tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post6221008654029666227..comments2023-10-30T09:23:42.803-05:00Comments on Some Assembly Required: SAR #10085Charles Kingsley Michaelson, IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364694465614330540noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-28408713814640914162010-03-30T09:46:02.881-05:002010-03-30T09:46:02.881-05:00That's what "they" want you to think...That's what "they" want you to think, Fajenson. It's the conspiracy theory conspiracy! And now that we're into recursive conspiracies, I must go off and adjust my tin foil hat. Bet you didn't know a penguin could wear a tin foil hat, didjya?<br /><br />- Badtux the Snarky PenguinBadTuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01345749557330760251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-44272843190541815092010-03-30T09:38:20.878-05:002010-03-30T09:38:20.878-05:00Hehe - their current government is an oligarchic s...Hehe - <i>their current government is an oligarchic strongman rule with some democratic sprinkles on top for PR purposes</i> <br /><br />Now replace "strongman" with "bankers cartel" ... you see? <br /><br />The Republican/Democrat issue is just noise and circus: they both serve the same oligarch masters!fajensennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-26353381653770770372010-03-29T12:21:05.488-05:002010-03-29T12:21:05.488-05:00BadTux/fajensen, et al. I think BadTux is partly ...BadTux/fajensen, et al. I think BadTux is partly correct, that Social Security will still be here 20 years hence. I differ in that I suspect that long before then the people will get rid of their cowering fear of the very, very rich and the very rich and tax their way to Social Security solvency. It doesn't take much - just treat all income as income (interest, dividends,cap gains, theft from the government)and tax it all both as income tax and as social security taxes - and maybe push the rate of ss taxes up progressively just as the income taxes should be. Once we get our voices back... You want means testing? Fine, max payout based on 3Xaverage income or some such, or even negatively progressive with asset increase.<br /><br />ckmCharles Kingsley Michaelson, IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04364694465614330540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-60357722538641286182010-03-29T10:25:32.469-05:002010-03-29T10:25:32.469-05:00The biggest similarity between the U.S. and post-S...The biggest similarity between the U.S. and post-Soviet Yeltsen-era Russia (the Russia which quit paying pensions) is that the U.S. government has become increasingly dysfunctional over the past thirty years of Reaganomics, where Republican ideas of "torch the government" have held sway. <br /><br />The biggest difference is that the U.S., despite that, still does have a functioning political system that is to a great extent democratic. Russia has never had real democracy -- their current government is an oligarchic strongman rule with some democratic sprinkles on top for PR purposes. A functional democracy has a hard time with condemning millions of its own people to death. That has never been a problem in Russia, all the way back to the time of the Tsars condemning millions to death was a "eh, no big deal" thing to the strongmen who've ruled the country. <br /><br />Republicans have been trying to destroy Social Security ever since Alf Landon ran on a platform of eliminating Social Security in 1936... and was roundly trounced. It's still around, in case you haven't noticed. I expect Social Security to still be around twenty years from now when I retire too, although I suspect it will not be paying the full promised benefits.BadTuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01345749557330760251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-44984892094316428612010-03-29T10:12:02.274-05:002010-03-29T10:12:02.274-05:00Social Security may not be around. The Russian gov...Social Security may not be around. The Russian government just stopped paying pensions, millions of people without family to support them just died. <br /><br />The life-expectancy of the Russians dropped by ten years as a consequence. The US is on the exact same path at Russia, IMO!fajensennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-91966595995195129572010-03-26T23:07:59.664-05:002010-03-26T23:07:59.664-05:00So says an Anonymous who has not read Irving Fishe...So says an Anonymous who has not read Irving Fisher's paper. Anonymous, Google the term "Irving Fisher Debt Deflation" why doncha? It explains perfectly why the deflationary event of a stock market crash set off the Great Depression -- 100% correspondence between what it says, and what actually happened, no theorizing required. <br /><br />Regarding retirement, what is a pension? I came of age after pensions went the way of dodo birds. I have never worked for a company that offered a pension plan in my whole entire working life. And like most Americans, I have negligible retirement savings. What that means is that Social Security better be around, or everybody of my generation is going to be dying in the streets. If our children and grandchildren want to throw granny and granpa under the wheels by refusing to fund Social Security, there isn't going to be anything else for my generation to fall back on, because every other retirement safety net that ever existed has been systematically destroyed over the past thirty years by greedy corporations and Wall Street goons eager to funnel that money into the hands of individuals who could be fleeced, rather than leave it in the hands of expert investors who could spot fraud and corporate malfeasance. So it goes...BadTuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01345749557330760251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-34812410615024228612010-03-26T17:35:41.888-05:002010-03-26T17:35:41.888-05:00"We fear inflation because we are unable to i..."We fear inflation because we are unable to imagine deflation."<br /><br />And because I can imagine it, I don't fear it and, in fact, much desire it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com