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Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work. |
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OT - Gunner on Republicans?
"Gunner" wrote in message
... Good point but analogous to bribing the stewards on the Titanic for an up grade to first-class. Better to save the money in hard currency or speci for a seat in the lifeboats. Thats one of the tenents of survivalism. The other one is, "never pass up fresh roadkill." d8-) -- Ed Huntress |
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On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 22:29:33 -0500, "Ed Huntress"
wrote: "Gunner" wrote in message .. . Good point but analogous to bribing the stewards on the Titanic for an up grade to first-class. Better to save the money in hard currency or speci for a seat in the lifeboats. Thats one of the tenents of survivalism. The other one is, "never pass up fresh roadkill." d8- Only if its someone you know. Gunner Leftwingers are like pond scum. They are green, slimy, show up where they are not wanted, and interfere with the fishing. Strider |
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In article , Gunner says...
Tell that to the folks in Chilie that now have a very sucessful, very viable Social Security system...where we have a ship headed for the rocks. That's crap and you know it. If they can run the entire *country* on deficit spending, they can afford to print up a few more T bills and keep SS going. They'll have to do that in 40 years, and they'll have to spend 1/100th the amount of money they don't have, as we're currently spending right now to fund the war in Iraq. Bush is already shifting away from the nonsensical SS privatization scheme - he's realized that it really is the political third rail. Touch it, and he dies. The wall street folks who contributed to his campaign are realizing that he's gonna eventually reneg on his promises to them. Now on to more pressing things, namely: "What does Gunner think they should do to Medicare, which is currently in Big Trouble (tm) right *now*? Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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"Gunner" wrote in message
... God I love the Left..."night is day, love is hate, peace is war...", Chili's sucess at privatizing Social Security is a failure....,,, snicker...thats nearly as bad as Ed not even bothering to check links yet pontificating on them in detail. I didn't comment on your links. I commented on *you*, calling the left the "party of hatred," and then quoting a half-dozen sources explaining why the right hates the left. I don't care why you hate them. The subject was that you were accusing the other side of exactly what you're guilty of yourself. Again. -- Ed Huntress |
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On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 22:53:56 -0500, "Ed Huntress"
wrote: "Gunner" wrote in message .. . God I love the Left..."night is day, love is hate, peace is war...", Chili's sucess at privatizing Social Security is a failure....,,, snicker...thats nearly as bad as Ed not even bothering to check links yet pontificating on them in detail. I didn't comment on your links. I commented on *you*, calling the left the "party of hatred," and then quoting a half-dozen sources explaining why the right hates the left. I don't care why you hate them. The subject was that you were accusing the other side of exactly what you're guilty of yourself. Again. Snicker...still didnt read the gardening post.....ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!! Gunner Lathe Dementia. Recognized as one of the major sub-strains of the all-consuming virus, Packratitis. Usual symptoms easily recognized and normally is contracted for life. Can be very contagious. michael |
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"Guido" wrote in message
... Guido wrote: Gunner wrote: Chili's sucess at privatizing Social Security is a failure....,,, snicker...thats nearly as bad as Ed not even bothering to check links yet pontificating on them in detail. Hands up anyone that bothers checking Gunner's links? Anyone? Anyone at all? Only when I'm waiting behind my wife and son to get into the shower. -- Ed Huntress |
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On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 15:30:35 -0500, "Ed Huntress"
wrote: "Guido" wrote in message ... Guido wrote: Gunner wrote: Chili's sucess at privatizing Social Security is a failure....,,, snicker...thats nearly as bad as Ed not even bothering to check links yet pontificating on them in detail. Hands up anyone that bothers checking Gunner's links? Anyone? Anyone at all? Only when I'm waiting behind my wife and son to get into the shower. That brings up a picture too gruesome for even me to dwell on...... Gunner Lathe Dementia. Recognized as one of the major sub-strains of the all-consuming virus, Packratitis. Usual symptoms easily recognized and normally is contracted for life. Can be very contagious. michael |
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Cliff piddled around and finally wrote:
I wish I could get a girlfriend...maybe if I acted like a man? |
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In article , Frank White says...
But (shrug), I've said what I wanted to say. Bush's plan is absurd on the face of it, ... And more importantly, bush's advisors have realized the depth of the political goo it represents. If he keeps pushing it to pander to wall street, he's gonna get in so deep he won't be able to climb out. Rule one for bush: when you're in a hole, quit digging. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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In article , Ed Huntress says...
But (shrug), I've said what I wanted to say. Bush's plan is absurd on the face of it, and won't come to anything but a lot of talk. For which we should be thankful, because otherwise we would REALLY be in trouble... Whaddaya mean, "absurd"? All we have to do is finance it with a couple of trillion $ of Treasury bonds. Of course, the questionable nature of Treasury bonds, when used to finance future SS payments, is the problem itself. ... No no no. That's no problem at *all*. We're running the entire friggin COUNTRY that way right now. A few extra pennies for SS would be way far down in the noise. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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Why wrote in :
Hey ED, I'm a Joe Sixpack & I invested in 1944 Brownies & I might be stupid but my return on the Brownies is better than I will ever get from SS Heh, I know a guy who has this tough little job where he figured out a way to make the part on a #2 from an extrusion and a clever set up. It's one of those deals where you look at the print and rack your brain trying to figure out how to make it. Then you see it run and you think of course! So simple. Every 15 seconds he makes a quarter profit. He tells me that he comes in to the shop every morning, starts the coffee turns on the lights and the compressor. Then goes over to the old Brownie gives it a kiss and starts it up. $1.00 a minute all day every day, the tools last forever. Most places would be milling this thing in three set ups on a Haas and losing their ass. He told me he has $5,000 in the machine total. Bought a clapped out machine, rebuilt it, and tooled it up himself. Gotta love it. -- Dan |
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In article , Gunner says...
Buy a PDA (Physians Desk Referance) and make friends with the owners of the local feed and grain store. Or, buy a PDR even if you *don't* plan on shopping there. The book is chock-full of information about the drugs that doctors and pharmaceutical companies push. Interesting reading, that. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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"jim rozen" wrote in message
... In article , Gunner says... Buy a PDA (Physians Desk Referance) and make friends with the owners of the local feed and grain store. Or, buy a PDR even if you *don't* plan on shopping there. The book is chock-full of information about the drugs that doctors and pharmaceutical companies push. Interesting reading, that. Jim Man, some of them are really ugly, too. Today, I was editing prescribing information for clozapine, which can drop your white-cell count and kill you. Be glad you're not schizophrenic. When you get into the "last ditch" drugs for horrendous conditions, you get a whole new perspective on "side effects" and risks. Like, some of them are death. So you're playing a game of statistics and hoping you roll sevens. -- Ed Huntress |
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On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 20:10:50 -0500, "Ed Huntress"
wrote: "jim rozen" wrote in message ... In article , Gunner says... Buy a PDA (Physians Desk Referance) and make friends with the owners of the local feed and grain store. Or, buy a PDR even if you *don't* plan on shopping there. The book is chock-full of information about the drugs that doctors and pharmaceutical companies push. Interesting reading, that. Jim Man, some of them are really ugly, too. Today, I was editing prescribing information for clozapine, which can drop your white-cell count and kill you. Be glad you're not schizophrenic. When you get into the "last ditch" drugs for horrendous conditions, you get a whole new perspective on "side effects" and risks. Like, some of them are death. So you're playing a game of statistics and hoping you roll sevens. My wife has to take Amiodarone for her V-tach. The Devils Drug. Gunner Rule #35 "That which does not kill you, has made a huge tactical error" |
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"Gunner" wrote in message
... On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 20:10:50 -0500, "Ed Huntress" wrote: "jim rozen" wrote in message ... In article , Gunner says... Buy a PDA (Physians Desk Referance) and make friends with the owners of the local feed and grain store. Or, buy a PDR even if you *don't* plan on shopping there. The book is chock-full of information about the drugs that doctors and pharmaceutical companies push. Interesting reading, that. Jim Man, some of them are really ugly, too. Today, I was editing prescribing information for clozapine, which can drop your white-cell count and kill you. Be glad you're not schizophrenic. When you get into the "last ditch" drugs for horrendous conditions, you get a whole new perspective on "side effects" and risks. Like, some of them are death. So you're playing a game of statistics and hoping you roll sevens. My wife has to take Amiodarone for her V-tach. The Devils Drug. Ouch. I didn't check the references for frequencies on the side effects, but the Medline listing makes them sound like walking a tightrope. How's she doing on it? -- Ed Huntress |
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Actually I do think we have a ship headed for the rocks. And I think
that is crap. The way I see it is like this. What Congress is doing is something like this. Say I am working and I make almost enough to get by pretty well. Well I ought to have some savings for retirement. So I buy a lockbox and put in say 15% of what I make. Now that is a good thing. But then I decide to buy a new car. So I do that, and now I don't have quite enough money. But I have a great idea. I will just take money from that box where I have it for retirement, and I will put in an IOU every month when I take the money out for the car. This will work until I need that money for retirement in say 2017. Congress is spending all that money that is going into the Social Security trust fund. The Social Security trust fund is not backed by any physical assets. The point is that those Social Security trust funds are only backed by the government's ability to raise money by taxes. There isn't any bricks or mortor backing those government bonds. So when Social Security needs to cash in those bonds in large quanities, taxes are going to have to go up and Social Security benefits will go down. You can only sell bonds if there is a reasonably expectation that they well be redeemed. My congressman is going to protect Social Security now and let someone else figure out how to get out of the mess. He will have stayed in office long enough to collect his government pension. Bush's privatization plan pulls some of that money out of reach of Congress. Which is why so many Congressmen are against it. Dan |
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On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 23:58:02 -0500, "Ed Huntress"
wrote: "Gunner" wrote in message .. . On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 20:10:50 -0500, "Ed Huntress" wrote: "jim rozen" wrote in message ... In article , Gunner says... Buy a PDA (Physians Desk Referance) and make friends with the owners of the local feed and grain store. Or, buy a PDR even if you *don't* plan on shopping there. The book is chock-full of information about the drugs that doctors and pharmaceutical companies push. Interesting reading, that. Jim Man, some of them are really ugly, too. Today, I was editing prescribing information for clozapine, which can drop your white-cell count and kill you. Be glad you're not schizophrenic. When you get into the "last ditch" drugs for horrendous conditions, you get a whole new perspective on "side effects" and risks. Like, some of them are death. So you're playing a game of statistics and hoping you roll sevens. My wife has to take Amiodarone for her V-tach. The Devils Drug. Ouch. I didn't check the references for frequencies on the side effects, but the Medline listing makes them sound like walking a tightrope. How's she doing on it? Walking a tightrope with punji stakes on one side and the bowels of hell on the other. Its affected her liver functions, her kidneys, given her sleep apnea (has to sleep with a pressure ventilator (CPAP) mask and it and the other meds (9 at the moment) have caused her to start gaining weight to some extent. She bruises like you wouldnt believe, has to be careful not to cut herself. And of course the ventricular tachycardia. Other than that, she is doing well enough. Ive gained a bit of respect. She keeps a positive attitude most of the time, even though she is home alone 4-5 nights a week. This week, she will be home alone 10 straight days. Well..the dogs are there. They finally diagnosed her as having Factor 5/Leiden http://www.fvleiden.org/ It appears she inheirited one bad gene. Her father had a massive MI and died at the age of 45. Both her brothers (whom she resembles) had MIs at 45, and she had hers at 45. Double bypasses all of them. Her surviving brother has had arterial clogging problems until recently, when she told him to have his doctor to check him for Factor 5. Bingo. That blood line has an expiration date. Mean time before failure. The other sisters resemble her mom..no cardiac issues at all, so the gene was passed down with something in DNA along with the genes that t causes the victims all to have similar coloration, facial features etc. She was extremely fit, Jazzersize dancer, etc. Then got nailed by genetics. Now she is disabled to fair degree. Shrug. I expect to get a phone call someday while Im on the road, telling me she was found dead. Knock on wood. Repeatedly and hard. Course..she could outlive me. I have a higher stress level taking care of her and everyone and everything else. Shrug Gunner Rule #35 "That which does not kill you, has made a huge tactical error" |
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On 1 Apr 2005 23:03:48 -0800, the inscrutable "
spake: I t hink Bushes real plan is to get Joe Sixpack into equities so Joe thinks he has a stake in the economy and votes Republican. Those stupid MBA institutional investors will demand higher interest rates when the Social Security trust fund starts to need funds instead of providing funds for the government to spend. Either that or they will be investing in the Chinese Bonds as the Treasury Bonds become more suspect. Dan Water on Mars! http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050401.html While we're on the subject, I believe this picture shows more of Shrub's Shrews Science. ================================================== ======= The Titanic. The Hindenburg. + http://www.diversify.com The Clintons. + Website & Graphic Design ================================================== ======= |
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In article , Jeffrey
McCann says... You'd think Wall Street would be talking up Bush's plan, but they're being awfully quiet. I think they don't want a public debate on how the plan will funnel huge amounts of money into their hands, and what share of that pie they may be keeping for themselves. My other question is whether this personal account money will become subject to judgment creditors. With medical expenses accounting for an ever larger proportion of personal bankruptcies, and recent bankruptcy law "reforms," what happens when you withdraw your money? The fact that you can devise the money in your will suggests a sufficient degree of individual control such that the money could also be taken to satisfy creditors. Apparently one of the other bugs is, if you are above a certain age, they require you to purchase an annuity with the account when you cash it out. That, and if your personal account outperforms what they expect it to, they reduce the government's contribution accordingly. I think that the dweeb is backing away from this entire plan as rapidly as is politely acceptable, from a political standpoint. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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Right. I always thought that if Social Security was so great, Congress
would want to participate. Dan |
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In article , Jeffrey
McCann says... Which raises the inevitable question: why aren't Social Security funds managed for market-rate returns already? Don't get it, do you? There's nothing to manage, no money is being saved. It's an entitlement program, nothing more than welfare for old folks. All the money that comes in, goes right out again. That's the idea that sticks so hard in the neocon craw - SS takes their money and gives it to other folks. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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"jim rozen" wrote in message
... In article , Jeffrey McCann says... Which raises the inevitable question: why aren't Social Security funds managed for market-rate returns already? Don't get it, do you? There's nothing to manage, no money is being saved. It's an entitlement program, nothing more than welfare for old folks. All the money that comes in, goes right out again. No, Jeff is right, or he would be, if there was a legal option to investing the SS surplus (there almost always is one) in other securities. What that would have done to the markets is anybody's guess. That's a whole lot of market interference. That's the idea that sticks so hard in the neocon craw - SS takes their money and gives it to other folks. Well, that part probably is accurate. d8-) -- Ed Huntress |
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On Sat, 2 Apr 2005 13:58:46 -0500, "Ed Huntress"
wrote: "wmbjk" wrote in message .. . On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 20:05:14 -0500, "Ed Huntress" wrote: Hell, I'd do it, if I didn't have insurance and I was looking for every angle to cut expenses. It beats the hell out of taking nothing. You'd buy drugs at the vet to save 10%, as opposed to reimporting which saves much more but conflicts with "compassionate conservative" philosophy? Oh wait, I just noticed the date on your post.... ;-) Wayne I think you got the percentages backwards, Wayne. d8-) As for the drugs, I've spent most of my days over the past year reading, studying, editing, and writing about pharmaceuticals. I'm with Gunner, self-medicating with vet drugs beats nothing. A lot of information is available. It's a matter of learning how to read it. I have the greatest respect for physicians, but they can't be specialists in everything. Over the past 30 years I've been ahead of my MDs (and even, once or twice, endocrinologists) on much of type I diabetes treatment, and I've often given them updates. Within very strict limits, if you make a concerted effort and combine it with some professional medical diagnosis, some people can get away with it. . .most of the time. It's a balance of risks. Greetings Ed, What you say about doctors not being up on everything is true. There is just no way, unless they never saw patients. And a good doctor won't mind a bit if you bring in something the doctor hasn't seen yet. I did that once and my doctor checked into it in ways I can't because I don't pay for the different scientific and medical journals he does. Unfortunately the research was still in the mouse stage and wasn't going to be troed on humans for a few years minimum. But he was glad to get it. Another time I brought in an article to show to the anesthesiologist. She had already seen the studies and was implementing the findings. She told me it was "Old News". She had been using the newer method for almost a year. But she was only slightly amused, not insulted, by me bringing in the article. But then I've also benefitted from the latest in some areas of medicine, by one of the world's two or three best at what he does. And he works REALLY HARD to be as good as he is. He also cares alot about his patients. The way all good docs do. Eric |
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Here's an answer from one of us who are on the side who aren't socialists.
We have been denied the right to invest that part of our income that was confiscated by the program for our own future. We learned at a very early age the lesson of the 'Three Little Pigs'. There is no moral reason we should have been required to provide for those who didn't learn the lesson. Bush's privatization plan has one deep flaw... it doesn't go far enough. In a perfect world everyone should have the option to participate or opt completely out. After the system collapses, as it inevitably will, that's where we will be anyway. The sooner it collapses, the less shock there will be to our society... so I hope it is soon. By the way, I'm 70, and AARP can kiss my a$$. George Willer "jim rozen" wrote in message ... In article . com, says... And for your information I do want to invest in the market, have been doing it for years, and am way ahead. Problem is, Dan, you are the anti-poster boy for Bush's privatization plan. You pay your part of the tax now, so you fund the program. *And* you invest some of your own money on top of that. If folks can do that right now, why do we need to privatize the SS system? Just give all the folks who want to, the go-ahead to invest on their own! Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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In article , George Willer says...
Here's an answer from one of us who are on the side who aren't socialists. We have been denied the right to invest that part of our income that was confiscated by the program for our own future. George, you need to satisify the part of you that yearns for freedom from governmental interference. You won't find it in the US. So I suggest you move to some country where they don't tax folks and they don't provide for the common good. That way you can invest *all* the income you want, because it's not going to any kind of taxes - SS, federal income, sales, or state income tax. You'd just be a lot happier if you weren't giving other folks your money. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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In article , Eric R Snow says...
... Another time I brought in an article to show to the anesthesiologist. She had already seen the studies and was implementing the findings. She told me it was "Old News". She had been using the newer method for almost a year. But she was only slightly amused, not insulted, by me bringing in the article. ... I think that it's probably a lot tougher to be a doctor nowadays with the information available to lay people on the internet. Two edged sword though, folks like you show up and demonstrate a fairly deep knowledge of a particular subject in the field. I also think that really good doctors can do a pretty rapid, accurate on-the-fly assesment of the smarts quotient in the patient, so they can set the discussion level at the correct starting point. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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Jim,
This is the best place in the world to live, as far as I know. What's lacking is the will to stick to the principles that made it great. I'd be a lot happier if the socialist wannabe's weren't constantly undermining it with ideas that have never worked elsewhere long term, and certainly won't here. Certainly you're intelligent enough to understand that. George Willer "jim rozen" wrote in message ... In article , George Willer says... Here's an answer from one of us who are on the side who aren't socialists. We have been denied the right to invest that part of our income that was confiscated by the program for our own future. George, you need to satisify the part of you that yearns for freedom from governmental interference. You won't find it in the US. So I suggest you move to some country where they don't tax folks and they don't provide for the common good. That way you can invest *all* the income you want, because it's not going to any kind of taxes - SS, federal income, sales, or state income tax. You'd just be a lot happier if you weren't giving other folks your money. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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On 2 Apr 2005 16:50:49 -0800, jim rozen
wrote: In article , George Willer says... Here's an answer from one of us who are on the side who aren't socialists. We have been denied the right to invest that part of our income that was confiscated by the program for our own future. George, you need to satisify the part of you that yearns for freedom from governmental interference. You won't find it in the US. So I suggest you move to some country where they don't tax folks and they don't provide for the common good. That way you can invest *all* the income you want, because it's not going to any kind of taxes - SS, federal income, sales, or state income tax. You'd just be a lot happier if you weren't giving other folks your money. Jim Spoken like the true Stateist. Gunner Rule #35 "That which does not kill you, has made a huge tactical error" |
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I did pay my payroll taxes,had no choice, but now I am blissfully
unemployed. And I did invest some of my own money on top of that. Social Security is not a retirement plan as much as a safety net. I did all right. Part of it was doing things like working in Alaska where things were a bit primative, but where I got paid more and was able to save more. And also building a house while I was working. Makes for long days and not much playing on weekends. But not everyone can do what I did. Some marriages will not take that strain. I had a lot of good fortune. Everyone already has the go ahead to invest on their own. But with the change in the numbers of workers compared to the number of retired folks, it is going to be a lot harder for a lot of people to save and invest on their own. And the benefits of Social Security are going to shrink in comparison to the employment taxes. Pay as you go does not work well with only about two workers to one retiree. Pretty much everyone recognizes that sometime in the future, things are going to have to change. The question is when are they going to change, and how. Historically the stock market has been a better place to invest in than Treasury Bonds. The problem is that there is no guarantee. But if one has a choice, I think it would be wise to invest some money in the stock market. I had an uncle who was a stock broker. He told me to only invest money you can afford to lose in the stock market. That is good advice. The idea of private investment accounts is to allow some investment in higher risk investments, but not so much that one could end up with no retirement. If you want to stick the current Social Security, you should be able to do that. If you want to take some risk with the potential of more reward, you ought to be able to do that. But there needs to be limits on how you can risk. As I see it, a worker just entering the work force is looking at either 25% more taxes while he/she works or 25% less retirement when he/she retires. Bush is just trying to make it so the worker might pay the same amount of taxes and not get 25% less when they retire. Dan |
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On 2 Apr 2005 09:01:53 -0800, jim rozen
wrote: That's the idea that sticks so hard in the neocon craw - SS takes their money and gives it to other folks. Jim You like having your money given to other people, at gun point or not? I could sure use $10,000 right now. When will you send it? Need snail mail addy? Gunner Rule #35 "That which does not kill you, has made a huge tactical error" |
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I will be 70 this year and I agree with you as far as the AARP. They
sure as hell don't represent me. But I don't agree on everyone being able to opt out of Social Security. There needs to be help for a lot of people. But I would be for a plan that let you prove to the government that you were providing for your old age, and that let you opt out of a good portion of the payroll taxes. Dan |
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"George Willer" wrote in message
... Jim, This is the best place in the world to live, as far as I know. What's lacking is the will to stick to the principles that made it great. I'd be a lot happier if the socialist wannabe's weren't constantly undermining it with ideas that have never worked elsewhere long term, and certainly won't here. Certainly you're intelligent enough to understand that. George Willer Since you're making it a question of Jim's "intelligence," let's see how good yours is, George. 93% of US economic growth has occurred since the graduated income tax and Social Security were implemented. Yet, the population in those years only multiplied by a factor of 2.5. In fact, the US economy has doubled since 1982, through years of high welfare payments, food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid, and so on. You'll find that, contrary to what you're saying, no country has ever had much success, long-term or short-term, with *fewer* social programs than those of the US. Look for it in history. You won't find it. All of which raises the question, which requires both some intelligence and some knowledge to answer: What in the hell are you talking about? You may find some interesting answers in the recent research that's been done in the emerging field of the psychology of economics. People are risk-averse, including Americans. This is documented in investment-pattern research. Nearly all of us are erroneous investors. We invest irrationally, on the conservative side. Likewise, without safety nets, we don't take as many risks on new ventures. You can measure it. Innovation in an economy as a whole is far more prolific when just the right amount of security is provided. Not private security. Public security. Where risks are great, whether it's because the government is unstable or because people fear for the consequence of failure, innovation and investment dry up. People hunker down. They play it safe. They don't change jobs, and they don't buy new houses or make other long-term purchases. Consumption in general slows. With slower consumption, the potential rewards of investment, particularly in innovative products or services, decline. Economies slow down. Employment may or may not decline, but wages are depressed. Maintaining strong economic growth is a balancing act. Ideologies on one side or the other are certain ways to destroy it. You need strong safety nets, what you may be calling "socialism," or your economy will fizzle. At the same time, you need really large opportunities to make money with successful innovations. You need both, in other words. This isn't speculation. There are dozens of examples from around the world, recent and not so recent, that document it. Now, which "socialist" programs have you upset? -- Ed Huntress |
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"Eric R Snow" wrote in message
... On Sat, 2 Apr 2005 13:58:46 -0500, "Ed Huntress" wrote: "wmbjk" wrote in message .. . On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 20:05:14 -0500, "Ed Huntress" wrote: Hell, I'd do it, if I didn't have insurance and I was looking for every angle to cut expenses. It beats the hell out of taking nothing. You'd buy drugs at the vet to save 10%, as opposed to reimporting which saves much more but conflicts with "compassionate conservative" philosophy? Oh wait, I just noticed the date on your post.... ;-) Wayne I think you got the percentages backwards, Wayne. d8-) As for the drugs, I've spent most of my days over the past year reading, studying, editing, and writing about pharmaceuticals. I'm with Gunner, self-medicating with vet drugs beats nothing. A lot of information is available. It's a matter of learning how to read it. I have the greatest respect for physicians, but they can't be specialists in everything. Over the past 30 years I've been ahead of my MDs (and even, once or twice, endocrinologists) on much of type I diabetes treatment, and I've often given them updates. Within very strict limits, if you make a concerted effort and combine it with some professional medical diagnosis, some people can get away with it. . .most of the time. It's a balance of risks. Greetings Ed, What you say about doctors not being up on everything is true. There is just no way, unless they never saw patients. And a good doctor won't mind a bit if you bring in something the doctor hasn't seen yet. That's been my experience. A few years ago my son's pediatrician went in the back room and came out with a stack of _The Physician and Sportsmedicine_ for me. "Here," he said. "Read these." (I was reading about medial epicondolitis, of which my son had a mild case at the time). "Then go tell the other Little League coaches how to keep from wrecking their kids' arms." He knew how to deal with the condition but he didn't have time to read *all* of it. I did. So I fed back some of the info to him, and ran a couple of one-evening sessions for the coaches. Late last year I had to read everything published in the medical literature about a particular drug. It took me a month of, maybe, half-time reading. How could any practicing doctor do that? They deal with hundreds of drugs. It's impossible. After the work I've been doing for the past year I have more regard than ever for the doctors who really work to keep up. It's a phenomenal amount of work. -- Ed Huntress |
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In article , George Willer says...
Jim, This is the best place in the world to live, as far as I know. What's lacking is the will to stick to the principles that made it great. I'd be a lot happier if the socialist wannabe's weren't constantly undermining it with ideas that have never worked elsewhere long term, and certainly won't here. Certainly you're intelligent enough to understand that. What makes this country great is a pretty complicated thing George. And it's not just *one* thing. The idea of taxing workers to take care of old folks is at its heart a socialist idea - because it means re-distributing money from folks who have it, to folks who *don't*. I maintain that one reason why this country is great, is because we take care of old folks and don't just push them off on an ice floe. (mostly) You can argue, like gunner does, that there's *better* ways of doing it. You can argue that we should never, in principle, redistribute income in a socialist manner like that at all. But honestly (and I'm not being tongue-in-cheek now) you're never going to change the fact that our goverment works by taxing folks. If you think you can, you're going to sorely disapointed and really would be much happier living someplace where they don't have taxes. -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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In article , Gunner says...
You like having your money given to other people, at gun point or not? I could sure use $10,000 right now. When will you send it? To change that around a bit. They paved my street last year. That cost about $1Ok. My fellow city dwellers paid for it. Next year I might pay for *their* street. But it didn't take any guns to get it done. You have a good point though. Taxes should be optional. Please inform your president this is so, and have him remit the portion I paid for his oveseas adventure in iraq. Forthwith. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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In article , Gunner says...
You'd just be a lot happier if you weren't giving other folks your money. Spoken like the true Stateist. I thought it was a prettly libertarian thing to say. He doesn't want to pay SS tax. I don't want to pay for tobbacco subsidies or for a war in iraq. Neither of us are going to get that if we stay where we are. My point was that despite all the boo-hooing going on, nobody wants to leave this country because it still offers quite a few advantages over the alternatives. One of those is, we make a token effort to look after old folks. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
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Ed Huntress wrote:c
Speaking of BP, though, there *was* some ailment for which BP was a home remedy. I can't remember what it is. 'Ever hear of it? -- Ed Huntress Back when I was a kid, (nearly 70 yrs ago) my dad use to give the hunting dogs a peice of bread spread with butter to make the surface sticky and loaded with gun powder to "worm" them. Have no idea if it worked or not. ...lew... |
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