gdp's Comments

Feld Thoughts : Amazon Fires Its Affiliates in Colorado (Including Me) Because of Colorado HB 10-1193

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:54:59 +0000

A libertarian hero in a libertarian fairy tale.

Feld Thoughts : Amazon Fires Its Affiliates in Colorado (Including Me) Because of Colorado HB 10-1193

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:13:11 +0000

That's weird that the link is broken. Found it's because it has a dot at the end ... don't know how that happened. It's http://www.exponentialimprovement.com/cms/command... or http://tinyurl.com/ya2gbmw . Their view of reality is partial and limited, big L or small "l" ... but, granted, I see them as the same.

Feld Thoughts : Amazon Fires Its Affiliates in Colorado (Including Me) Because of Colorado HB 10-1193

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 07:06:33 +0000

That is a valid definition. Corporations have robbed the public blind in that they avoid paying for the full cost of the infrastructure they use to do business. Those costs are passed on to everyone else and (surprise) people rebel at paying taxes to cover those costs. See the section on "Negative externalities" at http://www.exponentialimprovement.com/cms/invhand... And "cutting back on entitlements"? For example, the "right" raised SS taxes to pay for future retirements, spent the money, and now says it's only IOU's. See the section on "The Social Security Act (FDR)" at http://www.exponentialimprovement.com/cms/govdysf...

Feld Thoughts : Amazon Fires Its Affiliates in Colorado (Including Me) Because of Colorado HB 10-1193

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 06:41:18 +0000

"Communist Republic of Colorado"? That's totally absurd. Delusional. This nation has moved so far to the economic "right" that true center now looks like the left: http://www.exponentialimprovement.com/cms/hannity...

Feld Thoughts : Amazon Fires Its Affiliates in Colorado (Including Me) Because of Colorado HB 10-1193

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 06:37:51 +0000

Excellent comment, Jason

Feld Thoughts : Amazon Fires Its Affiliates in Colorado (Including Me) Because of Colorado HB 10-1193

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 06:33:35 +0000

Granted, there are too many corporatist (DLC) Democrats, but the Republicans are worse. This nation has moved so far to the economic "right" that true center now looks like the left: http://www.exponentialimprovement.com/cms/hannity... For who's responsible for the nation's economic woes, according to the CBO, see http://www.exponentialimprovement.com/cms/jobsjun...

Feld Thoughts : Amazon Fires Its Affiliates in Colorado (Including Me) Because of Colorado HB 10-1193

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 06:28:34 +0000

Thanks for the link. My point was that they didn't explain in their notice. Seems the issue is what's a nexus: "a connected group or series." "4,200 affiliates in Colorado using the same mechanisms " isn't a "connected group or series"? It's unfair competition for them to avoid taxes that an in-state company has to pay. Corporations will do whatever they can to avoid paying taxes ... and they hope to beat Colorado into submission to provoke a race to the bottom.

Feld Thoughts : Amazon Fires Its Affiliates in Colorado (Including Me) Because of Colorado HB 10-1193

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 06:17:18 +0000

Because libertarians are out of touch with reality. Why? http://www.exponentialimprovement.com/cms/command... On economic issues, Republicans and too many Democrats (DLC corporatists) are similarly affected.

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Tue, 5 May 2009 21:49:19 +0000

(... I'd thought this was posted weeks ago ...) What else, you ask? Google "Invisible Hand Drops Ball & Economics 101" to see where government must be involved to allow market forces to function properly. Let's clarify that evil lies at both extremes. In pure communism people are cogs in the machine of state. In laissez-faire capitalism they are commodities to be bought and sold. In neither case are they valued as humans. The U.S. does treat humans as commodities now ... Google "There's no 'free market' for Labor" to see that the Fed does this. And the U.S. hasn't ended slavery, which is perfectly compatible with capitalism; it's exported it to China. The purported "socialism" of "redistributing income" gets a lot of attention as a major problem, even as wealth inequality increases. How can that happen if redistributing income is such a great problem? What doesn't get attention is the redistribution of costs that's integral to laissez-faire capitalism, which is much more pervasive than the former. Google "Wealth Happens" "systems thinking" on the dynamics of inequality. How is it that the max tax rate on wages is 35% whereas the max tax rate on capital gains and dividends is 15%? It makes no sense to promote investment when there's a global glut of capacity and a dearth of demand. For references, search for "global glut" on my "The Trade Deficit and the Fallacy of Composition" page. A "gold-plated education"? No, but education through college to become a functioning citizen, yes. And health insurance for children through college, yes. No, you say? Then the absurd argument has to be that those childrens' poor choices left them with poor and/or irresponsible parents ... and they'll just have to live with those "choices." And God forbid that poor kids live in safe neighborhoods ... that shouldn't be the case in America. You state very well what "conservatives" believe as described in "The Conservative Mind" by conservative Russell Kirk. "Poverty, brutality, and misfortune are indeed portions of the eternal order of things; sin is a terribly real and demonstrable fact, the consequence of our depravity, not of erring institutions; religion is the consolation for these ills, which never can be removed by legislation or revolution" and "a universal equality among men exists; but it is ... equality in the ultimate judgment of God; equality of any other sort we are foolish, even impious, to covet." Equal opportunity? Forget it. "Conservatives never have believed in democracy ... and never will. Google "The Conservative Mind" "systems thinking" to see this and other quotes. The "adverse selection" mechanism is NOT about "free health care", it's about having everyone covered to spread the risk and avoid system collapse. Yes, many are in poverty because of U.S. policies that have driven them there. Google: "The 9/22/08 Economic Crisis" to see the factors that have left wages stagnant since Reagan, even as productivity continued to increase. And your "I will just stop working" captures perfectly the "Only Pain and Pleasure Rule ... therefore, Keep Them in Poverty" of "conservative" Jeremy Bentham; see that section at the bottom of "Invisible Hand Drops Ball & Economics 101". I reject that "Take the profit motive out of health care and there will be no more advancements or innovations." Nonsense. I submit that non-profits can do more and better work in this area. There are many non-profit hospitals that are excellent. Drug companies spend more on marketing than on innovation and then sell drugs that kill (e.g., 55,000 Vioxx deaths). There's health insurance and then there's "health care". Having health insurance and socialized medicine (having doctors work for the government, as in the military) are totally different. Finally, Republicans love the kind of deregulation that brought on the mortgage crisis. They branded this "The Ownership Society". Bush: "If you put your mind to it, the first-time home buyer, the low-income home buyer can have just as nice a house as anybody else." See links to his speech on my "The 9/22/08 Economic Crisis" page.

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Tue, 5 May 2009 21:44:58 +0000

To clarify: I agree with DLindhoff. Unfortunately, OkieDoc is not jesting.

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:36:11 +0000

Exactly. We're headed for a Great, Great Depression that will affect everyone. Google "The 9/22/08 Economic Crisis".

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:32:53 +0000

Exactly correct that "the official numbers are completely false" ... see John Williams Shadow Government Statistics site to see exactly how wrong.

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:26:13 +0000

Yes, even doctors are forming unions as HMOs take over and interfere in the doctor-patient relationship. The Fed has led the charge in undermining wages and destroying unions (unions of capital ... corporations ... are great, but unions of people? No, no!). Google: "There's no 'free market' for Labor". We can have single-payer national health insurance without having "government-run health care" where doctors work for the government (... socialized medicine as in the military ... and as a military dependent my health care was very good).

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:18:25 +0000

Government is NOT the problem except that it's not instituted single-payer health insurance in order to overcome "adverse selection" ... google "Health Care Dynamics". There is NO reason to burden health insurance with profits, much less with profiteering. Yes, SS reduces wages and then Republicans (Reagan, Bush, & Bush) steal that money (hey, it's only paper IOUs) and use it to offset their tax cuts for the wealthy. Remember, "conservative" ideology is that "greed is good." And look where the associated speculation, financial fraud, and "free trade" offshoring to undermine wages has taken us. Congratulations.

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:06:30 +0000

Let's get this straight. "Conservatives" are responsible for every major social problem in the U.S. They believe in what they call the "free market", but do not understand that their "free market" does NOT allow market forces to function properly. Google: "Invisible Hand Drops Ball & Economics 101". And they do not understand systems failures, e.g. the "fallacy of composition". Google "The Trade Deficit and the Fallacy of Composition". The problem with Democrats is that they've put band-aids on major wounds caused by "conservative" ideology (an ideology that also afflicts too many Democrats) ... and of course they fail. So the Rs say, "See, government just messes things up." ... even though they fight tooth and nail against fixing root causes; addressing systemic root causes would violate irrational "conservative" ideology. "Conservatives are stuck in the 16th century thinking of Niccolo Machiavelli. Google "Government Dysfunction" "systems thinking". And seriously now. Who's walking away with all the wealth? This country is going to hell because Republicans (and too many Democrats) sell their votes for campaign contributions and change the "Rules of the Game" to favor the wealthy. Google, "Invisible Hand Drops Ball & Economics 101" and see the link to "Rules of the Game". Read "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill)" by David Cay Johnston. And what created the problem with illegal immigration? It been caused by what's called "free trade" with NAFTA and thinking the "free market" works for farming. This lethal combination destroyed the economy of Mexico and caused the illegal immigration about which you complain. Google "Farm Policy Failure" to see why.

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:27:56 +0000

The "dirty little secret" is that you blame individuals for a systems failure. Google "Health Care Dynamics".

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:19:04 +0000

We don't have a "health care" system, we have a "sick care" system. What you're talking about is prevention, which gets short shrift in our privatized health insurance system. Google "Health Care Dynamics" to see what's causing the system to fail.

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:11:07 +0000

No correction required. I didn't say who first tapped it. The point is that Reagan reduced taxes on the wealthy and corporations and when that led to major deficits, he raised SS taxes on the lower incomes and then used that to offset his deficits. STILL he ran up more debt than in all of U.S. history even after redistribution of taxes onto those with lower incomes.

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:56:05 +0000

I fear, sadly, that he's not jesting. It's well-known that private insurers have much higher overheads than medicare. There's fear mongering that "government will make your health care decisions", but it's HMOs that do that now and spend a lot figuring out how to NOT cover the insured and deny coverage to those they see as higher risks.

Knowledge@Wharton : A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come - Knowledge@Wharton

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:49:48 +0000

Thank you. See my reply to "Joe" below.