As Predicted, Austerity Policies Send US Economy Downward

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Oh my god duh.. If you stop living off your credit cards and pay them off it means you have to reduce your standard of living during that process.

The longer we choose to live off of credit the harder it will be on us when we pay it back.

We all know it is going to be bad.. Making a prediction that it is going to be bad is stupid...

The longer we wait, the worse it will be.. Why wait?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Oh my god duh.. If you stop living off your credit cards and pay them off it means you have to reduce your standard of living during that process.

A national economy is not the same as a household. But if you want to make the comparison on that level, then consider that there is more than one way a households would deal with debt. You'd cut out unnecessary expenses and maybe you'd pick up a second job to raise your income. Of course, you'd be ill advised to discontinue investments you make into your future. The latter is precisely what we as a nation are currently doing. And that WILL come back to haunt us.

Edited February 1, 2013 by Mr. Big Dog

[Obama 2012 1,714]

don't be silly. drugs are bad. drugs addicts are bad. the only solution is prohibition and imprisonment. would be easier if we could just kill them all, but you know, social progress has gotten the best of us it seems..

I call it lack of population control.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

A national economy is not the same as a household. But if you want to make the comparison on that level, then consider that there is more than one way a households would deal with debt. You'd cut out unnecessary expenses and maybe you'd pick up a second job to raise your income. Of course, you'd be ill advised to discontinue investments you make into your future. The latter is precisely what we as a nation are currently doing. And that WILL come back to haunt us.

Sadly we no longer have the option of just spending a little less and letting growth catch up to us. I guess we could devalue the currency or default on the loans. As of now everything penny we spend above what we make will cause ever increasing pain to people in the future.

Right now putting yet more money on our national credit card is the most selfish and despicable thing we could do.

nothing NOTHING could be more stupid. The free lunch is over, suggesting the "Smart" move is to borrow yet more is beyond stupid.

So I would say we disagree

Edited February 2, 2013 by OnMyWayID

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

As of now everything penny we spend above what we make will cause ever increasing pain to people in the future.

That is incorrect.

[himher 634]

Anything, anything but impose severe penalties to the people who make and bring the stuff in

The whole idea of the needle exchange program is to give addicts new and clean needles to prevent the spread of HIV, registering each needle and charging $20 each would be a bit counter productive to the sole purpose of the program, which has been proven to work. Don't you think?

[Karee 4,190]

Anything, anything but impose severe penalties to the people who make and bring the stuff in

They've been doing that for years. Doesn't seem to be working.

Remember they made alcohol illegal in this country once. How did that work out?

[james&olya 1,121]

you claim if we outlaw all the guns no one will die from guns then outlaw all needles and no one will die from an overdose .

I know you will probably not get it this time around since you missed the point every time before but why not try again?

Needles, when used properly and for their intended purpose, do not cause death or injury. Just the opposite, they are part of a healing and therapeutic process. Just as with cars and baseball bats, they have a positive, productive purpose for which they were designed and for which they are regularly used. Guns were designed for a single purpose, to kill and maim. They could be made much safer by welding the barrel closed but safety is anithetical to their designated purpose!

[decocker 7,198]

I call it lack of population control.

interesting. i call it lack of humanity.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

That is incorrect.

It is correct. You are wrong. plain. simple. wrong.

We borrow a dollar, we have to pay it back someday.. Today we stick it on the debt and every year we pay interest.. Currently we are at 200 billion a year in interest (number from memory, could be more).. Money down the toilet. bye bye. So we have to pay 200 billion just to keep the growth at zero.. As we charge more and more the perception of our ability to repay is less and less and the interest we will pay goes up and up. Remember the downgrade we had? Remember Greece having to pay 100% on borrowed money before the bailout? Yeah.. They got there by borrowing.

YES every penny we borrow will cost more and more to pay back, we are already suffering huge interest payment. Somebody in the future will have to actually pay more than they take in to balance these accounts. Even after we pass the point of it being sane we will be able to find those that think the answer is yet more borrowing... effing insane batsh*t looney crazy.

The longer we wait, the more we borrow, the harder it will be when we pay it back. It is going to hurt.

I know it does not match what you want to be true but it is as inevitable as gravity no matter what your political beliefs or wishes.

Edited February 2, 2013 by OnMyWayID

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

So why did Obama do it?

But the good news is that the DOW went over 14000 yesterday so Obama is creating more wealthy people and increasing the gulf between rich and poor and that means a better economy, right? You want a better economy and more rich people, right?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I know you will probably not get it this time around since you missed the point every time before but why not try again?

Needles, when used properly and for their intended purpose, do not cause death or injury. Just the opposite, they are part of a healing and therapeutic process. Just as with cars and baseball bats, they have a positive, productive purpose for which they were designed and for which they are regularly used. Guns were designed for a single purpose, to kill and maim. They could be made much safer by welding the barrel closed but safety is anithetical to their designated purpose!

Since killing and maiming are allowed in self defense, what is wrong with it?

I readily admit that I carry a gun at all times for the purpose of killing someone that attacks me or my family. YES. So what? I am allowed to do so and feel it is my responsibility to be prepared to do that if necessary. Some people carry a cell phone to call someone else with a gun if they are threatened...maybe you do. I carry the gun myself and do not relay on someone else to be prepared to kill someone attacking me.

I load my gun with ammunition designed to increase the likelihood of death if I have to use it. It is a .45 because they do not make a .46 and it has been proven in over 100 years of killing people that it is particularly effective at killing people. It is not very good for killing deer or moose or bears but I carry it to kill people and that is what it excels at. I do not believe in "shoot and release", I carry the gun loaded, the hammer cocked and a live round under the hammer. The thumb safety is applied and there is a passive grip safety. This insures I can fire a shot faster if needed. On occasion when I carry another gun, it is hammerless revolver in my pocket which can be fired from the pocket if need be.

I carry the gun at home so that I do not leave loaded guns laying around and it is handy and immediately available. (you have heard of home invasions, right?) If I had the chance I would fetch a 12 ga. shotgun with number 4 buckshot which is even better for killing people, if I do not have the time I will make do with the .45

In case there was any confusion I just wanted to clear that up. I will not abuse the intent of a baseball bat by trying to use it for self defense.

The society I live in is very safe, clean, polite, civilized, cultured because ANYone has the ability to be prepared to kill anyone that threatens them. We enjoyed the theatre, ballroom dancing and a great dinner last night until the small hours of the morning, perfectly safe because I was armed, and so were other people around us (we do not know how many or which ones, and THAT is why we are ALL safe). Despite a potential for a huge number of firearms in the room, No one was hurt.

Had it been warmer we would have taken a 3am walk along the lakefront, but it is not advisable against a stiff wind in February.

Edited February 2, 2013 by Gary and Alla

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

It is correct. You are wrong. plain. simple. wrong.

Not even close. A national economy is NOT the same as a household. It just isn't.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

So why did Obama do it?

Obama didn't do it. Seeing that you depend on the government to survive, you should maybe take the time and figure out how it actually works.

[himher 634]

No. They haven't. Prisons have become centers of organized crime. The Saudis and other countries with very, very low drug abuse and the things that go with it DO deal with it differently. Their crime rates and their HIV rates and other outcome based measurement of performance differ significantly from ours. So there is no point in pretending otherwise.

They've been doing that for years. Doesn't seem to be working.

Remember they made alcohol illegal in this country once. How did that work out?

There is no possible combination of statements that will logically explain the concept of borrowing your way out of debt

A national economy is not the same as a household. But if you want to make the comparison on that level, then consider that there is more than one way a households would deal with debt. You'd cut out unnecessary expenses and maybe you'd pick up a second job to raise your income. Of course, you'd be ill advised to discontinue investments you make into your future. The latter is precisely what we as a nation are currently doing. And that WILL come back to haunt us.

Edited February 2, 2013 by himher