MSN brought up this report, which I read through three or four times. It's a curious piece.
There is this research foundation....the Roosevelt Institute....which did this study, in connection with the Italian University of Cassino and Southern Lazio and the Bard College's Levy Institute.
The result of the study is a suggestion that you ought to give every adult (assuming over the age of 18 years old)....$1,000 in a cash handout each month. If you did this....the US economy would surge by $2.5 trillion in just seven years.
The tail-end of this study suggests that by paying out the handouts....would result in increased taxes, which is a slight negative and you'd have to find some method to avoid this angle of the consequences.
For several years, this hand-out deal has floated around Europe and been a popular idea for fringe political parties.
The general issues I see with this?
First, you assume that each person getting the $1,000 a month....will spend it. There's never been a real study done to say what a thousand people getting the $1,000 a month would do with the money. I have doubts that all of the thousand would readily spend it each month. If you had ten to twenty percent who stock-piled the money....it wouldn't be such a positive idea. The idea of some borrowing even more money, and that $20,000 loans being easily created and banks trying to gimmick-up 20-percent loans out of this thousand-a-month?
Second, none of the research ever done....has suggest how the $1,000 a month would be spent. This bothers me in some ways. Some people would go and find a upscale car, and put a thousand dollars down, and pay a monthly payment of $999 on the car. Some adults would spend the whole thousand on a weekend at some Indian casino. Some would buy a thousand dollars of meth. Some might go and buy shares of stock.
Third, you would eventually come around and ask....all these material-type products that the thousand per month went to.....are they actually made in the US? The laughable answer is no.....the vast majority would probably have been made either in Mexico, some Asian region, or China. It would be different if the money all went to US-made products....that would invent jobs....create a wave of enthusiasm within the US market, and be a great positive trend. But you can't even come close to even twenty-percent of this mass purchase each month being US-manufactured.
I don't intend to knock all of these efforts by the private foundations....we need research like this. But you see various limits to the concept and wonder why they won't investigate where the money would be spent or what materials/products would be bought?
Tuesday, 5 September 2017
Sunday, 3 September 2017
The Don't-Goof-This-Up Situation
In this scene....the older gal had pulled up and President Trump walked up and had a brief chat with the older Houston gal. As you notice the moment...she has embraced the President with her hand on his left arm....a sign of connection.
I paused over the moment. She likely left that epic meeting between herself and President....teary-eyed and emotional. She probably drove back home and talked to her husband 'Lester'....noting how she'd bumped into Trump. 'Lester' probably asked if it affected her, and she probably went on for two hours talking of this one brief moment of dialog with Trump. Eye-to-eye....chatter over the weather, the flood, the compassion of people....Trump giving her a chance to say something that was bothering her, and for a brief time....she felt up-lifted.
Maybe she did admit that she voted for Hillary. Maybe she even suggested that she had voted for that McMuffin-guy. Or maybe she admitted that she'd forgotten about voting that day in November.
Here's the thing....on any given day, you might take a turn and stop in some parking lot....and President Trump might suddenly walk up to your car-window and want to start a chat. Don't goof this up. Offer up a 'howdy'....speak with some respect....and say your brief sixty-word commentary. This is it, your one brief moment in life when you might be able to influence or bring some insight to a situation. Don't screw it up by admitting you voted McMuffin.
Wednesday, 16 August 2017
Party Platform Chatter
With all this Nazi talk in recent days, I thought it might be useful to pull out the 1932 political platform for the Nationalist Socialist Party of Germany. While some folks go full turbo on the Aryan Nation business....to be a true Nazi....you also need to be socialist. So, this is the platform statement, in English, in modern-day language (the way we'd grasp things today):
1. Undertaking a government requirement to establish all citizens the right to adequate employment opportunities and an adequate living standard. Hint, this means the $15 an hour wage, and the government supervising your employment opportunities in some fashion.
2. The needs of the overall community should outweigh the needs of the individual. Hint, your personal needs don't matter.
3. The commercial running of the nation should be regulated in such a way, that profits of the rich or corporate nature.....should be shared and distributed to the citizens....not by the wealthy or elite. Hint, you can only make X-amount of money, and the rest will be redistributed.
4. The welfare of the senior citizens should be attended to by the government, who will ensure a provision exists for their "protection". Hint, part of the redistribution of wealth will go toward senior citizens....one way or another.
5. The nation will ensure regulations exist to control state and federal property to the degree required, which will be determined by the highest authority of the government. If necessary, confiscation of excess property or wealth will be exercised, for the greater good of the community. Hint, they will seize property and wealth, as required.
6. Interest rates and mortgage situations will be regulated by the government to ensure the lowest possible financial requirement upon the citizens. Hint, the banks won't set rates....the government will.
7. A national farming bill/law will be pushed to help improve and comfort the rural farming environment and ensure national food requirements are met, with good cheap prices for everyone in the market. Hint, the government will set prices and farming profits.
8. Rent control and regulation will be exercised as necessary, to prevent profits. Hint, rent will be a government run operation....you the owner, will not determine how much you can charge.
9. Regulation will be created to prevent speculation of land and property.
10. The federal government will work to ensure the culture of all ethnic groups of society is respected and honored.
11. The science of citizenship will be developed and exercised as appropriately viewed by the community, state and federal government. This science will be developed into common teaching requirements and utilized for lesson plans as necessary.
12. Children with skill and capability, no matter what class of their parents, shall be educated at the cost of the government, no matter where they live or what the eventual higher education will cost. In essence, free college for all.
13. It will be the absolute priority of the nation to help raise the standards of national health by providing adequate hospitals, clinics, doctors, nurses, and care.
14. It will be the national cause to help stop and hinder unnecessary juvenile labor.
15. It will be a national priority to help increase physical fitness and dietary requirements of the public, to help make society at large better and healthier. Regulation will be utilized as much as necessary.
16. The overall goal of the nation.....will be the common good....before the individual good. The nation will stand against materialistic spirits which create unfair wealth and class divisions.
So, if you were hyped up to use the brand-name Nazi....and you just weren't that much into socialism or the entanglements.....then you've picked the wrong core group.
Course, there are some other folks who'd like these political platforms, who might not be considered alt-right.
Just something to think about. Note, all of these come from 1932 text of the political platform used for the party in that year's election in Germany.
1. Undertaking a government requirement to establish all citizens the right to adequate employment opportunities and an adequate living standard. Hint, this means the $15 an hour wage, and the government supervising your employment opportunities in some fashion.
2. The needs of the overall community should outweigh the needs of the individual. Hint, your personal needs don't matter.
3. The commercial running of the nation should be regulated in such a way, that profits of the rich or corporate nature.....should be shared and distributed to the citizens....not by the wealthy or elite. Hint, you can only make X-amount of money, and the rest will be redistributed.
4. The welfare of the senior citizens should be attended to by the government, who will ensure a provision exists for their "protection". Hint, part of the redistribution of wealth will go toward senior citizens....one way or another.
5. The nation will ensure regulations exist to control state and federal property to the degree required, which will be determined by the highest authority of the government. If necessary, confiscation of excess property or wealth will be exercised, for the greater good of the community. Hint, they will seize property and wealth, as required.
6. Interest rates and mortgage situations will be regulated by the government to ensure the lowest possible financial requirement upon the citizens. Hint, the banks won't set rates....the government will.
7. A national farming bill/law will be pushed to help improve and comfort the rural farming environment and ensure national food requirements are met, with good cheap prices for everyone in the market. Hint, the government will set prices and farming profits.
8. Rent control and regulation will be exercised as necessary, to prevent profits. Hint, rent will be a government run operation....you the owner, will not determine how much you can charge.
9. Regulation will be created to prevent speculation of land and property.
10. The federal government will work to ensure the culture of all ethnic groups of society is respected and honored.
11. The science of citizenship will be developed and exercised as appropriately viewed by the community, state and federal government. This science will be developed into common teaching requirements and utilized for lesson plans as necessary.
12. Children with skill and capability, no matter what class of their parents, shall be educated at the cost of the government, no matter where they live or what the eventual higher education will cost. In essence, free college for all.
13. It will be the absolute priority of the nation to help raise the standards of national health by providing adequate hospitals, clinics, doctors, nurses, and care.
14. It will be the national cause to help stop and hinder unnecessary juvenile labor.
15. It will be a national priority to help increase physical fitness and dietary requirements of the public, to help make society at large better and healthier. Regulation will be utilized as much as necessary.
16. The overall goal of the nation.....will be the common good....before the individual good. The nation will stand against materialistic spirits which create unfair wealth and class divisions.
So, if you were hyped up to use the brand-name Nazi....and you just weren't that much into socialism or the entanglements.....then you've picked the wrong core group.
Course, there are some other folks who'd like these political platforms, who might not be considered alt-right.
Just something to think about. Note, all of these come from 1932 text of the political platform used for the party in that year's election in Germany.
Sunday, 6 August 2017
The 'X' Plus 'Y' Story
"There were some people on a train. 19 people get off the train at the first stop. 17 people get on the train. Now there are 63 people on the train. How many people were on the train to begin with?"
Someone posted up this math-quiz type problem, noting that most six and seven year old kids were not able to comprehend the questions, the formula, or the output.
If you had thrown this question up around the fifth or sixth grade with the kids I was associated with....I would imagine three would have been able to come to the answer.
At least two kids would have asked where this train started from, the location of the first stop, and where it ended. I probably would have been one of the two kids myself.
At least one kid would have asked who was counting the seventeen people who got on, and if they could have screwed up.
At least one kid would have asked who the heck travels by train....of which the entire class would have noted that they don't know anyone who has ever traveled by train unless they were over the age of sixty-five.
One bright kid from the class would have asked from the 19 people getting off and 17 people getting on....is it possible that one of the 19 simply stepped off to relieve themselves, and got right back on after finishing their business (thus being one of the 17). In this case, 'X' could vary.
Along about the seventh-grade of my life....I came to a woeful period in math with 'word-problems'. A four-line problem would represent a ten-minute reading, analysis, and would force me into asking what is the real question at hand. The red-herring dilemma would be the best description of this situation. At some point, I just started making 'X' into twelve as I started the problem, and as I came to the end....I would note the difference between 12 and the wrong answer....thus making a stupid but workable method of handling word-problems.
I can make the observation of life today....that the majority of people (minimum of fifty-percent) over the age of twenty....can't handle word-problems. It's simply that their mind isn't geared to that type of analysis and output. I'd also make the observation that 10-percent of society are geared toward world-problems, and routinely do these dozens of times per days with ease. These are the people who note the size of a bale of hay, the dimensions of a wagon, and casually note that only 75 bales can fit safely upon the wagon.
In some ways, I think society is wasting its time trying to get 100-percent of people to work with X and Y type word-problems. Some folks were destined to become rocket-scientists.....and some weren't. In this train episode.....does anyone really care that nineteen folks got off the train?
Someone posted up this math-quiz type problem, noting that most six and seven year old kids were not able to comprehend the questions, the formula, or the output.
If you had thrown this question up around the fifth or sixth grade with the kids I was associated with....I would imagine three would have been able to come to the answer.
At least two kids would have asked where this train started from, the location of the first stop, and where it ended. I probably would have been one of the two kids myself.
At least one kid would have asked who was counting the seventeen people who got on, and if they could have screwed up.
At least one kid would have asked who the heck travels by train....of which the entire class would have noted that they don't know anyone who has ever traveled by train unless they were over the age of sixty-five.
One bright kid from the class would have asked from the 19 people getting off and 17 people getting on....is it possible that one of the 19 simply stepped off to relieve themselves, and got right back on after finishing their business (thus being one of the 17). In this case, 'X' could vary.
Along about the seventh-grade of my life....I came to a woeful period in math with 'word-problems'. A four-line problem would represent a ten-minute reading, analysis, and would force me into asking what is the real question at hand. The red-herring dilemma would be the best description of this situation. At some point, I just started making 'X' into twelve as I started the problem, and as I came to the end....I would note the difference between 12 and the wrong answer....thus making a stupid but workable method of handling word-problems.
I can make the observation of life today....that the majority of people (minimum of fifty-percent) over the age of twenty....can't handle word-problems. It's simply that their mind isn't geared to that type of analysis and output. I'd also make the observation that 10-percent of society are geared toward world-problems, and routinely do these dozens of times per days with ease. These are the people who note the size of a bale of hay, the dimensions of a wagon, and casually note that only 75 bales can fit safely upon the wagon.
In some ways, I think society is wasting its time trying to get 100-percent of people to work with X and Y type word-problems. Some folks were destined to become rocket-scientists.....and some weren't. In this train episode.....does anyone really care that nineteen folks got off the train?
Monday, 10 July 2017
Bergdahl Episode
I noted in minor military news this past weekend, that the Bowe Bergdahl episode has progressed to the next step. He was the young Army guy who decided to walk out of the camp in Afghanistan, in search of a better life and was taken prisoner by the Taliban folks....held for a fair amount of time as a prisoner and then traded with a deal with the Obama Administration. The Army has taken the view that some court-martial type offenses have occurred and the court is working up to a starting point.
So the two items that have occurred is that the military judge in charge decided that all charges that were referred to the court.....will be allowed. There are two charges....both of which could get not just life in prison but the death penalty. The second item is that two witnesses will be allowed into the court.....both of which were members who were injured or wounded during the hunt for Bergdahl after he disappeared. This is a bit difficult for the defense lawyers to overcome and harsh questions toward the two won't be appreciated by the jury.....all combat-veterans.
I will note....that if you go and research all of Bergdah's history....after getting removed from the Coast Guard boot-camp.....the Army should NOT have allowed him in.....he was simply not mature enough or competent enough for military duty. Somehow, he made it through Army boot-camp and came to lose his prospective on life in Afghanistan. I do put some of the blame on the Army for not recognizing the guy's behavior and limits.
All this said and done.....I think Bergdahl will end up with a 15-year sentence and be reduced to E-1. They will likely credit him for the period held captive, but the rest of this....probably 13 years....will be what he owes the Army. I will add that if he demands NCOs be on the jury (which is his right).....he's likely to get MORE time, not less, on the sentencing. It would not be in your best interest to have NCOs on this jury.
So the two items that have occurred is that the military judge in charge decided that all charges that were referred to the court.....will be allowed. There are two charges....both of which could get not just life in prison but the death penalty. The second item is that two witnesses will be allowed into the court.....both of which were members who were injured or wounded during the hunt for Bergdahl after he disappeared. This is a bit difficult for the defense lawyers to overcome and harsh questions toward the two won't be appreciated by the jury.....all combat-veterans.
I will note....that if you go and research all of Bergdah's history....after getting removed from the Coast Guard boot-camp.....the Army should NOT have allowed him in.....he was simply not mature enough or competent enough for military duty. Somehow, he made it through Army boot-camp and came to lose his prospective on life in Afghanistan. I do put some of the blame on the Army for not recognizing the guy's behavior and limits.
All this said and done.....I think Bergdahl will end up with a 15-year sentence and be reduced to E-1. They will likely credit him for the period held captive, but the rest of this....probably 13 years....will be what he owes the Army. I will add that if he demands NCOs be on the jury (which is his right).....he's likely to get MORE time, not less, on the sentencing. It would not be in your best interest to have NCOs on this jury.
Tuesday, 20 June 2017
This Otto Warmbier Story
I've sat for several days looking over this story of the American kid who finally got removed from North Korea, and passed away in the US in the past twenty-four hours. There are a lot of mysterious things over the Warmbier story, but the top one that interests me....is how he got to the point of being in a vegetative state.
My guess? I think toward the conclusion of the court case.....they began to dope him up. Guard A would be given some instructions, and in some shift change....give out a dope-dose. Guard B would come on and get the same instructions. Guard C would get the same instructions. At some point, Warmbier is permanently in a coma. The guards can truthfully say they followed the precise instruction they were given, and the idiots above them will realize that they'd killed Warmbier without any intention. The sad fact is that they probably do this several hundred times each month to other prisoners and no one ever says anything about what was done.
My observation on traveling to North Korea? Why not just select downtown Detroit for a week, and go on nightly tours of the no-go areas of Detroit? Why not select the gang zones of Atlanta? There's just no reason to go into North Korea.
My guess? I think toward the conclusion of the court case.....they began to dope him up. Guard A would be given some instructions, and in some shift change....give out a dope-dose. Guard B would come on and get the same instructions. Guard C would get the same instructions. At some point, Warmbier is permanently in a coma. The guards can truthfully say they followed the precise instruction they were given, and the idiots above them will realize that they'd killed Warmbier without any intention. The sad fact is that they probably do this several hundred times each month to other prisoners and no one ever says anything about what was done.
My observation on traveling to North Korea? Why not just select downtown Detroit for a week, and go on nightly tours of the no-go areas of Detroit? Why not select the gang zones of Atlanta? There's just no reason to go into North Korea.
Sunday, 18 June 2017
The Levy Email
This past week, I got this personalized email from a big-wig (Cliff Levy) from the New York Times. Basically, it was a personalized appeal that I needed to support and read the Times because only they had brilliant journalists. The hint also....was that bloggers simply didn't have the sources for the news.....like the anonymous source folks.....to help give you a four-star story.
It took me about sixty seconds to assess that it was a rather weak and marginalized attempt to get me to subscribe with a newspaper known greatly for it's biased reporting and comical analysis.
The best quote from the email? "Real reporting is vital in a media landscape full of deceptive or outright false news. And we can do it because we have the support of our subscribers".
Maybe a decade ago, I would have easily bought off on quotes or news from the Washington Post or New York Times. In the past decade.....I've gone to a different plateau and ask a lot more questions. Just say some news comes from the Times or Post.....doesn't mean anything to me. I get this almost nightly now from public TV here in Germany, and find the handcuffed method of convincing me of things to be questionable.
How many people will buy off on this email from Cliff Levy? My humble guess is less than a hundred people will subscribe. I would even make the assessment that the Times has reached a point of desperation where it really needs another twenty-thousand subscribers.
It took me about sixty seconds to assess that it was a rather weak and marginalized attempt to get me to subscribe with a newspaper known greatly for it's biased reporting and comical analysis.
The best quote from the email? "Real reporting is vital in a media landscape full of deceptive or outright false news. And we can do it because we have the support of our subscribers".
Maybe a decade ago, I would have easily bought off on quotes or news from the Washington Post or New York Times. In the past decade.....I've gone to a different plateau and ask a lot more questions. Just say some news comes from the Times or Post.....doesn't mean anything to me. I get this almost nightly now from public TV here in Germany, and find the handcuffed method of convincing me of things to be questionable.
How many people will buy off on this email from Cliff Levy? My humble guess is less than a hundred people will subscribe. I would even make the assessment that the Times has reached a point of desperation where it really needs another twenty-thousand subscribers.
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