$22 Trillion in Debt.

[Millennial_Messiah]

I'm answer his question as to why tuition prices keep going up. 50 years ago schools like UNT weren't blowing millions of dollars trying become a football powerhouse.

Yeah, even when UNT starts dominating ty C-USA (maybe this year? Mason Fine's senior year so I expect us to win double figs and a bowl at minimum) but it's still a group of five football program, you don't waste 20 million and overhaul everything for that

[Millennial_Messiah]

The union actually benefits and attracts students of all kinds, so aesthetics aside....

The Union is a waste of space. Doesn't matter whether it's in Denton, Columbus Ohio or otherwise. It's not a library, it's not a computer lab, it serves no purpose except to charge kids overpriced food at ty chains (just like in airports) on top of their overpriced tuition and overpriced books and overpriced rent at the dorms.

UNT operated without a union from 2013-2015 and everything was just fine, except for the stupid sounds of construction and blue Beck fences. They should have just made that space into a green park or a casual football field or something.

[UnWantedTheory]

I doubt that even makes up 0.3% , I’ll bet it’s below 0.1%.

Most likely. I was trying to be kind to someone so obviously handicapped.

[Pavlov]

The Union is a waste of space. Doesn't matter whether it's in Denton, Columbus Ohio or otherwise. It's not a library, it's not a computer lab, it serves no purpose except to charge kids overpriced food at ty chains (just like in airports) on top of their overpriced tuition and overpriced books and overpriced rent at the dorms.

UNT operated without a union from 2013-2015 and everything was just fine, except for the stupid sounds of construction and blue Beck fences. They should have just made that space into a green park or a casual football field or something.

Students buy that stuff. That's the market. I wouldn't doubt it's overpriced.

[Millennial_Messiah]

Students buy that stuff. That's the market. I wouldn't doubt it's overpriced.

whereas I would just eat sparingly that last semester, take advantage of the $5 dilapidated cafeteria hall on the west end of campus, on endless fried chicken wednesday nights, get a bulk value meal plan and pay attention to the menu's posted online at each dorm hall on each specific day. I stayed the away from Krispy Krunchy's, Taco Bueno, Chick Fil-A and the rest of that surcharge-overpriced fast food crap on campus. On Mondays I got fried chicken from Chicken Express (now closed) because they had the Monday $5 large combo special. On weekends I barely ate at all. Etc.

[RandomGuy]

No more SS benefits. And from 1/1/2020 onwards, no more SS taxes because no more SS benefits. Everyone who previously paid SS taxes will just consider that as courtesy money paid to the gov't.

So how many old people will literally starve to death?

[Millennial_Messiah]

So how many old people will literally starve to death?

They can take advantage of the low UE% market and go get a job, maybe a work from home job? It's 2019, after all.

Or, you know, overpopulation control. Less people = less pollution, deforestation, AGW? Right?

[RandomGuy]

No more SS benefits. And from 1/1/2020 onwards, no more SS taxes because no more SS benefits. Everyone who previously paid SS taxes will just consider that as courtesy money paid to the gov't.

It is worth noting:

SS turns a profit yearly. Drop SS taxes... Congress can't borrow funds from it, and the deficit goes UP. SS taxes are a separate fund.

[Millennial_Messiah]

It is worth noting:

SS turns a profit yearly. Drop SS taxes... Congress can't borrow funds from it, and the deficit goes UP. SS taxes are a separate fund.

okay then- fair point- Gov't can perform OMOs with banks with SS cash flow and collect interest. So leave SS alone. But there's no excuse for Medicaid except for bailing out idiot moronic over-breeders, as I've reiterated over and over again it's mostly the browns that overbreed (yes, a FEW whites too, but not many) and are the main culprits of pollution, deforestation, higher CO2 output, and AGW if you're into that.

[RandomGuy]

They can take advantage of the low UE% market and go get a job, maybe a work from home job? It's 2019, after all.

Or, you know, overpopulation control. Less people = less pollution, deforestation, AGW? Right?

"Get a job". The totally serious cure all for everything. Unless of course you are too old to see, or have enough money or physical stamina for hour long commutes. I'll be sure to pass your wisdom on to my father who was fired after he had his first heart attack, because they didn't want him on their liability policy. Maybe you can explain how he should get a job sufficient to pay for his and my mother's health care. My computer illiterate mother who can't walk across a room without being winded and panting for 4 minutes, will get a job too, I guess.

Otherwise you seem to be suggesting elderly people starving to death is your solution to some vague "overpopulation". you, I think we'll pass on that non-serious, evil solution.

[Millennial_Messiah]

"Get a job". The totally serious cure all for everything. Unless of course you are too old to see, or have enough money or physical stamina for hour long commutes. I'll be sure to pass your wisdom on to my father who was fired after he had his first heart attack, because they didn't want him on their liability policy. Maybe you can explain how he should get a job sufficient to pay for his and my mother's health care. My computer illiterate mother who can't walk across a room without being winded and panting for 4 minutes, will get a job too, I guess.

Otherwise you seem to be suggesting elderly people starving to death is your solution to some vague "overpopulation". you, I think we'll pass on that non-serious, evil solution.

I changed my mind. Leave SS alone, but change Medicare to 50% coinsurance instead of the current 80%. So when they get a supplemental commercial plan they'll be paying about the same as what a 62, 63, 64 year old would.

[midnightpulp]

okay then- fair point- Gov't can perform OMOs with banks with SS cash flow and collect interest. So leave SS alone. But there's no excuse for Medicaid except for bailing out idiot moronic over-breeders, as I've reiterated over and over again it's mostly the browns that overbreed (yes, a FEW whites too, but not many) and are the main culprits of pollution, deforestation, higher CO2 output, and AGW if you're into that.

Birth rate has flatlined in the US since the 70s, and the "brown" fertility rates are trending downward and should be at the white averages in probably a decade. I take it you guys are discussing on how to cut down the deficit? Here's a quick idea: Gut the in' military. Biggest "welfare program" in human history.

[Millennial_Messiah]

Birth rate has flatlined in the US since the 70s, and the "brown" fertility rates are trending downward and should be at the white averages in probably a decade. I take it you guys are discussing on how to cut down the deficit? Here's a quick idea: Gut the in' military. Biggest "welfare program" in human history.

"trending" downward doesn't mean equal to, and plus we must stop immigration, especially from countries with high/historically high birth rates. Skilled Europeans can come because they won't come in droves, etc. East Asians can come IF they are skilled because they don't breed too much. But please, diversify the tech industry, we don't need a 95% India-Indian H1B skilled tech workforce anymore. Revoke their visas and hire only US Citizens and Permanent Green Card holders. Anyone who comes and applies for any welfare program is auto-deported.

We can't "gut" the military, we need to maintain the most high tech weapons and intel in the world to remain the #1 nation in the world, or we could face unfriendly consequences from other, rival, enemy countries who *do* also have big militaries as well. We can cut VA benefits, though, just like Medicaid and lowering co-insurance pay percentages for Medicare.

[RandomGuy]

I changed my mind. Leave SS alone, but change Medicare to 50% coinsurance instead of the current 80%. So when they get a supplemental commercial plan they'll be paying about the same as what a 62, 63, 64 year old would.

People on medicare/-aid are already there because they can't afford other health insurance. All you will be doing by making health care less affordable for this population is forcing them to consume less health care, get sicker and visit the emergency room more, if not die for lack of preventive care. Emergency rooms and hospitals that are legally bound to treat people regardless of ability to pay, so those hospitals will turn around and charge health insurers more, who will, in turn, turn around and increase premiums.

Squeeze the balloon in one place, it bulges in another. Your solution ultimately would simply increase an already bloated inefficient system of risk transfer where 1/4 of all dollars spent are on administrative overhead.

Sorry, health care is where libertarian fantasies go to die. Free markets do not work for health care. The underlying things that make free markets efficient breakdown, i.e. subs ution of goods, price elasticity. Universal health care, paid for by a broad tax offers the least expensive and most effective way, to provide health care.

Every other industrialized country does this. We know it is cheaper because our health care spending per capita is roughly twice that of the average.

[CosmicCowboy]

It is worth noting:

SS turns a profit yearly. Drop SS taxes... Congress can't borrow funds from it, and the deficit goes UP. SS taxes are a separate fund.

Hmmm. As I understand it there is no separate SS fund except as an accounting ledger transaction. The money goes into the general revenue fund and the funds "borrowed" from SS taxes does count against the deficit as an accounts payable. Not trying to argue with you, just sharing my understanding of how it works.

[midnightpulp]

"trending" downward doesn't mean equal to, and plus we must stop immigration, especially from countries with high/historically high birth rates. Skilled Europeans can come because they won't come in droves, etc. East Asians can come IF they are skilled because they don't breed too much. But please, diversify the tech industry, we don't need a 95% India-Indian H1B skilled tech workforce anymore. Revoke their visas and hire only US Citizens and Permanent Green Card holders. Anyone who comes and applies for any welfare program is auto-deported.

We can't "gut" the military, we need to maintain the most high tech weapons and intel in the world to remain the #1 nation in the world, or we could face unfriendly consequences from other, rival, enemy countries who *do* also have big militaries as well. We can cut VA benefits, though, just like Medicaid and lowering co-insurance pay percentages for Medicare.

VA benefits are an inconsequential percentage of military spending. No, military spending is obscene. The Soviet Union was a far bigger "threat" than China could ever hope to be (I also find China being a legitimate military threat puzzling since why would they want war(s) with their biggest trading partners?) and we're spending 200 billion more year (adjusted for inflation) than we were at the height of the Cold War. We have some 800 bases around in the world, many in countries with perfectly capable defenses. Those are simply World War and Cold War holdovers we keep active for some reason. I've said before Eisenhower clearly warned about this. An example of where the money is going, and it's not to keep us "safe" from Chinese and Muslim boogeymen.

http://fortune.com/2019/05/14/transdigm-pentagon-costs/

[CosmicCowboy]

"Get a job". The totally serious cure all for everything. Unless of course you are too old to see, or have enough money or physical stamina for hour long commutes. I'll be sure to pass your wisdom on to my father who was fired after he had his first heart attack, because they didn't want him on their liability policy. Maybe you can explain how he should get a job sufficient to pay for his and my mother's health care. My computer illiterate mother who can't walk across a room without being winded and panting for 4 minutes, will get a job too, I guess.

Otherwise you seem to be suggesting elderly people starving to death is your solution to some vague "overpopulation". you, I think we'll pass on that non-serious, evil solution.

I think he is just trolling you. BTW, sorry about your parents.

[Will Hunting]

VA benefits are an inconsequential percentage of military spending. No, military spending is obscene. The Soviet Union was a far bigger "threat" than China could ever hope to be (I also find China being a legitimate military threat puzzling since why would they want war(s) with their biggest trading partners?) and we're spending 200 billion more year (adjusted for inflation) than we were at the height of the Cold War. We have some 800 bases around in the world, many in countries with perfectly capable defenses. Those are simply World War and Cold War holdovers we keep active for some reason. I've said before Eisenhower clearly warned about this. An example of where the money is going, and it's not to keep us "safe" from Chinese and Muslim boogeymen.

http://fortune.com/2019/05/14/transdigm-pentagon-costs/

What's re ed is that China and Russia pose an exponentially bigger cyber threat than they do with sheer military might. The one area of the military I would be fine with pouring tens of billions of dollars into is cyber protection but we're ing archaic on that stuff. We still have missile systems run by computers that use floppy discs

[RandomGuy]

"trending" downward doesn't mean equal to, and plus we must stop immigration, especially from countries with high/historically high birth rates. Skilled Europeans can come because they won't come in droves, etc. East Asians can come IF they are skilled because they don't breed too much. But please, diversify the tech industry, we don't need a 95% India-Indian H1B skilled tech workforce anymore. Revoke their visas and hire only US Citizens and Permanent Green Card holders. Anyone who comes and applies for any welfare program is auto-deported.

We can't "gut" the military, we need to maintain the most high tech weapons and intel in the world to remain the #1 nation in the world, or we could face unfriendly consequences from other, rival, enemy countries who *do* also have big militaries as well. We can cut VA benefits, though, just like Medicaid and lowering co-insurance pay percentages for Medicare.

Cut VA benefits and you further increase manpower shortages for the military that is already having problems recruiting. VA benefits are also very politically popular on both sides of the political spectrum.

Neither feasible, nor overly desirable.

A bit of background on recruiting foibles:
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-...better-slogan/

[Will Hunting]

Cutting VA benefits for current veterans/cutting SS for retirees or people a few years away from retirement is a non-starter. You can't screw people who signed up for the military expecting to get certain benefits afterwards, and you can't screw people who planned retirement around having a certain level of SS.

The idea that an 85 year old who's been retired for 20+ years can just re-enter the work force to earn any SS benefits he's losing is one of the most laughable arguments I've ever heard.

[RandomGuy]

I think he is just trolling you. BTW, sorry about your parents.

Thank you for your kind words. I do appreciate them. I think he is mildly serious, as a young person first exploring these topics are.

Dad has the whole social safety net being discussed here. SS, medicaid and VA to help. After raising 3 kids without a college degree, he has next to nothing saved up. Absent those programs, myself and my siblings, who have our own kids, could not afford their health care costs. Mom never worked at all, and has no SS.

This is where the rubber meets the road, and my parents are not alone. Not saying any of this for any reason other than to illustrate what happens to real people.

[midnightpulp]

What's re ed is that China and Russia pose an exponentially bigger cyber threat than they do with sheer military might. The one area of the military I would be fine with pouring tens of billions of dollars into is cyber protection but we're ing archaic on that stuff. We still have missile systems run by computers that use floppy discs

Yeah, as we've said before, no need for conventional weapons anymore since nukes exists. No country will attack another country that even has a single nuke. It's the ultimate equalizer, MAD and all that. Yet here we are spending 1.5 trillion on jets. Europe also has a advanced military, and last I checked, they're our allies. China/Russia isn't winning a potential conflict against the USA/Europe/Japan, even against a USA that cuts its defense spending in half, which is a waste of time to even think about because it's not going to happen.

[Millennial_Messiah]

People on medicare/-aid are already there because they can't afford other health insurance. All you will be doing by making health care less affordable for this population is forcing them to consume less health care, get sicker and visit the emergency room more, if not die for lack of preventive care. Emergency rooms and hospitals that are legally bound to treat people regardless of ability to pay, so those hospitals will turn around and charge health insurers more, who will, in turn, turn around and increase premiums.

Squeeze the balloon in one place, it bulges in another. Your solution ultimately would simply increase an already bloated inefficient system of risk transfer where 1/4 of all dollars spent are on administrative overhead.

Sorry, health care is where libertarian fantasies go to die. Free markets do not work for health care. The underlying things that make free markets efficient breakdown, i.e. subs ution of goods, price elasticity. Universal health care, paid for by a broad tax offers the least expensive and most effective way, to provide health care.

Every other industrialized country does this. We know it is cheaper because our health care spending per capita is roughly twice that of the average.

But how much do you raise taxes to provide socialized healthcare?

[midnightpulp]

Cutting VA benefits for current veterans/cutting SS for retirees or people a few years away from retirement is a non-starter. You can't screw people who signed up for the military expecting to get certain benefits afterwards, and you can't screw people who planned retirement around having a certain level of SS.

The idea that an 85 year old who's been retired for 20+ years can just re-enter the work force to earn any SS benefits he's losing is one of the most laughable arguments I've ever heard.

He's in some kind of Social Darwinist phase. It's going to happen to "you," too, no matter how spry and healthy you feel right now. Old age, sickness, calamity, etc. And no, unless you're a loon (or maybe terminal), you're not going to selflessly off yourself for the "greater good." I've heard people who when challenged on this position say they'll kill themselves at 65 or something when they can no longer economically contribute. Yeah, okay .

[Millennial_Messiah]

Yeah, as we've said before, no need for conventional weapons anymore since nukes exists. No country will attack another country that even has a single nuke. It's the ultimate equalizer, MAD and all that. Yet here we are spending 1.5 trillion on jets. Europe also has a advanced military, and last I checked, they're our allies. China/Russia isn't winning a potential conflict against the USA/Europe/Japan, even against a USA that cuts its defense spending in half, which is a waste of time to even think about because it's not going to happen.

China, Russia, NK, and the Ummah all gang up against the US, Canada, Australia, UK, NZ and the EU/NATO for WW3... it's a pretty even fight honestly and both sides would take serious blows, major nukes and 1-2 billion lives would be lost.

You also have wild cards like some Slavic states in East Europe who could defect to Russia based on heritage and Turkey which is part of NATO but would be more culturally drawn to the Ummah, especially with Erdogan in charge.