Search found 817 matches

by jafs
Thu Jun 09, 2016 4:15 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Japan -- Doomed or Not Doomed?
Replies: 23
Views: 8952

Re: Japan -- Doomed or Not Doomed?

Sure do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbivore_men Herbivore men[1] or grass-eater men[2] (草食(系)男子 Sōshoku(-kei) danshi?) is a term used in Japan to describe men who have no interest in getting married or finding a girlfriend.[3] The term was coined by author Maki Fukasawa in an article published...
by jafs
Thu Jun 09, 2016 11:27 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Reversing Diabetes
Replies: 110
Views: 35152

Re: Reversing Diabetes

That makes sense to me, as fruit juices usually remove the fiber found in whole fruits.
by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 3:36 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Cobb County Has No Money Left for Public Parks Because They Gave it All to the Atlanta Braves
Replies: 14
Views: 5646

Re: Cobb County Has No Money Left for Public Parks Because They Gave it All to the Atlanta Braves

I'd say I'm about 85% liberal, with about 10% conservative and 5% libertarian. That 10% shows up as fiscal conservatism a lot of the time. You're right, I missed the abortion threads. It looks to me as if the conservatives have moved farther right, for whatever that's worth. A lot of old-school R wo...
by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 3:07 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Cobb County Has No Money Left for Public Parks Because They Gave it All to the Atlanta Braves
Replies: 14
Views: 5646

Re: Cobb County Has No Money Left for Public Parks Because They Gave it All to the Atlanta Braves

You seem quite conservative in most ways to me, WiseOne, from your posts. I'm on the liberal side of things, generally, but I don't like that sort of spending/activity either. And I see it in our little town/city, as well as our state, and also nationally. For example, we seem to not be able to fix ...
by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 2:57 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

I can think of any number of ways people might try to scam a cd system. Non-citizens might try to get it. People might try to get more than their share - by faking ss#'s, claiming ones of dead people, etc. If it uses WiseOne's idea of higher taxation, then rich and upper middle class people would tr...
by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 2:53 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

You said investing improves productivity - the kind of investing most of us talk about is investing in the stock market, which is a secondary market. If you meant you'd invest directly in a start up business, that's a different story. But it's not part of the pp investments, which involve stock mar...
by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 1:05 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

How many on here would use a cd to invest directly in start-up businesses or make loans directly to them?

It's not something I'd be likely to do, personally.
by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 1:02 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

After thinking about this some more,.... I think a CD would likely result in inflation, which would essentially adjust prices to account for the CD. Maybe but not necessarily. I don't think increased spending is all it takes to create inflation. For that you need an expansion of the money supply, w...
by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 1:01 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

Maybe not at the formal agency level, but government employees are not immune from technological unemployment either. And the CD will actaully pave the way for getting rid of those parasites. The CD seems almost like the holy grail in what it can accomplish for "Starving the Beast". O0 And where wi...
by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 8:00 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

Does anyone think our benevolent government would actually close departments and shrink? History tells us otherwise. Government is like a Hydra. You cut off one head [department] and two more grow in its place. Maybe not at the formal agency level, but government employees are not immune from techn...
by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 7:59 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

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by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 7:58 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

Lower income folks aren't going to be investing like that, almost certainly - they'll be spending it, which is fine economically. But the goal of increasing their productivity, lessening the dependence on government, etc. seems uncertain to me, especially if the amounts are higher than subsistence ...
by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 7:55 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

Investing and saving don't generally improve productivity, certainly not directly, and only under some narrow circumstances, indirectly. Except for ipo's, the stock market is virtually all a "secondary market" - money/stocks are just moving from one person to another, and none of it goes to the com...
by jafs
Wed Jun 08, 2016 7:51 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

Sure, that makes sense. But, I thought the idea of the cd was to improve the recipients' productivity directly, so the thought was that low income folks wouldn't just get it and spend it. Current programs like food stamps/subsidized housing do the same thing economically, right? Sort of. Food stamp...
by jafs
Tue Jun 07, 2016 7:42 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

Sure, that makes sense.

But, I thought the idea of the cd was to improve the recipients' productivity directly, so the thought was that low income folks wouldn't just get it and spend it.

Current programs like food stamps/subsidized housing do the same thing economically, right?
by jafs
Tue Jun 07, 2016 7:01 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

Investing could have a direct connection to productivity, if you invested some money directly with a company starting out, or lent people money to start a business, etc. And, savings could have a connection, if banks used deposits to generate loans - but you guys have browbeaten me plenty about how ...
by jafs
Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:51 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

'Fess up, you just want some of that "government cheese" ;D True story - an acquaintance of mine lived in NY back in the 80's, and his phone # was mistakenly printed in a NYT article as the number to call for the government cheese program. He got a lot of calls about it, and people didn't believe it...
by jafs
Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:44 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

I know - it was a little provocative. But, so far, that's the effect here - nobody has said they'd work more, produce more, start a business, etc. It's all been about saving, investing, retiring earlier, buying some new stuff, etc. CD would be an ideological revolution in more ways than one. We don...
by jafs
Tue Jun 07, 2016 5:09 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

As it gets more and more complicated, it loses some of that original simplification idea/benefit. I'm not sure you'd have to keep SS/Medicare, but it would be politically hard to change those. For all the people getting less SS (which might be a lot, since the median is about $14K/yr), the CD would ...
by jafs
Tue Jun 07, 2016 5:04 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

So it would turn productive people into unproductive ones, the opposite of the idea. That's not what I said. We here are already more or less productive. $15K does not seem enough of a wealth effect to induce more productivity unless you're lower class or maybe retired lower-middle class already. I...
by jafs
Tue Jun 07, 2016 5:01 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

That would be - since I've never said that or believe it in any way, it's a huge strawman. Maybe, but I thought you were the "token liberal" that almost always believes in "Big Government" -- or did I strawman that up all wrong? :D Yep, you did. You all are generally so anti-government that somebod...
by jafs
Tue Jun 07, 2016 10:10 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

No, it's an acknowledgment that large top-down programs aren't perfect.
by jafs
Tue Jun 07, 2016 9:17 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

Ok - I looked up a few things. Apparently NM expanded Medicaid, and if you qualify for that, you can't in fact buy an ACA Marketplace plan. So PS is right about his choices. But it's important to realize that people in that income bracket aren't generally people with large investments/savings who ca...
by jafs
Tue Jun 07, 2016 7:33 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

So far, nobody has said they'd be more productive if they got a cd. They'd either improve their situation, sometimes with luxury items, invest money, quit their job, retire earlier, save more money, etc. Not one person has said they'd work more or produce more. I'd say 15K isn't enough to induce ch...
by jafs
Tue Jun 07, 2016 7:32 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Citizen's Dividend
Replies: 169
Views: 57601

Re: Citizen's Dividend

As far as "utopian" goes, I'd say that many of you are much more utopian in outlook than I am. I see the flaws in government, but also in the private sector. And, I'd like to improve both - that doesn't mean I think there are perfect solutions. As I've already said - all systems have drawbacks. If ...