and reinforced its infrastructure.  After roughly 1970 the rest of the industrialized world began to catch up.  In the last 20-30 years S. Korea, and namely China haved entered the scene in force.  The world is different now, but some of us seem to have a hard time accepting the reality for what it is and like to hang the blame on entitlements or immigrants or the like while others of us accept the external forces as being dominant.  Regardless, to keep everyone happy, the US govt has figured out a way to continue to prop up our economy.  It helps that the rest of the world considers the US to be the most politically stable and therefor best place to dump their surplus capital.  But that doesn't mean that the US economy is strong, or that the future is intrinsically bright.  Rather, so long as everywhere else continues to be a dump, we're the best thing going.  If this reality sounds unpatriotic, get over it as we have hard work to do.

 

 

I know I'm going to catch hell for this, but Tom and I are on the same page. I was late coming to the table but it all started coming into focus after I read the World Is Flat, which laid out the foundation for globalism. 

 

If it weren't for the 747, super container ships and the Internets, we'd still be partying like it was 1966.

[carusoam]

How are you guys on educating the masses?

If the world's populations were engineers and pilots would this be better for everyone?

Our government seems to be educating a lot of people.

Go to a few public meetings to get a feel of how they are run?

Asian governments are starting to educate their people.

Learning English by the internet seems to be popular.

Capitalism is spreading faster than the word of god...

Was that alibaba IPO of interest to this discussion?

Hmmm...

[chrisk]

Maybe "Little Timmy" has grown up and realized he should renounce his citizenship while he still can.  Apparently it is happening in record numbers.  --and you have to pay $2350  and possibly an "exit tax" to do so, but only if they approve you!  Land of the free and home of the brave..... 

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tough-tax-rules-see-expats-ditch-us-passports-102239667.html

[flyboy0681]

Maybe "Little Timmy" has grown up and realized he should renounce his citizenship while he still can.  Apparently it is happening in record numbers.  --and you have to pay $2350  and possibly an "exit tax" to do so, but only if they approve you!  Land of the free and home of the brave..... 

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tough-tax-rules-see-expats-ditch-us-passports-102239667.html

 

Doesn't exactly sound like the average middle class American is doing it. If some are going abroad hoping to save on taxes, they are going to be in for a rude awakening.

[chrisk]

Doesn't exactly sound like the average middle class American is doing it. If some are going abroad hoping to save on taxes, they are going to be in for a rude awakening.

 

It actually effects a number of relatively average folks, from an income perspective.  Think small businesses owners in the Carribean and south of the boarder.  (Scuba shop, restaurant, 10 room hotel, property management company, etc.) And it hits people who retired in places like Costa Rica.  It's not just billionaires.  Any US citizen who has a foreign account needs to declare it.  And if it has more then $10,000, there are more requirements.

[flyboy0681]

It actually effects a number of relatively average folks, from an income perspective.  Think small businesses owners in the Carribean and south of the boarder.  (Scuba shop, restaurant, 10 room hotel, property management company, etc.) And it hits people who retired in places like Costa Rica.  It's not just billionaires.  Any US citizen who has a foreign account needs to declare it.  And if it has more then $10,000, there are more requirements.

 

Doesn't sound right to me because it says "It requires all Americans to provide the IRS with detailed information on their foreign financial accounts and offshore assets"

 

How many John Q. Public's have offshore accounts?

[flyboy0681]

I am trying to imagine Reagan: sealing all his records including his college papers and transcripts, refusing for years to release his birth certificate, appointing a cabinet in which only 8% have ever had a real job, bowing to the Saudi Arabian King, signaling to the world that America will no longer be a force for good, but will take a submissive role due to our history of arrogance, telling the University of Cairo what a great "Muslim history" America has, lecturing and tearing-down business owners that they "didn't build that," leading us into trillions more in debt, enacting a massive socialist style government program to manage and control healthcare, delivering not one but two race-baiting speeches on national television by using clever words about who he could be or what his son would look like, abandoning our people in Behnghazi then fabricating a story, using the IRS and many other government agencies as weapons against his political enemies ... or promising Gorbachev off microphone that he would have more flexibility to weaken our defenses for him after the election is over ... and so on ...

What a comparison - contrast to this current administration.

Tom is right the world has changed!

 

 

Here we go again.

 

I'm not sure what is behind the sealing of the college records, but what do you think it's all about? That he was a 2.0 student?

 

The birth certificate issue is long gone. Of course the long form wasn't acceptable to the conspiracy theorists. If Mother Theresa viewed it herself they wouldn't have believed her. I find it interesting that the current governor or Hawaii, Neil Abercrombie was a friend of the Obama's when they both attended the university together and remembers when little Obama was born. Never Mind that the county bureau of vital statistics placed a birth announcement in the local papers. I know, it was a ploy by his parents to make it look like the future president was born in the US. Question: do you consider Ted Cruz a natural born American? Just curious.

 

There's the "S" word again. There is nothing in the ACA legislation to suggest that there is one iota of socialized medicine written into the bill. As a matter of fact, it's as capitalistic as it comes, using private insurers to cover the population. By definition, socialized medicine is a system where the government runs the entire show, where all physician's are salaried and facilities are owned and operated by the state. Look to England for a classic example.

 

The seventh House Subcommittee on Benghazi concluded business in late July. The bi-partisan committee, which was composed of more republicans than democrats, concluded and wrote in their summary that there was no "stand down" order given and that there were no assets in the area at the to come to their rescue. They also found that the initial "talking point" about the video as the spark was legitimate due to the lack of early information. Let's see what Darrell Issa's eighth committee hearing finds when it gets started soon.

 

As far as the IRS is concerned, I'm waiting for a formal investigation. I personally don't believe any orders came from the WH, but that's just me. I think we will find that there were overzealous, rogue employees that had a beef with the Tea Party. However, I do believe that history shows that Nixon was the master at using the IRS to punish his enemies. I was watching an interesting program just last week about Dick Cavett's coverage of Watergate and they played some snippets of the tapes where Nixon actually told his thugs to sick the IRS on so and so. I'm not sure if it was funny or sad.

 

Were you outraged when Bush went for a walk holding the hand of the Saudi King? In the Arab world holding hands is a much greater honor than a simple bow because it confers trust and respect. I personally didn't find issue with it at the time and actually felt a bit uneasy about it.

 

 

[flyboy0681]

For that matter, flawed as he is, I can't imagine the Speaker of a the House, Newt Gingrich, allowing the debt to grow so large by trillions during his watch, bribing others for votes, holding secret meetings after he promised to be transparent, then holding a vote in the wee hours of the night, promising the people their health care would improve and families would save thousands on annual premiums, then when it turned out just the opposite ... say he doesn't recall ever saying that?

Yes the world has changed!

 

Or cheating on his wife and asking for a divorce as she lie in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery.

[flyboy0681]

You have an answer for everything? You sure love and go to great lengths to defend Obama for being the staunch Reagan Conservative you claim to be?

 

Reagan conservative? I assume you are joking, I couldn't stand the guy or his policies. I do, however, share his enthusiasm for a better America.

 

But I am curious about my Ted Cruz comment since he may be on the ticket. Do you consider him a natural born citizen?

[flyboy0681]

Reagan conservative? I assume you are joking, I couldn't stand the guy or his policies. I do, however, share his enthusiasm for a better America.

 

But I am curious about my Ted Cruz comment since he may be on the ticket. Do you consider him a natural born citizen?

 

I hope you aren't found being ignorant of this newly developing government intrusion and control?

 

I detest intrusion of any kind and find it deplorable.

 

Look at me, speaking out against government intrusion as I open an email from the TSA stating that my Pre-Check application was approved and assigned a Known Traveler ID. Just think, no more taking off of my shoes, belt or taking my laptop out of its case.

[flyboy0681]

If you can't differentiate between RR and BO ... Nothing I can say ...

 

Ted Cruz?

[flyboy0681]

Don't know much about Cruz? I do know he was one of the few willing to stand up when Obama, Pelosi and Reid, three of the most corrupt politicians ever to hold office, were running roughshod over everyone. Ultimately his stand hadn't to this point made a difference, since we just keep raising the debt ceiling and spending more money.

Collapse in a short time ... or delay the collapse a few years ... I am for delaying it if we can slow down the Democrats ever growing spending binge ...

 

Born in Canada of an American mother and Cuban father. Possesses a Canadian birth certificate.