j_b

My point when mentioning payroll and regressive taxes was to show that many more people pay taxes despite what your graph showed. It's a classic regressive talking point to only discuss federal income tax as if that was the only way people were taxed, which it isn't. Your "real hourly compensation" doesn't accurately account for real costs of living. One income family used to make the ends meet whereas many 2 income families can't make ends meet today. Their standard of living isn't higher than it used to be either (as shown by Warren's study among other evidence), so there is something wrong with your data, which isn't too surprising considering how many time methodologies have been tweaked to make numbers look better by successive administrations. but none of the above addresses the salient points of my post above: inequalities that are as large as during the age of robber barons, trillions in profit not being taxed, paltry marginal rate of taxation, federal spending on many other things than the "welfare state", etc ...

what BS! First, I have never said average working folks were dumb (only those pushing the freedumb drivel). In fact, I have explicitly argued the opposite (people weren't dumb) with several here. Second, don't confuse a) mass media culture that reflects the values of those selling their goods with b) popular culture. Also don't make the mistake of thinking that 20-25% of Bush dead-enders that vote are the American people. Once again you are arguing non-sequitur talking points brought up by my favorite moron here because you are more than happy to take his posting seriously

as if the symptom was the cause of the problem. Have you heard of Margaret Thatcher? she was European you know and the wealthy not paying their fair share, fiscal evasion, rising inequalities, etc are as much a problem over there as they are over here despite your usual rhetoric about europe. Moreover, have you ever looked at a fed budget pie to see how funds are allocated? there are lots of federal spending besides those that go toward social services and public employee compensation (what about over 50% of the US budget going for the military past and present) well, first it gets more and more difficult to tax the peons when they don't earn a living wage; a worsening situation over the last 30+ years (i.e. one of your favorite policy apparently). Second, you are cherry picking again by ignoring that a) marginal tax rates are way down compared to when the economy was roaring post WW2 b) by ignoring that trillions in financial scheming and corporate profits evade taxation or at taxed at a much smaller rate than income. Also your graph stinks by only showing federal taxes on income thereby ignoring payrolls taxes (i.e. the people who work for a living) that have increased substantially, regressive sales taxes, property taxes, etc .. But you have been told all of the above several times already without your commenting on it. So I don't expect that it will have a great effect on your thinking, unfortunately.

Oh. Now I understand. Maybe it was because your explanation was fragmented among 20 some odd posts. I've stitched them together her and now the narrative regains it's wholistic clarity. Thanks. in other words, beside your silly stunt you have nothing, yet here you are posturing again. Moreover, my position on Greece and other current state budget shortfalls has not changed over the course of the many exchanges I had with you and others on this topic, which suggests that your continual posturing and pretending I haven't made myself clear (or rather accusing me of being incoherent among many other disparaging comments) is either due to your being reaaaaalllly slow in the uptake or your having a dubious sense of ethics.

You should do a road tour where you visit all these states and tell them how "dumb" they are. Love how progressives claim to care about the common man, but evince such blatant disregard for him in reality, condemning whole swaths of the country as "dumb" and obviously beneath them. If only you could have the State educate these people and put them in their place while ensuring they have a job and a "living" wage. Kind of like taking care of your pets, I suppose, eh j_bot? as if the people in these states agreed on these issues with your brand of right wing extremists. Moron!

FREEDUMB AND death: The return of back-alley abortions 10 States Where Abortion Is Virtually Illegal for Some Women 5 of these states are in the top 1/4 of the freedumb ranking, 4 more in the top half, with only one in the bottom half (Louisiana at 35).

HELLO FELLOW BRO I HAVE ALREADY INITIATED THE TRANSLATION OF JB TO ENGLISH AND ANSWERED THIS 4 POSTS BACK The salient point of the piece you posted was: "Greece is undoubtedly in dire fiscal straits, but the blame does not lie with overspending. On the contrary, Greek spending is exactly in line with what one might expect from a modern, Western member of the European Union. Its tax revenues, on the other hand, are clearly on the low end. Average spending plus below average revenues equals large, persistent deficits, and that is precisely what happened in Greece." how is it different from what I said in a few words? sheesh! It feels like I am arguing with 4th graders.

The rank stupidity of arguments pushed by laissez faire zealots points to the demographics they appeal to. FREEDUMB for all or death!

and Pat came to your defense when I said the ethics and logic displayed in your post were shameful .. keep it up dude.

come on people, give a chance to stooges for the Koch brothers and Murdock. it's not like you don't need to read their propaganda to understand its Orwellian character.

Jim and his minions are out in force today.

I don't have a comprehensive plan as I am SURE you don't either despite your silly posturing. It's pathetic how you claim to have an intimate knowledge of the Greek situation, yet when JayB points to government spending as the cause of the crisis, you approve. As has been established beyond any doubt, skyrocketing debt is mostly due a) the neoliberal policy of not taxing income on capital and b) the economic recession following the financial crash of the casino economy. Yet not a word from you on these salient points. Of course, no comment from you on the sustainability of your portfolio in light of the fact that it would be worth squat without repeated government intervention.

Don't forget cheap labor to bag groceries. More freedumb on the march: GOP set to roll back child labor laws

dude, give it a rest. Granted, your silly demonizing of opponents combined with the emptiness of your posts made you look like an ass but you don't have to keep doing it. I am all for 2nd chances.

not especially. why should I take seriously anything you say after your dismal display in the OBL thread and those that ensued?

more off topic drivel from the peanut gallery.

Best time of the year to climb in the Sky valley, especially from the vantage point of the upper wall. DH-LA is so good that it stands to be repeated many times, in fact it can become an annual pilgrimage. The original 2nd pitch of LA is quite good and not as hard as advertised (at least by Index standard). The other stellar multi-pitch moderate free climb in the area is Centerfold on the Diamond.

[video:youtube]RgcKwAIBR7Y

not that it really matters whether or not I write 4 or 10 posts in a row, but where do you see 4 self-replies? dimwit!

what we should worry about are the numerous job losses that result from austerity (~600,000 more in the US if the current cuts in fed budget are implemented as planned) and the depressing effect it will have on the economy, especially when combined with the current near 0 effective growth. The UK is in a very similar boat, if not worse.

Yes you are. You oppose gov't spending in on case and support it in another. Retard. ? Yes, I am not for all and any types of gov spending but you haven't shown how that would be inconsistent with what I said. The issue was Jim's odd complaint about gov spending being unsustainable while he touts schemes like 401ks ignoring in the process that stocks and bonds values are regularly propped by government spending (after bubble crashes or during industry 'restructuring')

right, you were against the bailout because you wanted to let it burn despite the obvious consequence for main street versus I was for the bailout until it was clear there would be no strings attached and it became a free for all for those who engineered the crisis.

structural change is parlance for enforcing the neolib agenda of slashing social services while making the peons pay for the crisis engineered by elites and their puppets. I think the more thoughtful response would have been -"Can you provide details on what you mean? you were agreeing with Bill, which means you had to know 'structural reform' involved some sticking it to the peons. The company you keep isn't my responsibility. Good, but you forgot your repeated calls to take it to public employees and your inexplicable "the states are on their own" knowing full well what it meant. what's the problem with elite, peons and neocon? are they so "shrill" they harsh your mellow? As for the rest of these terms: I will not be harassed systematically by goons without payback. If thugs want to continuously attack my person without hardly ever addressing content, they will have to bear these various epithets like trophies around their neck for they are well earned. why didn't you ask some rationale from JayB when he pinned the entire crisis on government spending, when it is abundantly obvious that revenue shortfall due to the economic crisis and failure to tax the wealthy are primary reasons for budget shortfall? I also never claimed that taxing the wealthy would be sufficient, only a necessary first step.

As if every "solution" you propose does not occur without government spending - a lot, in fact. LOL. except that I don't claim that government spending shouldn't play a role like you and your pals do at every opportunity. That kind of flip flopping is called hypocrisy by most people. In addition to coherence, you should work on being consistent as well.

structural change is parlance for enforcing the neolib agenda of slashing social services while making the peons pay for the crisis engineered by elites and their puppets.