United States: What's the problem?

Discussion in 'Politics' started by Xmo1, Oct 2, 2017.

  1. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,864
    I didn't say "live", I said "destroy". And yes, Home Depot is a good example of capitalism in action.
     
  2. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  3. RADII Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    136
    • Please do not flame other members
    It was your original post you vapid moron.
     
  4. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  5. iceaura Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    30,994
    It could also deliver basic care to everybody, at half the current cost of failing to do that.

    Meanwhile, it already does, everywhere it's been tried - including in the US, with Medicare and VA care. So you don't have to speculate - it's been demonstrated.
    It provides better care everywhere it's been tried. Every single place, every different setup, every different culture. Every First World citizen on the planet gets - on average - better medical care than an American gets on average. Of the 34 First World health care systems on this planet, the US ranks 34th as measured by outcome of treatment. There are Second World countries whose citizens get better medical care than the ordinary US citizen.
    It's better than the US. Cheaper, faster, and better outcomes. Much cheaper, significantly better outcomes, and a little bit faster on average.
    Nationwide there's insufficient demand to support even historically average per capita levels of construction. Nobody's got enough money except the upper 20%, and there's only so many houses they need.
    The only unmet demand (remember: "demand" is measured in money, not need) for housing in this country is in the hurricane zones - and there, the lack of demand for construction for the last ten years has cost the industry hundreds of thousands of skilled workers. Recovery is going to take much longer than it did for past hurricanes, unless the Federal Government steps in heavily and competently as it has in the past.

    Too bad about that, eh?
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2017
  6. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  7. Xmo1 Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    501
    Labor has no voice. Voters have no voice. The poor have no voice. The government and corporate America have turned them all into pawns, and the pawns that don't love it have no voice. Nothing is going to change. The king is willing to risk all his pawns in a foolish game. That's a problem.

    Have a look at a Washington, DC map, and ask yourself how many of those government buildings are without meaningful leadership. You know who are fully staffed? Defense, IMF, World Bank, the FED, and so on. Who's not? EPA, SEC, Secret Service, and so on. That's a problem.

    Have a look at the HQ of top U.S. businesses. Who among them are fully staffed? The top 100. What of the other hundreds of thousands of businesses? In hock to the banks. Boarded up. Failing. No need to ask how or why. It's what happens when accountability is meaningless. Congress' both federal and state failed to maintain the laws that bind and serve the people. The laws didn't start out that way. Fat cats with golden ties and bonnets twiddled the Congress.' Their names are on the buildings in Washington and NYC. That's a problem.

    How does all this affect Americans? It makes them sick, and angry. But who cares? Let them eat cake. That's a problem.

    I think of all the fine people who after working a long day will come home and snuggle up with the evening news, and then do it all over again the next day without batting an eyelash. That's a problem.

    The answer is pay attention, and then do something, because like the person said, 'If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem.' Don't just let life go by, because it will, and it won't get any better until YOU make it better. glhf
     
  8. timojin Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,252
    I lived in several country , it is the same all over, once you have set laws , it is all over in all countries
     
  9. iceaura Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    30,994
    That's just the line from the folks who did this to America covering their butts.
     
  10. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,938
    Also a suitable answer to the OP:

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
    Xmo1 likes this.
  11. Xmo1 Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    501
    Uncle Sam is on track to make $66 billion profit off 6 years of student loans, Elizabeth Warren says

    Warren cited an oft-repeated statistic about the $1 trillion in outstanding student loan debt.

    Then she suggested that the federal government is an exploitative lender.

    "Right now, the United States government charges an interest rate on student loans that covers the administrative costs, covers the bad-debt losses, covers the cost of funds and then -- on top of all that -- makes a profit for the government," Warren said.
    *****
    2012 The banking giant HSBC has escaped indictment for laundering billions of dollars for Mexican drug cartels and groups linked to al-Qaeda.
    *****
    Five banks (Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS) had to pay a total of $2.5 billion to the Justice Department and $1.8 billion to the Federal Reserve in connection with charges that they conspired to manipulate foreign exchange markets. The DOJ case was unusual in that the banks had to enter guilty pleas, but it is unclear that this hampered their ability to conduct business as usual.

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Citibank $700 million for the deceptive marketing of credit card add-on products.
    *****
    Millennium Health agreed to pay $256 million to resolve allegations that it billed Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health programs for unnecessary tests.

    German auto parts maker Robert Bosch was fined $57.8 million after pleading guilty to Justice Department charges of conspiring to fix prices and rig bids for spark plugs, oxygen sensors and starter motors sold to automakers in the United States and elsewhere.
    *****
    The savings and loan fraud – which former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh called “the biggest white collar swindle in history” – cost us anywhere from $300 billion to $500 billion. And then you have your lesser frauds: auto repair fraud, $40 billion a year, securities fraud, $15 billion a year – and on down the list.

    The Swiss pharmaceutical giant, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., pled guilty and agreed to pay a record $500 million criminal fine for leading a worldwide conspiracy to raise and fix prices and allocate market shares for certain vitamins sold in the United States and elsewhere.
    *****
    I could just keep posting these till the moon turns blue. These are just the tip of the iceberg. SEC, for example, does not prosecute thousands of cases a year, simply because it does not have the personnel to do so.

    It's difficult to watch congressional committees pulling teeth to get at a minimum of truth. You get the oil industry top executives telling congress to take a hike ($5.00/gal gas). You get the banks hemming and hawing when talking to investigative committees, failing to provide documents, and on and on.

    Senator Warren noted the billions of taxpayer dollars lost without a single person from those institutions finding themselves in a court room. She noted that if a citizen gets arrested with an ounce of cocaine they go to jail, but if a bank steals billions of dollars no one gets prosecuted. Why is that, she asked.


    EDITED to fix LaTeX formatting issues - Kittamaru
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 13, 2017
  12. Xmo1 Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    501
    U.S. is not the same as other countries. Thank God for mid-term elections, November 2018. The American people need to watch very closely that the incumbent's don't destroy the government with hissy fits on their way out. They can do a lot of damage in a year.

    One more thing: The ancient congressional protocol is just that - ancient. Get rid of it. For Christ sake, people have meetings every day, and don't waste time with that kind of crap. Also those - 'I'm an astronomer, priest, oracle, and your leader' - golden robes and bonnets called suits and ties: NOBODY likes them, and they're ancient. Be done with them, please, or are you afraid that people won't recognize you as their astronomer, priest, oracle, and leader if you dress as a human being. At this point you just become another poser, because every dick in the world is wearing them. Make a fashion statement by being normal. Justice should do the same and get rid of those stupid robes. All rise for the weirdo in the ancient getup. It's a wonder they don't wear tiara's, mitre's, and ferula's. You've got to wonder what wearing that kind of stuff does to their psyche. If they can't get their clothing right are they going to make a solid decision on your case? Kiss the ring! UGH, disgusting!
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2017
  13. timojin Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,252
     
  14. timojin Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,252
    So we have all this nuisance, The regular citizen can do nothing, because we elevate the ones with money,
    with education , we humiliate the one in our own category . ete . ete,
     
  15. iceaura Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    30,994
    That's "you", not "we". "We" have been trying to stop you from acting like that for my entire adult life.
     
  16. Xmo1 Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    501
    The Obama campaign cost the incumbent president, the Democratic Party and the primary super PACs supporting his candidacy more than $1.1 billion in the 2012 election. Consider how much money it cost to get President Obama to the point where he could run for President. Who pays? It's not the people of the United States. Why do they pay? That person has a history of making decisions in their favor. That is one issue. Their education is not an issue. Most of us are educated. For some unknown reason we are all getting smarter as well.

    The regular citizen can vote, as they did in the Obama elections, and the people they elect will change things. My prediction, and probably shared by many, is that the government (through the voting process) is going to be doing back flips to get the country back on track. Future politicians are in meetings and drafting legislation at this very moment that will do that, at least I hope they are. When the elections happen a whole bunch of them are going to say 'gin,' and slap that stuff on the table faster than a speeding ticket.

    My guess is that things are going to change big. Multinational corporations will be humbled. I don't think our people or politicians are going to put up with this lack of accountability any longer. Our socioeconomic class system is going to be impacted. We may see a renewed focus on infrastructure. My guess is that the next round of changes in government are going to be massive. I think the Internet is going to inform people, and help that happen with or without the influx of billions of dollars.

    I think people are thinking along the lines of, We are going to make this thing work right regardless of the money, and regardless of the celebrity value of the politicians. Up until now government has been tripping on it's own feet, and failing the American people. That is sort of like stepping in cow dung. You know you stepped in it, but you don't just stand there doing nothing. Americans are strong, resilient, and intelligent. Things will change.
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2017
  17. timojin Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,252
    Stop, what ? what is your proposal for the society? be specific ! How old is your adult life , Probably I have been here while you have been growing up.
    Have you participate in any local election ? My experience most of the bastards that running at beginning are idealists , but after they get into the seat, they are just selfish and cheat to be elected again .
    But look forward you tell me what are you trying to stop,
    American voter is not the most intelligent , most of them are sheep.
     
  18. timojin Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,252
    And easy to brainwash. Things will change into what ? More welfare , you want education work for it, better healthcare, stop supporting and pushing your politics on other nations ,that cost a lot of money.
     
  19. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,938
    Translation - you want education, you better be born into a rich family.
     
  20. timojin Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,252
    I am not rich, I was an immigrant. In June 2017 my son graduate from medical school . His mother was a nurse and I am a chemist with master degree. the other son is going to graduate school / The USNAVY is paying for his school.
     
  21. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,864
    I did fourteen years at Purdue, two bachelors, one Masters. Ain't nobody in my family rich.
     
  22. iceaura Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    30,994
    I also got educated without family wealth - worked my way through, retiring each winter's loans with the summer's earnings and picking up night school classes with spare cash on hand from regular jobs.

    That was a while ago. I could not do that now, and very few people could. If your family isn't well-off, at least, and willing to put you through, you will end up with significant debt from a four year or more degree.

    The point is not that it's impossible. The point is that it is so costly now - in time, money, and especially risk - that ordinary people will not do it, will fail at it, or will succeed only in a partial, crippled fashion after too much time and effort. And that costs the entire society a fortune as well as a way of life.
    Says the guy who offers as an example joining the military to pay for one's education.

    You can't get an education by working for it any more, unless you are very lucky and/or amoral - jobs don't pay enough, the price of education has skyrocketed, there are no more grants and stuff like there used to be (it's all loans, now, on punitive terms). And better healthcare by cutting back on the military and setting up a better system with the government money saved is what we've been trying to get for years - blocked at every turn by the Christian fundies and other Republican voters.
    I'm trying to stop you and the folks like you from wrecking my country. And I'm not having much success.
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2017
    timojin likes this.
  23. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,938
    So instead of paying a debt of money, a debt of blood. Got it.

    And how did you pay for this at nearly 38k a year with room and board (before books and other expenses)? Student loans?

    Which is exactly the problem - tuition has increased, on average, 150 to 200% before adjusting for inflation at most public universities (up to 250% at many in-state schools, as the in-state discount has not kept pace with the rise in tuition). By compare, the average middle-class income has increased something around 25% before adjusting for inflation...

    So, if one can work two full time jobs and go to school, they can just barely pay for tuition... but that says nothing about books, room and board, supplies, or food.

    *shrug* Seems like a problem that might want to be dealt with, except our countries leadership is perfectly fine allowing China and others to simply pass us by while we drag ourselves back to the fucking dark ages.

    sources:
    https://www.usnews.com/education/be...rs-of-tuition-growth-at-national-universities
    https://www.advisorperspectives.com...9/u-s-household-incomes-a-50-year-perspective
     

Share This Page