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Post by sigurdur on Feb 25, 2016 20:33:41 GMT
Seems there are a lot of poor people in America anymore. Pretty sad isn't it?
The top 5% receive over 72% of all income if memory serves me.
Those that pay no taxes.......offfffffffffftttttttttttaaaaaa. They are screwed, blued and tated.
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Post by glennkoks on Feb 26, 2016 13:08:05 GMT
If I wanted America to fail a would create a tax code so complex that nobody can figure out. A system where Warren Buffet ends up with a lower effective tax bracket than his secretary. A system where the struggling middle class pays some of the highest taxes proportionally.
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Post by Ratty on Feb 26, 2016 22:57:00 GMT
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Post by sigurdur on Feb 28, 2016 19:31:02 GMT
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Post by sigurdur on Feb 29, 2016 17:55:40 GMT
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Post by sigurdur on Mar 2, 2016 1:18:24 GMT
The American dream is dying for millions of families and individuals. We are caught up in our worst economic recovery since World War II and our trading world is shrinking. Global growth has failed to return to the rate it averaged before the Great Recession. Containers pile up in the world's ports. The energy business is in deep recession. Bank stocks are hammered. Business investment is lousy. China slumps. Crude oil prices are so low U.S. and Canadian producers lose at least $350 million a day at current prices, according to The Wall Street Journal. Consumers are buoyed somewhat by lower gasoline prices but even they are boosting savings in anticipation of poor economic conditions to come. And nobody knows what to do. Our GDP grew at just 1.0 percent annually in the fourth quarter of 2015, and the growth estimate of the first quarter of 2016 is likely to come in soft due to seasonal adjustments. For example, real growth in retail sales was only 1.4 percent because the previous bad winters had distorted upwards the estimates of perceived improvement. www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2016-03-01/america-is-a-nation-living-on-borrowed-glory
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Post by walnut on Mar 2, 2016 4:07:24 GMT
But would you prefer to be alive now, or in 1830? Even adjusted for inflation, we are much wealthier now than then, I think.
We do need to adapt to these strangely changing conditions. What a weird world it is now. A moment in human history very different than anything before.
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Post by nautonnier on Mar 2, 2016 12:44:49 GMT
The American dream is dying for millions of families and individuals. We are caught up in our worst economic recovery since World War II and our trading world is shrinking. Global growth has failed to return to the rate it averaged before the Great Recession. Containers pile up in the world's ports. The energy business is in deep recession. Bank stocks are hammered. Business investment is lousy. China slumps. Crude oil prices are so low U.S. and Canadian producers lose at least $350 million a day at current prices, according to The Wall Street Journal. Consumers are buoyed somewhat by lower gasoline prices but even they are boosting savings in anticipation of poor economic conditions to come. And nobody knows what to do. Our GDP grew at just 1.0 percent annually in the fourth quarter of 2015, and the growth estimate of the first quarter of 2016 is likely to come in soft due to seasonal adjustments. For example, real growth in retail sales was only 1.4 percent because the previous bad winters had distorted upwards the estimates of perceived improvement. www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2016-03-01/america-is-a-nation-living-on-borrowed-gloryStrangled by regulations based on weak or non-existent science and protectionism from large companies. The productivity of the country would rise hugely at zero cost, just by removal of this regulatory overhead. Then remove the government subsidy 'thumb on the scales' reducing government spending. All these changes could be instituted in a week. The bounce back would be huge.
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Post by nonentropic on Mar 2, 2016 17:25:25 GMT
Donald is your man and thinks in your time scale also Naut.
There is a certain attraction in trying a new model of President and 4 years is not that long. What is more important is that the system will be reset after the Donald 4 years and probably very differently. Even the Democrats are searching for a new way, Bernie is hardly out of the mold.
one issue I would take up with Walnut and that is that every decade I have been alive has been marked by big change and vexing shifts in the world, the issue with the present is that we don't know how it turns out and as a base case use the concept "it will be fine".
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Post by glennkoks on Mar 2, 2016 21:06:53 GMT
Sigurdur,
I think one to two percent growth is going to be the new norm for the foreseeable future. Certainly not enough economic stimulation to grow ourselves out of the dept we are incurring. Sooner or later the hens will come home to roost.
In my industry (oil and gas) the companies with low or no debt will survive. The others will not. The same can be said for governments when it next hits the fan. And it's a matter of when not if.
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Post by sigurdur on Mar 2, 2016 22:06:09 GMT
Sigurdur, I think one to two percent growth is going to be the new norm for the foreseeable future. Certainly not enough economic stimulation to grow ourselves out of the dept we are incurring. Sooner or later the hens will come home to roost. In my industry (oil and gas) the companies with low or no debt will survive. The others will not. The same can be said for governments when it next hits the fan. And it's a matter of when not if. I agree Glenn. Our debt has gotten so big, and continues to grow so fast that NO one wants to talk about it. Carry on with your head in the sand seems to be the mentality.
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Post by sigurdur on Mar 2, 2016 22:13:49 GMT
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Post by Ratty on Mar 3, 2016 1:50:54 GMT
Sigurdur, I think one to two percent growth is going to be the new norm for the foreseeable future. Certainly not enough economic stimulation to grow ourselves out of the dept we are incurring. Sooner or later the hens will come home to roost. In my industry (oil and gas) the companies with low or no debt will survive. The others will not. The same can be said for governments when it next hits the fan. And it's a matter of when not if. I agree Glenn. Our debt has gotten so big, and continues to grow so fast that NO one wants to talk about it. Carry on with your head in the sand seems to be the mentality. Same mentality here in Oz. Nobody talking about reducing government spending and the debt keeps piling up. Australia’s debt crisis is a staggering $1 trillion nightmareWhen Labor ( = Democrats?) came to power in 2007, they inherited a budget surplus from the defeated Liberal government ( = Republican?). Current Liberal administration has been unable to get spending cuts thru our divided Senate. Now, with in an election year, neither side is talking about spending cuts. It's more complex than my few words imply ...... but I think we're doomed.
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Post by sigurdur on Mar 3, 2016 2:16:46 GMT
I agree Glenn. Our debt has gotten so big, and continues to grow so fast that NO one wants to talk about it. Carry on with your head in the sand seems to be the mentality. Same mentality here in Oz. Nobody talking about reducing government spending and the debt keeps piling up. Australia’s debt crisis is a staggering $1 trillion nightmareWhen Labor ( = Democrats?) came to power in 2007, they inherited a budget surplus from the defeated Liberal government ( = Republican?). Current Liberal administration has been unable to get spending cuts thru our divided Senate. Now, with in an election year, neither side is talking about spending cuts. It's more complex than my few words imply ...... but I think we're doomed. Ratty: At 50% of GDP, you have a chance. The US debt has now passed the 110% of GDP. It is like a rocket to the moon. The only Presidential Candidate who HAS addressed this is Gov Kasich. But of course, to reduce the rate of increase in spending and tax for the previous spending is unthinkable to the "Establishment". They aren't done bilking us totally dry. Getting closer now tho.
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Post by glennkoks on Mar 4, 2016 14:21:10 GMT
The only Presidential Candidate who HAS addressed this is Gov Kasich. But of course, to reduce the rate of increase in spending and tax for the previous spending is unthinkable to the "Establishment". They aren't done bilking us totally dry. Getting closer now tho. Watching the Republican debates is like watching a media driven 3 ring circus and a freak show. I am embarrassed for the GOP. The only adult on the stage is Kasich and he does not have much of a chance. It's really, really making me think long and hard about our upcoming demise. If Hillary, Trump or Cruz are what we have to choose from we are a lost cause.
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