Politics

[GoIrish41]

Agreed but I think you would have to consider that even if people are not playing the system per se, that doesn't mean the system is doing a good job of getting people off of it. Thus, education is the biggest issue.

Also I'm working a shift dealing with 15 of the biggest bankers in Columbus, I'm listening to their conversation-it's pretty interesting ill give you the feedback later. Some good points on the economy. But it's my birthday so I won't be wasting it typing it out haha

Happy birthday Buster. It won't be long before we let you sit at the adult table.

 

[yankeehater]

First off, I feel bad for your friend.

But
How is this Obama's fault? Post like this kill me. So we should keep buying and building C-17's even if we don't need them? So the deficit doesn't matter when it comes to military spending and jobs but jobs that are there because of other federal spending don't matter? Sigh. I need a drink.

Where in my post did I say this is Obama's fault???? The administration asked not to announce these layoffs before the election (wonder why?). That is a fact! Check CNBC or MSNBC articles. In a poor economy jobs get cut, spending gets cut. Boeing sold [B]1 plane in I think it was September so couple that with Defense cuts and this is what happens. I am born and raised in this state so I know how much they plus the other aerospace companies mean to this state. Unfortunately, we do not have a replacement right now in the U.S. So many small businesses are dependent on these companies and will be done.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Where in my post did I say this is Obama's fault???? The administration asked not to announce these layoffs before the election (wonder why?). That is a fact! Check CNBC or MSNBC articles. In a poor economy jobs get cut, spending gets cut. Boeing sold [B]1 plane in I think it was September so couple that with Defense cuts and this is what happens. I am born and raised in this state so I know how much they plus the other aerospace companies mean to this state. Unfortunately, we do not have a replacement right now in the U.S. So many small businesses are dependent on these companies and will be done.

Your first sentence seemed to indicate that the chips were falling as a result of Obama being re-elected. That's how I read it. If that's not how you meant it, okay.

 

[yankeehater]

Agree, and in response to his friend, enigneers are in need everywhere, it shouldnt be that bad to find a new job? Just come up to Canada: The New America!

Oh Canada!

He may have to move. If you read the article, there is no need for anyone in California.

 

[GoIrish41]

Yeah just ignore all the articles about restaurants cutting full time workers for part time workers citing Obamacare as the reason.

I honestly haven't seen these articles ... come to think of it, I'm not sure I ever met a full time resaurant worker. I'm not saying there aren't any, but most of them have always been part time employees.

 

[yankeehater]

Your first sentence seemed to indicate that the chips were falling as a result of Obama being re-elected. That's how I read it. If that's not how you meant it, okay.

Obama nor Obama nor the two of them combined can save where this state seems to be headed.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Obama nor Obama nor the two of them combined can save where this state seems to be headed.

Things are getting better. I really believe that. The indicators are picking up steam. It was a deep hole.

 

[yankeehater]

I honestly haven't seen these articles ... come to think of it, I'm not sure I ever met a full time resaurant worker. I'm not saying there aren't any, but most of them have always been part time employees.

Darden and a lot of the restaurant groups that are big corporate accounts work that way. I called on that industry and owned a company brokering in it. It depends the restaurant, but my friends in the industry say that most are guaranteed to change to avoid Obamacare.

 

[yankeehater]

Things are getting better. I really believe that. The indicators are picking up steam. It was a deep hole.

Not blaming anyone, but I have seen a dramatic turn for the worse in the last few months in the state. I am hoping my intuition is incorrect, but the manufacturing conference I attended two weeks ago the 2013 forecast was ugly and they were only slightly more optimistic if Romney would have won.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Not blaming anyone, but I have seen a dramatic turn for the worse in the last few months in the state. I am hoping my intuition is incorrect, but the manufacturing conference I attended two weeks ago the 2013 forecast was ugly and they were only slightly more optimistic if Romney would have won.

Me too.

 

[yankeehater]

Me too.

My chips falling statement was more based on that conference. It was attended by some of the top CEO's and one particuliar manufacturer basically announced 200 layoffs while on stage and said more than likely they would leave the State (currently 1200 employees in CA). He also infurred they may halt all manufacturing operations in the U.S. (can't compete anymore with China). I think the company had ties in Europe so don't think they were solely a U.S. company. I posted this and people blew it off like it was CEO election speak.

 

[yankeehater]

'Riots' on Ole Miss campus after election results announced - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports


My assumption that all college students were for Obama in incorrect.

 

[pkt77242]

'Riots' on Ole Miss campus after election results announced - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports


My assumption that all college students were for Obama in incorrect.

Not shocking considered it was Ole Miss.

 

[Jebediah Springfield]

What I got from that was.... people still get to ride in the back of trucks like ILIT says "I'm jelly". I miss being able to do that.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

'Riots' on Ole Miss campus after election results announced - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports


My assumption that all college students were for Obama in incorrect.

400 moron students at a school of 17,000. Not much of a story here. And this was entirely racial, from the sounds of it.

 

[irishpat183]

The subsidies to the oil companies are ridiculous. They are some of the most profitable companies in the world.

But the difference between Oil and Corn is that Corn is MASSIVELY over produced. There is no need to subsidize it to the extent that we do.

There is a reason that the FDA and government are having corn put in everything. Gotta justifiy that wasted money.

 

[irish1958]

There is a move afoot to restore the Bush tax cuts. When congress refused to implement any more tax cuts, Bush created the ultimate tax cut with his mega recession: throw millions out of work with his policies and they all got a 100% tax cut.
I hope we don't restore these cuts.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

There is a move afoot to restore the Bush tax cuts. When congress refused to implement any more tax cuts, Bush created the ultimate tax cut with his mega recession: throw millions out of work with his policies and they all got a 100% tax cut.
I hope we don't restore these cuts.

There's some wisdom in allowing the automatic cuts to happen for a few days or weeks. They take place very slowly, so the impact should be minimal (although maybe investors would freak out and the Stock Market would plunge). Once that happens, the house republicans can vote only for tax cuts on the middle class and maintain their Grover Norquist pledge.

 

[Ndaccountant]

The subsidies to the oil companies are ridiculous. They are some of the most profitable companies in the world.

profit margin or gross profit?

There is a HUGE difference.

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

profit margin or gross profit?

There is a HUGE difference.

He doesn't know.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

He doesn't know.

Profit margin isn't huge, but their net is still enormous.

PolitiFact Virginia | Rep. Jim Moran says top five oil U.S. companies raked in $1 trillion profit

 

[Ndaccountant]

Profit margin isn't huge, but their net is still enormous.

PolitiFact Virginia | Rep. Jim Moran says top five oil U.S. companies raked in $1 trillion profit

You are right, that is a lot of profit. But, how much did they spend on R&D over that time period to develop better technologies to help reach sources of energy not otherwise attainable? Do you enjoy that low cost of natural gas? What is their fixed asset balances? I know exxon's alone approaches $200B.

 

[RDU Irish]

hadn't seen these numbers. got a link? I wouldn't have thought voting dropped 13 million this year.

List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Final tally TBD but who here was marking the Democratic party for dead after Bush beat Kerry by a similar margin? Bush actually picked up 12 million votes from 2000 to 2004, pretty impressive.

So lets all try to get some perspective before we mark half the country as obsolete.

 

[RDU Irish]

Profit margin isn't huge, but their net is still enormous.

PolitiFact Virginia | Rep. Jim Moran says top five oil U.S. companies raked in $1 trillion profit

Now how much of that was earned in the US and even eligible to be taxed in the US? I would love to see them earn $2 trillion in the next decade, especially if more of it is in the US.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Final tally TBD but who here was marking the Democratic party for dead after Bush beat Kerry by a similar margin? Bush actually picked up 12 million votes from 2000 to 2004, pretty impressive.

So lets all try to get some perspective before we mark half the country as obsolete.

No one is obsolete. I do have three thoughts...

1. With the economy on a slow recovery and an Obama approval hovering around 48-50, this should have been a republican year. Obama still won by a decent margin.

2. With the demographic shift in the country, it's going to get harder for republicans, not easier. The Latino vote, which Obama won by 45-50 points, may put Arizona in play next time. Nevada, New Mexico, and possibly Colorado have become solid. Virginia also outperformed against the national popular vote. In 2-3 more elections, there's talk of Texas becoming a swing state. All of that could change. But, it's good news for dems.

3. Remember Bush's famous quote about how he had political capital to spend after he won in 2004? Same margin this year...

It should be interesting to follow.

 

[Redbar]

No one is obsolete. I do have three thoughts...

1. With the economy on a slow recovery and an Obama approval hovering around 48-50, this should have been a republican year. Obama still won by a decent margin.

2. With the demographic shift in the country, it's going to get harder for republicans, not easier. The Latino vote, which Obama won by 45-50 points, may put Arizona in play next time. Nevada, New Mexico, and possibly Colorado have become solid. Virginia also outperformed against the national popular vote. In 2-3 more elections, there's talk of Texas becoming a swing state. All of that could change. But, it's good news for dems.

3. Remember Bush's famous quote about how he had political capital to spend after he won in 2004? Same margin this year...

It should be interesting to follow.

I have to fundamentally disagree with this line of analysis. Demographics should not inherently be a republican problem. Latino's are not born democrats, neither are blacks, nor women. If the Republican Party's message does not have aspects that speak to these demographics then that is a party problem, not a demographic problem. The logical end to what you are asserting is that the Republican Party is for "white's only", preferably men. If that is the case then they are by definition a racist institution and probably not worthy of the platform they have held in this nation of immigrants.

 

[connor_in]

I know he is a conservative writer, but I thought I would bring his idea here for discussion purposes. What do you think?

Charles Krauthammer: The way forward - The Washington Post

He feels the republicans do not need a major structural change, just push one idea on Latinos...forcefully...

For the party in general, however, the problem is hardly structural. It requires but a single policy change: Border fence plus amnesty. Yes, amnesty. Use the word. Shock and awe — full legal normalization (just short of citizenship) in return for full border enforcement.

Read the full article. Not sure I agree with him that it would work, but it is one of many items being discussed.

 

[IrishLax]

Had a really interesting conversation today with the one English speaking foreman on one of my jobs while waiting for a late concrete truck...

He said literally everyone he knows in his community voted for Obama. Why? Not because of social issues like gay marriage, abortion, etc. or anything like... or because they identified with him at all because he's a minority... but because, in his words, working class people in his shoes really care about things like social safety nets/universal healthcare and you have to vote in your best interest. They work relatively high injury risk jobs AND have high turnover in their industry. Contractor work forces surge and contract job to job... year to year... and especially hard when their is economic uncertainty.

Succinctly, in his shoes you'd have to be completely not self-interested and/or crazy to support the Republican platform. Also, these people are some of the hardest working I've ever met... certainly not the rhetorical "welfare leech" most conservatives like to paint that group of people as.

I think the Republican party doesn't need a huge retooling... they just need to back off of some of the more hardline stances and choose a working class group to champion/cater to. Right now everyone in their group thinks that if a Republican gets in office they're going to take away all of their social protections to "cut costs" and push for a "fend for yourself" system where they'd be at serious risk. Republicans need to work on dispelling that perception.

 

[PraetorianND]

Had a really interesting conversation today with the one English speaking foreman on one of my jobs while waiting for a late concrete truck...

He said literally everyone he knows in his community voted for Obama. Why? Not because of social issues like gay marriage, abortion, etc. or anything like... or because they identified with him at all because he's a minority... but because, in his words, working class people in his shoes really care about things like social safety nets/universal healthcare and you have to vote in your best interest. They work relatively high injury risk jobs AND have high turnover in their industry. Contractor work forces surge and contract job to job... year to year... and especially hard when their is economic uncertainty.

Succinctly, in his shoes you'd have to be completely not self-interested and/or crazy to support the Republican platform. Also, these people are some of the hardest working I've ever met... certainly not the rhetorical "welfare leech" most conservatives like to paint that group of people as.

I think the Republican party doesn't need a huge retooling... they just need to back off of some of the more hardline stances and choose a working class group to champion/cater to. Right now everyone in their group thinks that if a Republican gets in office they're going to take away all of their social protections to "cut costs" and push for a "fend for yourself" system where they'd be at serious risk. Republicans need to work on dispelling that perception.

Thanks for this anecdote. Great post!

 

[Redbar]

I know he is a conservative writer, but I thought I would bring his idea here for discussion purposes. What do you think?

Charles Krauthammer: The way forward - The Washington Post

He feels the republicans do not need a major structural change, just push one idea on Latinos...forcefully...



Read the full article. Not sure I agree with him that it would work, but it is one of many items being discussed.

Just my .02 cents but it seems like he is proposing it as a political ploy/tactic to try to achieve a voting majority. Maybe that will work, if I was Latino I don't know if that would win my heart, mind or vote. It feels almost like a quid pro quo, and ultimately I think what people want is to know that politicians respect them and see them as a valuable part of the national vision and not just a vote.