Mt. Debtmore

[Mr Neutron]

We didn't get a deal to cut spending. We got a deal to INCREASE spending by $7 Trillion over the next 10 years, instead of $9.5 Trillion.

 

[undertheice]

oh, but we'll have no end of whining that we didn't increase our debt load enough and that the only way to climb out of a hole is to keep digging deeper. eventually i suppose we'll come out on the other side, unless the flat earthers are right. the next alteration to the monument you've depicted will be all four pairs of trousers neatly rolled down to mid-thigh and the people's puckered lips poised for a none too delicate kiss.

 

[jeff f]

oh, but we'll have no end of whining that we didn't increase our debt load enough and that the only way to climb out of a hole is to keep digging deeper. eventually i suppose we'll come out on the other side, unless the flat earthers are right. the next alteration to the monument you've depicted will be all four pairs of trousers neatly rolled down to mid-thigh and the people's puckered lips poised for a none too delicate kiss.

right from china i presume....we are fucked. well at least our kids are.

 

[BendBrewer]

Bush could have paid China off in full. He cut taxes instead. Hell, Bush could have paid off all of our foriegn debt with that projected $5.6 Trillion Surplus of his.

Remember that?!?!?!?

 

[GreatwhiteNorth]

Not only are we fucking up things in North America, but for the entire world (well, except for China).

MOSCOW -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told pro-Kremlin activists at a youth camp on August 1 that the United States was behaving like a "parasite" on the world economy.

The remarks, made just as the U.S. Congress was preparing to vote on raising the country's debt limit, were delivered at the monthlong summer camp on Lake Seliger for pro-Kremlin groups such as Nashi and the Young Guard.
Putin said the United States was "living in debt and this, for one of the leading economies in the world, is very bad. This means that they don't live within their means and are shifting some of the burden of their own problems onto the entire global economy. To a certain extent, they are parasites on the global economy and their own monopoly on the dollar."

 

[420God]

 

[BendBrewer]

The vast majority of our debt is owed to Americans and American institutions. Not sure why everyone is so afraid of China.

"At Least I Am Enjoying The Ride..........."

 

[undertheice]

MOSCOW -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told pro-Kremlin activists at a youth camp on August 1 that the United States was behaving like a "parasite" on the world economy.

as much as i cringe at russian rhetoric, he does have a point. for decades the u.s. has been a driving force behind world-wide industry and advancement and we now find ourselves being regulated into obscurity and dependence. like lemmings, we are following the wave of populist mediocrity. we are heedless of the cliff ahead, even as we watch so many other nations of the western world, similarly enamored with the promises of some worker's paradise, rush headlong into insolvency and endless debt.

that the prime minister conveniently forgets his own nation led this march toward parasitism is beside the point. that he ignores the fact that the breakup of the soviet union was followed by cries for relief from a population so abused by authoritarian rule and mismanagement, cries that were quickly answered by their western neighbors, is no excuse for our following in those quasi-marxist footsteps. there is no excuse for abandoning the path of individual liberties for that of the society and its representatives as the only true good.

 

[BendBrewer]

for decades the u.s. has been a driving force behind world-wide industry and advancement and we now find ourselves being regulated into obscurity and dependence

How do explain the fact the there have been more innovations in the incandescent light bulb in the last 3 years than during the previous 30?

Regulation can lead to innovation.

 

[undertheice]

Regulation can lead to innovation.

at what cost? the authoritarian statist crap has been stacking up pretty high around here lately and not once have any of you considered the price we pay for being led by the nose to do what some consider to be right. what you hand us are excuses and the occasional silver lining behind the clouds of mediocrity. what you propose is the remolding of the american ethos, leading us from the path of an individualist philosophy into a herd mentality. that herd consists of the very parasites of which putin spoke, whether he realizes it or not. blind obedience to an increasingly regulatory state lies down the path you propose and, after that, the realization that those we are forced to follow have led us down a blind alley and are sneaking off with all we have relinquished to them. all that regulation leads to is the limiting of choice.

 

[BendBrewer]

at what cost? the authoritarian statist crap has been stacking up pretty high around here lately and not once have any of you considered the price we pay for being led by the nose to do what some consider to be right. what you hand us are excuses and the occasional silver lining behind the clouds of mediocrity. what you propose is the remolding of the american ethos, leading us from the path of an individualist philosophy into a herd mentality. that herd consists of the very parasites of which putin spoke, whether he realizes it or not. blind obedience to an increasingly regulatory state lies down the path you propose and, after that, the realization that those we are forced to follow have led us down a blind alley and are sneaking off with all we have relinquished to them. all that regulation leads to is the limiting of choice.

I guess you are the kind of person that wants lead in your gas and paint too. I guess I can understand the fears that you are explaining I just don't succumb to them. It takes a great deal of time and work to create even the most common sense regulations. I'm not going to piss my pants over hypotheticals.

Feel free though.

 

[bigbillyrocka]

oh, but we'll have no end of whining that we didn't increase our debt load enough and that the only way to climb out of a hole is to keep digging deeper. eventually i suppose we'll come out on the other side, unless the flat earthers are right. the next alteration to the monument you've depicted will be all four pairs of trousers neatly rolled down to mid-thigh and the people's puckered lips poised for a none too delicate kiss.

other side as in China?

 

[undertheice]

I'm not going to piss my pants over hypotheticals.

hypotheticals? there's nothing hypothetical about the herd mentality and blind obedience that lies down your chosen path. take a look at your own post and you can see the sycophantic nature of your reverence for our leaders. according to you, it takes a great deal of time and work to create even the most common sense regulations. "common sense" regulations, which by their very nature are self-evident, require our beloved representatives how much time and effort to craft? what takes the time and effort is turning common sense into a nearly undecipherable swamp of special interest favors and power grabs. the common sense was there for the taking.

 

[BendBrewer]

I get it. You want lead in your gasoline. Too bad.

 

[GreatwhiteNorth]

One only needs to delve into our own CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) books to really see how difficult things can be made.
Or better yet, any and all business's working for the Federal Govt must now be registered on the beloved Central Contractors Registration website, brought to you by the same people that gave us the tax code, and about as decipherable.

 

[jeff f]

as much as i cringe at russian rhetoric, he does have a point. for decades the u.s. has been a driving force behind world-wide industry and advancement and we now find ourselves being regulated into obscurity and dependence. like lemmings, we are following the wave of populist mediocrity. we are heedless of the cliff ahead, even as we watch so many other nations of the western world, similarly enamored with the promises of some worker's paradise, rush headlong into insolvency and endless debt.

that the prime minister conveniently forgets his own nation led this march toward parasitism is beside the point. that he ignores the fact that the breakup of the soviet union was followed by cries for relief from a population so abused by authoritarian rule and mismanagement, cries that were quickly answered by their western neighbors, is no excuse for our following in those quasi-marxist footsteps. there is no excuse for abandoning the path of individual liberties for that of the society and its representatives as the only true good.

that may have well been written by one of the brilliant forefathers.

briliantly said and right on the money.

lemmings is too kind of a word for those who think we are on the right path.

liberty is beautiful. what we are witnessing right now.....is something else.

keep preaching bro, people are listening.

 

[jeff f]

How do explain the fact the there have been more innovations in the incandescent light bulb in the last 3 years than during the previous 30?

Regulation can lead to innovation.

it sure motivated the chinese.

if you even started to make a company to produce floro bulbs in the US, the environmental douche bags would shut you down because of mercury....in about 5 seconds.

by enviromental douche bags....i mean leftist like you.

 

[jeff f]

How do explain the fact the there have been more innovations in the incandescent light bulb in the last 3 years than during the previous 30?

Regulation can lead to innovation.

and just to be clear Mr clueless, there have been zero innovations in the incandescet light bulb....they are illegal.

 

[jeff f]

I guess you are the kind of person that wants lead in your gas and paint too. I guess I can understand the fears that you are explaining I just don't succumb to them. It takes a great deal of time and work to create even the most common sense regulations. I'm not going to piss my pants over hypotheticals.

Feel free though.

hypotheticals? thats funny. buy an american made floro or better yet, try to start a light bulb factory making them in the US.

your hypotheticals are brilliant.

oh, and if they are available, YOU dont buy them. you buy chinese or somekind of off shore product. and i am willing to bet my daughters life on that.

 

[mame]

Over 95% of rare minerals (phosphers, etc) needed to make flourescent lightbulbs are mined in China; China controls the exports of these goods as well as total production... Making CFLs in the U.S. isn't economically viable due to this - even if you ignore other factors like labor costs, etc.

Read this article, I received something similar in letter form from multiple vendors recently:

http://prioritylighting.com/2011/06/phosphors-price-increase/

here's a couple tidbits from the article:

Lamp manufacturers are predicting record price increases in CFL light bulbs mainly due to the emerging shortage of rare earth metals used in their production- principally, phosphors. This shortage of metals is caused by a strategic reduction in exports by China, the world’s current and dominant leader in rare earth mining. In October, the Chinese announced plans to not only cut their production, but also to reduce exports by one-third. Since China currently produces 95% of the world’s total output of rare elements, the threat of global shortages is suddenly real and critical.

Because of its state-supported mining industry, China has largely made it impossible for the U.S. and other nations to compete in the marketplace. Because China controls the world’s output, they also control pricing and availability, making the large industries who are dependent on the metals, vulnerable.

edit: it really only matters in the short term though, because CFLs are transitory... LEDs will be cheap enough to compete within a few years and we wont be at the mercy of China(because they dont contain phosphers).