Random News Observations

[mk 11]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/k...iran-sales.htmlho hum

[mk 11]

But it is kind of cute..how sad it is for you.

It is sad I feel the need to constantly and mercilessly crush you with facts and quotes and content, exposing your absurd dogma and idiotic biases for the hubris they are.

[brvheart 1,752]

For Henry: http://www.iowastatedaily.com/opinion/arti...1cc4c03286.html

[Balloon guy 158]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/k...iran-sales.htmlho hum

Keep seeking, I'm sure there is a headline that will somehow make sense of your ramblings that you think make you look smarter than you are.International companies bribes people to make money. In France no less. The same country that sold weapons to Saddam Huessain after gulf war 1, then became the posterchild for democrats on how we should conduct ourselves with regards to the war on Iraq 2.Wow, that's damning news. But I don't think you understand for whom.

[AmScray 355]

On the other hand, they do represent something very real: the vast majority of this country doesn't work on wall street, and yet it seems the rules and laws are made by them and for them. I think a much more effective tactic is not to blindly call for the guillotine for bankers, but rather to elaborate on their "I am the 99%" slogan. Meaning, the purpose of the movement should be to emphasize the fact that the majority of people in this country have very real problems, such as unemployment, lack of healthcare, tons of debt, and politicians should be focused on these issues 10%.

From the world of auctions, a Ming Vase sold for a record $22,000,000 in Hong Kong today. Saw something else about a record price paid for a Frank Lloyd Wright urn in the last couple days. The stratification of wealth in this country is coming to a head. This is what it looks like. We won't see violent revolution, but we will see political revolution that gravely impacts capitalism. But LOL @ Chicago and CBOT. Signs like this...Take THAT, hippie scum!(edit- literally within a minute of posting, news reports a billionaire paid $115,000 for a bottle of champagne at a party here in Chicago... So, yeah. There will always be the 1%, but when mentally stable, hard working, honest people are joining the ranks of the homeless due to a lack of trickle-down resources, there's a huge fucking problem there)(^ even though I question the legitimacy of that picture ^ )

[Balloon guy 158]

I can tell you now that no one lights their fine cigars with $100 bills. you light a piece of cedar and use that to light your cigar. The inks and paper from a bill would destroy the taste of the cigar.I can not like people making so much money because they have found loops to siphon billions etc.But the alternative of having this government ( and by this I mean the US government of the last 50 years ) be responsible to control it...that is 20xs worse than the alternative.Much less some hippy who has never had to work because he's part of the lucky sperm club and has a trust fund, but suffers from affluensa.

[AmScray 355]

I can tell you now that no one lights their fine cigars with $100 bills. you light a piece of cedar and use that to light your cigar. The inks and paper from a bill would destroy the taste of the cigar.I can not like people making so much money because they have found loops to siphon billions etc.But the alternative of having this government ( and by this I mean the US government of the last 50 years ) be responsible to control it...that is 20xs worse than the alternative.Much less some hippy who has never had to work because he's part of the lucky sperm club and has a trust fund, but suffers from affluensa.

I knew you'd be along with cigar commentary.I don't think the alternative is the government controlling all the loot. The alternative is restructuring the game so its more fair, less tilted. LLY was right when he noted that the 1% essentially makes the rules. Obviously, they make the rules to benefit them. It's gotten waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off-balance and needs to be adjusted so our country isn't a plutocracy.The people have no power until money is removed from the political process. The most dangerous substance in our country is influence. When money is removed from politics, a lot of things will change. Yes, we will have to guard against letting the rabble vote themselves largesse but as it stands, our entire operating philosophy essentially says that the only people who matter are the ultra wealthy, save for the occasional token gesture that allows them to deny that.

[Balloon guy 158]

I knew you'd be along with cigar commentary.I don't think the alternative is the government controlling all the loot. The alternative is restructuring the game so its more fair, less tilted. LLY was right when he noted that the 1% essentially makes the rules. Obviously, they make the rules to benefit them. It's gotten waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off-balance and needs to be adjusted so our country isn't a plutocracy.The people have no power until money is removed from the political process. The most dangerous substance in our country is influence.

I agree.And even when you remove the scumbags in office now, the new guy you put in his place immediately gets educated by the staff he almost has to hire in order to do the job.I guess the easiest fix would be to place a 3 congressman and 1 senator hunting tag up for auction each year. Just to keep the rest in line.

[strategy 4]

scram's post is pretty great

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/k...iran-sales.htmlho hum

read that the other day, almost choked on the author's bias with word choice. holy god.obviously the koch brothers are basically scum

[phlegm 6]

From the world of auctions, a Ming Vase sold for a record $22,000,000 in Hong Kong today. Saw something else about a record price paid for a Frank Lloyd Wright urn in the last couple days. The stratification of wealth in this country is coming to a head. This is what it looks like. We won't see violent revolution, but we will see political revolution that gravely impacts capitalism. But LOL @ Chicago and CBOT. Signs like this...Take THAT, hippie scum!(edit- literally within a minute of posting, news reports a billionaire paid $115,000 for a bottle of champagne at a party here in Chicago... So, yeah. There will always be the 1%, but when mentally stable, hard working, honest people are joining the ranks of the homeless due to a lack of trickle-down resources, there's a huge fucking problem there)(^ even though I question the legitimacy of that picture ^ )[/quoteThis is the family of the jet engine mechanic who lost his job cause no account slackers caused the filthy rich to stop buying hi ticket items.

[mrdannyg 274]

From the world of auctions, a Ming Vase sold for a record $22,000,000 in Hong Kong today. Saw something else about a record price paid for a Frank Lloyd Wright urn in the last couple days. The stratification of wealth in this country is coming to a head. This is what it looks like. We won't see violent revolution, but we will see political revolution that gravely impacts capitalism. But LOL @ Chicago and CBOT. Signs like this...Take THAT, hippie scum!(edit- literally within a minute of posting, news reports a billionaire paid $115,000 for a bottle of champagne at a party here in Chicago... So, yeah. There will always be the 1%, but when mentally stable, hard working, honest people are joining the ranks of the homeless due to a lack of trickle-down resources, there's a huge fucking problem there)(^ even though I question the legitimacy of that picture ^ )

I'm pretty sure hblask's mother-in-law already has the family in the last picture living in a 3 bed/2 bath with a new car and excellent health care.

[hblask 1]

Actually, that sounds like just about every (private) company I've ever worked for. Everyone wants something done, but what it is may not be exactly clear, and no one has both the motivation and authority to actually do it.

This is why I get frustrated that people complain about CEO and management salaries. The number of people who can do this well is insanely small; if I had a company and could find someone to do this for me, I'd pay them whatever they want. I've worked for companies with guys like you describe here in charge, and I've worked for companies that have exceptionally sharp CEOs (as at my current company). The difference working there is like night and day.

[hblask 1]

For Henry: http://www.iowastatedaily.com/opinion/arti...1cc4c03286.html

That's cool; the thing I keep hearing about him is how genuine he is, and this article confirms it.I still don't think he's a great candidate, just a pretty good one, and with Christie bowing out, probably the best chance in this election season.

[hblask 1]

I'm pretty sure hblask's mother-in-law already has the family in the last picture living in a 3 bed/2 bath with a new car and excellent health care.

If they lived in her area, she'd probably let them live with her.

[hblask 1]

scram's post is pretty greatread that the other day, almost choked on the author's bias with word choice. holy god.obviously the koch brothers are basically scum

This is another bad attempt to play "the Koch card". It's really stupid. "The Koch Brothers" didn't do anything; some employees at one of their companies did. They sent an investigator, found a problem, and fixed it. Yawn. Oh, and no laws were broken. Yawn.Seriously, these guys need to go back to the race card, it's easier to understand and equally stupid.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

This is another bad attempt to play "the Koch card". It's really stupid. "The Koch Brothers" didn't do anything; some employees at one of their companies did. They sent an investigator, found a problem, and fixed it. Yawn. Oh, and no laws were broken. Yawn.Seriously, these guys need to go back to the race card, it's easier to understand and equally stupid.

Give me a freaking break with your stupid excuses for the Koch Brothers. They are ruthless and will do whatever they think will either make them money or support their political agenda. That isn't always bad but stop making excuses when their organizations and businesses do scummy things.

[AmScray 355]

If they lived in her area, she'd probably let them live with her.

Anyone would take them in. A pretty blonde mom with little blonde children aren't going to be let to stay out in the cold.That's why I question that picture; if it is real, I question whether they're really homeless.

[brvheart 1,752]

Give me a freaking break with your stupid excuses for the Koch Brothers. They are ruthless and will do whatever they think will either make them money or support their political agenda.

Wait. So they are exactly like Warren Buffet?

[AmScray 355]

Wait. So they are exactly like Warren Buffet?

No. Warren Buffett is a mildly autistic old billionaire who views making money as playing a compound interest and tax avoidance game. He has pursued those to objectives with a singularity that rises to a level surpassing the abilities of any other human being on earth. Wealth aside, he's totally benign. Read "The Snowball". He's just an old Aspie-Savant who, instead of amassing the worlds largest collection of bottle caps or memorizing the proper Latin names of all the flora in South America, applied his freak abilities to finance and accounting.The Koch Brothers are not benign. They are very motivated, very cynical, extraordinarily manipulative, dangerous as hell. They are my heroes, but yes, they're just fucking awful and are totally harming this country.

[brvheart 1,752]

You don't think ruthless is a word someone could use to describe any of Buffet's business dealings? Or that he often uses his platform to spur on his political agenda? Because Koch brothers aside, that's a pretty accurate description of Buffet, regardless if someone in the world is worse than him in some area.

[mrdannyg 274]

This is why I get frustrated that people complain about CEO and management salaries. The number of people who can do this well is insanely small; if I had a company and could find someone to do this for me, I'd pay them whatever they want. I've worked for companies with guys like you describe here in charge, and I've worked for companies that have exceptionally sharp CEOs (as at my current company). The difference working there is like night and day.

Meh. Most companies have thousands of useless middle managers. The ability or non-ability of the guy at the top effects only the corporate culture, and very indirectly at that. Ours gets paid a trillion dollars, and like the vast majority of companies, has a corporate culture of thousands of ineffective managers due to a lack of authority.There are lots of people that would make excellent CEOs. Even ones that don't portray it to their fullest in their current job, usually because the corporate structure removes too much authority. Either that, or they're not tall enough, white enough, or have the proper haircut.There are good and bad managers, and the difference is incredible. But $10M/year CEOs? There are industry-breakers like Jobs and Buffett, but they're mostly not worth much more than a good manager who's earning 100x less.

[mk 11]

Average top marginal tax rate 1947-1979: 81%Average top marginal tax rate 1980-2005: 41%Not judging, merely food for thought.

[ahosang 0]

Average top marginal tax rate 1947-1979: 81%Average top marginal tax rate 1980-2005: 41%Not judging, merely food for thought.

Without making any arguments or providing evidence for such, my immediate general response would be that the wealth of Americans(overall) hasn't increased as much in the latter period as it obviously did in the former. I would ask whether this was due only to domestic fiscal and monetary policy of the USA, or partly a result of decreased margins of profitability vis-a-vis global resources and competition, which might have affected surplus accruing in the USA to the extent which it previously had. I would question whether an increase in the top tax rates to previous highs would cause an increase in the wealth of all quintiles(or at least the bottom 4), and how this would be accomplished.As for the domestic inequality of income, I would suggest that sectoral differences have increased through global competition, and the disparate effects across sectors. But I would like to learn, unlike most of the people on this forum(who just like to type cr*p), so some detailed answers, or links to strong material advancing theories would be welcomed. Worthy publications(of any bias), academic journals, whatever. And it really isn't about Reps and Dems, since both partied have shared power throughout both eras. Please people no graphs attempting to highlight Dem vs Rep presidencies. No-one is learning anything from that ****

[akoff 0]

Average top marginal tax rate 1947-1979: 81%Average top marginal tax rate 1980-2005: 41%

the percentages are based on different tax codes and vastly different itemized deductions. they are obviously garbage numbers. stats, real stats and damn lies is the saying i believe.

[mk 11]

the percentages are based on different tax codes and vastly different itemized deductions. they are obviously garbage numbers. stats, real stats and damn lies is the saying i believe.

taken from here: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/di...t.cfm?Docid=213 and not adjusted for deductions/avoidance/effective rates