Fairweather

You're kidding--right?

Why hand completely over to government a system that serves 84% of us? Why add compulsory taxes to individuals who currently opt out? Last time I checked, people were free to make bad choices. I have no doubt that the recently unemployed hold a more desperate view of the issue--which is why Obama should be working on JOBS and getting the economy back on track and not this health care nonsense. He held a "jobs summit" back in December and set about working on the issue in earnest. What ever became of it?

This is spray, comprendes mi amigo?

Obama thought the procedure was a bad idea in 2005: [video:youtube]

Except 16 of the 22 times it was used, reconciliation was used by a Republican majority. Hmmm. http://www.brendan-nyhan.com/blog/2009/04/the-legislative-history-of-reconciliation-19802008.html Are you sure? Look at the dates on its use. Seems to me that Dems were in charge of the Senate in most cases. In any event, just three years ago Democrats were hysterical at the mere thought of its use by Republicans to push through a SCOTUS nomination (which they never had to do). I do just love the way this process was called the "nuclear option" when Republicans were in power, but now it's referred to, simply, as "reconciliation."

isn't this the sort of ad hominem argument you get so worked up over? Not trying to shed any light on your selective exhibit, but it was a response to this:

Good point. No bank should be "too big to fail." I have no problem reestablishing the insurance/investment/banking partitions that existed pre-Clinton era.

Duh. Sorry - my mistake. This is what happens when you no longer drink caffine. Thanks.

This shows how little you really understand about the world around you Fairweather. You assume that private, for-profit business employment success is based on performance. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, private business regularly pays exorbitant sums of money to essentially incompetent people. When these people are discovered as incompetent, they are often given staggeringly large sums of cash as severance pay. The intellectual hurdle you have yet to overcome is this: Modern capitalism encourages waste and inefficiency. The only real difference is that different people benefit. For some reason you have decided that 1 wasteful ceo who destroys the livelihoods of thousands is worth more than 100 admin. assistants providing social services. And please do not misunderstand my taking the time to disagree with you as any validation that you have a point. The difference, Joe, is that the CEO works for private shareholders, while the bureaucrats supposedly work for us. The rest of your post is just mindless carp.

You're off base on this one. I'm married middle school teacher with an MS in a science field, who worked in the private industy for 15 years before making the switch to teaching. She says when she made the switch her hours of work doubled and her pay was cut in half. Grading/planning evenings, weekends, and breaks while officially getting paid for a 6 hr day. There's likely some coasters in other parts of the state government - but not teachers. And by any yardstick the level of incompetence by the private industry over the past couple of years is astounding AND none of them lose their jobs AND they still get million dollar bonuses (WTF!) AND they have thier snout in the public trough. Did you read the post properly, Jim? I clearly stated that teachers are not part of the gluttonous state government I am decrying here. Administration is another story. Read my post again please.

Behold leftist arrogance.

BS. You don't even know what's the median pension and benefit of a Washington State public employee. Regurgitating GOP propaganda to bust unions won't cut it bozo. This, coming from a young man who still lives with his mom and links to Huffingtonpost exclusively? Run along, junior.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/126191/Americans-Tilt-Against-Democrats-Plans-Summit-Fails.aspx PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans are skeptical that lawmakers will agree on a new healthcare bill at Thursday's bipartisan healthcare summit in Washington, D.C. If an agreement is not reached, Americans by a 49% to 42% margin oppose rather than favor Congress passing a healthcare bill similar to the one proposed by President Obama and Democrats in the House and Senate. By a larger 52% to 39% margin, Americans also oppose the Democrats in the Senate using a reconciliation procedure to avoid a possible Republican filibuster and pass a bill by a simple majority vote.

K-12 teachers are not really the issue. A tough job--but they get summers off. (And spare me that 15 credit hours every 5 years crap. Not a tough requirement.) But administration and the layers of bureaucrats that run K-12 are in need of a compensatory diet for sure. I've read that over 50% of K-12 state employees are not even classroom teachers! Don't know if it's true, but if it is--it's tragic.

Huh? I have a great benefits package--by private sector standards. But it doesn't hold a candle to what Washington state employees have managed to extort from taxpayers.

Spoken like a true believer in his own sense of entitlement. How 'bout we tear up any and all prior conditions/contracts for state workers and put them on a performance-based system like the rest of us?

Well, thank God spelling isn't a requirement for state employment! Dictating the terms of your vacation from day one anywhere else wold get you laughed out the door. Self reliance! Gasp! Private sector pension plans often consist of 401k contributions and, occasionally, a modest match from the employer. Not sure why you believe you're entitled to a golden blanket while the rest of us are true partners with our employers in this regard. Thanks for the post but, frankly, you sound like part of the problem.

Please tell me you're not referring to that so-called CSA attack on CSA territory at Fort Sumter where nobody died.

I agree.

Not all. But FDR wins top prize!

No, we have the best treatment for the broadest spectrum of recipients available. That it may not be completely equitable is an aside. It's as close as we're gonna get. If the Democrats try to press reconciliation on a new bill, I predict bloodshed.

You're clueless--I wasn't talking about Germany. (The RAF bears most of the responsibility for the mass murder in Dresden) FDR wasn't burning Japan's paper and wood cities fast enough with high explosives--so he had LeMay start pouring kerosene from B-29's instead. As for your thesis, well, I don't think you even really have a clue what you're trying to say. Run along. From the perspective of the American left, FDR's support for the National Labor Relations Act--and Social Security--nullify his absolutely horrifying tally of civilian dead, I guess. Pathetic. Yes; I believe I have this pretty much right. If you're willing to "overlook" a few million dead, then please at least have the decency to admit it before you spew the standard nonsense.

Let me put it in plane terms- the proposal would first of all close tax loopholes, and raise sales tax by 0.003. Do the math fuckhead- that's 30USD on a 10K sale. Your company has to be totally fucked from a getgo, since a $30 increase on a $10 000 sale brakes your bosses' bank. No, it's your stupid boss who need beatdown. The tax Gregoire has proposed on bottled water and carbonated beverages is completely separate from the general sales tax increase being proposed. Might I suggest you next time know what you're talking about before you open your plaque-filled hole. Better yet; hop back on the next boat outta here. Still trying to figure out who the fuck let you in.

I wonder how Republican Spain would have rated?