Second of all, Social Security is not a ponzi scheme because it does not rely on new investors to pay old ones - Your social security payout is based on how much you invested in it during your working years.
Actually, I would posit to you, that it is exactly a modified ponzi scheme, based on what you said.
Current people on SS, their benefits are being paid by CURRENT worker...or current contributors as it were.
The reason SS is in trouble, is...that we now have less and less current workers per SS recipient, and therefore...will have it go belly up in the near future.
The money people put into it..isn't invested in any way for them...what current workers (investors) put into SS, is going directly to current beneficiaries.....so, like a ponzi scheme...current (new) investors are paying for older investors.
Or you could drop the selection bias and look at other European countries like Germany before making sweeping generalizations.
Well, trouble is...the US won't have any Germany to bail them out like they're having to do with the rest of Europe right now.
Frankly, I'm thinking Germany is getting very weary of bailing everyone out too..and may just stop at some time here soon...which will throw the euro into a tailspin it might not recover from.
You're the epitome of ignorant American. You do your country a deep disservice. I am truly sad for you all.
Why? Because I don't want to see the US set up and run like countries in the EU?
I'm seeing the problems in Greece, France, Spain...etc...and frankly, I'm not thrilled with what I see. At some point, you run out of other peoples' money to spend, and you get the problems we're seeing in parts of Europe.
I see Obama and his admin, wanting to set us further down the path towards emulating the EU way of life, and that's not what I want for my country.
...and use the tests for racial profiling and discrimination nazi-style
From reading the article, I didn't see where this individual had used his own genetic results for any type of discrimination.....but he had looked into it, to see what his own racial profile was.
I do see he's a racial issues type person....but the USE of the tests for himself, didn't seem to do any harm to anyone else.
Is finding your genetic racial disposition something that in of itself is inherently wrong?
Not sure about the current stuff, but I remember way back in the early days of Linux, if you set up your X config incorrectly you could actually fry video cards by feeding them values they couldn't happen.
Actually, it wasn't so much the video cards, it was the actual CRT monitor you could 'smoke'.....
Really? Obama is more "left leaning, liberal, progressive" than Franklin D. Roosevelt
In my humble opinion?
Yes.
With what I've read about Obama, his past (what we can find of it)...his education, his writings (that self narrated book is quite revealing)...and his actions in offices (senator, president)....I do believe he is way out on the left (US version), and in many ways, that he has fundamental differences with what the US has been, what it stands for and how it operates.
I shudder to think what he and his administration would try for in a 2nd term, unencumbered with the need for re-election. I think they would unleash an unprecedented attempt at moving their far left agenda.
No, not just fox news...I find it best to try to get the news from as many sources as possible, and make up ones own mind. So far, this is my opinion on the fella and his movement.
Yeah, I was wondering the same question about prosecution, then read:
The ETTâ(TM)s secretary, JÃzsef Mandl, chair of medical chemistry at the Semmelweis University in Budapest, says that the certificate is âoeprofessionally wrong, ethically unacceptable â" and illegalâ. The council discussed the issue on 7 June and concluded that the genetic test violates the 2008 Law on Genetics, which allows such testing only for health purposes.
I think the larger question would be, why in the world would there be a law in finding out anything you want pertaining to your own genes??? They ARE your genes aren't they?
I suppose this guy could claim he was trying to screen himself for something like Tay-Sachs disease or something else genetically related to being Jewish...
But still....kinda hard to see a law like this in existance...shouldn't you be able to test yourself for whatever reason you wish?
But would you vote for an ignorant Republican and throw the people to the wolves?
Well, no...I'd not vote an 'ignorant' Republican...but from what I've seen, I don't think Romney has shown himself to be an ignorant person.
At the very least, he seems to have much more on the ball than, say...Joe Biden, who can't seem to keep his foot out of his mouth...and is only one heart attack away from the presidency.
Obama is a center-right president, which of course upsets both the left and the extreme-insane-fallen-off-the-map-right. There's a real danger that we could wind up with wingnut throwbacks in charge just because modern people aren't quite satisfied with Obama.
I have to heartily disagree with you in my view of Obama. Perhaps you are describing him from a European point of view, not the US view on liberal vs conservative.
I think Obama is one of the most left leaning, divisive and ideological people I've ever seen in power in the US, much less in the presidency. I think he is so very stuck to his ideals based agenda, that he cannot truly compromise or even see when things he tries and supports just do not work. I think he is so bent on going with fundamentally changing the US, its principals...etc...that he wants to keep pushing it even to the detriment of our country and its people.
I think he believes he is so right, and that the US's approach for all these years is so fundamentally wrong..that he cannot step back, and see how he has been hurting the country.
Is he a 'bad' guy? No. I think he's likely an amiable person, and I'd have a beer with him too. I just think he makes for a horrible president, and I'm pretty much opposed to 99% of what he supports and his vision for the US.
Sure, he might be somewhere near the 'center' as you described in Europe...which to many Americans as being far off the left side of the liberal scale, it prevents acurate readings.
In the US, Obama's about the most left leaning, liberal, progressive person we've ever seen rise to such a high office. Many people seem to be shocked....but he was honest about it, and in his writings, actions and own words...he has shown what he stands for, but people didn't see it during election time.
I think Hope and Change, rock-stardom and being the first black president overshadowed the election so much, that no one paid attention to his really political ambitons, till after the hoopla died down, and we saw him in action in office.
the constitution guarantees the right of people to hold racist opinions, but it does not protect them from being judged or called out for their ignorance.
Absolutely!!
Free speech and free thought have to swing to any side of any argument or opinion there is....whether you agree with it or not.
See?
You're free to think that any racist opinion is ignorant.....and the other side of the coin is free to think the opposite. Individual opinion is nice to have without govt. oppression.
Anything but Obama seems to mean Whatshisname (yes, I ain't American) the Republicans have running this year. I'd love to see what happens if enough people realised there are other choices beyond the obvious.
Interesting you brought that up.
In the past few elections, I've heard at least of a few other candidates, a Green party one...etc.
This go around, I've not heard even a mention of a single viable 3rd party candidate even trying out there....
I've actually not even heard a name of anyone else this go around...I'd venture to guess neither has the rest of the 99% of the US. And at this point in the game, it would be too late really.
Money is the name of the game here these days (sadly) and a 3rd party candidate wouldn't have nearly enough time to raise funds to get their name out in the tv ads....
Ah, but how many would have voted Democrat regardless of the race of the candidate?
I think the more telling stat the person you were replying to is the more important factor here...that blacks came out to vote in RECORD numbers, just to vote because a black man was in the running.
If Obama hadn't been half black....likely as not as seen in prior elections, the black turnout for vote wouldn't have been nearly so high.
Trust me, McCain might have had a built-in advantage, but it was more than overshadowed by the fact he was the Republican candidate who happened to follow Bush. There were people out there who would not have voted for Abraham Lincoln if he was running on the Republican ticket after Bush.
This very same sentiment may well, oust Obama from the presidency this time around.
I know MANY people that are pretty much thinking this time around "anyone but Obama".
Personally, I'm in this group too....I've said it before and I'll say it again.
At this point, I'd vote for a small soap dish over the current administration.
If the constitution forbids race-based prejudice, doesn't it also forbid race-based voting choice?
No, the consitution does not forbid any such thing.
In the US, you are free to believe as you please..whatever you want to be prejuiced about, or open minded about, you are free to believe that, and yes, you ARE free to speak your mind on it (so far).
So, no, there is no barrier or law or rule against voting based on race, you can vote your will as you please.
We do have laws that forbid discrimination from hiring, or barring entry or commerce with someone based on race, sex, religion....but that has nothing to do with voting. To do that...you'd have to invent a functional and accurate thought police force.
Didn't the US do this to the Soviets during the cold war too? Something embedded into the hardware sold to the Russians that messed up a factory or plant for nuclear power/weapons?
I don't understand why we in the US don't revamp the tax system....
Why would it not make sense, to have the US charge 0% corporate tax, since in thought, these taxes just get passed to the consumer in price considerations?
That would entice, I would think, all kinds of businesses to want to come or stay in the US. No tax at all...BUT, also, get rid of most incentives, etc...since they'd not need these to play the numbers games to shuffle money and write offs to offset taxes charged?
Seems simple enough, and would cut tons of business costs having to hire so many firms out there and accountants to figure all this shit out?
If you're good enough......incorporate yourself, and contract out...especially if you can score a Fed govt contract. Plenty of money and demand out there for people willing to risk a little....and are talented.
Let's face it...if you didn't have to work...were independently rich, you'd not be sweating at the factory so to speak.
So, any move you make, should be motivated by how you will increase your salary.
Most of us, usually have to change jobs every 2-3 years in order to climb the ladder, and well....increase salary.
Unless you are going out on your own, contracting....you have to work within the W2 framework...promotion, and associated increased pay.
If you're taking a position of more responsibility...ask for more pay. You'll find out really fast how valuable you are. They COUNT on you not asking...especially in this job market, you are expected to be asked to do more and you be too timid to ask for me.
What can they do besides say no. If they were gonna fire you...they would have. If they think enough of you to promote you...they can and will pay you more money.
Learn to bargain.....it is quick becoming a lost art it seems in the US. Know your worth....ask for it. Ask for more than you think they'll give...and they'll negotiate with you.
If you don't ask for more 'gruel', Oliver...you stand no chance of getting an more....
And it needs to be fast and easy. Tap the app, boom, instant video transmission and recording. During an incident is not the time to have to plow through all kinds of crap.
Very true.
Darn...was looking for the iPhone version...then, read it won't be out till later this summer.
At the very least...even on a locked phone (you DO keep your phone locked to keep the cops from looking at it easily, right?)....you need to be able to somehow easily hit the 'record' button quickly and not have it turn off till YOU unlock it to turn it off.
I don't want, nor intend to have kids. If you're not having children, what's the point of getting married, besides risking losing half your shit you own, if she decides to try to control you or goes she-bat crazy (as many of them do eventually)?
What's the whole point of wanting such hi-res displays? Is there any appealing content out there that supports this hi res?
Content?
I use my big 59" plasma TV in the living room for playing 'content'.
A computer monitor...well, that's for work....and also for some 'play' like editing and color grading video and high resolution photography.
I have a Canon 5D Mark III camera, which shoots at the very high end of the scale, and I like to have a monitor that is high resolution and well calibrated to see the true colors I'm working with....
I have laptops and tablets around the house for just 'surfing'...and like I said, I have nice tvs and audio systems for media content (movies, etc)...but to me, the computer is my tool, and I like good tools for real work.
I've never understood the people that try to use one computer for everything...watching tv on a small computer screen? Not for me..
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, I would posit to you, that it is exactly a modified ponzi scheme, based on what you said.
Current people on SS, their benefits are being paid by CURRENT worker...or current contributors as it were.
The reason SS is in trouble, is...that we now have less and less current workers per SS recipient, and therefore...will have it go belly up in the near future.
The money people put into it..isn't invested in any way for them...what current workers (investors) put into SS, is going directly to current beneficiaries.....so, like a ponzi scheme...current (new) investors are paying for older investors.
Well, trouble is...the US won't have any Germany to bail them out like they're having to do with the rest of Europe right now.
Frankly, I'm thinking Germany is getting very weary of bailing everyone out too..and may just stop at some time here soon...which will throw the euro into a tailspin it might not recover from.
Why? Because I don't want to see the US set up and run like countries in the EU?
I'm seeing the problems in Greece, France, Spain...etc...and frankly, I'm not thrilled with what I see. At some point, you run out of other peoples' money to spend, and you get the problems we're seeing in parts of Europe.
I see Obama and his admin, wanting to set us further down the path towards emulating the EU way of life, and that's not what I want for my country.
From reading the article, I didn't see where this individual had used his own genetic results for any type of discrimination.....but he had looked into it, to see what his own racial profile was.
I do see he's a racial issues type person....but the USE of the tests for himself, didn't seem to do any harm to anyone else.
Is finding your genetic racial disposition something that in of itself is inherently wrong?
Actually, it wasn't so much the video cards, it was the actual CRT monitor you could 'smoke'.....
In my humble opinion?
Yes.
With what I've read about Obama, his past (what we can find of it)...his education, his writings (that self narrated book is quite revealing)...and his actions in offices (senator, president)....I do believe he is way out on the left (US version), and in many ways, that he has fundamental differences with what the US has been, what it stands for and how it operates.
I shudder to think what he and his administration would try for in a 2nd term, unencumbered with the need for re-election. I think they would unleash an unprecedented attempt at moving their far left agenda.
No, not just fox news...I find it best to try to get the news from as many sources as possible, and make up ones own mind. So far, this is my opinion on the fella and his movement.
I think the larger question would be, why in the world would there be a law in finding out anything you want pertaining to your own genes??? They ARE your genes aren't they?
I suppose this guy could claim he was trying to screen himself for something like Tay-Sachs disease or something else genetically related to being Jewish...
But still....kinda hard to see a law like this in existance...shouldn't you be able to test yourself for whatever reason you wish?
Nope...first time I've heard the name....
Well, no...I'd not vote an 'ignorant' Republican...but from what I've seen, I don't think Romney has shown himself to be an ignorant person.
At the very least, he seems to have much more on the ball than, say...Joe Biden, who can't seem to keep his foot out of his mouth...and is only one heart attack away from the presidency.
I have to heartily disagree with you in my view of Obama. Perhaps you are describing him from a European point of view, not the US view on liberal vs conservative.
I think Obama is one of the most left leaning, divisive and ideological people I've ever seen in power in the US, much less in the presidency. I think he is so very stuck to his ideals based agenda, that he cannot truly compromise or even see when things he tries and supports just do not work. I think he is so bent on going with fundamentally changing the US, its principals...etc...that he wants to keep pushing it even to the detriment of our country and its people.
I think he believes he is so right, and that the US's approach for all these years is so fundamentally wrong..that he cannot step back, and see how he has been hurting the country.
Is he a 'bad' guy? No. I think he's likely an amiable person, and I'd have a beer with him too. I just think he makes for a horrible president, and I'm pretty much opposed to 99% of what he supports and his vision for the US.
Sure, he might be somewhere near the 'center' as you described in Europe...which to many Americans as being far off the left side of the liberal scale, it prevents acurate readings.
In the US, Obama's about the most left leaning, liberal, progressive person we've ever seen rise to such a high office. Many people seem to be shocked....but he was honest about it, and in his writings, actions and own words...he has shown what he stands for, but people didn't see it during election time.
I think Hope and Change, rock-stardom and being the first black president overshadowed the election so much, that no one paid attention to his really political ambitons, till after the hoopla died down, and we saw him in action in office.
Absolutely!!
Free speech and free thought have to swing to any side of any argument or opinion there is....whether you agree with it or not.
See?
You're free to think that any racist opinion is ignorant.....and the other side of the coin is free to think the opposite. Individual opinion is nice to have without govt. oppression.
Interesting you brought that up.
In the past few elections, I've heard at least of a few other candidates, a Green party one...etc.
This go around, I've not heard even a mention of a single viable 3rd party candidate even trying out there....
I've actually not even heard a name of anyone else this go around...I'd venture to guess neither has the rest of the 99% of the US. And at this point in the game, it would be too late really.
Money is the name of the game here these days (sadly) and a 3rd party candidate wouldn't have nearly enough time to raise funds to get their name out in the tv ads....
I think the more telling stat the person you were replying to is the more important factor here...that blacks came out to vote in RECORD numbers, just to vote because a black man was in the running.
If Obama hadn't been half black....likely as not as seen in prior elections, the black turnout for vote wouldn't have been nearly so high.
This very same sentiment may well, oust Obama from the presidency this time around.
I know MANY people that are pretty much thinking this time around "anyone but Obama".
Personally, I'm in this group too....I've said it before and I'll say it again.
At this point, I'd vote for a small soap dish over the current administration.
No, the consitution does not forbid any such thing.
In the US, you are free to believe as you please..whatever you want to be prejuiced about, or open minded about, you are free to believe that, and yes, you ARE free to speak your mind on it (so far).
So, no, there is no barrier or law or rule against voting based on race, you can vote your will as you please.
We do have laws that forbid discrimination from hiring, or barring entry or commerce with someone based on race, sex, religion....but that has nothing to do with voting. To do that...you'd have to invent a functional and accurate thought police force.
Well, at least till security breaches in the US, there was at least plausible deny-ability...
Fscking govt. types in power today..have let enough information loose out there, pretty much destroy that.
What happened to the "loose lips sink ships" mentality to covert ops?
Didn't the US do this to the Soviets during the cold war too? Something embedded into the hardware sold to the Russians that messed up a factory or plant for nuclear power/weapons?
Agreed!!
Please ship some samples down here to the New Orleans area, we can find a way to cook anything....and make it taste good!!
Trouble is..those things are NOT paid for by corporate taxes....fuel taxes, etc..pay for the roads...etc.
Local taxes pay for and build infrastructure....
I'm thinking more along the lines of Federal corp. taxation.
Why would it not make sense, to have the US charge 0% corporate tax, since in thought, these taxes just get passed to the consumer in price considerations?
That would entice, I would think, all kinds of businesses to want to come or stay in the US. No tax at all...BUT, also, get rid of most incentives, etc...since they'd not need these to play the numbers games to shuffle money and write offs to offset taxes charged?
Seems simple enough, and would cut tons of business costs having to hire so many firms out there and accountants to figure all this shit out?
What happened to the right tool for the job, eh?
If you're good enough......incorporate yourself, and contract out...especially if you can score a Fed govt contract. Plenty of money and demand out there for people willing to risk a little....and are talented.
Let's face it...if you didn't have to work...were independently rich, you'd not be sweating at the factory so to speak.
So, any move you make, should be motivated by how you will increase your salary.
Most of us, usually have to change jobs every 2-3 years in order to climb the ladder, and well....increase salary.
Unless you are going out on your own, contracting....you have to work within the W2 framework...promotion, and associated increased pay.
If you're taking a position of more responsibility...ask for more pay. You'll find out really fast how valuable you are. They COUNT on you not asking...especially in this job market, you are expected to be asked to do more and you be too timid to ask for me.
What can they do besides say no. If they were gonna fire you...they would have. If they think enough of you to promote you...they can and will pay you more money.
Learn to bargain.....it is quick becoming a lost art it seems in the US. Know your worth....ask for it. Ask for more than you think they'll give...and they'll negotiate with you.
If you don't ask for more 'gruel', Oliver...you stand no chance of getting an more....
Very true.
Darn...was looking for the iPhone version...then, read it won't be out till later this summer.
At the very least...even on a locked phone (you DO keep your phone locked to keep the cops from looking at it easily, right?)....you need to be able to somehow easily hit the 'record' button quickly and not have it turn off till YOU unlock it to turn it off.
I don't want, nor intend to have kids. If you're not having children, what's the point of getting married, besides risking losing half your shit you own, if she decides to try to control you or goes she-bat crazy (as many of them do eventually)?
Content?
I use my big 59" plasma TV in the living room for playing 'content'.
A computer monitor...well, that's for work....and also for some 'play' like editing and color grading video and high resolution photography.
I have a Canon 5D Mark III camera, which shoots at the very high end of the scale, and I like to have a monitor that is high resolution and well calibrated to see the true colors I'm working with....
I have laptops and tablets around the house for just 'surfing'...and like I said, I have nice tvs and audio systems for media content (movies, etc)...but to me, the computer is my tool, and I like good tools for real work.
I've never understood the people that try to use one computer for everything...watching tv on a small computer screen? Not for me..