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Originally posted by 1kiki:
And if the TP brings the economy down, causing even more suffering to millions on millions in the US, what will you think if it? And what will you think of those people? Casualties of war? Expendable? Excess herd members?

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Originally posted by Kwicko:

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Originally posted by kpo:

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So anyway - any sane adults care to have a discussion?

I was wondering about the graph - how can we have an even higher per-GDP debt load in the 40s and 50s and have a booming economy, while today it's staggering under less load? And when you look around the world you see similar patterns. Singapore with a very high debt load is thriving. Countries with lower debt loads are stumbling.

So I think the debt per se has very little to do with economic health.

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Yes, there are numerous historical examples of economies booming under heavy debt loads, AND higher tax rates than what the US has now (as you mentioned). These are big glitches in the matrix of people like Rappy, and Wulf. I guess they just shrug them off.

The US economy IS headed towards a cliff on its current trajectory though, with its debt - even the IMF says so. But that's not to say it can't be turned around. Other countries in the past have turned around higher debt/gdp ratios, and paid down their debt.

It's not personal. It's just war.

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I'm willing to bet they didn't pay down their debt with tax cuts.



"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

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What's the alternative? Spending more? Going deeper into debt? Psst...the dollar has been devalued by 50% over the last three years.

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How's that good for the masses?

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Borrow that other 2.4 trillion and the dollar will devalue another 30%..have you bought a gallon of milk in the past two years? Diapers?....

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
Thing is, Kane, even if you keep spending at this year's level, you have to borrow money to do it. That requires raising the debt ceiling.

I'm not in favor of keeping spending this high, nor of increasing it for any reason other than basically "emergency" situations. We do indeed need to cut spending; the fight comes over WHAT we cut spending on.

We can cut the funding to the military-industrial complex ten percent per year for five years. We can cut funding to the prison-industrial complex AND the for-profit prison industry by simply walking away from the War on (Some) Drugs. We can put some real teeth into regulation, and when someone systematically abuses the defrauds the system (I'm lookin' at YOU, Rick Scott!), we can make goddamned sure that they pay far more than they profited from their illegal behavior.

And we can close loopholes in the tax code.

We *can* do those things, and they would show a seriousness in addressing our debt and deficit problem. But none of those things will garner a single GOP vote, which proves beyond any doubt that the GOP doesn't have the slightest interest in actually addressing the debt problem; they're only interested in punishing the less fortunate.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
We do indeed need to cut spending; the fight comes over WHAT we cut spending on.

We can cut the funding to the military-industrial complex ten percent per year for five years. We can cut funding to the prison-industrial complex AND the for-profit prison industry by simply walking away from the War on (Some) Drugs. We can put some real teeth into regulation, and when someone systematically abuses the defrauds the system (I'm lookin' at YOU, Rick Scott!), we can make goddamned sure that they pay far more than they profited from their illegal behavior.

And we can close loopholes in the tax code.

We *can* do those things, and they would show a seriousness in addressing our debt and deficit problem. But none of those things will garner a single GOP vote, which proves beyond any doubt that the GOP doesn't have the slightest interest in actually addressing the debt problem; they're only interested in punishing the less fortunate.

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The most successful interrogation of an Al-Qaeda operative by U.S. officials required no sleep deprivation, no slapping or "walling" and no waterboarding. All it took to soften up Abu Jandal, who had been closer to Osama bin Laden than any other terrorist ever captured, was a handful of sugar-free cookies.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
Don't tread on me, bitch!

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Though Congress mandated last week’s disclosure through the 2010 Intelligence Authorization Act, DNI James Clapper seemed to have no problem complying. The administration could have waived the requirement upon finding it would harm national security. Instead, it continued a string of budget-related announcements. Last fall, Clapper voluntarily disclosed that the total intelligence spending for the year, including for the military, exceeded $80 billion. A month later, he announced that the budget for the National Intelligence Program—the non-military component of intelligence operations—would be placed under his control by 2013. The entire intelligence budget is currently under the Defense Department’s purview.

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Originally posted by SignyM:

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For (at least) 40 odd years, so-called "liberals" have run roughshod over every American.

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ESPECIALLY women. Blacks. Browns. The working poor. Children.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

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Originally posted by SignyM:

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For (at least) 40 odd years, so-called "conservatives" have run roughshod over every American.

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ESPECIALLY women. Blacks. Browns. The working poor. Children.

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Fuck Them; Fuck You.

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