tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post5099454921758867253..comments2024-03-19T05:27:28.638-05:00Comments on Althouse: If the economy is going to be the central issue, who is the best candidate?Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-49017015181359808352008-01-18T00:04:00.000-06:002008-01-18T00:04:00.000-06:00Hdhouse,You brought up your superiority. I had no...Hdhouse,<BR/>You brought up your superiority. I had no idea you are Jewish or lost family to the holocaust, thus my ignorance. However, my only argument with you is your personal insults and name calling, not just against myself, but against others. You appear to be an intelligent person and you demean yourself when you resort to name calling. <BR/><BR/>If someone insulted you based upon anti-Semitism, irregardless of your politics or opinions, I would defend you and rip them a new one. On that we are on the same page. I do not tolerate religious or racial intolerance or hatred. I also do not tolerate any person claiming they are superior to another. <BR/><BR/>I will not be insulted and will fight fire with fire. Attack my opinions, attack my facts, morals, ethics or honesty, fine. Call me names, demean me, try to humiliate me or claim you are superior to me, and then we have a problem. Can we agree to disagree as adults?<BR/><BR/>BTW, as to the sonny comment, we are probably of the same age, thus I will consider sonny a compliment.Peter V. Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04209902525167395224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-21082497587824252502008-01-18T00:01:00.000-06:002008-01-18T00:01:00.000-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Peter V. Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04209902525167395224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-58163774740450476922008-01-17T21:55:00.000-06:002008-01-17T21:55:00.000-06:00Middle Class Guy said... hdlouse,I will live with ...Middle Class Guy said... <BR/>hdlouse,<BR/>I will live with it, thank you."<BR/><BR/>yes child i am sure you will. i'd rather you leave the Nazi stuff alone sonny. I lost a good portion of my ancestry in that mess and if you just meant to be offensive you were. if you speak out of ignorance, and i'll give you benefit of the doubt on that, you did.hdhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14573004614816464571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-82801408604143261302008-01-17T16:18:00.000-06:002008-01-17T16:18:00.000-06:00hdlouse,I will live with it, thank you. I remembe...hdlouse,<BR/>I will live with it, thank you. I remember reading about people like you. It explains why you are so twisted and vile. These people were progressive, they believed in drastic social change, they believed that government was the be all and end all of society. But the best part, the part that describes you to a tee, is they believed they were superior to others. <BR/><BR/>They had names like Hitler and Goebbels. They called themsleve Nazis.Peter V. Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04209902525167395224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-39806479493080320262008-01-17T05:53:00.000-06:002008-01-17T05:53:00.000-06:00middleclass guy..to answer the only question you r...middleclass guy..<BR/><BR/>to answer the only question you raised that makes any sense whatsoever, "yes, i am superior to you". live with it.hdhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14573004614816464571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-19022846346900506352008-01-16T21:09:00.000-06:002008-01-16T21:09:00.000-06:00hdlouse …there is absolutely no evidence that incr...hdlouse <BR/>…there is absolutely no evidence that increased taxation in this country had an adverse effect on the economy.<BR/><BR/>If you raise taxes- especially the with holding tax, like Clinton did, you are giving people a pay cut. They have less money to live on, spend, waste, invest, or save. This has an effect on the economy. Not an immediate effect, but there is an effect. Businesses and corporations passed the costs of higher taxes on to their customers and the consumers.<BR/><BR/>Beside that, can you tell me how lowering taxes or even eliminating some taxes harms the economy? No one can ever answer that question. Seeing as you think you are an expert on everything, maybe you could give me specifics. <BR/><BR/>Secondly, Clinton did not balance the budget in the normal sense. He used voodoo accounting to accomplish this task. One of the man tricks was taking money from Social Security and putting into the general revenue fund. Government, unlike you and I, is not held to GAAP standards. They can use any accounting methods they want to achieve any goal they want.<BR/><BR/>I was just wondering who made you the arbiter of what grade people are? Is this some elitist progressive thing or do you truly believe you are superior to the rest of us? Just wondering?Peter V. Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04209902525167395224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-51995240167903465762008-01-16T20:08:00.000-06:002008-01-16T20:08:00.000-06:00ahh rev..then explain the late 90s when clinton ha...<I>ahh rev..then explain the late 90s when clinton has his taxation in place, the budget was balanced and the economy was through the roof...</I><BR/><BR/>You obviously only read the first sentence of my post. Had you read what I wrote you wouldn't be asking that particularly idiotic question.<BR/><BR/>Like I said in that post, what really matters is the amount the government *spends*. Taxation is bad, but borrowing is pretty much just as bad. The big government success story of the 90s wasn't raising taxes or balancing the budget (neither of which really matter), but the way that spending was <A HREF="http://carriedaway.blogs.com/carried_away/images/economics/u.S.%20Spending%20And%20Revenue%20In%20Relation%20To%20GDP.GIF" REL="nofollow">held in check in relation to the GDP</A> during the period in question. Taxes are bad for the economy <B>if they lead to more spending</B>. If they simply act to reduce the need for borrowing they have no significant impact, at least for the tax rates we have today. At sufficiently high tax rates that changes, but we haven't had truly punitive tax rates for decades.<BR/><BR/>In closing, I'd like to point out that you're doing what you always do and childishly assuming that if economic times were good while Policy X was in effect, Policy X must be good for the economy. In reality, of course, it is entirely possible to have a good economy even if the government has bad policies -- it just won't be AS good as it would be otherwise. Similarly, you can have a bad economy despite good government policies -- it just won't be AS bad. The government doesn't control the economy; it just influences it.Revenanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11374515200055384226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-29723059550417535422008-01-16T19:13:00.000-06:002008-01-16T19:13:00.000-06:00SUVs tend to tip over due to people who do not kno...<I>SUVs tend to tip over due to people who do not know how to drive them.</I><BR/><BR/>You do realize you are agreeing with him.<BR/><BR/>This is just an anecdote, but I've been foolish enough to drive in horrid weather twice in the past month -- the interstates were snow-covered. Every flipped vehicle in the median was an SUV. Cars and minivans might have been stranded in the median, but only the SUVs flipped.MadisonManhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01212179466758420208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-89528507589795388192008-01-16T18:29:00.000-06:002008-01-16T18:29:00.000-06:00ahh rev..then explain the late 90s when clinton ha...ahh rev..then explain the late 90s when clinton has his taxation in place, the budget was balanced and the economy was through the roof...<BR/>it is more complicated than that but there is absolutely no evidence that increased taxation in this country had an adverse effect on the economy.<BR/><BR/>and middle class guy...please please please.... you have to do better. you are way too easy.<BR/><BR/>this is an "A" game blog here. if you show up with C's..well you look horribly out of place. You just have to do better.hdhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14573004614816464571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-51849644623374606752008-01-16T17:42:00.000-06:002008-01-16T17:42:00.000-06:00"Taxes don't kill economies."Wrong. 100% wrong.Wel...<I>"Taxes don't kill economies."</I><BR/><BR/><I>Wrong. 100% wrong.</I><BR/><BR/>Well, not 100% wrong, but mostly wrong. What really kills economies is government control; the bigger the percentage of GDP that the government has direct control over, the worse the economy does. So it is really the government *spending* that kills economies -- it doesn't particularly matter if the money being spent comes from taxes, or borrowing.Revenanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11374515200055384226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-22250705915494830892008-01-16T17:37:00.000-06:002008-01-16T17:37:00.000-06:00Doug-I was referring to the general view of most n...Doug-<BR/><BR/>I was referring to the general view of most non-Obama supporters - the "yes we can," all "hope," or as Romney put it "Optimism" with little substance behind it. While McCain took the rational, most likely true approach, Romney reverted to telling everybody in Michigan what they <I>hope</I> will happen.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17565016321303680353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-35935868978961062312008-01-16T17:28:00.000-06:002008-01-16T17:28:00.000-06:00Taxes don't kill economies.Wrong.100% wrong.Ruinou...<I>Taxes don't kill economies.</I><BR/>Wrong.<BR/>100% wrong.<BR/>Ruinous taxes killed the Soviet economy. Centrally controlled command governments also do their damage, and the two things ("planning" and high taxes) usually go hand in hand.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://special.pacificresearch.org/pub/sab/entrep/2004/econ_freedom/09_relation.html" REL="nofollow">The U.S. Economic Freedom Index: 2004 Report</A><BR/><I>"How much is economic freedom worth in dollar terms? <BR/>A 10-percent improvement in a state's economic freedom score yields, on average, about a half-percent increase in annual income per capita. <BR/><BR/>Relative to the freest state, Rhode Island residents suffered the largest reduction in annual income per capita due to their loss of economic freedom, $3,607, followed by Hawaii at $2,963, and New York and New Jersey at around $2,400 each. The national average was $1,161. This might not sound like much, but over a 40-year working life at a conservative 3-percent interest rate, this translates into $87,541 that would have otherwise gone into the pocket of an average working American. <BR/><BR/>Rhode Island also had the highest effective "oppression tax," 13.17 percent, Hawaii at 11.36 percent, Maine at 7.61 percent, and New York at 7.45 percent. The national average was 4.42 percent of income. State institutions have a substantial impact on income levels across the U.S. states. Economic freedom matters significantly."</I><BR/><BR/>According to the <A HREF="http://opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110008350" REL="nofollow">WSJ</A>:<BR/><I>"[T]he states that embraced supply-side tax cuts are not only financially more sound and enjoy stronger economies, but they are draining residents away from the states that opted for high taxes....In 2005, per capita personal income grew 31% faster in the 15 most economically free states than it did in the 15 states at the bottom of the list. And employment growth was a staggering 216% higher in the most free states."</I>KCFleminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00124201866124646626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-12551533805645074492008-01-16T17:20:00.001-06:002008-01-16T17:20:00.001-06:00hdlouse said:SUV's tendency to tip over...SUVs ten...hdlouse said:<BR/>SUV's tendency to tip over...<BR/><BR/>SUVs tend to tip over due to people who do not know how to drive them. They are not made to be driven like cars or sports cars. They are hybrid trucks. Do we ban something because a few people every year are irresponsible?<BR/><BR/>Gee, you really do beleive everything some one shoves in front of you.Peter V. Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04209902525167395224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-48965261522433972092008-01-16T17:20:00.000-06:002008-01-16T17:20:00.000-06:00Oopsie!Michigan's GOP hit the wrong button and con...<A HREF="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/16/oops-michigan-gop-praises-mccains-win/" REL="nofollow">Oopsie!</A><BR/><BR/>Michigan's GOP hit the wrong button and congratulated the wrong guy (though they caught the mistake and rectified it quickly).<BR/><BR/>I'm glad I'm not the only one who screws up.reader_iamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17352836883752091339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-68131554720355910852008-01-16T17:16:00.000-06:002008-01-16T17:16:00.000-06:00The blizzard of 79 in Chicago also saw an increase...The blizzard of 79 in Chicago also saw an increase in SUV sales. Other winters stimulated more sales. People buy them for myriad reasosns. People who love the outdoors buy them because they can go anywhere and haul anything they need.<BR/><BR/>I know that is not specific enough for hdlouse, but I am not an elitist, effete, socially conscious person either.Peter V. Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04209902525167395224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-56623775782970058922008-01-16T17:13:00.000-06:002008-01-16T17:13:00.000-06:00AJ Lynch said... Re: hdlouse and SUV accidents.Tha...AJ Lynch said... <BR/>Re: hdlouse and SUV accidents.<BR/><BR/>Thanks! I was going to bring that up, but then he would want specifics or he would just call me another name and blather on.Peter V. Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04209902525167395224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1900750259599605942008-01-16T17:11:00.000-06:002008-01-16T17:11:00.000-06:00I would think the East Coast blizzard of 1996(?) h...I would think the East Coast blizzard of 1996(?) had a bit of an impact on SUV sales but I am only a Dolt and surely not as smart as hdhouse. So what would I know.I'm Full of Souphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00241724007440718575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-13275036506432618472008-01-16T17:08:00.000-06:002008-01-16T17:08:00.000-06:00I revise my earlier comment. There was no SUV craz...I revise my earlier comment. There was no SUV craze. Didn't happen. All that happened is that since 1990, there has been a very steady increase of SUV sales. Sales of other vehicles held steady, which increased the percentage of SUV sales as compared to other types of cars, but there was no "craze" and and the 2002 tax laws appeared to have no effect on the sales rate of SUVs. <BR/><BR/>One chart is here:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://chemistry.beloit.edu/Warming/moviepages/vehicles.htm" REL="nofollow">http://chemistry.beloit.edu/Warming/moviepages/vehicles.htm</A><BR/><BR/>(One thing that's interesting is that gas mileage has been very stable, yet automotive horsepower has had a very steady increase since the early 1980s. Seems that if auto makers reduced the displacement of engines such that the horsepower is equivalent to, say, 1985, they could improve flee gas mileage.)Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450897654318345683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-90033327451453381922008-01-16T16:51:00.000-06:002008-01-16T16:51:00.000-06:00Hdhouse:I looked at one of the links you provided ...Hdhouse:<BR/><BR/>I looked at one of the links you provided (the American one). It indicates the primary drivers of compact are 33% more likely to be killed than an SUV primary driver and a subcompact primary driver is 66% more likely to be killed than an SUV primary driver. <BR/><BR/>So SUV's are safer pal. Sometimes you have to read more than the headline. I thought a Stupid Putz like you knew that.I'm Full of Souphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00241724007440718575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-7685617216891365572008-01-16T16:48:00.000-06:002008-01-16T16:48:00.000-06:00hdhouse, while the 2002 tax bill may have exacerba...hdhouse, while the 2002 tax bill may have exacerbated the "SUV craze" it certainly didn't start it. The popularity of SUVs took off in the late 90s.<BR/><BR/>(Note that the behemoth Ford Excursion was first introduced in 1999)Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450897654318345683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1920930897579447872008-01-16T16:45:00.000-06:002008-01-16T16:45:00.000-06:00hdlouse…“…well dolt”.You really are an insulting p...hdlouse…<BR/>“…well dolt”.<BR/><BR/>You really are an insulting poltroon. Besides me, you have insulted several others on this post. You act like you suffer no fools while acting like one. BTW, smart people fight back against regressive regulation and they holler about it. They try to get their representatives to change it. Evidently, you would rather work through it, and that is your choice. Some of us would like to change things for the better. That is our choice. So, I guess that makes me one of the smart people. Who the eff are… Sorry, I realized that you are against people having choices and believe the nanny government should choose for us, or ruin businesses and lives.<BR/><BR/>“…can you possibly justify in your mind that SUVs are good for us?” <BR/><BR/>Once again, you show your true elitist ignorance. We have free choice. If I choose to drive and SUV and can afford to pay for the gas, what is it to you? It is my choice. Why should I suffer because you don’t like my choices? People also badly drive expensive sports cars that are better suited for the racing oval. Should we ban those cars too and deprive those people their toys?<BR/><BR/>I do have mine. It is mine. I want to keep it. All of it. I scratched for it, I earned it, and it was not given to me on a silver platter. That is my choice. You want to have a social conscience, that is fine. That is noble. That is your choice. Just don’t try to shove your choices down anyone else’s throat.<BR/><BR/>You sound like you swallowed an awful that Sixties progressive Kool Aid or maybe you smoked too much of that happy weed. You sir are dangerous, for you are one of the true believers.Peter V. Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04209902525167395224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-63702186933900413882008-01-16T16:41:00.000-06:002008-01-16T16:41:00.000-06:00AJ Lynch said... "Your linked story has no statist...AJ Lynch said... <BR/>"Your linked story has no statistics and was from the very liberal Associated Press."<BR/><BR/>http://www.mindfully.org/Health/2006/SUVs-No-Safer3jan06.htm<BR/><BR/>http://www.safermotoring.co.uk/AreSUVsSafe.html<BR/><BR/>http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/teepa/pdf/Are_SUVs_Safer.pdf<BR/><BR/>I could go on and on but my feeling is that unless SUV safety has a footnote in the university of stupid newsletter you won't believe.hdhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14573004614816464571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-86551919906512324462008-01-16T16:25:00.000-06:002008-01-16T16:25:00.000-06:00Hdhouse:Your linked story has no statistics and wa...Hdhouse:<BR/><BR/>Your linked story has no statistics and was from the very liberal Associated Press. <BR/><BR/>Count me as unconvinced due to an absence of evidence.I'm Full of Souphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00241724007440718575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1906504869071388372008-01-16T16:14:00.000-06:002008-01-16T16:14:00.000-06:00oohhh and AJ...hate to burst your bubble buthttp:/...oohhh and AJ...hate to burst your bubble but<BR/><BR/>http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/Insureyourcar/P140031.asp<BR/><BR/>SUV's tendency to tip over and the general craziness of SUV drivers thinking they are in a tank is a myth. I thought you were smarter than that. guess not.<BR/><BR/>ohhh don't let facts hit you in the ass when you run out the door.hdhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14573004614816464571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-67108857933218876682008-01-16T16:10:00.000-06:002008-01-16T16:10:00.000-06:00Hi LARShttp://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2002-12...Hi LARS<BR/><BR/>http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2002-12-18-suv-tax-break_x.htm<BR/><BR/>this jump started the SUV craze. if you were too dumb to take advantage of it write Bush a letter about no child left behind.<BR/><BR/>Michigan pays comparatively zip in property taxes compared to New York. All the bitching and moaning mean very little in comparison.<BR/><BR/>Taxes don't kill economies. No jobs do kill economies. Non-diversification of industry kills economies. The governmet - this government, our government has done more to harm Michigan by fostering their non-competitive output. The fuel economy structure is laced with loopholes that put a blind eye to the promotion of cars that, now with gas at 3.08 a gallon, don't sell - or did you miss the empty lots.<BR/><BR/>Part of the trouble is that the uber-rich look in their backyards and say "hey its fine here" and the 50% who you decry as "don't pay taxes" are in the tubes. You can see that attitude of "tough luck for your issues" all over this board. hey, if the poor can't manage their money, their credit, their lot in life, well tough shit they deserve it.<BR/><BR/>your lack of scoial conscience is appalling. your lack of what for a lack of a better term "christian caring" is damnadble.<BR/><BR/>hey, but it is someone else's problem. not mine. i've got mine. you to scratch for yours and i won't raise a finger to help.hdhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14573004614816464571noreply@blogger.com