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Author Topic:   The Changing World Order
Taq
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Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


(3)
Message 111 of 302 (903271)
12-07-2022 2:59 PM
Reply to: Message 110 by Phat
12-07-2022 1:52 PM


Re: DIGITAL CURRENCY
Phat writes:
Who is "we"?
We the people.
And why should "we" elect a government (of either political persuasion) who considers the money in the treasury and the money of the people as one lump sum?
I never said that we should.
I was only pointing out that a single person in the US has enough money to buy a home for all of the homeless in our country. It was more of a critique of how much wealth has moved to the top.
added in edit:
Just thought I would throw the math in. There are about 500,000 homeless in the US right now. Let's say 2 people per house at a price of $300,000 each, so nothing too fancy. That's $75 billion. If Elon Musk paid for that, he would have about $145 billion dollars of net worth left over. Bezos would have about $95 billion left over.
And more fun with math . . .
The "War on Terror" between 2001 and 2022 cost about $2.3 trillion. That comes to 2.3E12/(22*12)= $8.7 billion per month. So we could house all of the homeless for 10 months of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We fought those wars for 264 months.

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Taq
Member
Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


(1)
Message 118 of 302 (903314)
12-08-2022 11:39 AM
Reply to: Message 114 by Phat
12-08-2022 5:24 AM


Re: Back On Topic...Sort Of...
Phat writes:
Taxation in and of itself is necessary. Confiscatory taxation in the event of a "national crisis" infringes on individual liberty and private property rights.
Can you give a real world example of confiscatory taxation that has happened in the US?
The Democrats would use that as an excuse. I again bring up FDR and gold confiscation.
People were compensated for their gold.
When the global economy tanks,(and it will within 5 years) the government in power at that time would likely turn authoritarian and in an appeal to emotionalism claim that "they" were trying to help society. But that's getting off-topic...sort of.
As with most Republican thought, it is all about fantasies of what they believe will happen instead of what is actually happening.

This message is a reply to:
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Taq
Member
Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


(1)
Message 125 of 302 (903345)
12-08-2022 3:44 PM
Reply to: Message 124 by Phat
12-08-2022 2:57 PM


Re: A Brief Rabbit Trail starring FDR and the Dems
Phat writes:
And it was WW II and the war effort that made America an Empire...not a New Deal Democrat.
You do know who was US President during WWII and that war effort, right? FDR was also never an isolationist and he spoke fervently for joining the war in Europe, contrary to the strong isolationist sentiment of other politicians. The reason we had a war effort was FDR.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 124 by Phat, posted 12-08-2022 2:57 PM Phat has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 126 by Phat, posted 12-08-2022 4:03 PM Taq has replied

  
Taq
Member
Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


(1)
Message 127 of 302 (903357)
12-08-2022 4:25 PM
Reply to: Message 126 by Phat
12-08-2022 4:03 PM


Re: A Brief Rabbit Trail starring FDR and the Dems
Phat writes:
I give the American people as much credit for the war effort as I do FDR. There were wealthy industrialists who helped turn us into the vaunted arsenal of democracy.
If it was a Republican president I bet you would be singing his praises.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 126 by Phat, posted 12-08-2022 4:03 PM Phat has replied

Replies to this message:
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Taq
Member
Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


(1)
Message 136 of 302 (903382)
12-09-2022 10:55 AM
Reply to: Message 133 by Phat
12-09-2022 9:41 AM


Re: How The Economic Machine Works
Phat writes:
What specifically makes an "expert" an expert?
A degree in the subject they are an expert in.
Papers published in journals within the field of expertise.
Recognition by other experts.
That would be a good start. How many papers has Dalio published in economics journals? Does he have a degree in economics? What do economists say about his ideas?

This message is a reply to:
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Taq
Member
Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


(1)
Message 140 of 302 (903387)
12-09-2022 11:38 AM
Reply to: Message 139 by Phat
12-09-2022 11:26 AM


Re: A Brief Rabbit Trail starring FDR and the Dems
Phat writes:
These days you have ignorant people claiming that the dollar determines the value of gold.
This despite the fact that the government(Fed) "quintupled the money supply" after Covid.
Whom do we blame? Which party? Which "expert"? And why are they experts again?
Why are you so focused on gold? Gold is no different than any other commodity. Why not talk about the price of a bushel of corn, or the price of cobalt? Why gold?

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Taq
Member
Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


(7)
Message 144 of 302 (903391)
12-09-2022 11:47 AM
Reply to: Message 141 by Phat
12-09-2022 11:38 AM


Re: Another Rabbit Trail On Modern Conservatism
Phat writes:
Apart from Trump and populism, what specifically is bad about the Republican Party of today?
Erosion of voting rights.
Erosion of reproductive rights.
Lack of any vision for a better health care system.
Threatening of vital social programs like Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security.
Playing footsy with theocracy.
Attacks on basic constitutional norms, like accepting the results of elections.
Using fake culture wars to disguise the damage they are doing to the middle class.
Attacks on important institutions like law enforcement and courts.
Treating people who tried to overthrow the government as heroes.
I could go on.

This message is a reply to:
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Taq
Member
Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


(2)
Message 146 of 302 (903393)
12-09-2022 12:00 PM
Reply to: Message 145 by Phat
12-09-2022 11:53 AM


Re: How The Economic Machine Works
Phat writes:
And since this topic is about Ray Dalio and his theories, I'm still puzzled why he is not an expert. He has 17 billion dollars in personal wealth, so I doubt he is selling the book to make money.
Having lots of money does not make you an expert in economics. In the same way, owning lots of buildings does not make you a structural engineer.
Why critique him for founding a successful Hedge Fund? Is it not the job of a Hedge Fund manager to try and spot and analyze trends and to predict where the economy will go next?
That's not economics. Finding trends does not necessarily teach you why those trends exist or what causes them. I can take any data set and find trends, but that doesn't mean I understand the underlying mechanisms that produced the data. Dalio is definitely an expert in investing money, but that doesn't make him an expert in economics. Those aren't the same thing.
I suspect that you think Dalio is an expert because of your emotional reaction to his ideas. Am I wrong? Are you using your own expertise in economics to dissect his ideas?

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Taq
Member
Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


(2)
Message 224 of 302 (904211)
12-23-2022 11:17 AM
Reply to: Message 217 by Phat
12-23-2022 1:44 AM


Re: Candace Over AOC
Phat writes:
Authoritarianism is more prevalent in the political Left than it is in the political Right.
You think every country is authoritarian, so your claim really doesn't carry much weight. You probably think traffic laws are authoritarian because they restrict your right to speed through a red light.
You guys wave your hands and claim that you *have* to take charge to save the planet and the people...from God knows what.
It would appear you think authoritarianism is getting elected and passing laws. Go figure.
In case you weren't aware, increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere captures more heat and increases temperatures. Democrats have run on a platform that includes passing laws that could lower our carbon emissions. The people look at the platform the Democrats are running on, and decide whether they should vote for them. You think this is authoritarianism, which is laughable.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 217 by Phat, posted 12-23-2022 1:44 AM Phat has not replied

  
Taq
Member
Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


(2)
Message 257 of 302 (904916)
01-11-2023 1:42 PM
Reply to: Message 255 by Phat
01-11-2023 11:59 AM


Re: The 14 Characteristics of Fascism
Phat writes:
For the record, I'm not too worried about Trump ever getting into office again. He barely got in the first time when nobody knew how nuts he was, and now that we the people know, how on earth could the guy get elected again? (If it were to happen, I would be convinced that the world was ending! )
The Trump movement is certainly the most fascist we have seen in recent memory, and it is based on ideas that have been circulating in Republican circles for decades now.
Perhaps the best distillation of fascism is the Nazi slogan "Blood and Soil", which, by the way, is what the Proud Boys chanted at one of their rallies. This gets to the heart of what fascism is. It is cultishly focused on ultra-nationalism and nativism. It is also focused on a narrative of some great past where the nation used to be better (i.e. "Make America Great Again"). Everything is subservient to those ideologies. It isn't a mistake that fascist groups like the Proud Boys find the Trump movement so attractive. It isn't a mistake that we can see so many parallels to Mussolini's Fascist movement that was later perfected by the Nazis. It isn't a mistake that when the leader of the modern Fascist party (the very same party founded by Mussolini) in Italy became Prime Minister that she was lauded by conservative groups. Why are conservatives such supporters of a fascist?
Is the US an authoritarian government? Absolutely not. We have free and fair elections, one of the first hallmarks of a non-authoritarian government. We are nowhere close to one. It is simply ridiculous to point to laws passed by a strong democracy as being authoritarian. Authoritarian is not a synonym for "laws I don't like". This silly game conservatives play with words needs to stop.

This message is a reply to:
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Taq
Member
Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


(3)
Message 261 of 302 (904922)
01-11-2023 3:02 PM
Reply to: Message 259 by Phat
01-11-2023 2:37 PM


Re: The 14 Characteristics of Fascism
Phat writes:
The German people were saddled with war reparations debts from WW I that crippled their economy and snuffed out their ambitions. If we dont want it to happen again, we had best not tax the crap out of the working class in order to pay off the debts and expenses of the enormous social programs which our nation cannot afford.
Tell that to your conservative buddies who continue to shift the tax burden away from the rich and onto the working class.
If we throw out Medicare and pushed seniors to the private insurance market we would see many seniors dying of preventable diseases simply because they can't afford health care. Do away with social security and you would have seniors thrown out on the streets.
We can't afford these programs? BULLSHIT!!! We can't afford not to have them.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 259 by Phat, posted 01-11-2023 2:37 PM Phat has replied

Replies to this message:
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Taq
Member
Posts: 9970
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.6


Message 277 of 302 (908549)
03-16-2023 4:20 PM
Reply to: Message 275 by Phat
03-16-2023 2:07 PM


Re: An actual economist has thoughts on Dalio
Phat writes:
You all can keep crowing about how great America and Mr.Biden are, until you find yourselves wiped out.
In reality, other countries are dumping other currencies and buying up US dollars.
quote:
The U.S. dollar is strengthening because the Fed adopted a hawkish monetary policy stance in response to skyrocketing inflation. It has lifted the federal funds rate from near zero at the beginning of 2022 to a range of 3.75% to 4% at the November FOMC meeting. . .
Meanwhile, the sheer tonnage of geopolitical risks swamping the global economy, not least of which are China’s economic troubles thanks to its zero Covid policy and bursting real estate bubble, have driven investors to safe-haven investments. And the greenback is currently one of the safest bets around.
When global investors pour money into U.S. dollars, they are selling off other currencies. Buying dollars pushes up the value of the greenback, and selling other currencies weakens their value.
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/strong-dollar/

This message is a reply to:
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