You know, instead of not taking a position, perhaps you might consider describing the best way to utilize the funds?
It's always better to suggest than to complain.
Personally, since I repair these hideous boxes (and networks) for a living, I'm thrilled. I'm calling the above two departments today and request a meeting!
Repeal the massive spending bill. All of it. The U.S. is now 10 trillion in debt, by the end of the year, and before any of these so called stimulus programs can start, the debt will be 12 trillion. The bills for medicaide, medicare and social security are going to come due soon - at an estimated cost of 70 trillion. How is taking on more debt going to solve any of these issues?
Say you have a good job, bring in a good salary and live the good life with a couple cars and a nice house, but you are mortgaged to the hilt, granpa's medicall bills keep going up, and uncle Tommy, who you have been supporting for years, keeps asking for more money. You don't have any savings, of course, and eventually you are going to have to pay for the kids schooling. So, although your income is going up, your expenses are increasing at a faster rate, and all ready every month you spend more than you earn. What would you do?
No, just read that again. Your suggestion is to cut government spending. Okay. That's actually a great suggestion. But, what do we cut spending on?
And, yes, the government has choses to take out another loan. Then take that money and build an addition onto the house. We hire uncle Tommy's construction company to do the work, so he stops asking for money. Once the work is done, we rent out that extra space so we'll have some extra income. Sure, we're gonna have to pay this loan back with interest in the long run, but we've got a short term solution.
Okay, it's a short term bandage. But it beats doing nothing. That's my only point. Sure, it doesn't get uncle Tommy his next contract, but it puts food on the table until he finds that next contract. It's better than spending the next six months brainstorming.
I mean, doesn't a short-term fix beat no fix at all? Doesn't staying afloat a little while longer while we work on a better plan beat drowning TODAY?
We have to drown a little. You cannot run an economy at full speed as we've been doing. You cannot recover from that. We need to reduce federal spending, get out of all these wars, cut the military operation/research/spending by 50% or more (that's a TON of money). This means getting rid of government programs and letting the local governments worry about their own people. We are not a socialist country. Period. People will be hurt. There's no avoiding that. We might have to start taking pay cuts, stop buying $40K cars, living in smaller homes, and generally cutting back across the board. Giving citizens another $100/month bill for cable and internet isn't going to suddenly fix the problems that have been building here since the 1930s when our government overstepped their bounds and Presidents started violating their jobs as executors by becoming drivers.
Good points, but you would NEVER get elected on that platform. Americans are fat, lazy, and rich, and you'd never get into office saying, "Hey, you're gonna have to tighten your belts and suck it up for a while." And you surely couldn't get into office telling a post-9/11 America that you're gonna cut military spending.
I mean, I can see where you're coming from, but America isn't having it.
Hell, and many of us have already drowned. I know good, honest, hard-working, intelligent people without jobs right now. You can't tell them that they're gonna have to drown a little. They're already barely hanging on. It really is rough out there, man. Again, I say anything that creates jobs is okay with me. I don't care if it's socialist, communist, or satanist.
I think in times where things are going well, your ideas would fly. In times of crisis...well, something has to be done.
@Andir3.0: Please run for President in 2012. I will vote for you.
@Troy Powers: No offense, but stop posting. Everything you say is wrong. All that people with your outlook do is encourage government to continue over-stepping their boundaries, and spending us out of existence.
Everything I say is wrong? Really? Okay. Quote one thing I've said that is factually incorrect, sir.
Not counting, of course, my mistake thinking that the majority of people on dial-up use it because of lack of a better option. That's already been corrected.
I wouldn't say he was wrong. But he was doing what normal humans do. Looking out for his interests and thinking he's looking out for the interests of the country. There has always been two schools of thought on how our government is to be run. This reaches back to the days before we were a country. Nobody wants to fail at life and we all want to be first. Everyone wants a magic bullet to fix all that is wrong.
I just don't see it happening without years of recovery. Right now, my parents have broadband internet in the middle of nowhere Ohio, in the form of microwave transmission. Last time I checked, it was 1Mbps down/256K up. Most farm country ISPs have the capability to put up microwave towers and transmit the internet to homes up to 10 miles away (in the case of my parents and possibly further.) They pay less than I do for Cable broadband. It's not as reliable during a storm when it slows down a bit, but it works.
This act was most likely driven by corporate lobby and cable providers looking to extend their service at the cost of the taxpayer instead of the cost of themselves.
Also, and unfortunately, it's not up to the President to fix anything. They don't decide the law. Ultimately, the responsible parties are you and I, not a President. They are only executors of the Constitution, like a Judge is to the local law, and ambassadors of our country to the foreign markets.
There's more to PC games than computer towers and input devices... Enter the CM Storm Sirus, the outfit's first foray into the world of gaming headsets.
The most commented posts on Engadget over the past 24 hours.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
You know, instead of not taking a position, perhaps you might consider describing the best way to utilize the funds?
It's always better to suggest than to complain.
Personally, since I repair these hideous boxes (and networks) for a living, I'm thrilled. I'm calling the above two departments today and request a meeting!
How about this for a position:
Repeal the massive spending bill. All of it. The U.S. is now 10 trillion in debt, by the end of the year, and before any of these so called stimulus programs can start, the debt will be 12 trillion. The bills for medicaide, medicare and social security are going to come due soon - at an estimated cost of 70 trillion. How is taking on more debt going to solve any of these issues?
Say you have a good job, bring in a good salary and live the good life with a couple cars and a nice house, but you are mortgaged to the hilt, granpa's medicall bills keep going up, and uncle Tommy, who you have been supporting for years, keeps asking for more money. You don't have any savings, of course, and eventually you are going to have to pay for the kids schooling. So, although your income is going up, your expenses are increasing at a faster rate, and all ready every month you spend more than you earn. What would you do?
A. Cut expenses, or
B. Take out another loan.
Congress just chose B.
Mycroft, so your suggestion is to do nothing?
No, just read that again. Your suggestion is to cut government spending. Okay. That's actually a great suggestion. But, what do we cut spending on?
And, yes, the government has choses to take out another loan. Then take that money and build an addition onto the house. We hire uncle Tommy's construction company to do the work, so he stops asking for money. Once the work is done, we rent out that extra space so we'll have some extra income. Sure, we're gonna have to pay this loan back with interest in the long run, but we've got a short term solution.
Fixed.
What does Tommy's Construction company do after the job is done? Get the Government to give him another job? That's a short term bandage.
Okay, it's a short term bandage. But it beats doing nothing. That's my only point. Sure, it doesn't get uncle Tommy his next contract, but it puts food on the table until he finds that next contract. It's better than spending the next six months brainstorming.
I mean, doesn't a short-term fix beat no fix at all? Doesn't staying afloat a little while longer while we work on a better plan beat drowning TODAY?
We have to drown a little. You cannot run an economy at full speed as we've been doing. You cannot recover from that. We need to reduce federal spending, get out of all these wars, cut the military operation/research/spending by 50% or more (that's a TON of money). This means getting rid of government programs and letting the local governments worry about their own people. We are not a socialist country. Period. People will be hurt. There's no avoiding that. We might have to start taking pay cuts, stop buying $40K cars, living in smaller homes, and generally cutting back across the board. Giving citizens another $100/month bill for cable and internet isn't going to suddenly fix the problems that have been building here since the 1930s when our government overstepped their bounds and Presidents started violating their jobs as executors by becoming drivers.
@Andir3.0
Good points, but you would NEVER get elected on that platform. Americans are fat, lazy, and rich, and you'd never get into office saying, "Hey, you're gonna have to tighten your belts and suck it up for a while." And you surely couldn't get into office telling a post-9/11 America that you're gonna cut military spending.
I mean, I can see where you're coming from, but America isn't having it.
Hell, and many of us have already drowned. I know good, honest, hard-working, intelligent people without jobs right now. You can't tell them that they're gonna have to drown a little. They're already barely hanging on. It really is rough out there, man. Again, I say anything that creates jobs is okay with me. I don't care if it's socialist, communist, or satanist.
I think in times where things are going well, your ideas would fly. In times of crisis...well, something has to be done.
Then we will fall.
Well, I'll play the fiddle.
Nothing lasts forever, eh?
@Andir3.0: Please run for President in 2012. I will vote for you.
@Troy Powers: No offense, but stop posting. Everything you say is wrong. All that people with your outlook do is encourage government to continue over-stepping their boundaries, and spending us out of existence.
10 Trillion dollar debt = Every Man, Woman and child would have to pay $30,000 to pay off.
@hexydes
Open debate is good. Without Troy you never would have heard a third of what Andir had to say.
@hexydes
Everything I say is wrong? Really? Okay. Quote one thing I've said that is factually incorrect, sir.
Not counting, of course, my mistake thinking that the majority of people on dial-up use it because of lack of a better option. That's already been corrected.
I wouldn't say he was wrong. But he was doing what normal humans do. Looking out for his interests and thinking he's looking out for the interests of the country. There has always been two schools of thought on how our government is to be run. This reaches back to the days before we were a country. Nobody wants to fail at life and we all want to be first. Everyone wants a magic bullet to fix all that is wrong.
I just don't see it happening without years of recovery. Right now, my parents have broadband internet in the middle of nowhere Ohio, in the form of microwave transmission. Last time I checked, it was 1Mbps down/256K up. Most farm country ISPs have the capability to put up microwave towers and transmit the internet to homes up to 10 miles away (in the case of my parents and possibly further.) They pay less than I do for Cable broadband. It's not as reliable during a storm when it slows down a bit, but it works.
This act was most likely driven by corporate lobby and cable providers looking to extend their service at the cost of the taxpayer instead of the cost of themselves.
Also, and unfortunately, it's not up to the President to fix anything. They don't decide the law. Ultimately, the responsible parties are you and I, not a President. They are only executors of the Constitution, like a Judge is to the local law, and ambassadors of our country to the foreign markets.