The Fall of Empires
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TheItinerantSon
Well-Known Member
powerful ad. I don't really like the race-baiting/fear mongering. China aint got **** on us. They are going to have the same problems with mechanization that we do.
I work with many chinese 'scientists'. And let me say...that our lead in science and technology - aint going nowhere.
I work with many chinese 'scientists'. And let me say...that our lead in science and technology - aint going nowhere.
C l u t c H 385
Banned
Chinese is a race?
Growth Theory/low lying fruit. Chinese aren't anywhere near as productive as Americans. They're aren't even in the ballpark of competing. Their fast growth scares the West for some reason. I guess the truck doesn't look so big.
Stickler
Well-Known Member
The National Debt -- and by extension the Federal Budget deficit -- is the single biggest problem in our country, and its correction should be the number one priority of the government. The notion used by the people who dismiss it as an issue (mainly that the National Debt is just the money we owe to ourselves when you takes into account all the money owed to us by other nations) is just such foolishness. Try telling that to your bank.
A balanced budget should be an article of the constitution, the way it is in several states.
I enjoyed the ad. I'm not endorsing the organization because I don't know anything about it, but the ad, I thought, was effective. I don't see what's race-baiting about it. Chinese people live in China, therefore if people are nervous about China they're racist, therefore if people try to make you nervous about China, they're race-baiting? That logic doesn't quite follow. People are nervous about China because of its massive population, its military capabilities, and its high degree of influence over the economies of the world, combined with the savage and oppressive history of its totalitarian government.
...Not to suggest I think we'll all be working for China by 2030. China has kept us afloat because they need us in order to keep their own economy functioning.
That's all slightly off the main point though, which is that our own government, as a matter of complete urgency, needs to stop spending more money than it takes in. I'm considering becoming a Ron Paul guy over no issue other than this one.
A balanced budget should be an article of the constitution, the way it is in several states.
I enjoyed the ad. I'm not endorsing the organization because I don't know anything about it, but the ad, I thought, was effective. I don't see what's race-baiting about it. Chinese people live in China, therefore if people are nervous about China they're racist, therefore if people try to make you nervous about China, they're race-baiting? That logic doesn't quite follow. People are nervous about China because of its massive population, its military capabilities, and its high degree of influence over the economies of the world, combined with the savage and oppressive history of its totalitarian government.
...Not to suggest I think we'll all be working for China by 2030. China has kept us afloat because they need us in order to keep their own economy functioning.
That's all slightly off the main point though, which is that our own government, as a matter of complete urgency, needs to stop spending more money than it takes in. I'm considering becoming a Ron Paul guy over no issue other than this one.
Duck Rodgers
Well-Known Member
Regardless of what you guys think China's ultimate potential is, you guys that are old enough should try and get your kids in those Chinese immersion schools if they are available in your area.
I agree with your sentiment, but the analogy comparing a citizen paying a bank in US dollars to a federal government that prints, buys, and sells its own currency is silly. What alternative system are you advocating? We print, buy, and sell our own currency. That's fiat (although QE expansion has been shown to be dangerous at this point, at least mathematically if not logically).
Then what do you propose for counter-cyclical monetary policy to provide the least bit of fiscal stability? You cannot simply advocate a half-assed proposal while ignoring the rest of the equation. I prefer full-assed. Do we leave it up to the Federal Reserve with congress' ability to fight their every move (or compound them as we've found out so sorely)? Are you for tax raises in the good times? You're not for abolishing the Federal Reserve if you want a balanced budget and stability (deflationary collapse is the inevitable alternative). So what exactly do you proposing as an alternative?
Maybe I missed something, but I didn't see anyone saying anything about race-baiting, or denying what you've implicated here.
C l u t c H 385
Banned
plus chinese isn't a race, the preferred term is oriental if i'm not mistaken.
I'm stuck mulling over the idea of outcompete. Outperform I understand, outcompete is a little puzzling.
Funny how the ad completely ignores China's own post-revolutionary history. Also funny how China is being used as an example against government waste when for years there was not much more than "government waste" to fuel whatever economy existed in China.
Strict balance the budget requirements do not work with debt-based fiat. Our system requires countercyclicals. What do you propose we do when monetarism fails as ZIRP, etc. are now?
Stickler
Well-Known Member
Thank you, franklin. That's vaguely what I thought you were saying. I was having a hard time understanding why you thought the things you mentioned would pose any problems at all, until I realized you might not understand how budgeting typically works, outside of a governmental framework.
The easiest solution to the problems you imagine would be for the budget to be based on the previous fiscal year's income, or (more likely) on an average of incomes from the previous few years. Standard practice in business.
The requirement for a balanced budget would not be "strict" in terms of a real-time 1:1 equation. Nor would it function (at least not for decades) on money "in the coffers." Nevertheless it would be "balanced."
The easiest solution to the problems you imagine would be for the budget to be based on the previous fiscal year's income, or (more likely) on an average of incomes from the previous few years. Standard practice in business.
The requirement for a balanced budget would not be "strict" in terms of a real-time 1:1 equation. Nor would it function (at least not for decades) on money "in the coffers." Nevertheless it would be "balanced."
Chinese is not the preferred nomenclature, Asian American, please, dude.
You mean where profits act as buffers, and really bad years run in the negative, or, unbalanced?
Hardly easy. The rolling averages sound better to me, but again, what about years when revenue collapses? Governments are not businesses. You're looking at either making drastic cuts that will feed back on revenue, or looking way out on the horizon to fully implement cuts. That's more of a [near term debt led] soft landing approach and congress couldn't possibly discount the correct value to cut. It's a nice idea, but impractical.
Stickler
Well-Known Member
Of course. But primarily I mean: Where the budget is based upon expected income. That's how budgeting works. (Federal Budgets not included.)
Naturally, there would be years when that problem occurred. But so what? You adjust and move forward. These "problems" are inherent and unavoidable. At its best, careful budgeting is educated guesswork. Is it your intention to nay-say every possible alternative to the status quo in order to express your preference for the status quo? The status quo is idiotic.
Is it your position that governmental spending is so out of control that no correction is possible?
the word oriental is a hard word to use regarding China alone, for example, the orient was used by the ancient greeks to refer to the evil persian empire as they called it and to exceed said colonial power towards that of India. it is actually a term more looseley used to refer to eastern and its counterpart, the word occidental.
All those people in China are Asian Americans? Good to know. Just like all those folks in Africa are African Americans.
If you can't beat 'em join 'em, as they say.