wolfriverjoe 1,366 #126 July 17, 2012 Quote the two most noted examples of freeway buildout are the Autobahn by Hitler and the US Interstate system by Eisenhower. Both had military needs driving the project specs. In the case of the interstates, there are 1 mile long straightaways at proscribed intervals to give additional runway capacity anywhere in the country. The runway thing is false. Snopes There's lots of sections that could be used as runways, if needed, but there's also lots and lots and lots of airports. The autobahn was used as runway at the end of WWII. More because the airports had been bombed than anything else. By then, there wasn't a whole lot of ground movement anyway. Not much left to move and nowhere to move it to. Eisenhower pushed the interstate system because he saw how useful the autobahn was. Fortunately, we've never needed it in times of war and only occasionally used it for emergency evacuations (where it turns into a huge traffic jam). It makes firms like UPS, FedEx Ground and all the other trucking companies able to make money."There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #127 July 17, 2012 Quote There's lots of sections that could be used as runways, if needed, but there's also lots and lots and lots of airports. Not in the San Francisco area or LA basin. Lot more freeways. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanG 1 #128 July 17, 2012 QuoteYour post "Can you give some specific examples of what Obama has done or promised to do" And I appreciate the reply. I disagree with your analysis, but I thank you for your input to the discussion. QuoteHe wants to raise taxes on businesses 250k+ ring a bell? No, it doesn't. The proposal is to increase the individual rate for people making $250k+. If you're a business owner and you pay yourself over $250k, how is increasing your individual tax rate going to affect your decision to grow your business? It shouldn't. QuoteHe also has printed money to prop up markets but that has done nothing to help us recover other than dig us in to a deeper hole. Most economists I've heard have said we really didn't have much choice. Obviously you disagree, and I respect that. QuoteObama Care has many taxes in it and is by itself one big tax on the middle class which will also force businesses to drop their insurance for employees. Not really, but that's the talking point. I agree there will probably be some businesses that use the ACA as an excuse to provide less or no insurance, but once the BS litigation and Republican posturing settles down, we'll end up with a system that is (unfortunately) very similar to what we have already. QuoteThe security leaks that happened and mounted are unacceptable and more than I have heard about in my adult life. Not sure what specifics you're talking about, but do you really think Wikileaks would have held off if McCain had been elected? Do you think the Pentagon changed their security policies because of Obama? QuoteWe do not need the cuts that are about to automatically kick in though... they are too deep especially with what is going on in the world. The automatic cuts were agreed to by both parties. It is the fault of both parties in Congress that they are going to kick in. I knew at the time that both sides would fuck this up, but you really can't blame Obama for that bipartisan compromise andfailure to follow through. QuoteLet me also point out.... how long has it been since this country had a budget? The Senate controlled by the left will not even try.... Well, by some metrics, we haven't had a new budget for 15 years. Again, do you really think that would be any different under a Republican President? My point: Obama is no different than any other politician. He make promises he can't keep, panders to his base, and in the end doesn't change anything. Why the right thinks he's such a danger to Mom and apple pie is truly beyond me. - Dan G Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,150 #129 July 17, 2012 QuoteEisenhower pushed the interstate system because he saw how useful the autobahn was. Or a sceptic might say he pushed for it because of a very succesful automobile industry lobby. A sceptic might point to his speech on Cadillac Square regarding the virtues of the Interstate System. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfriverjoe 1,366 #130 July 17, 2012 QuoteQuote There's lots of sections that could be used as runways, if needed, but there's also lots and lots and lots of airports. Not in the San Francisco area or LA basin. Lot more freeways. Perhaps, but are the freeways in those areas free of overhead obstacles? Powerlines, overpasses and such? It takes more than just a straight stretch of freeway to make a runway. And where I live, there are 3 large, hard surface airports within 30 (air) miles. Airports that could easily handle mid-sized transports or fighter jets. OSH, ATW and GRB. There's also at least 6 more smaller hard surfaced airports that could easily handle C-130s or smaller (and there's probably more than that, I just can't think of them off hand."There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #131 July 17, 2012 Quote No, it doesn't. The proposal is to increase the individual rate for people making $250k+. If you're a business owner and you pay yourself over $250k, how is increasing your individual tax rate going to affect your decision to grow your business? It shouldn't. Obama's tax increases aren't going to do squat for our country's spending problem. EAT THE RICH! We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanG 1 #132 July 17, 2012 QuoteObama's tax increases aren't going to do squat for our country's spending problem. Maybe, maybe not, but conflating the individual tax rate increase with a business tax increase is disingenous. - Dan G Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #133 July 17, 2012 Quote Maybe, maybe not, but conflating the individual tax rate increase with a business tax increase is disingenous. Watch the video, please...We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #134 July 17, 2012 Quote>Business is proactive... government is reactive. Which came first... paved roads etc. >or the automobile? Paved roads - by about 6000 years. I call bullshit on that! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanG 1 #135 July 17, 2012 Can't watch streaming video at work. Can you tell me what it is, so I don't end up watching an Aerosmith video or something? - Dan G Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #136 July 17, 2012 Quote Can you tell me what it is, so I don't end up watching an Aerosmith video or something? I found it to be a thoughtful presentation of the dire financial straits our country is in. Please watch it when you can. I'm interested in your thoughts on it.We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 635 #137 July 17, 2012 blah blah blah blah blah blah Good luck making it past Micheal Moore opening his mouth. It's Bill Whittle trying to impress himself. Again. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeorgiaDon 340 #138 July 17, 2012 QuoteCan't watch streaming video at work. Can you tell me what it is, so I don't end up watching an Aerosmith video or something?Here's a hint: Yaba Daba Doo! Don_____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #139 July 17, 2012 Quote It's Bill Whittle trying to impress himself. Again. So, you don't like the guy?We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 635 #140 July 17, 2012 Don't know him so I can't say. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #141 July 17, 2012 Quote So, you don't like the guy? I just came across his videos recently. I can't say I've verified his numbers, but they line out with rough back-of-the-envelope numbers I've seen (...and no, I don't have citations for them).We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #142 July 17, 2012 QuoteQuoteOf coursean these businesses hire people. I consider that to be doing some wondrous things for the country. The businesses also benefit more than many member of society from having access to a labor supply educated at the public's expense. Yes. Including the expense of the businesses that are operating. WHo collects sales taxes? Withholds payroll? Who pays taxes of their own on income, dividends, etc? Yep. It's interrelated. Ever known an employee without an employer? Me, neither. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #143 July 17, 2012 QuoteQuoteQuoteOf coursean these businesses hire people. I consider that to be doing some wondrous things for the country. The businesses also benefit more than many member of society from having access to a labor supply educated at the public's expense. Yes. Including the expense of the businesses that are operating. WHo collects sales taxes? Withholds payroll? Who pays taxes of their own on income, dividends, etc? Yep. It's interrelated. Ever known an employee without an employer? Me, neither. Sure, they call them "independent contractors" or "interns" for tax purposes though.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakee 1,271 #144 July 17, 2012 QuoteI will give you that on rare occasions some smart people in the government make things happen but it is not comparable to what business does. Business could survive without government. In what form, and how? Quite seriously, how do you envision the world of business (and indeed, the world) without government? How does anarchy work? Or do you envision some form of corporate autocracy*? * Which actually would be a form of government, but for the sake of argument we can restrict 'government' to mean the kind of thing we have now.Do you want to have an ideagasm? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,672 #145 July 17, 2012 QuoteQuoteI will give you that on rare occasions some smart people in the government make things happen but it is not comparable to what business does. Business could survive without government. In what form, and how? Quite seriously, how do you envision the world of business (and indeed, the world) without government? How does anarchy work? Or do you envision some form of corporate autocracy*? * Which actually would be a form of government, but for the sake of argument we can restrict 'government' to mean the kind of thing we have now. He must be thinking of how successful business is in Somalia and other such places with no effective government.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jcd11235 0 #146 July 17, 2012 QuoteIt's interrelated. Exactly. Businesses need society in order to be successful as much as society needs businesses in order to be successful.Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #147 July 17, 2012 QuoteIt's only a divisive statement (the actual one, not the misquote) if taken out of context and you're actually looking to be offended. The words as he actually said them are not only true, but show we're really all in this together . . . Unless, of course, you choose to see that differently because you think you're some kind of special snow flake. Paul - ever start a business? Run it? Operate it? When someone says, "If You've Got a Business, You Didn't Build That. Somebody Else Made That Happen" then it becomes a very intensely personal thing. My business was my baby. Working hard and being the lowest paid person there for the first 14 months of it. Helping it grow. Etc. It was a part of the life. And to say that I didn't build it is to tell me that I didn't put my heart into it. It's to strip the idenity from it. Perhaps you or the President or others simply have no concept of that. The struggles and the anguish associated. I don't know if you've run a business, started a business, hired others on, etc., but it's like a child to me. And the same to others. To suggest that OTHERS built it? No. It's downright insulting. Tell Michael Phelps that others did it for him. Tell the spelling bee contestant that someone else did it. Teddy Roosevelt once said: QuoteIt is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. Today we have the following: It is not the one in the arena who counts; not the man whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. But rather the person who says, "Someone else did it. Not you. Look at your face. It is US who put the blood and dirt upon it so that your place shall be with those cold and timid souls who know not victory but only defeat. The credit belongs not with the one in the arena but with everyone else." The president never made a payroll in his life, did he? My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #148 July 17, 2012 QuoteSure, they call them "independent contractors" or "interns" for tax purposes though Yep. So that the IC can pay the taxes. Are you telling me the IC doesn't provide any tax value? Let me hear this one... My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 635 #149 July 17, 2012 I despise the 'penalty' the government forces on me when I'm an independent contractor. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakee 1,271 #150 July 17, 2012 Quote He must be thinking of how successful business is in Somalia and other such places with no effective government. Business is thriving in Somalia. Criminal business, but without any governments around there's no-one to make that distinctionDo you want to have an ideagasm? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
