Who Said it?

[GenSeneca]

The revenue collected from taxation has never gone lower than a certain amount and never higher than a certain amount no matter how high or confiscatory the rates have been set. If I am not mistaken, and I am guessing a bit here, the lowest amount of revenue generated has been 17% and the highest has been 21%. The problem is and has always been spending and not how much revenue is collected. Additionally, the gov is not capable of predicting or controlling how much revenue it collects so it might as well learn to live between 17% and 21%. some wise sage here said it should set its budget as if it will collect 17% then any year in which more is collected is a bonus.

Actually, I was pointing out the statistical probability of having a balanced budget, relative to spending as % of GDP, based on the historical-empirical data concerning revenue as a % of GDP. Historically, over the last 40 years, the government has averaged 18% of GDP, the high was 20.9% (during the tech bubble) and the low was 16.1% (during the recession that followed).

We're spending 24% of GDP now - Probability of surplus = 0.0% (0 times in 40 years)
If we spend 20% of GDP - Probability of surplus = 5% chance (twice in 40 years)
If we spend 18% of GDP - Probability of surplus = 50% chance (20 of 40)
If we spend 16% of GDP - Probability of surplus = 100% chance (40 of 40)

16 Trillion is a lot of debt but that's the molehill, our unfunded liabilities in the hundreds of trillions are the mountain. If we take ALL our nations debt into account, government would have to be cut all the way down to the low single digits and have perpetual GDP growth in the double digits but even then we would only have a fraction of a chance to achieve long term fiscal solvency.

 

[Gipper]

Stewart and others would show actual clips from Fox. The clips spoke for themselves.

The following are true statements.....
1. Sarah Palin said she can see Russia from her house.
2. Obama's plan to tax the wealthy is all about fairness and will help resolve the deficit.
3. Republicans and conservatives WANT dirty water and air.
4. The Tea Party is racist, homophobic, sexist, and violent.
5. Fox News is a radical hard right news outlet.

Agreed?

 

[Lagboltz]

The following are true statements.....
1. Sarah Palin said she can see Russia from her house.
2. Obama's plan to tax the wealthy is all about fairness and will help resolve the deficit.
3. Republicans and conservatives WANT dirty water and air.
4. The Tea Party is racist, homophobic, sexist, and violent.
5. Fox News is a radical hard right news outlet.

Agreed?

Oh goody, a true-false quiz. I know there is a "gotcha" here, but I'm game.
1. False.
2. Possibly true. I don't know what Obama really thinks.
3. False.
4. False over-generalization.
5. Opinion (That I personally think is true.)

 

[Dr.Who]

Stewart and others would show actual clips from Fox. The clips spoke for themselves.

So so many times on these boards I have seen actual quotes that so clearly show something but when I put them in context I find out just how much editing and twisting has been done or even simply misinterpreting that I can no longer take these kinds of clips at face value without actually doing my own research. One simply cannot trust clips like that. That aside do not forget that cherry picking is clearly taking place. Stewart shows you the worst and none of the best. Air an program for a million hours and there is going to be some bad in there. If you wanted to be at all unbiased you would have to after watching the clips then go look at clips the other side shows. Personally I find that to be just a big game of gotcha and prefer to try to boil things down to the fundamentals and principles of the issues.

 

[Dr.Who]

The elderly tend to have the most money?? Where did you get that statistic?
.

I have seen that stat in many forms using a variety of language and in many places.

Here is one example from Pew that I found for you:

"Young adults are much more heavily represented among the lower class than are older adults. Fully 26% of those in the lower class are under age 30, while only 10% of those in the lower class are age 65 or older."

The article also said that upper class tended to be married, college grads, own a home, and be happy in their family life. Now ask yourself won't the college student will be young (because college kids are), not married because he has not yet found a wife, not own a home because he is still in college, and not be happy with the family that he has not yet formed while the older person will have accomplished much of this simply because he has had the time to do so? That is how people get rich - by working all their lives and saving.

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/08/27/yes-the-rich-are-different/