Let's send everyone $1 million.
Let's close down all the schools.
Let's get rid of all taxes.
Let's borrow and print as much money as we can.
F*ck the kids.
Who cares about $60 trillion in debt and IOUs?
We want our flat screen TV's dammit!
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
- Thomas Jefferson
Posts
45 comments:
>...wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Where was that kind of talk during the election. McCain gave a little, but by and large the people are too stupid to connect with this message. Far too many are only thinking "who's going to give me free stuff". pathetic
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
- Thomas Jefferson"
Why were politicians back then so smart and are so corrupt and ignorant today? The answer might be that today we have career politicians that know very little about the real world. All they is how to connect with lobbyists. Possible solution, term limits on all politicians. But of course they wouldn't legislate themselves out of business.
Keith, the vision is gone.
When Obama was running, he was running on a vague platform... that of hope. I'd never understood what that had meant. In many ways, his speech at the DNC in '04 said it all, populist rhetoric doesn't work, "I don't see Red States and Blue States, I see Red, White and Blue." For me, that was the day when I started to tune out rhetoricists, in general. In a way, it's like the McLaughlin hr but in a full time manner.
All and all, had he been talking about the science and engineering work of let's say Tesla's AC, the Hoover Dam, the Manhattan Project, and Apollo missions and then the types of industries spurned by it, I would have been impressed. Instead, it was a series of incongruent malarkies about this or that, which feed of people's emotions of needing to belong and have their voices heard. Here's the problem, one can't run a country on the revolving door of credit cycles because otherwise, it seizes to be a productive economy but that of a financial economy. Now, the problem is that the truth is out, a smooth talker isn't a real doer, that would involve both vision and the ability to organize resources. So as earlier, when you'd stated that Steve Jobs should run for President, I would tend to agree, that's a person who can take a vision and make it real. Unfortunately, DC not being a private corp, it's hard to exact a CEO's initiative so it has to filter through committees, etc.
Perhaps the current crisis explains that you cannot buffer wealth for future generations unless that wealth is knowlege or a functional environment. Even food only lasts a few seasons. How would we give a shit for future generations? Put it in a ziplock bag?
Folks, haven't you figure it out yet that you can only use money to make decisions now. You cannot "bank" against the future. That is an delusion that is being exposed and that is why we are in trouble.
Digital money and proxy economies are dead.
Don Payne
Absolutely.
What have the future generations done for me?
Nothing.
Screw them.
My generation is merely re-gifting onto the next generation the huge national debt gifted unto us by the boomers.
I dont think true Americans have that attitude but the people in power sure dont give a rats butt for our kids future...They are selling them into slavery.
Too bad that American history is not taught or emphasized in school anymore. The collective genius and foresight of the founders of this nation (with all of their flaws and shortcomings) cannot be overstated. They are just thought of as a bunch of rich, slave-owning white guys. Does anyone teach about Adam Smith and his famous book 'The Wealth of Nations'? This country has become a pathetic, self-centered, know-nothing know-it-all shell of it's former self. There is no bold, dynamic, visionary leadership today. Where is Teddy Roosevelt when you need hom?
That Mr. Jefferson was a pretty smart feller. Too bad the left seems to dismiss EVERYTHING he ever said because he had slaves.
It appears that America doesn't give a sh*t. But most of America doesn't know the severity of what is WRONG with this country. We hear bits and pieces but we don't see how it all fits together.
We need to be properly INFORMED.
Well, I'm not having any kids so I'm not too worried about future generations.
Does anyone know what time "Idol" is on tonight?
Oooh, I'm liking this idea. The government prints a million dollars for each of us, calls it a 'loan' to be paid off in oh, say, 200 years. And we all just go party. Crisis solved!
It DOES seem like people in all walks of life have lost the sense of what they should be doing. From corrupt lobbyist-owned politicians like every Republican plus Pelosi/Reid/Dodd/Schumer, to corporate execs who cook the books to make next quarter's numbers, to average workers who slack off, steal and scam instead of doing their jobs, there's a critical mass of Americans who are just plain crooked. Not everyone, of course, but a large enough proportion to fuck everything up. Greed, incompetence and thievery percolate through society. It's enough to drag the country under.
I'm always surprised that down here, in the land of the criminals' spawn, it's relatively honest. Aussies may be drunks, and they don't match the Protestant worker-drone ethic Americans have (or used to.) But there's not the same "Hey, that's not nailed down. Why don't I steal it? And if I can't steal it, I'll destroy it" attitude Americans have.
That's one of the reasons Australia can have a decent socialised health system. There aren't legions of doctors and medical suppliers scamming the system. People in general don't abuse their rights to get health care. The government officials in charge of running the system try to make it work effectively for the nation as a whole, instead of figuring out ways to steer big bucks to their campaign contributors in exchange for kickbacks in the form of "donations."
I see it even in little things, like a children's playground on the foreshore of South Melbourne Beach that has a nice awning over it to protect kids from the sun. Last time I drove by, I thought "In America, that would be slashed all to hell within a month, just because it was there."
It's a nice thing about being in a pipsqueak country where there's a sense of "mateship," like we're all in this together. It seems to me that the ethos in the U.S. is "I got mine, Jack, and if you don't watch out, I'll get yours, too."
In every society, in repeated instances, there comes a time of testing. Will the society get it together and get better, or will the underlying flaws cause it to fall apart like the I-35 bridge outside Minneapolis? America, this is your time of testing. Failure IS an option.
It worked for the Spaniards in the 17th century. They sat around fat and lazy, living off commodities pillaged from the New World. Americans today sit around fat and lazy, living off our pillage of the banking system.
Is this a great country or what?
President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday the deficit appears on track to hit $1 trillion soon. Speaking to reporters after meeting with top economic aides, Mr. Obama said: "Potentially we've got trillion-dollar deficits for years to come, even with the economic recovery that we are working on."
— Associated Press, Jan. 6
If you counted to a trillion out loud, one number per second, you’d have to clear your calendar for the next 31,688 years just to complete the task.
Unfunded future liabilities for the baby boomers are $62 trillion and growing each day.
Man, I sure hope this information doesn't get-out, there may be some really pissed-off voters out there.........!
It's all SPEND and SPEND and SPEND, like there's no tomorrow!
Maybe there will be no future generations! Does the Gove know something we don't know? It surely acts like the world is going to end in a few years.
Any insiders?
great picture keith!
i like the speech "the doer" which i think it's roosevelt in paris france. no ones cares about our past anymore!
rich in fl
F the children
The best thing you can do is TO CHANGE THE RULES DURING THE GAME ... well, i guess they can do the same thing (they have good teachers, isnt it ?). Everybody is betting on the fact that the future will be predictable and somehow you can predict the future from the past+present. The last years show me different ways. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
"Why were politicians back then so smart and are so corrupt and ignorant today?"
because they new what it was like to live under tyranny.
we are headed back to tyranny. future generations will get tired of it and become smart again.
it's all a cycle.
Piss on them.I'm too bust with my preaching.
"Bukko_in_Australia said...
It DOES seem like people in all walks of life have lost the sense of what they should be doing."
Hell of a nice post! Thank you.
I am embarrassed and ashamed to be an American.
I'm hoping the New American Revolution begins in my lifetime so I don't miss out on all the fun.
Start in Texas...
Keith asks: "Has America come to the point as a democracy that it doesn't give a sh*t about future generations?"
What future generations?
Heard Cramer this morning saying the bailout package sucked because it doesn't 'stabilize housing prices'. Said something like it was mostly a State budget/State pension fund bail out. Maybe that's so and that sucks to, but... better to prop up completely absurd housing prices, that's the magic bullet???... Almost lost my breakfast. No one knows has a clue as to what the f*ck to do. We're really toasted.
It's a nice thing about being in a pipsqueak country where there's a sense of "mateship," like we're all in this together. It seems to me that the ethos in the U.S. is "I got mine, Jack, and if you don't watch out, I'll get yours, too."
Bukko you just desribed how you ripped off the state of Californis and ran. Clownifornia is now in ruins and you believe you have escaped with your loot stolen from honest taxpayers. Don't be so eager to trash Americans for being corrupt. Government and the people working in government caused this mess by cashing in and running. That be you.
wow, he sounds like a true conservative republican.
is he going to run in 2012?
come on, Jefferson's statement is Sooooo 18th century. time moves one and people change, just like the constitution was meant to be re-interpreted by future generations activist judges applying modern day morals.
BO is such a moron talking about trillion dollar budget deficits in the years ahead.
We can't take that level of deficit spending any longer. it is breaking the entire world economy.
.
I think that 'most' still do care,
but taxing and regulating the citizenry to death doesn't help!
My taxes (your taxes) are helping(?) people around the world
Billions to Africa, Aide to this, money to that,
that's great...
Except we have 'Huge' problems here at home!
Our taxes are paying people literally not to work,
birth control,
Free medical care,
education for their mouth breathers
low income rate cuts for gas & elec
housing subsides,
more libraries that no one uses,
Hell they can't read!!!!
So as for future generations...
its gettin tough to pay for this lazy bunch we have Now,
let alone a future generation
.
You're much too generous, Keith.
We have become a kleptocracy; democracy left us years ago.
Yeah, my kids will have a heavy burden once this place self implodes. They will be part of the "pick up the pieces" generation for sure. All I can do is help guide them down the right path which is usually the road less traveled.
Thanks Alan Greenspan. My kids and their kids thank you too...
"Well, I'm not having any kids so I'm not too worried about future generations."
That's because you have no shot of getting laid ever.
Any other reason you might make up is just plain ignorant.
Anonymous yoski said...
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
- Thomas Jefferson"
Why were politicians back then so smart and are so corrupt and ignorant today? The answer might be that today we have career politicians that know very little about the real world. All they is how to connect with lobbyists. Possible solution, term limits on all politicians. But of course they wouldn't legislate themselves out of business.
February 2, 2009 11:40 AM
Yoski, don't romanticize the past. The so called "founding fathers" wanted to be considered wise, all knowing, non-corrupt, etc... Read, "A People's History of the United States" and also www.disinfo.com and click on history for more information about the great, all knowing, all wise "founding fathers".
Blogger Bukko_in_Australia said...
It DOES seem like people in all walks of life have lost the sense of what they should be doing. From corrupt lobbyist-owned politicians like every Republican plus Pelosi/Reid/Dodd/Schumer, to corporate execs who cook the books to make next quarter's numbers, to average workers who slack off, steal and scam instead of doing their jobs, there's a critical mass of Americans who are just plain crooked. Not everyone, of course, but a large enough proportion to fuck everything up. Greed, incompetence and thievery percolate through society. It's enough to drag the country under.
I'm always surprised that down here, in the land of the criminals' spawn, it's relatively honest. Aussies may be drunks, and they don't match the Protestant worker-drone ethic Americans have (or used to.) But there's not the same "Hey, that's not nailed down. Why don't I steal it? And if I can't steal it, I'll destroy it" attitude Americans have.
That's one of the reasons Australia can have a decent socialised health system. There aren't legions of doctors and medical suppliers scamming the system. People in general don't abuse their rights to get health care. The government officials in charge of running the system try to make it work effectively for the nation as a whole, instead of figuring out ways to steer big bucks to their campaign contributors in exchange for kickbacks in the form of "donations."
I see it even in little things, like a children's playground on the foreshore of South Melbourne Beach that has a nice awning over it to protect kids from the sun. Last time I drove by, I thought "In America, that would be slashed all to hell within a month, just because it was there."
It's a nice thing about being in a pipsqueak country where there's a sense of "mateship," like we're all in this together. It seems to me that the ethos in the U.S. is "I got mine, Jack, and if you don't watch out, I'll get yours, too."
In every society, in repeated instances, there comes a time of testing. Will the society get it together and get better, or will the underlying flaws cause it to fall apart like the I-35 bridge outside Minneapolis? America, this is your time of testing. Failure IS an option.
February 2, 2009 2:15 PM
Hey pal, don't critcize America. We are the greatest nation in the world. We have done more for the world than anyone else in world history. We feed, clothe and give freedom to people from around the world. We liberate people while Europeans and Australians are too afraid to fight.
The full text of the Jefferson quote is interesting:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mtj:@field(DOCID+@lit(tj090190))
Speaking of the American people, he goes on to say: "Their finances are now under such a course of application as nothing could derange but war or federalism."
A telling prediction.
Funny, Mr. Political Capital never bothered to add in the bill a large tax cut for companies that produce in the US ONLY. That right there tells you sheep that he's a shill for the shadow government.
Had he been serious about the US, he would have fought for that tax cut, so all jobs could come back to our country. And he still has the nerve to say on camera, that he's open for suggestions on the Stimulus bill. Suggestions? How and when? It's my way or the highway, as usual.
And I don't see ANY of you fighting for this idea either. All you talk about is solar panel this (made in China), wind power that (Made in Germany), infrastructure projects (jobs for Mexican illegals)..etc.
If your hero was REALLY serious about fixing this country, the first thing that would come out of his mouth should be:
1. LARGE TAX CUT TO COMPANIES THAT PRODUCE IN THE US ONLY.
2. ALL H-1B VISAS ARE ON HOLD UNTIL WE HAVE A SURPLUS OF JOBS.
3. ALL FOREIGN AID IS ON HOLD UNTIL WE HAVE A SURPLUS AND BALANCED BUDGET.
If I hear that from him, and watch Congress passing all three items, then I'll cheer for your Messiah. Until then, he's just another Bildeberg shill to me.
.
YOU MEAN THE FUTURE GENERATIONS WE SEE ON MTV, HOUSEWIVES OF OC, AND IDOL?
.
"Well, I'm not having any kids so I'm not too worried about future generations."
:That's because you have no shot of getting laid ever
Vasectomy, anyone?
Anyone who wants kids today is a fool; the USA is on the verge of 3rd world hood and there's really only *enough* for a single person or a couple w/ no kids.
Everyone else is falsely believing that the next generation can fix this or that. After seeing the phenomenal underachievements of both X's and Y's, I think the most that today's kids can do is get stoned and waste whatever's left of their parents IRAs.
So yes, you may be the lucky person who gives birth to the next Thomas Edison or the next Buckminister Fuller, but are you really going to rely on divine providence for your retirement?
Oh, anonymous, anonymous, anonymous... You're SO upset that I sold out at the peak of the housing bubble, and my wife liquidated her California state pension while it was still worth something. Every thread where I make a comment, you bring it up.
You're a Johnny One-note, aren't you? I enjoy bugging you, anonymous. It gives me pleasure to know that somewhere out there, there's this sourpuss who's too timid even to make up a fakey screen name, who's just sooooo aggrieved that I had the good sense and good timing to make the right move.
Tell me, nameless, repititious little man, what should I have done? We didn't like paying taxes for wars we objected to, so we departed the country to protest. Do you like paying taxes for stuff you hate, irritable anonymous? If you had a way to escape that, would you keep paying the taxes? If so, you must be a good Democrat!
My wife and I played by the rules of the economic game. We bought an expensive house, kept up the payments, but we could see what was coming. So we sold. Would you have stayed in a house and gotten creamed, sore-head anonymous? If so, you're a good sheeple.
My wife worked for 15 years with a state university and built up good retirement bennies. We could see the retirement system was underfunded. So instead of the security of guaranteed payments for life when she hit 65, we took what we could get in cash NOW. We calculated that the guarantee would evaporate. We lost a big chunk to taxes and earky payment penalties, but we were still left with lots of money. Would you leave it sitting there, anonymous? Probably so, if you're the fool you seem.
In contrast, we had one retirement account that was worth $14,000 at the start of 2008. That amount is too small for us to worry about, so we just let it ride. We got the tax statement for that account last week. It's now worth $7,000. Would you let all your retirement money decline by 50%? If so, you're a Bush voter.
We didn't rip anyone off, Aninny. We worked within the system, and took advantage of our chances. Our moves were risky when we made them -- suppose the system stayed stable? We would have pissed away our future! But they turned out to be the right moves. We were brave and bold. My wife and I might be left-wing politically, but we manage our money like savvy right-wingers.
I hope you live what you talk, Anonypuss. Keep your retirement money, if you have any, invested in the same old place. That's patriotic, isn't it? The bankers and political criminals who are ripping you off will be pleased. Wolves need sheep like you to feed upon.
My life is SO much better than yours, sad anonymous. That enrages you, doesn't it? The wife and I are taking a week off in March to go to Perth, visit the Margaret River wine valley and go snorkeling at Ningaloo, the Indian Ocean equivalent to the Great Barrier Reef. I'd like to say we'll think of you, but you don't even have an identity that registers. However, when you're slogging through the slush and cold in March, you'll be thinking of Bukko and his babe, looking at colourful coral in the warm water.
We might even see a whale shark!
Meanwhile, keep stewing in your own bile, Anon. And keep writing the same old shite. It will give me more chancs to tell you how smart I am. Cheers!
"...Jefferson...the left seems to dismiss EVERYTHING he ever said..."
Pffffft.
"...It's all SPEND and SPEND and SPEND..."
If only that were the situation.
It's actually BORROW and BORROW and BORROW...
Nobody cares about anybody. That's the way it is.
The baby boomers didn't care about what would happen to us, and most of us don't care about what will happen two generations down the road. Oh sure, some of us might SAY we do, but...pfft, you know how that goes.
Like I said before: WE HAVE TO SAVE OURSELVES.
Hey Bukko who's pissed????????
yoski said...
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
- Thomas Jefferson"
Why were politicians back then so smart and are so corrupt and ignorant today? The answer might be that today we have career politicians that know very little about the real world. All they is how to connect with lobbyists. Possible solution, term limits on all politicians. But of course they wouldn't legislate themselves out of business.
yoski is SO right; term limits would reduce corruption, encourage more participation, and get congresspeople OUT before they became complacent whores.
Bukko, don't listen to that Anon idiot.
The truth hurts sometimes.
I'm American and every criticism you made is spot on.
The whole ethos here is corruption and self serving. No one can stand to have anything nice put out. They destroy it at the first opportunity.
But while there's money to be made, I'll go ahead and get mine. Then expat when it becomes unbearable.
No use fighting to create a comfy home for the corrupt illegals and ingrates.
No use fighting to create a comfy home for the corrupt illegals and ingrates.
February 3, 2009 4:57 AM
Before you use the term idiot perhaps you should learn to read. Bukko is a socialist who hates everything American. He is either to stupid or lazy to make out in a free society and brags openly about how he stole from the real producers in Cali then crawled away. The guy also brags about wiping arses for a living. A real rocket scientist here.
No, you and Bukko hate America together. By the way, the illegals are not here because Americans want them here but because Obbbbammmmyyy and the socialists want them here. They vote with their bellies breed like flies and live like Bukko, off the tax payers.
I'm not pissed-off. I'm smirky. Which is not a good thing, because smirky bastards tend to get that look slapped off their face by the forces of the universe. The universe does not like people who gloat. To re-work the old saying, "Snide cometh before a fall."
However, I can't help but smirking at this aggrieved anonymous. It's like when I was in elementary and junior high school, and I'd taunt bullies to enrage them. I'd have to duck and dodge and run, which they regarded as cowardly. But in the end, they were all puffed-out and angry, and I was laughing at them from a distance. Never got my arse kicked once.
So rage on, anonymous. You amuse me. You're one of the main reasons I post crap here. I get a little kick each time you sputter about "Bukko the socialist parasite," especially on threads where I haven't even posted. I love you, old son.
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