Liberal free for all coming to an end

[TracyCoxx]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I'm glad someone wrote something like this, finally. Where Tracy and her ilk chip away at my faith in humanity as they go about destroying lives, this post from you smc accomplishes the reverse. Yet the question remains: how many others in the US believe as you do? How many are not selfish monsters who begrudge a good life and real freedom to their brothers?

I'm not sure how much of the $691 Billion in defense a 'majority' means, but let's say you guys want to cut all of it. All the cuts listed above total up to $797 billion. Guess what folks, the 2010 budget has a $1.342 trillion deficit. You've eliminated the entire frickin DoD, military operations/wars, and %80 of Homeland security. You still have over $545 billion left to go, just to balance the budget.

For the past week, despite attempts to sidetrack the discussion, I've been trying to see if we can at least arrive at one thing we can agree on: It's never good practice to routinely run a deficit unless it's a national emergency.

There has been no objection to this from any side of the debate. Yet you guys have declared a budget cut victory when there's still a deficit. There's obviously no military threat to the country or you wouldn't have tossed out the DoD (certainly no lives destroyed in that move are there Enoch Root. Those 4 million highly trained people and their families will be just fine in a job market where 15 million are already looking for work). So why do you guys think there should still be a deficit? What's the emergency?

[smc]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

I'm not sure how much of the $691 Billion in defense a 'majority' means, but let's say you guys want to cut all of it. All the cuts listed above total up to $797 billion. Guess what folks, the 2010 budget has a $1.342 trillion deficit. You've eliminated the entire frickin DoD, military operations/wars, and %80 of Homeland security. You still have over $545 billion left to go, just to balance the budget.

For the past week, despite attempts to sidetrack the discussion, I've been trying to see if we can at least arrive at one thing we can agree on: It's never good practice to routinely run a deficit unless it's a national emergency.

There has been no objection to this from any side of the debate. Yet you guys have declared a budget cut victory when there's still a deficit. There's obviously no military threat to the country or you wouldn't have tossed out the DoD (certainly no lives destroyed in that move are there Enoch Root. Those 4 million people and their families will be just fine). So why do you guys think there should still be a deficit? What's the emergency?

I am in favor of a federal government running deficits, just as the founder intended, because revenues at a given time may not meet necessary social outlays. But Tracy Coxx dissembles, as usual, what I wrote. I included raising taxes on the corporations and the wealthy. Every economist acknowledges that simply restoring the tax rate on the wealthiest Americans to what it was before the so-called "Bush tax cuts" would eliminate the current problem. I would go much, much further, to eliminate every loophole that allows corporations such as GE to pay no taxes. And eliminate the oil subsidies.

You can try to be clever with your writing, Tracy Coxx, but cleverness works best when you use what people actually say, not what you wish they had because it works to your advantage.

[smc]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

... For the past week, despite attempts to sidetrack the discussion, I've been trying to see if we can at least arrive at one thing we can agree on: It's never good practice to routinely run a deficit unless it's a national emergency.

There has been no objection to this from any side of the debate. ...

By the way, I suggest you look up "sidetrack" in a dictionary. This accusation is being hurled against me (the "TLB staff" you previously referred to, but were finally told to use a name -- which you can't bring yourself to do for some reason). I have asked you to take this abstract discussion and make it concrete by defining what constitutes an "emergency" and what YOU would cut. If that is sidetracking, I'd like to know what it is you think that word means.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

There has been no objection to this from any side of the debate. Yet you guys have declared a budget cut victory when there's still a deficit. There's obviously no military threat to the country or you wouldn't have tossed out the DoD (certainly no lives destroyed in that move are there Enoch Root. Those 4 million highly trained people and their families will be just fine in a job market where 15 million are already looking for work). So why do you guys think there should still be a deficit? What's the emergency?

The only reason those people have those jobs is because of a perpetual war economy and as smc already said: "The solution is simple: reemploy people in public works and human services, and watch the economy soar as the social benefits accrue to everyone, not just some rich military-industrial-complex fat cats and the politicians in their pockets."

[Enoch Root]

Sidetrack the discussion Tracy? That requires a discussion to begin with and it is clear that this thread was not started with the purpose of discussion.

[TracyCoxx]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

"The solution is simple: reemploy people in public works and human services, and watch the economy soar as the social benefits accrue to everyone, not just some rich military-industrial-complex fat cats and the politicians in their pockets."

How much do you think it would cost the government & tax payers to employ nearly 4 million people in public works and human services? How would the economy soar? Would America be producing more? No.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

How much do you think it would cost the government & tax payers to employ nearly 4 million people in public works and human services? How would the economy soar? Would America be producing more? No.

For god's sake Tracy those are SMC's words! Stop going after me because you can't address smc like an adult.

[smc]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

How much do you think it would cost the government & tax payers to employ nearly 4 million people in public works and human services? How would the economy soar? Would America be producing more? No.

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

For god's sake Tracy those are SMC's words! Stop going after me because you can't address smc like an adult.

Yes, Enoch Root, those were my words.

And Tracy Coxx, since you asked: I will bet my right arm, which you, Tracy Coxx, may personally come and cut off with a dull blade if I'm wrong, that the overwhelming majority of the 15 million people who have been out of work would gladly take a good-paying, socially useful job and pay taxes as employed workers, and support the elimination of the giveaways to the rich and the corporations so that employing them will not do as you say.

The way out of the economic problems of this country is not to combine business as usual -- i.e., tax breaks for the wealthy, no taxes on corporations, and corporate welfare -- and busting the backs of working people, but to stimulate the economy with spending that is socially useful. Nearly every economist recognizes this, except for the pseudo-economists in the employ of the corporations and their legislative minions. And even they have a hard time when they put out their lies.

[franalexes]

smc got his own words used against him!

Hot Damn Tracy, you're good.

If stimulus is good, why didn't it work the first time?

I paid 25 cents in taxes and got 20 cents back in stimulus and I'm supposed to feel richer. I think that's the theory.

[randolph]

Originally Posted by franalexes

smc got his own words used against him!

Hot Damn Tracy, you're good.

If stimulus is good, why didn't it work the first time?

I paid 25 cents in taxes and got 20 cents back in stimulus and I'm supposed to feel richer. I think that's the theory.

OMG! Fran has jumped into the hot tub!

Now I wonder when Ila is going to show up and dowse everyone with cold water.

[smc]

Originally Posted by franalexes

smc got his own words used against him!

Hot Damn Tracy, you're good.

If stimulus is good, why didn't it work the first time?

I paid 25 cents in taxes and got 20 cents back in stimulus and I'm supposed to feel richer. I think that's the theory.

As fran well knows, this has absolutely nothing to do with what I said.But it makes for a good post, I guess, when genuine, meaningful discussion is not the coin of the realm in a discussion thread.