Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>Any "good solution" MUST include raising taxes. And that ain't going to happen. Not now, not in the USA.<<< It is interesting that the US has some of the lowest taxes of the civilised world (European sales tax ranges around a 21% mean average, gas is taxed at 49%). I think there needs to be a real rethink there. As well as reviewing the costs of foreign policy. But as we know, the GOP have no interest in either of these elements. The US should be developing IPR and manufacturing items the rest of the world wants to buy, rather than land fill that serves little purpose and pollutes the earth. But cable TV is the oppiate of the masses, and as long as American Idol gets more votes than the mid terms, then there is trouble. As for the education cuts? Well remember how the antebellum slave owners did not want their slaves to be literate. There was a reason.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Hmmmm ... point conceded.> Good on you, mawnck. <(And, in a whiff of logic, WE spontaneously ceases to exist.)> LOL! Seems so, sometimes. But not so much when the reasonable folks here debate reasonably. <And the Great Recession was set off by rising gas prices.> Can you explain why you say this? Correlation does not equal causation. Don't you think the housing bubble had to burst sometime, and the over-leveraged banks would have been exposed and the toxic CDS's that were sold as "AAA" would have collapsed sometime, whether we had a gas spike in 2008 or not?
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder This was issued today by the California State Controller's office: <a href="http://sco.ca.gov/Press-Releases/2011/03-11summary.pdf" target="_blank">http://sco.ca.gov/Press-Releas...mary.pdf</a> Included is this analysis: T here is a sharp dichotomy today between headlines and the underlying trends in the U.S. economy. While unemployment remains stubbornly high, incomes for those that have jobs have been growing at a solid pace. And while 4th quarter growth was a mere 2.8% overall, this masked the fact that gross purchases grew by over 6%, the fastest pace since 2003. The underlying growth in the economy is being driven by the sudden acceleration in consumer spending growth, as well as the ongoing growth in exports and capital investments by firms. Combine this with the extension of the federal tax cuts and the second round of quantitative easing, and 2011 promises to be a solid year for growth, particularly for California. Similarly, while California's budget gap continues to dominate Sacramento political debates, growth in the state’s revenue streams is reflecting the underlying strength of the current economy. While the February cash numbers are slightly below predictions, year-to-date revenues through February remain at $4.9 billion greater than last year and $1.3 billion above the latest forecast from the department of finance. Most of the gains are in income taxes, perhaps surprising given the double-digit unemployment rate but fitting the overall economic dichotomy. Some of the gains are from withholdings, up 19% from last year, likely reflecting the substantial bounce in the financial markets. But withholdings from paychecks are up a strong 14% from a year ago, and proportionally this hascontributed the most to the increase. With consumer spending on the rise, we might have expected to see a great bump in this revenue category. Yet the state is likely to experience losses in potential new revenues to online retailers. While this fight may start in California, it is an issue that all governments who rely on sales taxes will eventually need to address. The only surprise in the budget is the lackluster growth in corporate taxes — surprising given the strong growth in corporate profits over the past year. But this is the smallest of the three major revenue sources, and the small lag is not cause for immediate concern
Originally Posted By Labuda "But cable TV is the oppiate of the masses, and as long as American Idol gets more votes than the mid terms, then there is trouble." Keep in mind you can vote multiple times if you're voting for American Idol. And multiple ways - phone voting it unlimited, the new web voting is limited to FIFTY votes per show, and texting is unlimited as well. I'm pretty sure if we went to only one vote per person for Idol that we'd have a voter turnout more in line with midterms.
Originally Posted By Princessjenn5795 ^^Which is still kind of sad...that just as many people vote for American Idol as for elected officials.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>Don't you think the housing bubble had to burst sometime, and the over-leveraged banks would have been exposed and the toxic CDS's that were sold as "AAA" would have collapsed sometime, whether we had a gas spike in 2008 or not?<< Absolutely. If it hadn't been the gas spike, it would've been something else. But it WAS the gas spike. And looks like we got us another one. I'm at a disadvantage on WE here lately - not much internet research time. My company's economy is booming (a bit TOO much if you ask me). Will dig up some links (or report failure to do same) if I get a free hour or so. >>This was issued today by the California State Controller's office<< All well and good, but it might be a nice sunny day on those train tracks.
Originally Posted By Labuda Yes, but again let me throw some water on your fire - American Idol does not have age restrictions on voting. If you took only one vote per person and only allowed votes from people age 18+, I would hazard a guess that more people voted at midterms. I base this on the fact that of the 15 or so people I know who watch Idol, only 3 or 4 of us actually vote.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 "Will dig up some links (or report failure to do same) if I get a free hour or so. " Okay, I'd appreciate it. Because I know we had a gas spike when the house of cards collapsed, but I thought that was coincidental rather than causal.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "All well and good, but it might be a nice sunny day on those train tracks." Just too much cryptic talk. The State Controller has no dog in this fight. His office's analysis is fairly straightforward.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>Just too much cryptic talk. The State Controller has no dog in this fight. His office's analysis is fairly straightforward.<< To put it another way, past results are no guarantee of future performance. He's describing an unsustainable economic situation. It doesn't matter how wonderful it sounds. For instance: >>Combine this with the extension of the federal tax cuts and the second round of quantitative easing<< Yes, you just go right ahead and combine it with that. 9_9 The state controller is an elected official and a Democrat. Of course he has a dog in this fight.
