tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post6867791454831714362..comments2024-01-16T03:42:46.705-05:00Comments on The Downward Spiral: Why Social Welfare Benefit Demagoguery is Actually DangerousBill Hickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17551954408189665078noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-68740851514646800272011-09-20T09:54:51.833-04:002011-09-20T09:54:51.833-04:00First, what would have been more interesting to as...First, what would have been more interesting to ask in front of this crowd is whether somebody who thought the mandatory participation aspect of the new health care system was unconstitutional (pretty much all Republicans and Tea Partiers), thought that a person who chose not to participate should be allowed to die. The truth is, these louts are always saying "keep government out of my ...", when what they really mean is "government shouldn't spend shit on anything I don't want them to, which is anything other than ME!"<br /><br />Second, I'm constantly amazed by people who claim our health care system is broken. WTF!? Are you kidding me? It's working EXACTLY the way it's supposed to work. We have a <b><i>for profit</i></b> health care system. It's priorities, by <br />law, are 1) make money, 2) limit harm to shareholders, 3) everything else.<br /><br />Our problem isn't that our system is broken, it's that our system is fucking insane!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-13101982520351726192011-09-19T21:48:15.368-04:002011-09-19T21:48:15.368-04:00Thank you for this article which puts a human face...Thank you for this article which puts a human face to all these talks of cuts to the budget.<br /><br />Which of the booing audience lunkheads would sit idly by and let their kid be unhooked from the machines that keep them alive and wheeled out to the curb, like so much garbage? Wasn't there one person in the audience or up at the podium with even a shred of human decency and empathy?<br /><br />We are rapidly becoming a nation of boorish louts and bullies, as evidenced by our intelligence agencies and the military bombing the shit out of the rest of this planet.<br /><br />Sorry for the rant.Morongobillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04423986732712894214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-6538936296384025192011-09-19T18:27:03.006-04:002011-09-19T18:27:03.006-04:00@Thomas Paine - I actually believe it is both. Re...@Thomas Paine - I actually believe it is both. Real wages for working people in America have essentially been stagnant since the early 1970s, and I don't think it is a coincidence that this happened almost immediately after America's domestic oil production peaked around the beginning of that decade. Massive borrowing and spending of paper wealth concealed the decline for a long time, but now persistent high energy prices are making continued borrowing impossible without destroying the value of our currency.<br /><br />The middle class is caught in a vice between the avarice of the elites and the effects of Peak Oil that is causing real economic growth to become impossible. The combined effects will likely cause the whole system to unravel much faster than it might have otherwise.Bill Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17551954408189665078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-73655894893404627092011-09-19T12:57:20.349-04:002011-09-19T12:57:20.349-04:00John:
Daniel Yergin comes across as an idiot in t...John:<br /><br />Daniel Yergin comes across as an idiot in this long conversation with Marc Faber and Jim Rogers (see all parts):<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK8ozotAy0w<br /><br />Perhaps he has learnt something since then...Thomas Painehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05433303201615302254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-38425782694262450262011-09-19T11:25:42.234-04:002011-09-19T11:25:42.234-04:00http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240531119040...http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904060604576572552998674340.html<br /><br />Thoughts?Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13245547872944499803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-59987363671839094742011-09-19T09:57:56.023-04:002011-09-19T09:57:56.023-04:00Billhicksisdead:
Can you point me to a good discu...Billhicksisdead:<br /><br />Can you point me to a good discussion of whether it is resource depletion, or just massive inequality, that is leading to lower standards of living for most people?<br /><br />You assume the former, but with what justification?Thomas Painehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05433303201615302254noreply@blogger.com