now i’m no expert or anything….
by problembear
maybe some of you experts and detail oriented eggheads can chime in on this open thread. i promise i won’t butt in today and share more of my ignorance….but just some thoughts that have been rattling around in my bear brain (it is great to be a dumb bear because i am too stupid to be afraid of any idea that occurs to me) ….instead of spending another trillion bucks on a countrywide stimulus why don’t we…
dumb bearQ#1-why doesn’t congress rescind all the tax penalties for using retirement accounts to pay off our homes, credit cards, vehicles etc????.seems like that would be a much quicker way to get the economy rolling again, and it would put lots more money into circulation on the local level…
dumb bear Q#2. what with paying bills online and electronic check deposits it seems like mail snails don’t have anything worthwhile to pack around in those mail bags to residential customers anymore. 99.67% of the mail i receive at home is just junk mail and periodicals. Now i realize businesses still use the USPS to bill customers and receive payment but couldn’t UPS or Fedex do that more efficiently for the few customers who cannot get bills online? How much would it save to just shut the USPS down? it seems like a part of government that just doesn’t work anymore.
dumb bear Q#3. if we closed down the USPS couldn’t we take some of that money we are wasting to deliver junk mail all over the country to convert the post office buildings into something worthwhile- like free wellness health clinics? or homeless shelters? or…?
I am declaring myself blocked from this thread…discuss…
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January 31, 2009 at 11:02 pm
How about slashing the pentagon budget. These foreign military adventures are costly, and seem to have the negative consequence of actually making the world LESS safe.
No more “aid” or war toys for Israel until they abandon their illegal settlements and return to their pre-’67 borders.
Invest in renewable energy like the future depends on it, because it does. We can put humans on the moon, but still bump around with combustion engines? That’s just dumb.
Speaking of exploring space, maybe we should put that kind of stuff on hold until we can ensure that civilization as we know it won’t collapse.
Pass legislation declaring corporate tax evasion a treasonous crime, then retake control of our money supply from the private entity known as The Federal Reserve.
Invest heavily in local food production and give tax credits to encourage sustainable building practices.
Force apart the corporate media conglomerates that brainwash the citizenry to protect their giant parent company’s bottomline. And couldn’t we find something more productive for folks to do than advertising?
End the war on drugs, and focus resources on rehabilitative efforts. Criminalizing addiction has been a very costly policy to enforce, and it doesn’t work. Unless filling prisons, seizing property, and making sure there is a lucrative black market for alphabet agencies to subsidize their off-the-books behavior is the whole point.
I don’t need to be an expert to make these suggestions. Honestly, it just seems like common sense to me. Sure, there has been a long process of normalization at work to make some of the above suggestions appear “radical,” but as the insanity of our economic and military clusterfucks come sharply into focus, hopefully more people will realize there are positive, drastic measures that can be taken.
On the flip side, there are also a whole different set of negative, drastic measures that may be offered in the years to come if we don’t start getting our shit together now.
I do think dwelling on those, for lack of a better term, fascist possibilities is counterproductive (though I am often guilty of doing just that) but denying those possibilities actually increases the chance we will trade our remaining liberties for the assurances of a tyrant.
February 1, 2009 at 9:08 am
Abolition of private property.
Heavy progressive income tax.
Abolition of all rights of inheritance.
Confiscation of all property of emigrants and rebels.
Central bank.
Government control of communication & transportation.
Govt. ownership of factories and agriculture.
Govt. control of labor.
Corporate farms, regional planning.
Govt. control of education.
Sound familiar?
February 1, 2009 at 9:15 am
^ So you are calling for the abolition of private property? Why?
February 1, 2009 at 10:28 am
Absolutely not, Jim. But wouldn’t you think we’re headed in that direction. For instance, you own a piece of property. The Govt (state/city/county/zoning/DNRC?) mandates what you can or can’t do with said property. Any improvements or construction must be approved and permits paid before inspected work. You can’t sell off parcels, without incurring large debt, and property taxes continue to rise, making you feel that maybe we’re just tenants.
On a scale of one-being totally free, and ten-govt owned I’m thinking we’re an eight, especially in urbania.
Oh, and by the way, my original comment were for the more “progressives” that hang here, and appreciate the “bullet points” of the Communist Manifesto.
February 1, 2009 at 11:11 am
I get it, you aren’t here to actually respond to what people say, or engage in a discussion, you’re just trolling, using strawmen for bait, to try to get a ‘rise’ out of people. And I fell for it!
Mea culpa.
February 1, 2009 at 11:25 am
Add DEQ, MDT and FWP to that list Big Swede – I mean, if you’re going to list stuff.
You’re one of those guys that wants a free-for-all until someone wants to put a pig farm next to you, and then your down at everyone one of those offices complaining about your private property rights and your private property values, and so on and so on.
People like you are a dime a dozen….only you don’t see it. You’re so stuck in dogma. It’s all black-and-white to you. Until its you.
February 1, 2009 at 2:41 pm
BS was just waking up from a wet dream, Jim Lang. He’s a closet liberal.
February 1, 2009 at 3:29 pm
big swede is part of the clandestine stealth wing of the progressives new tactic of posing as reprehensible republicans with ridiculous and irrelevant comments…
February 1, 2009 at 4:01 pm
I’m not endorsing the wanton placement of pig farms nor do I think properties owners should have to seek approval of numerous Alphabet soup agencies. What I’m trying to avoid is what happening in larger cities, wanton plunder. Take this couple for instance.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003027116_permitfees30m.html
But more importantly, more restrictions, costs and delays raises not only the price of new developments and homes but raises rent and home prices of everyone.
February 1, 2009 at 9:51 pm
“I am declaring myself blocked from this thread…”
pb, what happened? typing while hibernating? you should lay off the Lunesta. ;-) though i find your alliteration little irritation to the illogical illustrations of the illuminati
“reprehensible republicans with ridiculous and irrelevant comments”
hehe
February 1, 2009 at 10:00 pm
forgot jc(thanks for reminding me) – sorry there swede. my bad. should never touch tequila on super bowl sunday…i will install a tazer trigger on the keyboard to zap me if i ever try to comment on this thead again…promise…
February 2, 2009 at 12:31 am
why we should actually be thanking George W. Bush for all his hard work
February 2, 2009 at 9:17 am
Lizard,I would like to throw a few thoughts out there regarding your post. The Federal Reserve ain’t going anywhere. If you had control of all the money would you ever let go? I think not. To suggest reforming this agency usually gets Presidents a bullet in the head,(I think Kennedy suggested it or maybe Lincoln, or maybe both).
The Penatgon budget swings around wildly through different administrations. I think Jimmy Carter effectively reigned in military spending, only to be judged as a ‘wimpy” president. It’s tough to really stop military contractors from getting our tax dollars because they are so effective at corrupting our elected officials. It’s also a heady high for our country to have the biggest dick in the world, when it comes to making stuff to kill anyone we want to. I don’t think we can do much to these guys except make small budget cuts until we can eliminate the need for thier deadly hardware. Really if it saves one North Dakota farm boy from dying, I say spend whatever. The local farm investment initiative you advocate sounds like a great idea. Might stop people from dying at mexican restaraunts. It also just makes sense to grow our own food. I would approach my local representatives with this idea, or maybe local farm co-ops would have a lobby.
The war on drugs is a dismal failure and a joke. But the truth is American parents are keeping thier kids off drugs with a whip and a chair. Any easing up on penalties for drug users/dealers would be unpopular among politicians who would fear the reprisals of mom and dad. If you could see the result of a drug legal society,(like Amsterdam), you might reconsider. Junkies sleeping in public parks and needles on sidewalks. It’s really pretty nasty. Anyway the legal drug trade is just as bad. Half the people walking around are using, they just tell themselves it’s okay because the Dr. gave it to them. Your right somethings gotta give, we have 2 1/2 million people locked up.
Pbear, your right about the Tequila, jhwygirl brought a bottle on a vist once and I lost a weekend. That lethal poison should be regulated like heroin.