Only two economic strategies needed.

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Originally Posted by scott

Speaking of pompous pricks, I feel obligated to point out that neither of these things are strategies - they are objectives.

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You Dan Rather now?

"mandate a basic care policy"

basic?

You're covered if you get basically sick, but if you get un-basically, gravely sick, then what?

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Originally Posted by 2centsworth

are you really this much of a pompous prick?

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I am not trying to stir the pot, but what exactly is pompous about suggesting we put a sweater on while turning the heat down by two degrees? No one is infringing on your rights, you don't have to wear a sweater. Your comment really confuses me.

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Originally Posted by boutons_

"mandate a basic care policy"

basic?

You're covered if you get basically sick, but if you get un-basically, gravely sick, then what?

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if you want everyone to have cadillac coverage, and then that's where you and I disagree.

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Originally Posted by 2centsworth

if you want everyone to have cadillac coverage

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:lol

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Originally Posted by clambake

:lol

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:lol I may have to replace that saying with Lexus.:lol

I agree with 2 cents objective strategies (or were they strategic objectives). One factor against US workers is paying for their health care. If it's arranged through the government, and you control costs using the best of what other national health care systems do, then we save money and US workers are cheaper.

If you increase available energy (being green all the way which is possible with enough nuke plants in the mix), then you are sending less money away that enables terrorism and spending it the US instead. Yes, I include freedom-stifling conservation in this. It's not really freedom if what you do adversely affects the rest of us.

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Originally Posted by spurster

I agree with 2 cents objective strategies (or were they strategic objectives). One factor against US workers is paying for their health care. If it's arranged through the government, and you control costs using the best of what other national health care systems do, then we save money and US workers are cheaper.

If you increase available energy (being green all the way which is possible with enough nuke plants in the mix), then you are sending less money away that enables terrorism and spending it the US instead. Yes, I include freedom-stifling conservation in this. It's not really freedom if what you do adversely affects the rest of us.

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I'm a conservationist, but democrats take that to mean tax the hell out oil.

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Originally Posted by 2centsworth

are you really this much of a pompous prick?

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Sorry... didn't realize that someone who's hero is Scarface would be so sensitive to honest criticism. I think the term pompous applies better to the theory that repeating the mistakes of the Reagan era will somehow fix the troubles that in large part stem directly from the Reagan era. Again, my apologies for having an opinion that differs from yours.

Pouring about half of our military budget into our education system would be a pretty good start to improving the state of this country. Consider the logic that we are fighting a war in Iraq, and our education system is so broken that many children do not even get decent primary education. To me, that represents not only the height of ridiculous, but the most telling statistic of what our country will be seen and judged by in the future. Medicine is expensive and energy is a big, big deal, but a nation that cannot or makes a decision not to fund it's education system... well... nothing else matters, really. Regardless of our society and the fact that we remain a world power, all is for naught if our youth is less intelligent than the generation that came before it.

And for the love of all that's Darwin, can we PLEASE get some classes once in a GREAT while to teach these children and students some REAL LIFE SKILLS? Ugh. I'm going to go kick a puppy now.

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Originally Posted by Cry Havoc

Pouring about half of our military budget into our education system would be a pretty good start to improving the state of this country. Consider the logic that we are fighting a war in Iraq, and our education system is so broken that many children do not even get decent primary education. To me, that represents not only the height of ridiculous, but the most telling statistic of what our country will be seen and judged by in the future. Medicine is expensive and energy is a big, big deal, but a nation that cannot or makes a decision not to fund it's education system... well... nothing else matters, really. Regardless of our society and the fact that we remain a world power, all is for naught if our youth is less intelligent than the generation that came before it.

And for the love of all that's Darwin, can we PLEASE get some classes once in a GREAT while to teach these children and students some REAL LIFE SKILLS? Ugh. I'm going to go kick a puppy now.

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Our educational system is so jacked up that throwing money at it isn't anywhere close to enough. I know a math teacher in Texas who tells me he's not allowed to teach proofs in plane geometry because it's not covered on the TAKS. To me that's unreal to have a plane geometry class where you do no proofs. Fucking Bush and his retard pal Ted Kennedy have concocted the stupidest and laziest solution to measure how much our younger generation is learning in school; just throw an easy test out and have teachers teach that instead of teaching kids how to think for themselves. Just memorize the fucking test.

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Originally Posted by Cry Havoc

And for the love of all that's Darwin, can we PLEASE get some classes once in a GREAT while to teach these children and students some REAL LIFE SKILLS? Ugh. I'm going to go kick a puppy now.

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I agree with this one. It disgusts me that people can get school credit for working at Subway. The school has completely failed that person. They could have taught him how to be an electrician, a carpenter, a plumber, etc., but no, take the easy way out and don't do shit to train him. Our educational system epically fails those who do not go to college.

For college prep though, our system has greatly improved in the past 10 years or so. The AP classes are a great step to challenge and prepare the top students in the school. They have been a great way to keep the best students from having to be slowed down to the pace suitable for average students in class.

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Originally Posted by Tully365

Sorry... didn't realize that someone who's hero is Scarface would be so sensitive to honest criticism. I think the term pompous applies better to the theory that repeating the mistakes of the Reagan era will somehow fix the troubles that in large part stem directly from the Reagan era. Again, my apologies for having an opinion that differs from yours.

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my "hero" :lol. Arrogance rubs me wrong, so that's why I called you a pompous prick. anyways, don't want to beat a dead horse.

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Originally Posted by Cry Havoc

Pouring about half of our military budget into our education system would be a pretty good start to improving the state of this country. Consider the logic that we are fighting a war in Iraq, and our education system is so broken that many children do not even get decent primary education. To me, that represents not only the height of ridiculous, but the most telling statistic of what our country will be seen and judged by in the future. Medicine is expensive and energy is a big, big deal, but a nation that cannot or makes a decision not to fund it's education system... well... nothing else matters, really. Regardless of our society and the fact that we remain a world power, all is for naught if our youth is less intelligent than the generation that came before it.

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And for the love of all that's Darwin, can we PLEASE get some classes once in a GREAT while to teach these children and students some REAL LIFE SKILLS? Ugh. I'm going to go kick a puppy now.

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I'm with you on education except for where to get the cash or if cash is even the problem.

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Originally Posted by Tully365

Why not include increased energy conservation also?

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won't that lead to more energy surplus?
if it makes too much sense it will never happen in this country...
we're the same people that practically annexed iraq to get even for the work of a few saudis...

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Originally Posted by 2centsworth

my "hero" :lol. Arrogance rubs me wrong, so that's why I called you a pompous prick. anyways, don't want to beat a dead horse.

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Cool. I perceived you smugly insinuating that conservation is essentially anti-freedom as somewhat pompous also. No big deal.

How about we legalize marijuana (tax it) and end war on drugs boondoggle. To anybody who opposes this, you are simply too dense to recognize the inevitable. Might as well reap the benefits today.

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Originally Posted by baseline bum

Our educational system is so jacked up that throwing money at it isn't anywhere close to enough. I know a math teacher in Texas who tells me he's not allowed to teach proofs in plane geometry because it's not covered on the TAKS. To me that's unreal to have a plane geometry class where you do no proofs. Fucking Bush and his retard pal Ted Kennedy have concocted the stupidest and laziest solution to measure how much our younger generation is learning in school; just throw an easy test out and have teachers teach that instead of teaching kids how to think for themselves. Just memorize the fucking test.

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well....they did implement a test centered on problem-solving without a plan to teach kids problem-solving...but I degress....public schools get a bad rap for not teaching our kids but yet many of these same kids go on to become very successful adults, college grads even Masters and doctorates .....so maybe it's not that they aren't learning but rather that it takes people a while adopt what they've learned to real world situations...

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Our educational system epically fails those who do not go to college.

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...35%-45% drop-out rates among hispanics in Texas...it's not the schools failing our kids, it's Texas

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Originally Posted by Guru of Nothing

How about we legalize marijuana (tax it) and end war on drugs boondoggle. To anybody who opposes this, you are simply too dense to recognize the inevitable. Might as well reap the benefits today.

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Although I do not partake, I completely agree.....let's grow hemp to stump deforestation and make marijuana legal to get rid of the drug cartels cash crop..

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Originally Posted by baseline bum

Our educational system is so jacked up that throwing money at it isn't anywhere close to enough. I know a math teacher in Texas who tells me he's not allowed to teach proofs in plane geometry because it's not covered on the TAKS. To me that's unreal to have a plane geometry class where you do no proofs. Fucking Bush and his retard pal Ted Kennedy have concocted the stupidest and laziest solution to measure how much our younger generation is learning in school; just throw an easy test out and have teachers teach that instead of teaching kids how to think for themselves. Just memorize the fucking test.

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Schools are running out of money. That's a problem that can be directly cured by "more money". However, you're right, it's a lot deeper and more complex than that. However, if you use the cash wisely, then everyone profits.

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Schools are running out of money

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Schools get their money from taxing homes and everytime the FEDs lend school districts money they make them jump through legal and regulation hoops that screws up the system even more....the TAKS test isn't completely useless but it is useless to test kids at every grade....

Finance-driven growth. Wild overleveraging. Profligate government spending and borrowing. Irresponsible tax cuts. Weak dollar policy. The Iraq War. Negative national savings. Have led to unsustainable debt.

The solutions: raise taxes on everybody (after the recession, right?). Cut benefits for everybody. Cut government spending. Develop a technical base that doesn't depend on petroleum. Conserve energy. Educate our children to the standard of other advanced democracies. Quit living like pigs. Stop living beyond our means, and start saving for the future. Invest in companies that make real goods and provide real services, rather than just pushing paper around.Credit can expand responsibly only on the basis of real wealth.

Also, our fiat currency is kaput. Without sound money there is no incentive for savers. We need a commodity standard, instead of our soon to be totally worthless promise to pay. This money should be issued by the US treasury, as provided in the constitution. 86 the effing Fed.

Fractional reserve banking is fine, but there need to be meaningful capital requirements and transparency on all financial products. The market doesn't work when involved parties have a monopoly on information or when banks get overleveraged.

No more elective wars. We can't afford it anymore. Also, we can't afford to be the world's policeman anymore. Call the troops home. They're supposed to defend us, not the whole effing world.

Hear that giant sucking sound? It's the $5 trillion and counting we've thrown at the insolvent financial sector in the so-called bailout. If we don't start letting them fall on their faces, pretty soon we'll be circling the bowl with them. Let em fail. Global capital will pick up the pieces.

If we do all of these things, starting right now, maybe we can climb out of the hole we're in.

^ You need to meet a member here named BradLohaus.

I don't get most of you guys. Most of our problems are directly traceable to government involvement, and you want more?