Precision
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Posts posted by Precision
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3 hours ago, All_Pro_Bills said:
Most likely nothing will be done until the point where everyone is forced to do something by circumstances and events. Two parts politics and one part procrastination. Sadly, anyone with a rudimentary understanding of finance knows all this debt accumulation is unsustainable and it will never be paid back. There will be some form of default, either direct or indirect.
A problem is the government spends too much money on too many programs. We can debate which programs and to what extent but that's just an exercise in futility. Most people see the solution as the other guy either pays more or gets less and they're left alone. Another problem is consumers have way too much debt too.
What I think is holding up action and solutions is citizens have no clear and obvious collective interests as a nation. Well the collective interest people don't understand is a debt crisis will emerge, when or how is uncertain, and the value of the money they hold either through wages, investment, or savings will drop while the cost of everything they need will increase. Just like it has in the past 1 1/2 years but not by 8 or 9 percent but by 10 to 100 times worse. Then everybody will be looking around at each other wondering how we let it get to this point.
I could see a scenario of something like a combination of increasing the maximum Social Security taxable wages faster than inflation and an inflation adjusted reduction in non-discretionary spending. Over time this could at least balance the budget. The solution will no doubt have higher earners almost exclusively paying more with minor spending cuts. I think the debt hangs around forever and becomes a smaller number (and issue) compared to GDP over time.
I don't think most Americans care or are smart enough to understand the repercussions of a default. I do think there is a "class" of Americans that understand how truly terrible a default or austerity measures could be economically and regarding civil unrest. Hopefully these people can influence the executive and legislative branches into at least running a balanced budget for a few years.
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16 hours ago, The Frankish Reich said:
I don't blame DeSantis and the others for at least addressing the obvious upcoming shortfalls in social security. Something needs to be done; something will be done. There's only 3 possibilities:
1. Raise taxes on somebody.
2. Trim somebody's expected benefits.
3. Make somebody work longer.
But this is such a 1990s way of doing politics. Remember the Clinton era, Simpson-Bowles, committees to study/recommend changes, all that "good policy" stuff? All that "we're all adults here" number crunching stuff?
That's not how we do it anymore. Trump will have a field day ignoring the problem and telling Republican voters that DeSantis wants to take away their social security. And then if he somehow makes it to the general, Biden will have a field day saying the same thing.
It's the new politics. Ignorance is bliss. Lie to the people that "I will fix it" (details TBA).
I'm glad that someone is at least discussing the issue. The past few administrations were fiscally irresponsible in their management of the federal budget. The national debt is now at the point where there is no program (including SS and Medicare) that will not require cuts.
Just a few numbers to bring this into reality, we are currently at $32 Trillion in debt and rising. This works out to over $250K/taxpayer or around $100K for every man, woman and child in the US.
In 5 years, interest payments on the debt will exceed our spending on defense.....
Interest costs on US national debt to exceed defense spending by 2028
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I see lots of references to Republicans as being "MAGA's". I can infer that we should refer to all Democrats as being "Dylan's"?
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30 minutes ago, The Frankish Reich said:
This is an awful trend.
I have some familiarity with educational systems in Europe; very little with educational systems in Asia or other parts of the world.
They tend to "track" students much earlier, separating out the high achievers from those that are struggling. We have a more egalitarian focus in America. That continues straight through high school and university. We want to give late bloomers a chance. Unlike the UK, you don't specialize (by taking A levels) in particular disciplines before going to college. And unlike the UK, you aren't accepted into a particular degree program (with some minor exceptions), so you don't even have to declare a major until your second or third year. There's something valuable in all of that.
But ... we have to live in the real world too. There are a lot of disciplined/bright kids who will be going into STEM fields who will be adversely impacted by trying to push everyone into an easier math sequence. My perception (and our educators are welcome to jump in here to agree/disagree): we pretty much know which kids may have a STEM future and which kids don't by the time they do hit 8th grade. Tracking shouldn't be a bad word. We should give a kid every opportunity to catch up. But catching up doesn't mean slowing down the talented/dedicated kids.
We are in a weird place in America. Nobody ever suggests that the little kid sports team rules - everybody plays on the same team, regardless of ability - should carry through to high school. I would have played varsity football if that had been the rule, and believe me, I had no business even thinking about playing varsity football. Same thing with other skills: ballet, music, theater, whatever. But when it comes to academics we are afraid to admit that different kids have different talent levels in writing/math, etc. My kids' private school even stopped publishing the Honor Rolls (which, taking into account all 3 levels and grade inflation, probably included 85% of all students), but it had no problem publishing individual stats for the basketball teams. Why?
I agree that it is an awful trend. As you indicated all of us have strengths and weaknesses that are innate. Trying to level the playing field is never going to change that.
I find this especially troubling in an affluent city like Cambridge, MA that can afford to do a lot. Rather than raise everyone up they are lowering standards to the point of limiting the future academic options of students. The well off in Cambridge will simply hire tutors or send their children to a private school so this only hurts the middle and lower classes. I bet the number of children of Harvard and MIT faculty not taking AP classes is somewhere between zero and none.
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No AP Math in Cambridge MA Middle Schools, the home of Harvard and MIT...
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6 hours ago, Doc Brown said:
This first list was created in 2007
. Sixteen years ago. The second was created by some random guy named Chris in 2012. It's pry why no movies in the last 15 years made the top 100 list.
Twenty-one movies made in the last 15 years made the top 100 of the IMDB 250 list. My personal favorites were The Dark Knight, Interstellar, Django Unchained, and Inglorious Basterds. Big Nolan and Tarantino fan though.
What the heck, I made the poor assumption that the lists were at least somewhat updated! Thanks for correcting my oversight!
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20 minutes ago, redtail hawk said:
Great films. Probably some ancient critic in silk pajamas writing a list of his favorites. Lot's of nostalgia. But his days are done and he doesn't like the new stuff. There are great artists living and producing right now. Our collective creativity didn't plummet 20 years ago.
Agreed there is likely some age bias on both lists but I have a hard time thinking of a movie made in the past 10 years that I felt was a "great" movie. Looking back at the 70's, 80's and 90's there were many movies that I would consider great (not that my opinion means anything).
I believe that at some point Hollywood started focusing more on money and less about Oscar's and the quality of the films. I feel many of the current movies (particularly Marvel and DC) are rinse and repeat. The younger crowd is good with that, but I don't find the genre interesting enough to see them in theatre when in a year they'll be streaming.
Would love to see a list of recent movies anyone would recommend. Some of the movies I would consider classics/favorites....
70's:
Patton
Godfather
Jaws
Apocalypse Now
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Star Wars
Rocky
80's:
ET
Raiders of the Lost Ark (the only good one)
Platoon
Terminator
Back to the Future (the first one)
Ghostbusters
Blade Runner
90's:
Sixth Sense
Shawshank
Schindler's List
Forest Gump
Titanic
The Game
Silence of the Lambs
Saving Private Ryan
2000's:
Gladiator
Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring
A Beautiful Mind
The Dark Night
Black Hawk Down
2010+:
Interstellar
Moneyball
The Big Short
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The 100 best movies of all time according to the American Film Institue.
AFI'S 100 YEARS...100 MOVIES — 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
The 100 best movies of all time according to IMDB.
Top 100 Greatest Movies of All Time (The Ultimate List)
How many movies have come out of Hollywood in the last 15 years that made either list? Zero, that's right with all the movies currently being pumped out not a single movie in the last 15 years made either list of "100 Greatest Movies". These types of rankings are subjecting but it's clear that the quality of the product coming out of Hollywood has declined.
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6 hours ago, Big Blitz said:
Spot on - and as an American that grew up loving movies and going to the theater because the blockbusters were big events from movies like T2 to Independence Day to Jurassic Park to the Matrix - and even The Blair Witch Project and being blown away did not see coming the twist in The Sixth Sense - it’s just both infuriating and sad what they’ve done.
All great movies, loved The Game as it made you think like the Sixth Sense!
Now half of what comes out is Marvell and DC nonsense with the same storyline. Something bad happens, hero(s) get in trouble, some moronic middle school humor, lots of CGI, hero(s) win with a stupid quote at the end "the earth will always be better than mars because of what we do".🤮
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37 minutes ago, The Frankish Reich said:
I doubt that Americans will hold Joe's ne'er do well son against him. If anything, we are now too tolerant, too unwilling to blame parents for anything. The consensus seems to be a but for the grace of God that would be me attitude.
Now that's separate and apart from the idea that Joe and family profited from Hunter's sleazy deals...
I agree that it won't matter to younger voters. I think it does matter to parents as many believe there is no better reflection of someone than their children.
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1 hour ago, B-Man said:
Sorry Democrats, Hunter Biden Is Absolutely on the Ballot in 2024.
An investigation into who left cocaine at the White House wound down this week with the Secret Service throwing up its hands in defeat having failed to identify the culprit. It brought President Biden’s scandal-plagued son is back into the headlines, something that’s become a regular occurrence.
There was the laptop filled with pictures of Hunter smoking crack and having sex with prostitutes, then a sweetheart plea deal over tax evasion and a gun charge, and the daughter he fathered out of wedlock who he barred from using his name and whom his father, the President, refuses to acknowledge.
And then there was the phone call he made extorting a Chinese business partner while Joe Biden was vice president. “I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,” Hunter wrote.
How much of a liability is Hunter to his father’s 2024 chances?
The Democrats like to cast Hunter as a distraction from his father’s record. But they are deluding themselves. Hunter isn’t just a liability due to his proximity to the President. He’s proof of the double standard at the core of Biden’s career, which might be summed up as, “For my friends, mercy; for my enemies, the law.”
https://www.newsweek.com/sorry-democrats-hunter-biden-absolutely-ballot-2024-opinion-1813109
I think Hunter is going to be a liability but for a different reason than mentioned in the article. Most Americans are resigned to the fact that there are different tiers to the justice system based on wealth or the political power of the offender. It isn't right, but after seeing justice not served repeatedly Americans sadly expect that.
Where Hunter will be a liability is in his complete lack of moral character and how that reflects on Joe and Jill as parents. I understand sometimes people have kids that lose their way but we're talking about someone who; uses illegal drugs, sleeps with hookers, broke gun laws, broke tax laws, had an affair with his dead brother's widow, tried to blackmail foreign companies for money, had a child with a stripper and doesn't have a relationship with the child.
The first responsibility of every parent is to raise their child and prepare them for life. Joe and Jill have failed in this regard and Hunter is a reflection of them. I could see this influencing the "family values" and "soccer mom" demographics.
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15 hours ago, John from Riverside said:
Do you think that tourists are padded down entering common areas?
a metal detector would of course not pick it up
come on man
Our family visited the WH roughly 10 years ago on a vacation to DC. We had to remove our shoes and all our belongings from our pockets before being scanned from multiple angles (I believe it was a low energy x-ray scan). Security was walking up and down the visitor waiting line with a dog which I assume was there to detect drugs/chemicals/explosives. I have a hard time seeing how a bag of cocaine could have entered the WH through the tourist entrance provided the same security procedures are in place today.
On a separate note, the WH visit was the worst part of the trip. Even though we had an "appointment time" the line was terribly long, and the security screening process was over the top. Once we were inside the WH there was no tour or guide there to answer questions, just a "stiff" security person standing between every couple of rooms. So, the tour ended up being self-guided and you walked from room to room as you made your way to the exit. The kids were like "so we've been standing here for 3 hours to spend 5 minutes walking through a bunch or rooms".
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20 minutes ago, TSOL said:
So you're saying it's a good time to buy?
The smart money never fully left the market. Anyone foolish enough to completely leave the market missed the opportunity to make at least 15% on their investments YTD.
I really care about stock market returns and investing hence the reason why I'm retired and in my mid 50's.
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4 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:
I couldn’t care less who brought cocaine into the White House. The utterly amazing part is that it got into the building without someone being arrested on the spot! Will anyone be fired? I’m guessing not.
This is a real bad look for the Secret Service and the security for government buildings in general. There is only one of two truths here. Either it is easy to smuggle white powder into the White House (and get away with it) or they are covering for the administration.
Honestly, I'm not sure which is worse. Imagine the possibilities besides cocaine such as anthrax, fentanyl, etc. I suspect due to the perceived lack of security with the current outcome every nutjob with a grudge is going to attempt to bring "bad things" into government buildings.
On second thought I'd probably feel better if they just came out and said they were covering for the administration.
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3 hours ago, The Frankish Reich said:
Yes, it would be.
Even better: stop trying to prop up local economies that time has passed by. We hate to see it happen, the slow death of a marginal community. But it is happening regardless of what the governments do. Back when Republicans like to call themselves "the party of ideas," there was an idea here: give people money to move away from dying localities to the parts of the country that are thriving and desperate for workers. It made sense.
You know what happened to that idea? The realignment of party coalitions happened, with rural America voting Republican. What are the chances that Mitch McConnell would approve of a plan that gave Appalachian Kentuckians the means to resettle in Texas? In Idaho? Slim and none. So both the Republicans and the Democrats must continue to subsidize their base voters: rural/small town Americans for Republicans, even if they're in a dying local economy; urban Americans in rust belt cities for Democrats.
I agree that both parties are to blame in the subsidy of their constituents. Somewhere along the way "bringing home the bacon" took the place of responsible governance which is unfortunate. I think many of these economically depressed communities could stand a chance if government could give them the proper support and not "put in a sidewalk", "build a gym" or "paint over a dirty curb".
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Was back in NYS a couple of weeks ago. Spent time along the I-86 corridor from Elmira to Salamanca and even had the chance to do some fishing in the finger lakes. It was good to see the area and family.
I was in Canisteo more than anywhere which I noticed is finishing some considerable construction. Apparently, there is a project funded by the state as follows.....
"New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez announced the beginning of an $8.6 million project to modernize State Routes 36 and 248 in the Village of Canisteo. The transformative project will resurface the roadways, add sidewalks, create dedicated turning lanes and make other improvements that will enhance safety and facilitate travel along two key thoroughfares that help connect Canisteo to the entire Southern Tier Region as well as the City of Hornell to the north. New lighting and updates to Canisteo’s downtown park will also improve the aesthetic appeal of the historic village and promote tourism."
Changes Coming To Routes 36 And 248 In Canisteo
The project is nearing completion and seeing the work performed I have to ask why. The improvements to routes 36/248 are repaving and new curbs which in no way improved the travel along these lightly travelled roads. The village square was modified, with new sidewalks put in on Greenwood and Main Streets. I don't see how the changes made will revitalize the town or "promote tourism". It's really silly to see new roads and sidewalks being constructed in front of boarded up homes and businesses. Even if the project had improved traffic congestion is it necessary in an area that is losing population?
The project reminds me of third world countries that will "paint over" curbs to pretty up cities prior to major events. These "paint over" economies never really improve the underlying economic issue, they just make enough surface changes to keep the populace happy. When I see NYS doing this to towns and schools (some of the schools in the Southern Tier are impressive) I can't help but feel the same way. Don't improve the local economies, just build some crap to appease the residents.
Wouldn't it have been better for NYS to use the $8.6 million to attract businesses/jobs to the area so an economically stable town can perform this work themselves?
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36 minutes ago, Wacka said:
Report today that Biden is yelling and swearing at all his aides. Getting closer to end stage dementia. My mother started physically fighting with all of us the last couple of years whenever we would try to dress her in the morning or for bed.
More than a few sources reporting that today. Last year he lost his temper with Zelensky, per NBC.....
Biden lost temper with Zelenskyy in June phone call when Ukrainian leader asked for more aid
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"In turbines built in 2023, more than 40% of gearboxes will need to be replaced after 20 years of project life, according to ONYX, along with over 20% of main bearings and more than 5% of blades."
Stock dropped 37% in June, I wonder how many ESG clowns have Siemens Energy in their portfolio?
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At least NYS wasn't stupid enough to spend a lot of money on the factory. They only spent $1 billion dollars......
Elon Musk’s $1B NY solar panel factory is reportedly a ‘boondoggle’ for taxpayers
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43 minutes ago, Tiberius said:
The hottest day on record has a sample size of....44 years! Glacial cycles are roughly 10,000 years in length, but we're supposed to be concerned about an event that occurred in a sample size of 44 years. Heck the sample size is smaller than the Bills have been around, ha ha ha ha!
Earth hit an unofficial record high temperature this week – and stayed there
"And for the seven-day period ending Wednesday, the daily average temperature was .08 degrees Fahrenheit (.04 degrees Celsius) higher than any week in 44 years of record-keeping..."
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2 hours ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:
Isnt that particular bird symbolic of something they hate?For sure, if the yellow-bellied sap sucker was impacted, they would be protesting!
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So how does the green crowd feel about wind farms knowing that they will impact the bald eagle population in WNY?
Years after saving the bald eagle, 82 of them could be killed in NY wind farm projects
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Don't worry, the protests will diminish once France is on their month-long August vacation. The French are quick to protest unless it interferes with their time off.
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1 hour ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:
Had never heard the association with reckless drivers.
But I see the phenomenon for sure of brand image problems resulting from your users’ behaviors….
I was pointing one out to redtail the other day… in UK Stella is considered the wife beater beer, I’m sure that hurts sales.
BMW ≠ Volkswagen
Maybe it's a New England thing? I keep showing her pictures of the 440 and she likes it until she finds out it's a BMW, it's killing me! Like Chris indicated, perception become reality.
Then again who am I to talk, I would never buy a Harley because it rhymes with farley!
Kidding kidding!
😃
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Biden's follies
in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
Posted
This is the real problem with trying to link Trump to any Russian collusion. The indisputable fact that the Clinton campaign manufactured evidence through Steele has poisoned the "Russian Collusion" well. Once this was disclosed to the American people, any further investigations of the matter were viewed skeptically. In retrospect, the Clinton campaign's interference may be what ultimately killed any potentially pertinent investigation.