Death of the Dollar??? Not so fast......

[Paulie]

Do you really think there is no way out of this? Seriously why doesn't the average American citizen know the dire circumstances involved with all of the US governments unfunded liabilities? This shouldn't be a political issue(even though it is). These unfunded liabilities are something that WILL bring down the US if there is nothing done.

The average American citizen knows only what the TV teaches them.

We started really going downhill when every household obtained a TV. We got fat, lazy, complacent, apathetic, you name it.

Besides that, there is the entitlement syndrome thing. Many people feel that it is our duty as citizens through our tax dollars, to take care of others.

It's strange, man. Becuase I'm a fiscal conservative, and I disagree with welfare handouts almost 100%. But there are some things I just don't mind my tax dollars going to. Like food stamps for a single woman with a child, and is going to college, for instance. But there needs to be strict standards that are closely monitored.

SS, Medicare, Medicaid...I don't know. Maybe they made a lot more sense when they were first thought of, but in hindsight, it's hard for me to understand how some people still support them. But most people don't even have the first clue about the fiscal reality of them.

At this point, how do you turn back? Cut off the elderly from care and income? Raise the age of retirement?

I'm still a strong proponent of cutting a lot of money from the military budget. We're killing ourselves spending money overseas fighting cavemen and trying to maintain alliances. It's ridiculous, and the founders are assuredly rolling in their graves over it.

We can cut a lot from the defense budget and it wouldn't have such an immediate negative impact as cutting Medicare or SS, or welfare, etc. would.

You've agreed with me in the past on the defense budget issue, too. I mean, come on man...almost 200 countries...REALLY???

Good post, yes I do agree that military cuts need to take place. For god's sake we have enough nukes to destroy the planet a thousand times, do we really need our military spread out in every nook and cranny in the world? I believe we need to phase out the entitlement programs over short time span and tell people to fend for themselves. Obviously we can't let a 70 year old woman starve to death that's the reason the phase out needs to account for age. I believe welfare in this country needs to lead to a way out of poverty. Whenever a welfare recipient is afforded opportunities that lead them from poverty, they should have to repay at least a portion of what they took from the system.

The biggest thing is that people need to start saving. We are told that we need to SPEND to keep the economy going, so we don't save for our own retirement. We spend every last dollar, expecting it to come back to us in our next paycheck that we might never get. This last year showed us how stupid we were about that.

We rely on SS, and a 401k if we're lucky enough to have one. But even most of those that have managable 401k's don't have the slightest clue how to move their money around, so they're still at the peril of the economy.

People need to educate themselves on finance early on in their lives, and learn how to save properly. Learn the markets. I taught myself in my free time, and I'll NEVER be beaten by the economy again. I might miss the timing aspet a bit, that's kind of tough to be perfect on, but if I had a 401k during this past collapse, I would NOT have lost money. I'd have known EXACTLY where to move it.

And I do believe that we put enough of our money into taxes that it shouldn't be so horrible to sometimes get a little handout. Consider it payback for all the ridiculous ways our money has been spent. I don't agree with MOST of what my tax dollars go to. So the least they can do is give me a little back in food stamps if I happened to need it...you know?

The whole thing is so complex, and there's no debate that could cure it. People are simply not educated enough in this country handle this, and we think the politicians are. They know we're not, and they're raping us of everything we're worth.

The smartest thing we could ever do is vote out every damn one of them and start fresh with brand new names that don't have the establishment backing them. It's not like it could get any worse than it already is.

 

[jreeves]

The average American citizen knows only what the TV teaches them.

We started really going downhill when every household obtained a TV. We got fat, lazy, complacent, apathetic, you name it.

Besides that, there is the entitlement syndrome thing. Many people feel that it is our duty as citizens through our tax dollars, to take care of others.

It's strange, man. Becuase I'm a fiscal conservative, and I disagree with welfare handouts almost 100%. But there are some things I just don't mind my tax dollars going to. Like food stamps for a single woman with a child, and is going to college, for instance. But there needs to be strict standards that are closely monitored.

SS, Medicare, Medicaid...I don't know. Maybe they made a lot more sense when they were first thought of, but in hindsight, it's hard for me to understand how some people still support them. But most people don't even have the first clue about the fiscal reality of them.

At this point, how do you turn back? Cut off the elderly from care and income? Raise the age of retirement?

I'm still a strong proponent of cutting a lot of money from the military budget. We're killing ourselves spending money overseas fighting cavemen and trying to maintain alliances. It's ridiculous, and the founders are assuredly rolling in their graves over it.

We can cut a lot from the defense budget and it wouldn't have such an immediate negative impact as cutting Medicare or SS, or welfare, etc. would.

You've agreed with me in the past on the defense budget issue, too. I mean, come on man...almost 200 countries...REALLY???

Good post, yes I do agree that military cuts need to take place. For god's sake we have enough nukes to destroy the planet a thousand times, do we really need our military spread out in every nook and cranny in the world? I believe we need to phase out the entitlement programs over short time span and tell people to fend for themselves. Obviously we can't let a 70 year old woman starve to death that's the reason the phase out needs to account for age. I believe welfare in this country needs to lead to a way out of poverty. Whenever a welfare recipient is afforded opportunities that lead them from poverty, they should have to repay at least a portion of what they took from the system.

The biggest thing is that people need to start saving. We are told that we need to SPEND to keep the economy going, so we don't save for our own retirement. We spend every last dollar, expecting it to come back to us in our next paycheck that we might never get. This last year showed us how stupid we were about that.

We rely on SS, and a 401k if we're lucky enough to have one. But even most of those that have managable 401k's don't have the slightest clue how to move their money around, so they're still at the peril of the economy.

People need to educate themselves on finance early on in their lives, and learn how to save properly. Learn the markets. I taught myself in my free time, and I'll NEVER be beaten by the economy again. I might miss the timing aspet a bit, that's kind of tough to be perfect on, but if I had a 401k during this past collapse, I would NOT have lost money. I'd have known EXACTLY where to move it.

And I do believe that we put enough of our money into taxes that it shouldn't be so horrible to sometimes get a little handout. Consider it payback for all the ridiculous ways our money has been spent. I don't agree with MOST of what my tax dollars go to. So the least they can do is give me a little back in food stamps if I happened to need it...you know?

The whole thing is so complex, and there's no debate that could cure it. People are simply not educated enough in this country handle this, and we think the politicians are. They know we're not, and they're raping us of everything we're worth.

The smartest thing we could ever do is vote out every damn one of them and start fresh with brand new names that don't have the establishment backing them. It's not like it could get any worse than it already is.

I tend to agree with you, the establishment will never change. The establishment will always pander to voters. The only way to create real change is to insert average people with economic sense into office. I don't believe this will ever happen I hope it does or else the country I love will be destroyed from fiscal irresponsibility.

 

[Polk]

So did he.
Replacing the dollar would mean lots of dollars that can't be spent anywhere but here. It would mean a massive devaluation of dollar holdings by foreign countries. And they won't do that.

By the way what do you think is going to happen when we have to actually pay for all the promises our government has made, Social Security, Medicare.....massive, massive deficits, which will cause a massive devaluation of the US dollar.

Given that the promises will have to be paid some 10-20 years down the line, I have no idea.

Ideally the GOP will get in touch with its Reaganesque side, cut taxes, cut spending, cut regulation and allow the economy to grow sufficiently to pay for all of that.
Alternatively, the Dums will continue to give out cookies and milk to anyone who asks for them and we will be looking more and more like (formerly) Great Britain.
Too early to tell.

Because, clearly, the best way to shrink the deficit is to cut taxes, making the deficit even larger in the process.

 

[Paulie]

Good post, yes I do agree that military cuts need to take place. For god's sake we have enough nukes to destroy the planet a thousand times, do we really need our military spread out in every nook and cranny in the world? I believe we need to phase out the entitlement programs over short time span and tell people to fend for themselves. Obviously we can't let a 70 year old woman starve to death that's the reason the phase out needs to account for age. I believe welfare in this country needs to lead to a way out of poverty. Whenever a welfare recipient is afforded opportunities that lead them from poverty, they should have to repay at least a portion of what they took from the system.

The biggest thing is that people need to start saving. We are told that we need to SPEND to keep the economy going, so we don't save for our own retirement. We spend every last dollar, expecting it to come back to us in our next paycheck that we might never get. This last year showed us how stupid we were about that.

We rely on SS, and a 401k if we're lucky enough to have one. But even most of those that have managable 401k's don't have the slightest clue how to move their money around, so they're still at the peril of the economy.

People need to educate themselves on finance early on in their lives, and learn how to save properly. Learn the markets. I taught myself in my free time, and I'll NEVER be beaten by the economy again. I might miss the timing aspet a bit, that's kind of tough to be perfect on, but if I had a 401k during this past collapse, I would NOT have lost money. I'd have known EXACTLY where to move it.

And I do believe that we put enough of our money into taxes that it shouldn't be so horrible to sometimes get a little handout. Consider it payback for all the ridiculous ways our money has been spent. I don't agree with MOST of what my tax dollars go to. So the least they can do is give me a little back in food stamps if I happened to need it...you know?

The whole thing is so complex, and there's no debate that could cure it. People are simply not educated enough in this country handle this, and we think the politicians are. They know we're not, and they're raping us of everything we're worth.

The smartest thing we could ever do is vote out every damn one of them and start fresh with brand new names that don't have the establishment backing them. It's not like it could get any worse than it already is.

I tend to agree with you, the establishment will never change. The establishment will always pander to voters. The only way to create real change is to insert average people with economic sense into office. I don't believe this will ever happen I hope it does or else the country I love will be destroyed from fiscal irresponsibility.

3rd party, my man.

Plus there's THIS issue:

On my Republican ballot every election, we have a column that says "Cape May County Regular Republicans" and then there's usually another column on the Republican ballot with the REAL conservatives with a column label of something like "Constitutional Conservative" or something similar.

So the stupid people see "Regular Republican" and think that's the choice they need to make, because the OTHER choice is the fringe candidate.

I don't know if your ballot looks like that too, but the game is rigged in favor of the establishment candidates.

What the fuck is a "Regular Republican"?? To me, these days, that means RINO.

But then, I'm not the average American idiot.

 

[The Rabbi]

By the way what do you think is going to happen when we have to actually pay for all the promises our government has made, Social Security, Medicare.....massive, massive deficits, which will cause a massive devaluation of the US dollar.

Given that the promises will have to be paid some 10-20 years down the line, I have no idea.

Ideally the GOP will get in touch with its Reaganesque side, cut taxes, cut spending, cut regulation and allow the economy to grow sufficiently to pay for all of that.
Alternatively, the Dums will continue to give out cookies and milk to anyone who asks for them and we will be looking more and more like (formerly) Great Britain.
Too early to tell.

Because, clearly, the best way to shrink the deficit is to cut taxes, making the deficit even larger in the process.

I realize this is probably beyond you.
the flip side to what you've said is that we need to raise taxes to shrink the deficit. Check out the record of raising taxes to close the deficit in MI and CA. Then tell me it's a good idea.

 

[jreeves]

The biggest thing is that people need to start saving. We are told that we need to SPEND to keep the economy going, so we don't save for our own retirement. We spend every last dollar, expecting it to come back to us in our next paycheck that we might never get. This last year showed us how stupid we were about that.

We rely on SS, and a 401k if we're lucky enough to have one. But even most of those that have managable 401k's don't have the slightest clue how to move their money around, so they're still at the peril of the economy.

People need to educate themselves on finance early on in their lives, and learn how to save properly. Learn the markets. I taught myself in my free time, and I'll NEVER be beaten by the economy again. I might miss the timing aspet a bit, that's kind of tough to be perfect on, but if I had a 401k during this past collapse, I would NOT have lost money. I'd have known EXACTLY where to move it.

And I do believe that we put enough of our money into taxes that it shouldn't be so horrible to sometimes get a little handout. Consider it payback for all the ridiculous ways our money has been spent. I don't agree with MOST of what my tax dollars go to. So the least they can do is give me a little back in food stamps if I happened to need it...you know?

The whole thing is so complex, and there's no debate that could cure it. People are simply not educated enough in this country handle this, and we think the politicians are. They know we're not, and they're raping us of everything we're worth.

The smartest thing we could ever do is vote out every damn one of them and start fresh with brand new names that don't have the establishment backing them. It's not like it could get any worse than it already is.

I tend to agree with you, the establishment will never change. The establishment will always pander to voters. The only way to create real change is to insert average people with economic sense into office. I don't believe this will ever happen I hope it does or else the country I love will be destroyed from fiscal irresponsibility.

3rd party, my man.

Plus there's THIS issue:

On my Republican ballot every election, we have a column that says "Cape May County Regular Republicans" and then there's usually another column on the Republican ballot with the REAL conservatives with a column label of something like "Constitutional Conservative" or something similar.

So the stupid people see "Regular Republican" and think that's the choice they need to make, because the OTHER choice is the fringe candidate.

I don't know if your ballot looks like that too, but the game is rigged in favor of the establishment candidates.

What the fuck is a "Regular Republican"?? To me, these days, that means RINO.

But then, I'm not the average American idiot.

Unfortunately the establishment(Rep and Dem) have too much power and money. They make you feel if you vote third party then in actuality you are voting for the other party. But I think I will definitely vote third party if they are a better candidate.

 

[Paulie]

I tend to agree with you, the establishment will never change. The establishment will always pander to voters. The only way to create real change is to insert average people with economic sense into office. I don't believe this will ever happen I hope it does or else the country I love will be destroyed from fiscal irresponsibility.

3rd party, my man.

Plus there's THIS issue:

On my Republican ballot every election, we have a column that says "Cape May County Regular Republicans" and then there's usually another column on the Republican ballot with the REAL conservatives with a column label of something like "Constitutional Conservative" or something similar.

So the stupid people see "Regular Republican" and think that's the choice they need to make, because the OTHER choice is the fringe candidate.

I don't know if your ballot looks like that too, but the game is rigged in favor of the establishment candidates.

What the fuck is a "Regular Republican"?? To me, these days, that means RINO.

But then, I'm not the average American idiot.

Unfortunately the establishment(Rep and Dem) have too much power and money. They make you feel if you vote third party then in actuality you are voting for the other party. But I think I will definitely vote third party if they are a better candidate.

Do your ballots separate the various republican candidates into different columns with titles like "Regular Republican" and something else?

Or are all your Republicans just listed down one column and you choose?

 

[shane]

Interesting writing I have a very similar view of the dollar remaining atop the world economy.

 

[jreeves]

3rd party, my man.

Plus there's THIS issue:

On my Republican ballot every election, we have a column that says "Cape May County Regular Republicans" and then there's usually another column on the Republican ballot with the REAL conservatives with a column label of something like "Constitutional Conservative" or something similar.

So the stupid people see "Regular Republican" and think that's the choice they need to make, because the OTHER choice is the fringe candidate.

I don't know if your ballot looks like that too, but the game is rigged in favor of the establishment candidates.

What the fuck is a "Regular Republican"?? To me, these days, that means RINO.

But then, I'm not the average American idiot.

Unfortunately the establishment(Rep and Dem) have too much power and money. They make you feel if you vote third party then in actuality you are voting for the other party. But I think I will definitely vote third party if they are a better candidate.

Do your ballots separate the various republican candidates into different columns with titles like "Regular Republican" and something else?

Or are all your Republicans just listed down one column and you choose?

They are listed separate

 

[Paulie]

Unfortunately the establishment(Rep and Dem) have too much power and money. They make you feel if you vote third party then in actuality you are voting for the other party. But I think I will definitely vote third party if they are a better candidate.

Do your ballots separate the various republican candidates into different columns with titles like "Regular Republican" and something else?

Or are all your Republicans just listed down one column and you choose?

They are listed separate

That's the problem. The Republican ballot should just have a list of all available republicans to choose from. Not a bunch of different columns with different labels for what "type" of republican they are.

The labeling is what sways the voting.

 

[jreeves]

Do your ballots separate the various republican candidates into different columns with titles like "Regular Republican" and something else?

Or are all your Republicans just listed down one column and you choose?

They are listed separate

That's the problem. The Republican ballot should just have a list of all available republicans to choose from. Not a bunch of different columns with different labels for what "type" of republican they are.

The labeling is what sways the voting.

This is a good video that gives a visual of the current spending spree...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5yxFtTwDcc&feature=player_embedded]YouTube - The National Debt Road Trip[/ame]