Unseen

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:

the future, China will be dominant. The U.S. will be irrelevant??

Maybe in the very short term, but China is doomed:

And then, we’d better not try dancing on their grave.

We need to get those Latin American immigrants back, not just to pick our crops, clean our hotel…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:

If Social Security is so good, why do people have also private investments for their retirement? And do caring societies rip off future generations for the sake of the present?

No one is claiming it’s more than it is or was ever intended to be. As for ripping off future generations, that’s a bug not a feature. The mens…[Read more]

_Robert_ wrote:

Fact is, you are not even safe in a canoe round here. We have a million gators, and they are everywhere but it still is a rare event when someone is killed.

There’s a snake for that. Just ask Florida.

Odd fact about alligators: Despite living in one of the least sterile environments on Earth and often suffering serious injuries…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:

Unseen, Also, you could nationalize the wealth of every Billionaire and Millionaire in the nation to pay the National Debt, and as long as Washington keeps spending, it would be all for naught… not to mention the last time anyone would do it, because no one would ever want to accumulate any wealth.

Not much given to h…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:

Unseen, The biggest parts of the National Debt come from the enticements of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, plus interest on the National Debt. DOGE never even wanted to touch these, but to get rid of the National Debt, there is no avoiding these multiple “Third Rails.”

Getting the cost of health care under con…[Read more]

There is no way out of the fixing the national debt that doesn’t involve raising taxes. But PLEASE not on the overburdened folks at the bottom.

TheEncogitationer wrote:

So Argumentum Ad Bacculum (Appeal to Force) eh? Just like all the Antifa and Left Coast Secessionists? Why is this always proposed by the very people with the fewest guns to carry out their demented wishes?

I was stating a fact, not making a reasoned argument. But at least you got an opportunity to trot out some of your…[Read more]

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…

[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]

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]

@ 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]

The trade deficit is due to rich people not liking to pay taxes:

Say it ain’t so, Greta!!! The Spain/Portugal outage was caused by going 100% renewable energy?

People can use their critical thinking skills to support their unconscious prejudices. Greyhound racing, for example, is quite wisely banned almost everywhere in America and yet horse racing, which is exactly the same thing applied to a different species, persists.

Go figure.