Why are Americans are so Dumb?

[Not Insane]

Originally Posted by FordGT90

Nope. They're converting electricity into a virtual commodity.

And I understand that when it comes to the power needed to mine a bitcoin, it's much like the power needed to increase your speed to approach the speed of light. Always exponentially more for each incremental gain until it reaches infinity.

[RickeyM]

Originally Posted by FordGT90

Conservatives generally want to know one thing: how are you going to pay for it? How much am I going to have to pay for it? Leftist proposals aren't just big, they're huge, and there's a prolific problem of people not wanting to pay more taxes. The pool of federal revenue to spend is getting smaller, not bigger because of frequent tax cuts to simulate the economy.

It comes down to fairly basic math: there's no money available and no reasonable means to raise money to create more big government programs. Conservatives are open to ideas but they have to be budget neutral or surplus.

You mean like Donny's big tax cut? Isn't it odd that conservatives are so concerned about who pays and how much except when it's them doing the spending. Wasn't it Democratic presidents (Clinton, Obama) that steered the country back after two Repub administrations (Bush 1&2)?

[FordGT90]

Originally Posted by RickeyM

You mean like Donny's big tax cut? Isn't it odd that conservatives are so concerned about who pays and how much except when it's them doing the spending. Wasn't it Democratic presidents (Clinton, Obama) that steered the country back after two Repub administrations (Bush 1&2)?

It's the House, not the President, that controls the budget. The reason for the surplus during the Clinton administration was because of Foley (D, crafted a bill GHWB got behind) and Gingrich (R, cut government spending on top of the extra income from Foley). Hassert (R) lead a reversal due to tax cuts in response to the dot-com burst and then funding 9/11 response. Then we have Pelosi (D) whom thought budgets were beneath her leading to a record breaking spending spree. Then we have Boehner (R) whom made an offer the opposition thought he would reject (sequester) but didn't. Then we have Paul (R) whom stayed the course laid out by Boehner. Finally, we have Pelosi again, and what did she do? Spent like a teenager with daddy's credit card again.

[Not Insane]

Originally Posted by FordGT90

It's the House, not the President, that controls the budget. The reason for the surplus during the Clinton administration was because of Foley (D, crafted a bill GHWB got behind) and Gingrich (R, cut government spending on top of the extra income from Foley). Hassert (R) lead a reversal due to tax cuts in response to the dot-com burst and then funding 9/11 response. Then we have Pelosi (D) whom thought budgets were beneath her leading to a record breaking spending spree. Then we have Boehner (R) whom made an offer the opposition thought he would reject (sequester) but didn't. Then we have Paul (R) whom stayed the course laid out by Boehner. Finally, we have Pelosi again, and what did she do? Spent like a teenager with daddy's credit card again.

^^^Like

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by FordGT90

Nope. They're converting electricity into a virtual commodity.


But it's also why people don't know who to trust and why everything has become so fragmented. Example back on topic: when someone says something like "wear masks" there's always something else out there to point back and say "fake news." It's information overload with no sifter sorting fact from fiction without bias. It was generally investigative journalists that did that, which resulted in articles that are pages and pages long. Most people today don't have the patience to digest that much information. Everything boils down to headlines. It's a problem and I don't see any solutions.

It's a matter of learning to use better social media better. Situation evolving.

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by FordGT90

Nope. They're converting electricity into a virtual commodity.

My point is that real money isn't as real as you think it is. On a small scale it's a way to keep track of who owes who, and who has stuff coming to them. But it scales weird. On the Jeff Bezeos scale, quantum physics weird.

[RickeyM]

Originally Posted by FordGT90

It's the House, not the President, that controls the budget. The reason for the surplus during the Clinton administration was because of Foley (D, crafted a bill GHWB got behind) and Gingrich (R, cut government spending on top of the extra income from Foley). Hassert (R) lead a reversal due to tax cuts in response to the dot-com burst and then funding 9/11 response. Then we have Pelosi (D) whom thought budgets were beneath her leading to a record breaking spending spree. Then we have Boehner (R) whom made an offer the opposition thought he would reject (sequester) but didn't. Then we have Paul (R) whom stayed the course laid out by Boehner. Finally, we have Pelosi again, and what did she do? Spent like a teenager with daddy's credit card again.

Boy, there's one thing I can count on from you and you never disappoint.

[Not Insane]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

My point is that real money isn't as real as you think it is. On a small scale it's a way to keep track of who owes who, and who has stuff coming to them. But it scales weird. On the Jeff Bezeos scale, quantum physics weird.

The only "real" money I have is made of pure gold or pure silver. The rest is just a "concept". It has value as long as the country backing it has value. And even then, that value changes as the quantity of money changes or the confidence in the country changes. Then there are things that survive solely on faith - things like tulip bulbs and digital "money" (e.g. bitcoin).

[Not Insane]

Originally Posted by RickeyM

Boy, there's one thing I can count on from you and you never disappoint.

There is something I can count on from you and it DOES disappoint: Ad hominem.

There are two others but I'll wait until the next time I see them.

[Chicks]

Originally Posted by FordGT90

Money fundamentally caused the collapse of professional journalism...it left the industry. Even historic greats like Washington Post which was responsible for exposing Wategate are chaffing funds today.

WaPo and NYT are doing quite well thanks to the Orange Shitstain. People want accurate news, and know full well that these are two of the finest journals available today.

It must freak out reich-wingnuts like you to find out the WaPo's Publisher and CEO also chairs the Ronnie RayGun Foundation. He worked for Ronnie for many years, and is very likely still a Republican. He's a very smart, highly educated guy, expert on many things, which appears to be anathema to you Trumpkin idiots.

https://www.reaganfoundation.org/abo...ick-j-ryan-jr/

Frederick J. Ryan, Jr. is Publisher and CEO of The Washington Post. During his time at The Washington Post, it has been recognized for excellence in journalism with multiple Pulitzer Prizes, and twice named by Fast Company Magazine as the “World’s Most Innovative Media Company.”

Until August 2014, he served as President and CEO of POLITICO, which he co-founded in 2007.

From 1989 until 1995, he served as Chief of Staff to former President Ronald Reagan. He was responsible for overseeing all of President Reagan’s activities including domestic and international issues, government relations, political affairs and public relations. He served as President Reagan’s personal representative in numerous meetings with Heads of State around the world, as well as leaders of the international business community.

From 1982 to 1989, Mr. Ryan served on the White House Staff, and was Assistant to the President of the United States, one of the youngest people ever to serve in such a position. His responsibilities in the White House included directing Presidential Appointments and Scheduling, where he was responsible for long-range strategic planning and communications strategy for the White House. He served on the 1984 Reagan/Bush re-election team.

Mr. Ryan also served as Director of the White House Private Sector Initiatives program where he was the President’s liaison to the American and international business communities. He conceived and directed the International Conference on Private Sector Initiatives (Paris, France 1986), the Italian-American Conference on Private Sector Initiatives (Milan and Venice, Italy 1987) and the British-American Conference on Private Sector Initiatives (London, England 1988). These unique gatherings included Chief Executive Officers of major international corporations, the Prime Ministers of France and England, the President of the United States and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.

Prior to joining the White House Staff, Mr. Ryan was an attorney with the Los Angeles law firm of Hill, Farrer & Burrill. While engaged in his practice, he published several articles on various aspects of the law. He is presently a member in good standing of the State Bar of California, the District of Columbia Bar and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Ryan is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the White House Historical Association and serves on the Board of several other nonprofit organizations including the University of Southern California, Ford’s Theatre, The National Geographic Society, National Geographic Partners, and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.

Mr. Ryan is the editor of Ronald Reagan: The Wisdom and Humor of The Great Communicator, published by Harper Collins in 1995, and Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator, published by Harper Collins in 2001. He was Executive Producer of the highly acclaimed video of the Reagan Presidency, entitled The Reagan Years.

Mr. Ryan graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Southern California in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Speech Communication. He then attended the University of Southern California Law Center where he received his Juris Doctor and graduated with an academic honor in 1980.