Sunday School

TheEncogitationer wrote:

Unseen,

And yet, in a democracy what the people want the people should get. Otherwise the demos (people) goes away leaving just the kratos (rule).

What if the People wanted to punish Atheism with death? Or, more to the point, what if the People demanded that no one earn more wealth than anyone else? Again, why the United…

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Robert,

At least those things help to equalize wealth imbalances. The government acts like a heat-sink absorbing each knee-jerk crisis as investors panic.

So you think government bailing out AIG and American auto manufacturers and Raytheon help the poor? Please tell that to the old Occupy crowd before they cannabalize you.

Why do you even…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:

Unseen,

I’m well aware of all of the arguments about disincentives and creating dependencies when it comes to taxation. I haven’t been living under a rock. I’m also aware of the “rising tide floats all boats” which can also be used in favor of taxing the rich, who would benefit from a society made more stable by reducing…

[Read more]

Unseen,

And yet, in a democracy what the people want the people should get. Otherwise the demos (people) goes away leaving just the kratos (rule).

What if the People wanted to punish Atheism with death?
Or, more to the point, what if the People demanded that no one earn more wealth than anyone else?

Again, why the United States is not a…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:

And wanting does not mean good (or getting, as Mick observed) no matter how many people want. Start again.

And yet, in a democracy what the people want the people should get. Otherwise the demos (people) goes away leaving just the kratos (rule).

Somehow, this never includes stopping bail-outs to Detroit, Investment…

[Read more]

Unseen,

I’m well aware of all of the arguments about disincentives and creating dependencies when it comes to taxation. I haven’t been living under a rock. I’m also aware of the “rising tide floats all boats” which can also be used in favor of taxing the rich, who would benefit from a society made more stable by reducing poverty with all of th…

[Read more]

Unseen,

We embed this fallacy in our national, state, and local government’s various constitutions. I have taught logic. Verbal fallacies, unlike formal fallacies, do not imply false conclusions with necessity. They are inconclusive.

The very definition of any Fallacy, verbal or formal, is that the conclusion does not necessarily follow from t…[Read more]

“And what you know as a historian is that there is no such thing as a ship that can’t sink.” (read the comments too).

Republicans, currently embodied in the extralegal “department” called DOGE seem to have the idea that when it comes to government efficiency, less is more. Fire 15% of workers here and 33% there while closing government offices and suddenly telphone wait times become shorter and the freeloaders will self-eliminate (not the homebound or…[Read more]

Argumentum ad populum or baldfaced fact?

_Robert_ wrote:

When my brokerage portfolio first hit the $2M mark, it was like some sort of trigger. I had all these financial tax advisors calling/emailing me about having consultations to reduce my future taxes.

TheEncogitationer wrote:

Argument From Popularity Fallacy. The fact that people might want government largess doesn’t make it good them or for an economy.

We embed this fallacy in our national, state, and local government’s various constitutions. I have taught logic. Verbal fallacies, unlike formal fallacies, do not imply false conclusions with n…[Read more]

Descent into madness or Trump’s America?

It is surreal. I think Bannon described it as a strategy in which there is literally an enfilade of shit from Trump that is so constant that we the people are inured to it and so it is normalized. The bar is so low you can’t see a bar. Think back not too distant to Watergate. Politicians on both sides put…[Read more]

Trump only understands who is kissing his ass at the moment. The man knows nothing about geopolitics, economics, science or history. He will instantly turn on you. The fact that so many Americans fell for his vile bullshit heartbreaking.

When I look around, many boomers are on board the MAGA train, but surprisingly it is the mid-life crisis set.…[Read more]

Reg,

That was one of my first thoughts today when I heard the rambling speech he made. I also thought about what the family of the WaPo journalist Jamal Khashoggi must be thinking. Of course Trump would not mention that. He does not care about what happened him. Or maybe he really does like MBS too much to mention it.

The Saudis are brutal…[Read more]

When my brokerage portfolio first hit the $2M mark, it was like some sort of trigger. I had all these financial tax advisors calling/emailing me about having consultations to reduce my future taxes. I ignored all that. Then I got hit with an IRS audit, LOL. I think they are satisfied with paperwork, but who knows, DOGE was firing a bunch of them,…[Read more]

Unseen,

But I don’t think the people want the government to spend less, since that would likely mean abandoning or severly adulterating some very popular programs which benefit not only individuals but society at large.

Argument From Popularity Fallacy. The fact that people might want government largess doesn’t make it good them or for an e…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:

@ Enco I asked an AI how much does the average middle-class person pay in Federal Income Tax as a percentage and received this answer: A middle-class married couple filing jointly might fall into the 12% bracket (taxable income between $23,851 and $96,950) or the 22% bracket (taxable income between $96,951 and $206,700). Now what…

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@ Enco

I asked an AI how much does the average middle-class person pay in Federal Income Tax as a percentage and received this answer:

A middle-class married couple filing jointly might fall into the 12% bracket (taxable income between $23,851 and $96,950) or the 22% bracket (taxable income between $96,951 and $206,700).

Now what would be…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:

Unseen, If government spent less and every Citizen, regardless of income, were taxed less, Citizens would have more money to both spend on foreign goods or to invest in domestic companies producing goods and services. And Citizens would gain either way. Again, not Trickle-Down, not Trickle-Up, but Big Splash.

But I don’t…[Read more]