Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
This particular contributor to the MFO board carries no water and no love for neither Repugnants nor Demublicans. The fractured names are deliberate. The Repugnants sold their soul long ago. Big Money owns them, and they don't care who knows it. Demublicans still like to pretend they're on the side of the great mass of ordinary people. They still exert the effort to pretend. Glad to see uncle Bernie in the Race, but sad that he's attempting to do it as a Democrat. The Demublican Machine will never allow him to ace-out uncle (sic) Hillary. And so, we're all screwed. But the sheeple are too stupid not to vote the same way at every election. The sheeple bring themselves to the slaughter. "Won't Get Fooled Again." Oh, ya??? Bring on the revolution.
@msf: What the article in your link failed to show was the redevelopment of downtown Baltimore starting in the early 80s primarily through the efforts of the then Mayor Schaefer (he became governor later) and the significant economic impact via tourist dollars from the Inner Harbor. That continues today, with expansion of that area and Legg Mason and T Rowe Price relocating their HQ to downtown. I left in 2001 and often visit, and am overwhelmed with the development each time. That being said, the recent riots overshadow these events, and unfortunately, its what people see on tv that helps form their opinions. I was saddened to see Bawlmer (thats how Baltimoreans pronounce it) take center stage this week through the actions of a small number. I loved living there and will continue to go back to see close friends and gorge on Maryland blue crabs and a natty bo
Coulda fooled me... wonder if Vert, MJG, Maurice, Brian W, tb and the other umpty-seven know that?
I'll still say this board leans noticeably left. I really don't care either way. I'll continue to watch the discussions about which side is better while both sides wreck the country.
And just in case you didn't notice, which "side" fired the first shot, as usual?
LOL. Wait, wait, let me guess, the Eeeeevil side?
It continues to amaze me how people spend such enormous energy arguing with each other about politics which has become ultimately a more and more futile task the more politics becomes a "religion". Meanwhile, while people argue, both sides of government continue to do a terrible job and display corrupt behavior.
No longer can one find civil discussion about the topic and while the actions of politicians grow more dismaying, what dismays me a bit more is how clear it's become that the country has become so divided that people working together for the common good seems less and less likely a possibility going forward.
Imagine if everyone arguing and virtually yelling at each other about politics online put that energy into sending even just one letter to their congresspeople. Hmmm...
BW, wow, get a grip, or at least some facts. About anything having to do with the parties' influences, outcomes, consequences. Whether you hate Dems or not. Worst, lolz.
msf, could not believe you wrote this:
\\\ decline of many northeast and midwest cities ("rust belt"), including the white flight alluded to in the song. New Yorkers will never forget "Ford to City: Drop Dead".
Huh?? What does Ford's alleged reluctance to provide fed moneys have to do with any of those social problems??
(You probably also know that the Ford thing is a libel, as within a month or two he signed to provide the fed loans, repaid with the interest.)
I agree there aren't great choices between the two parties, but this idea that they're all the same is ridiculous as is this idea that we'd somehow be better off without government. No government is not freedom. It's might is right and the person with the biggest club crushes everybody else. And you can say that's true even with the government we currently have, but it isn't, not entirely, not yet anyway. And it's fairly obvious which party claims to believe in good government and which seems to want to completely dismantle it. You have to choose the lesser of two evils, even if both choices suck.
Who wants to completely dismantle government? Government is too big and too encroaching. We don't need a nanny government. It needs some pruning for sure but whenever one side mentions cuts, the other side hears it as elimination.
When our system of Government was created, I imagine the focus was to create a structure that would make it extremely difficult if not impossible to artificially create a class of people. Thank goodness they thought of the 'Bill of Rights'. Imagine what the politicians would do if not bound by that document. It is truly sad what's going on in Baltimore and other cities, but we spend so much time focusing on the racial aspects that we neglect to look deeper. Truth be told, Black people aren't the only people being killed by Police Officers, it just hurts more because I am Black and every single incident opens old wounds. And suddenly, the anger starts to erupt in a uniquely human manner.....we want to hurt someone. If you aren't a member of a particular group, you say, look at them. And perhaps even feel superior to them (us), while viewing from a safe distance. Is the response playing out on national TV irrational, certainly, but that's what anger, despair and desperation looks like. That's where the political argument has to come in. If Baltimore had focused more on job creation, there would be more jobs. If they focused on creating skills, there would be a more capable workforce. If they focused on financial literacy, there would exist a foundation for making things better. What do you think they focused on? The decay of the city reflects their judgement and resolve. Our judgement of them reflects upon all of us.
@scott: "Imagine if everyone arguing and virtually yelling at each other about politics online put that energy into sending even just one letter to their congresspeople. Hmmm..." Believe me, I communicate vociferously with my State Rep and State Senator and my two US Senators.
The System has become canned, the political gene pool is too shallow. It is turned in on itself, self-defeating. Useless. Impotent. Insulated from the prospect of any REAL change for the better. Ever try to deal with a State Agency lately? DMV: "your expected hold-time on the phone is approx. 1 hour." One HOUR.... I call a different State agency here in Massachusetts. The "help line" person picks up to assist. "...Sorry, I have no information for you. I just don't know. I'm in TEXAS. All we can really do is to issue or cancel your card."
Government is playing a game. It is a caricature of itself. I spoke to a friend in Canada on the phone lately. It was reported that after the quake in Nepal, a Canadian contacted the Canadian Embassy in Katmandu for help of some sort. He was offered an email address and instructed to send a message, which would be responded to...... After a 7.9 earthquake, with thousands dead, homes destroyed. And of course, after a 7.9 earthquake, those Canadian authorities just assumed that people could use the internet with no problem. Just another routine, gigantic natural disaster. So what? Send an email. Heads stuck up where the sun don't shine. Pick your poison: U.S.A. bullshit or Canadian bullshit?
AUSTIN LOUNGE LIZARDS: "Shallow End of the Gene Pool."
I certainly do not sense this forum has any leftward lean, or even that much of a quaint progressive lean, but regardless, there is waaaay to much false equivalence and automatic 'both are bad/corrupt' 'balancing' going on. This moment in history is quite clear in its choices and values.
BrianW said: "When our system of Government was created, I imagine the focus was to create a structure that would make it extremely difficult if not impossible to artificially create a class of people."
They overlooked a few minor details. "The Declaration of Independence" was signed in 1776. The Constitutional Convention was held on 1787. Slavery was legal in this country for another 80 years until 1865. It took another 60 years until 1920 before women could vote. 40 years later in 1963 women received the legal right to equal pay for equal work. Prior to that it was not uncommon for dual salary scales to exist in many fields, including public education, with one (published) pay scale based on gender for women, and another, based on gender, for men - which generally paid 20-30% higher.
If all these practices were for many years sanctioned by law and upheld by our courts, imagine the unsanctioned practices that likely continued long afterwords. In truth, our system of democracy and the associated freedoms we enjoy has evolved over time and continues to evolve.
Yesterday, Barry Ritholtz linked a Bloomberg graphic of social change that gives perspective to some ot the aspects of social change over the years. If Ted hasn't already linked it, here is the Bloomberg entire graphic. There are some surprises in the state stances on these issues. How many of the done-deals are really done? http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-pace-of-social-change/
@hank: I have no problem with anything you've said. We had and continue to have growing pains. Are we perfect, surely not, but I can't think of any other place I'd rather be. Love this country and everything I believe it was intended to be.
One of the wingnut themes recently widespread out of Baltimore and elsewhere is the supposed failure of the 50yo War on Poverty, along with something about Those People the Takers.
Actually, here are the CEA facts about its success:
@BrianW - Ditto .... And in no way did I mean to be critical of you. As you infer, the Constitutional framework was in place early which allowed for the progress to occur. We also owe a debt of gratitude to the British and other earlier democracies from which we borrowed mightily.
Comments
Coulda fooled me... wonder if Vert, MJG, Maurice, Brian W, tb and the other umpty-seven know that?
It continues to amaze me how people spend such enormous energy arguing with each other about politics which has become ultimately a more and more futile task the more politics becomes a "religion". Meanwhile, while people argue, both sides of government continue to do a terrible job and display corrupt behavior.
No longer can one find civil discussion about the topic and while the actions of politicians grow more dismaying, what dismays me a bit more is how clear it's become that the country has become so divided that people working together for the common good seems less and less likely a possibility going forward.
Imagine if everyone arguing and virtually yelling at each other about politics online put that energy into sending even just one letter to their congresspeople. Hmmm...
msf, could not believe you wrote this:
\\\ decline of many northeast and midwest cities ("rust belt"), including the white flight alluded to in the song. New Yorkers will never forget "Ford to City: Drop Dead".
Huh?? What does Ford's alleged reluctance to provide fed moneys have to do with any of those social problems??
(You probably also know that the Ford thing is a libel, as within a month or two he signed to provide the fed loans, repaid with the interest.)
@Crash- it's not like we have a lot of really good choices, but you may have noticed that.
Derf
The System has become canned, the political gene pool is too shallow. It is turned in on itself, self-defeating. Useless. Impotent. Insulated from the prospect of any REAL change for the better. Ever try to deal with a State Agency lately? DMV: "your expected hold-time on the phone is approx. 1 hour." One HOUR.... I call a different State agency here in Massachusetts. The "help line" person picks up to assist.
"...Sorry, I have no information for you. I just don't know. I'm in TEXAS. All we can really do is to issue or cancel your card."
Government is playing a game. It is a caricature of itself.
I spoke to a friend in Canada on the phone lately. It was reported that after the quake in Nepal, a Canadian contacted the Canadian Embassy in Katmandu for help of some sort. He was offered an email address and instructed to send a message, which would be responded to...... After a 7.9 earthquake, with thousands dead, homes destroyed. And of course, after a 7.9 earthquake, those Canadian authorities just assumed that people could use the internet with no problem. Just another routine, gigantic natural disaster. So what? Send an email. Heads stuck up where the sun don't shine. Pick your poison: U.S.A. bullshit or Canadian bullshit?
AUSTIN LOUNGE LIZARDS: "Shallow End of the Gene Pool."
I certainly do not sense this forum has any leftward lean, or even that much of a quaint progressive lean, but regardless, there is waaaay to much false equivalence and automatic 'both are bad/corrupt' 'balancing' going on. This moment in history is quite clear in its choices and values.
They overlooked a few minor details. "The Declaration of Independence" was signed in 1776. The Constitutional Convention was held on 1787. Slavery was legal in this country for another 80 years until 1865. It took another 60 years until 1920 before women could vote. 40 years later in 1963 women received the legal right to equal pay for equal work. Prior to that it was not uncommon for dual salary scales to exist in many fields, including public education, with one (published) pay scale based on gender for women, and another, based on gender, for men - which generally paid 20-30% higher.
If all these practices were for many years sanctioned by law and upheld by our courts, imagine the unsanctioned practices that likely continued long afterwords. In truth, our system of democracy and the associated freedoms we enjoy has evolved over time and continues to evolve.
End of sermon.
Old_Joe
4:35PM Flag
You have first amendment rights same as everyone else. You can say whatever you want to.:)
Not on this Blog site you don't...cause the few want to control the masses...too bad for the masses
http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-pace-of-social-change/
Tb, have you been somehow suppressed? Coulda fooled me.
Actually, here are the CEA facts about its success:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/50th_anniversary_cea_report_-_final_post_embargo.pdf
(A long read, but check the figure 4 green line on p20.)
and graph 1 here shows the flat costs of same except for healthcare, retiring boomers, and the recent recession spike:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/