I have the right to move to Texas and complain all day long about how bad Texas is, but don't you think that would be rude? ____________________________________________________ I did that Mav....lol....I complained about how ass backwards San Antonio is, fucking Tex-Mex breeding ground, uneducated, simple minded fools. Nothing has changed on that front. However, more and more East and West Coast Robberbarrons are rolling into the Lone Star State. So, I stop'd being "Rude"...lol. Texas is one of the very few states that is Thriving, I mean booming with Economic Activity. There is no other place I would rather be will we enter in to this next phase, which will be a depression but not sure on the grand scale as in the 30s. Nevertheless.....Bring it on.....Let the gov idiots fuck up the country. No worries on my end. However, If we break 8000, and we head back down towards the 7s.....get ready for true compitulation...panic and expect the lows to be the highs of 6000. This is no joke....the Markets just suckered in the final longs... nothing has changed in the Economy, the Bail Out funds is less than 6% total in the system....and they say it will take a year or two for the majority of the MONEY to hit the economy. Good Luck.
. Mav88: â¦Check out the frustrating history of the farm subsidy program, then you will understand. ***** May 14, 2009 SouthAmerica: Reply to Mav88 Regarding US farm subsidies, here are a few postings on that subject. But if you are going to read just one of these postings then read the posting dated July 5, 2008. I said in that posting that ââ¦could produce 5 times more ethanol made from sugar cane than from corn from the same type of effortâ¦â â but the truth is with the advances that they have had in technology in Brazil in that area, today they can produce in the range of 12 to 14 times more ethanol made from sugar cane in Brazil than Americans can produce from corn in the USA from the same type of effort. In that posting I also explain why the US went in the wrong direction regarding the production of ethanol. ***** September 21, 2006 SouthAmerica: I know what you are talking about. American farmers are addicted to subsidies which isolate them from competition, and that gives them a major price advantage in world markets when they try to sell their agricultural products. You can read the entire posting at: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...&highlight=ethanol+farm+subsidies#post1208053 ***** July 17, 2008 SouthAmerica: â¦Today the ethanol in the US is made from corn which yields 1/10th of the ethanol that you can get from sugar cane from the same amount of efforts and resources. Ethanol from corn required last year US$ 16 billion dollars in subsidies from the US government to be a viable product in the US. You can read the entire posting at: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...70&highlight=ethanol+made+of+corn#post1997970 ***** July 5, 2008 SouthAmerica: ⦠Let me give you a quick example of how inefficient and âDumbâ the American economy has become - In a nutshell: ethanol. Americans have been following for decades what is going on in Brazil regarding the production of ethanol from sugar cane. That means that Americans canât claim ignorance on this subject. Even though Americans were aware all along that you could produce 5 times more ethanol made from sugar cane than from corn from the same type of effort â Americans went ahead and they spent billions of dollars and they created an industry in the US that produces ethanol from corn and they disregarded any future impact that ethanol made from corn would have on the entire food supply of the United States. You can read the entire posting at: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...22&highlight=ethanol+made+of+corn#post1982922 .
. Mav88: The problem with the debt isn't the military, it's entitlements and other gov't programs. We could fight a war with the savings off medicare fraud alone. ***** May 14, 2009 SouthAmerica: The idea is not keep fighting unending wars around the world â eventually that strategy catches up with you over time and your country end up in the company of the former British Empire and former Soviet Empire â massive military spending over a long period of time is the road to the graveyard to former superpowers. Here is a better investment for the US scarce resources for the long-term: 08-18-05 02:05 PM SouthAmerica: Long before 9/11 I have been advocating on my writings that the United States should spend less money in military spending and the money should go instead into building and up-dating the infrastructure of the American economy. What is a better US Gov investment for the Future - Military Spending or Infrastructure http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54027 .
Excellent Commentary ....As Usual.... American farmers are addicted to subsidies which isolate them from competition, and that gives them a major price advantage in world markets when they try to sell their agricultural products. ............................................................. In London......rents have fallen to 1991 levels....( prices must adjust ).... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a6DMLSwbH.aQ&refer=home ............................................................ For many years...."family farm" politics have enjoyed a lot of sympathy.... Particularly in the sense that the US has dramatically changed in the transitioning from being in agriculture to non-agricultural work..... This movement is from over 50% to less than 1% of the population.... And in order to be competitive....a farm has to have large economies of scale.... ............................................................ Also the "subsidized" prices have crushed the farming efforts in developing countries which now face further vulnerabilities to their own self sufficiency.... ........................................................... Target prices and other forms of subsidies.....and 90% of the bloated USDA should be eliminated.... ............................................................. The point being that "farming" in the US has been socialized for many years....with the benefits going to land owners.... And has merely amortized land payments in a few "farmers" individual names.... ............................................................ In short ....the US agricultural laws are antiquated and no longer serve their purpose.... And quite frankly.....the ADM model regarding agriculture should become the new norm.... Efficiency.....not the protection of inefficiency should be allowed to happen....worldwide....
Strongly disagree, shaving off $150B a year in 1990s (after the cold war was over), from military budget would have brought the US financial sheets into black ink again. Too late now for one item to save the day. Now across the board cuts are needed in each and every major item. Ever heard of the phrase 'pay now and cry later'.......now is the time cry for the payments made 20 years ago. toc, cutting the military budget in half isn't 'shaving', it's eviscerating. Why not 'shave' 150B off the larger welfare budget? In any event it does not stop the coming demographic catastophe.
The issue is that the US economy couldn't grow without the huge deficits. The banking system needs dollars to recycle from export nations back to the US, so they can lend them out to emerging markets. The only way to grow the money supply as large as is needed is to continue to spend.
. Mav88: toc, cutting the military budget in half isn't 'shaving', it's eviscerating. Why not 'shave' 150B off the larger welfare budget? In any event it does not stop the coming demographic catastrophe. ***** May 14, 2009 SouthAmerica: Reply to Mav88 You are confusing the US government welfare program with the entitlement programs. 1) Entitlement is a guarantee of access to benefits because of rights, or by agreement through law. Here is the major U.S. entitlement program: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. 2) Today the US government Welfare program comprise of 2 major distinct pieces; first the old welfare program, and second, the welfare program for Wall Street and the financial system as follows: A) The old welfare program that most people associate with the word welfare â this program is the welfare program for very poor people, destitute people, and this program has been decimated since 1974 â for a long time even the politicians of both parties in Washington stopped mentioning this program, because they have cut it to the bone in the last 35 years. B) The new Welfare program for Wall Street and the rich and greedy: They started this humongous program in 2008 by giving all kinds of bailouts for the richest people in the United States. The US government opened its wallet and the scoundrels in Wall Street and in the financial system have raided the taxpayer as never seen before. In no time the scoundrels got away with $ 700 billion dollars and now they want as much as they can get away with. On top of that the Federal Reserve became a dumping ground for toxic assets to the tune of trillions of US dollars. It is estimated that so far the US government gave all kinds of new US guarantees to Wall Street and the banking system to the tune $ 13 trillion dollars â a figure about 130 percent of current US GDP. Mav88 today when you talk about welfare you have to specify which program you are talking about; First, the welfare for destitute people who canât even afford to buy food on a daily basis to feed themselves and their families. Or second, the welfare for scoundrels that the US government have established since last year to the tune of trillions of dollars that have been going sky high and with no end in sight? And believe me, these scoundrels are going to milk the resources of the US government dry before you know it. ***** Here is what I posted on this forum regarding welfare for the poor in the USA: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...4527&highlight=welfare+since+1974#post2144527 October 26, 2008 SouthAmerica: Did you know that the US government froze in 1974 the amount that Americans can get as WELFARE monthly benefit payments? Until recently WELFARE â was an issue that not even the Republicans had the nerve to touch on that subject. Welfare is money paid to persons, from a government, who are in need of financial assistance but who are unable to work for pay. A social welfare provision refers to any program which seeks to provide a minimum level of income, service or other support for disadvantaged peoples such as the poor, elderly, disabled, students, unpaid workers such as mothers and other caregivers, and underprivileged groups. From January 1974 to January 2008 = 34 years What $ 1.00 bought in January 1974 in January of 2008 we need at least $ 5.00 to buy that same item. In another words, if you still receiving today the same amount of money that you used to receive in 1974 then you lost 80 percent of your purchasing power or you got a cut on your income of 80 percent because of inflation during that period. Today there is a subject that even the Republicans donât have the nerve to talk about â and the Republicans usually donât care which group of people they are screwing most of the time. Here is why: Do you remember all these programs on television showing to the American people how well all those people were living out of their WELFARE check? And how much fraud was going on in the early 1970âs on that government program? Have you seeing any candidate from either political party talking about the subject of welfare and how to cut the welfare program for the very poor in the political campaigns for president in 1996, 2000, 2004, and also in the current presidential campaign? The answer is NO, not even the Republicans have the nerve to touch on that subject. The candidates talk about reducing entitlements programs, but they are talking about Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. They are not talking about the WELFARE program for the very poor. The word WELFARE is not part of any politiciansâ vocabulary for a long time here in the United States, at least since the decade of the 1980âs. Most Americans donât know it, because nobody in the American mainstream media is interested on this subject today. You must be wondering how the US government fixed the problems regarding that program? The answer is very simple: the United States government froze the amount people can receive as welfare payment in the year 1974 â the amount people receive as monthly WELFARE payments has not increased in value since 1974, for example if a single person received $ 140 per month from welfare in 1974, a single person still receiving only $ 140 per month as welfare payment in 2008. Inflation cut the amount people receive from WELFARE by 80 percent. Welfare recipients have been receiving an annual cut on their welfare benefits year after year because of inflation. To this day most Americans still think that the US government is spending a fortune with the people on welfare, and that welfare is one of the major causes for US government yearly budget deficits. They created a certain perception about welfare for the American people in the 1970âs that has nothing to do with the welfare program in the United States in 2008. I have no idea how people are surviving on their welfare checks in 2008 â today the amount of money they get as welfare on a monthly basis are below of subsistence level in most parts of the United States, and the only place they might be able to survive on that kind of income is in Zimbabwe. It is ironic that the last American president to increase the amount of money that any American can receive as WELFARE payment on a monthly basis it was Richard Nixon a Republican president. ***** I wrote the above piece in January 2008, before the Republican administration had created the largest WELFARE program for the rich in American history to the tune of trillions of US dollars. Now the United States has one WELFARE program for the rich where some people are going to make a fortune. And the United States still has its old WELFARE program for the destitute and very poor where people are barely being able to survive. Today even in Zimbabwe they must have a better WELFARE program for the poor. Anyway, check out if you also qualify for the new US government welfare program for the rich and well connected. ***** âCompanies start competing for bailout moneyâ Associated Press - Sunday October 26, 2008 By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer Insurance firms, auto companies and foreign banks petition for part of $700 billion bailout WASHINGTON (AP) -- The bailout is now the hottest lobbying game in town. Insurers, automakers and American subsidiaries of foreign banks all want the Treasury Department to cut them a piece of the largest government rescue in U.S. history. The betting is that many with their hands out will be successful, especially with financial markets in a stomach-churning dive and predictions the economy is about to tumble into a deep recession. These groups argue that the credit squeeze is so severe and the risks to the economy so dire that their industries need financial support as well. The Treasury is considering requests from a variety of industries, but has not decided whether to expand the program, officials said Saturday. Lobbying efforts are intensifying. The Financial Services Roundtable wrote Treasury officials on Friday requesting that the initiative to buy $250 billion in bank stock grow to cover insurers, auto companies, securities dealers and U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies, including banks. The Treasury's plan is intended to bolster banks' tattered balance sheets and get them to resume making loans. As the Treasury now interprets it, these additional groups would not participate in the bank stock program. They could receive help from a separate part of the $700 billion rescue that will buy bad assets from financial institutions. You can read the entire article at: Source: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081026/bailout_bonanza.html .
Entitlement is a guarantee of access to benefits because of rights, or by agreement through law. Here is the major U.S. entitlement program: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. SA, you went off on a irrelevent tangent. Medicare etc. is social welfare and it is a financial mess, word games are irrelevent. Trying to dress it up as a 'right' is liberal think. Anyway you make my point- government welfare of all kinds dwarfs military spending. Bailouts, farm programs, corporate welfare, individual welfare- they are killing us. You can't make medical care a right, it is impossible and logically flawed.
. May 15, 2009 SouthAmerica: Reply to Mav88 Mav88, please check my postings on the following threads, and after reading these two threads you will understand why we need National Health Insurance that covers the entire population in the United States. When you read these two threads you will understand why the urgency in creating a new National Health Care system here in the USA immediately. Paul Krugman - National Health Insurance http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=50265 U.S. Healthcare in Crisis http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1405351&highlight=Donald+Liddell#post1405351 ***** Note: There is another piece of information that you should keep in mind that I probably did not mention on these threads - about 50 percent of the people who file for bankruptcy under chapter-7 every year the main source of their debts are related to hospitalizations and all kinds of health care costs when a member of their family got sick. These people incurred catastrophic costs related to health care and some of these people had health care insurance through their jobs, but the benefits did not cover catastrophic illnesses. .
. May 15, 2009 SouthAmerica: Reply to Pascal I noticed that you are a new member on this forum â Welcome to the discussions. If you are interested in the subject of foreign exchange, then you will enjoy reading these threads regarding the US dollar, the euro, and the new Asian currency. Central Banks and the US Dollar http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=81958 The US dollar and the biggest default in history http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=121313 .