TLDR; but old people do have a smell about them. Not a pleasing one either
OK Boomer..
- Thread starter mcdawg22
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And I know your parents were MORE than happy to do what they could for you and understand (not always agreeing with LOL ) that things are going to change from generation to generation. I suspect they raised you to think for yourself and do what YOU think is right . I just don't get the stereotyping of people they don't even know by some on here because they are in a certain age group.
You ought to be more appreciative. The founder of TRH is a Boomer.
Reagan’s tax cut slashed revenues by 2.9% of GDP.
ERTA transformed the Republican Party from a party of fiscal rectitude into a party whose main domestic policy goal is to cut taxes
We need taxes to pay for things and taxes were too high on the common guy, but not the Rich. https://www.americanprogress.org/ar...ly-responsible-for-the-increasing-debt-ratio/
Quick list of things gone to hell since we cut taxes.
Infrastructure:
US Infrastructure Grade: Explore the Categories | ASCE 2021
For the first time in 20 years, our infrastructure is out of the D range. We take a look at the US infrastructure grade for the sector categories analyzed.
infrastructurereportcard.org
Airports
Dmas
Levees
Drinking Water
Inland Waterways
Parks
Roads
Schools
Stormwater
Transit
Wastewater
Public health
Mental health
I'll add Broadband to the list as well even though it was not a thing in 1981.
Smart, Rich, Government social workers is not a thing. Unless you are in Congress, you don't get "Rich" working for the government.
You obviously don't know the government workers I know. Full paid pensions, health insurance, short work hours, long vacations, long sick leave, no expectations regarding work performance, and they get a 2nd career after 20 years. It's a different class.Reagan’s tax cut slashed revenues by 2.9% of GDP.
ERTA transformed the Republican Party from a party of fiscal rectitude into a party whose main domestic policy goal is to cut taxes
We need taxes to pay for things and taxes were too high on the common guy, but not the Rich. https://www.americanprogress.org/ar...ly-responsible-for-the-increasing-debt-ratio/
Quick list of things gone to hell since we cut taxes.
Infrastructure:
BridgesUS Infrastructure Grade: Explore the Categories | ASCE 2021
For the first time in 20 years, our infrastructure is out of the D range. We take a look at the US infrastructure grade for the sector categories analyzed.
Airports
Dmas
Levees
Drinking Water
Inland Waterways
Parks
Roads
Schools
Stormwater
Transit
Wastewater
Public health
Mental health
I'll add Broadband to the list as well even though it was not a thing in 1981.
Smart, Rich, Government social workers is not a thing. Unless you are in Congress, you don't get "Rich" working for the government.
Somewhat. But it's irrefutable (to everyone but Boomers) that the Boomers have held on to power long past when other generations would have, and thus some things aren't fixed just because Boomers don't want to fix them. Things will change quickly (compared to the last 50 years) once they finally let go.
That's actually not an answer and it's just of list of your complaints about America including infrastructure items that are more expensive to improve than decades ago (look up cost disease). Some of those things are fine, some definately need to be improved. That's pretty common around the world. Also, I got rich working for the government and I know others who have as well. It's not hard to move into the top 10% in income. "Gone to hell" is an interesting phrase. Have you by any chance travelled outside of America? What countries are your models for the ideology that animates your view of reality? FYI, it's not hard to find people saying we should both raise and lower taxes. Economists are notorious for disagreeing. Tax rich people, I don't care as long as it's not too much. It won't reduce the debt much. BTW, nothing you've written disputes anything I wrote. We spend more now as a percentage of GDP on the things you mentioned. Also, you do realize that Dems have been in charge at times too, including a non-boomer who served two terms pre-Trump.Reagan’s tax cut slashed revenues by 2.9% of GDP.
ERTA transformed the Republican Party from a party of fiscal rectitude into a party whose main domestic policy goal is to cut taxes
We need taxes to pay for things and taxes were too high on the common guy, but not the Rich. https://www.americanprogress.org/ar...ly-responsible-for-the-increasing-debt-ratio/
Quick list of things gone to hell since we cut taxes.
Infrastructure:
BridgesUS Infrastructure Grade: Explore the Categories | ASCE 2021
For the first time in 20 years, our infrastructure is out of the D range. We take a look at the US infrastructure grade for the sector categories analyzed.
Airports
Dmas
Levees
Drinking Water
Inland Waterways
Parks
Roads
Schools
Stormwater
Transit
Wastewater
Public health
Mental health
I'll add Broadband to the list as well even though it was not a thing in 1981.
Smart, Rich, Government social workers is not a thing. Unless you are in Congress, you don't get "Rich" working for the government.
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I don't, but I've always had a unique appreciation for older folks. Fortunately for me all of my points of reference were positive. I had great grandparents alive until I was in my early 30's, grandparents until I was in my late 30's/early 40's. I don't take any of it for granted. It hit me one day crossing the river bridge in Vicksburg. Somebody way older than me figured out how to bridge the MS so I don't have to. That was no small task. The way I see it, for those of us lucky enough to have had positive experiences with parents/older family members, they basically built a lot of bridges that we drive over every day without much thought or appreciation. I try not to lose sight of that fact and I try remain thankful for that jump start that I got.
I also try not to lose sight of the fact that a lot of folks had a pretty crappy upbringing, suffering neglect and even abuse from those that should have been trustworthy supporters of them. You never know what kind of baggage someone is carrying around...
E.B. Sledge wrote a book about his tours in the WW2 Pacific theatre as a Marine with some really hardened badazzes who were WW1 vets. The book was called “With The Old Breed” and was quite complimentary of his fathers generation. WW2 was a different war, but the human spirit it takes to win is the same.
A lot of boomers were real heroes in Vietnam. Some boomers were real ckunts, like Jane Fonda. That generation was split amongst themselves about themselves before the war even ended, not to mention how their own children interpreted that era later.
The split in this country began with that war. Veterans came home, not to parades, but to spit. I don’t think it’s been the same since. It taught us to put entire age groups of people into their stereotypical box.
This country will never again see the united human spirit seen in the 1st half of the 20th century. That era created so much for so many, subsequent generations are oblivious to what true simplicity is actually like.
When debates about whether the atom bombs really needed to be dropped, and whether the Holocaust was a hoax is all the evidence needed to impeach those who speak so much vitriol about the history of their ancestors and know nothing about history.
A lot of boomers were real heroes in Vietnam. Some boomers were real ckunts, like Jane Fonda. That generation was split amongst themselves about themselves before the war even ended, not to mention how their own children interpreted that era later.
The split in this country began with that war. Veterans came home, not to parades, but to spit. I don’t think it’s been the same since. It taught us to put entire age groups of people into their stereotypical box.
This country will never again see the united human spirit seen in the 1st half of the 20th century. That era created so much for so many, subsequent generations are oblivious to what true simplicity is actually like.
When debates about whether the atom bombs really needed to be dropped, and whether the Holocaust was a hoax is all the evidence needed to impeach those who speak so much vitriol about the history of their ancestors and know nothing about history.
That's no different than any other generation. I'm just old enough to have heard this all before from the boomers. That could be an exact quote from the 60s. Every generation thinks the one before it screwed everything up and they are going to fix it as soon as THEY take power. I bet the early Cro-Magnons sat around and talked about how the Neanderthals had screwed things up and how THEY were going to fix it.
The first half of the 20th century was anything but unified. We tend to view it through the lens of post Pearl Harbor and that lends everything a rosy light. Right up till December 7th this was a seriously divided country.
Total hogwash. Total! This county and its infrastructure has not gone to hell. You hear about the bad spots, both parties and the media LOVE to point those out. They don't tell you much about the overwhelming majority of things that are NOT bad. In a country this big there are always going to be a few bad spots. Not all of Europe is Switzerland either. We won't even get into the REST of the world.Reagan’s tax cut slashed revenues by 2.9% of GDP.
ERTA transformed the Republican Party from a party of fiscal rectitude into a party whose main domestic policy goal is to cut taxes
We need taxes to pay for things and taxes were too high on the common guy, but not the Rich. https://www.americanprogress.org/ar...ly-responsible-for-the-increasing-debt-ratio/
Quick list of things gone to hell since we cut taxes.
Infrastructure:
BridgesUS Infrastructure Grade: Explore the Categories | ASCE 2021
For the first time in 20 years, our infrastructure is out of the D range. We take a look at the US infrastructure grade for the sector categories analyzed.
Airports
Dmas
Levees
Drinking Water
Inland Waterways
Parks
Roads
Schools
Stormwater
Transit
Wastewater
Public health
Mental health
I'll add Broadband to the list as well even though it was not a thing in 1981.
Smart, Rich, Government social workers is not a thing. Unless you are in Congress, you don't get "Rich" working for the government.
The bottom line is every generation pretty much thinks the ones in front of them screwed everything up, and the ones behind them are going to screw everything up again. I've read enough social history from the last few hundred years to understand that,
No one person should pay 70+% of their income to taxes. The amount of income our Gov't takes in is plenty if it wouldn't be wasted and stolen by both sides of the the aisle. I was military and worked at MDOT, i saw wasted money everywhere. The idea of spending every penny your budgeted or you will lose it is a huge waste of taxpayers $.
you left out welfare,Reagan’s tax cut slashed revenues by 2.9% of GDP.
ERTA transformed the Republican Party from a party of fiscal rectitude into a party whose main domestic policy goal is to cut taxes
We need taxes to pay for things and taxes were too high on the common guy, but not the Rich. https://www.americanprogress.org/ar...ly-responsible-for-the-increasing-debt-ratio/
Quick list of things gone to hell since we cut taxes.
Infrastructure:
BridgesUS Infrastructure Grade: Explore the Categories | ASCE 2021
For the first time in 20 years, our infrastructure is out of the D range. We take a look at the US infrastructure grade for the sector categories analyzed.
Airports
Dmas
Levees
Drinking Water
Inland Waterways
Parks
Roads
Schools
Stormwater
Transit
Wastewater
Public health
Mental health
I'll add Broadband to the list as well even though it was not a thing in 1981.
Smart, Rich, Government social workers is not a thing. Unless you are in Congress, you don't get "Rich" working for the government.
No reason an able bodied person should't have a job. Welfare should only exist for the disabled. A subsidy should pick up for those that don't meet the needs for basic living requirments. Not a lifetime or generations of welfare recipients.
BTW, we really do have a political system that favors the elderly. They vote. About 45% of our budget is spent on services for those over 65 (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security). Health care is incredibly expensive. Most of what's spent on our healthcare is spent during the last year of our lives. I just had a friend whose dad was in the hospital for 7 months before dying. The hospital billed millions. The family paid very little, he had Medicare and state-provided health insurance, and the family, already wealthy but for one slacker, stands to inherit quite a bit of money. As someone who will be over 65 in several years, I'm grateful for those government run, socialist-inspired programs. We'll, I'm fairly wealthy so I dont' need Medicaid. Young people don't realize how much wealth is transferred from them to pay for these programs. But, young Americans don't want these programs cut. Young people in Europe at least don't have to worry about some health issue bankrupting them. But, it's a tradeoff. I love Italy and France, great lifestyles and food and wine and beer, but the median income in those countries is less than the median income in Mississippi. A lot of young people have fantasies about what Europe actually offers. I don't know if they'd be willing to trade less wealth, smaller houses, no dryers, tiny cars etc for universal healthcare. Well, Europe generally has universal and private healthcare side-by-side as well.
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Media and social media are also feeding lies to young Americans and making them far-too-pessimistic and anxious. The negativity bias of modern journalism and social media is genuine. There's something called the success sequence. Americans of all ethnicities just need to finish high school, get a job, get married after finishing high school and not have kids out of wedlock and they'll enter the middle class. That sequence works for all ethnicities. And be prepared to sacrifice. People don't really get confortable with the amount of wealth they have until they're in their forties. Not a boomer but you youngin's need some learnin'
Work-able people don't get big checks sitting at home. TANF is the closest thing to that there is, and it's virtually impossible to get in Mississippi even though the federal government sends 10s of millions for it. In fact, in Mississippi, most of it is stolen. it's been in the news recently.
In 2021, less than 3,000 Mississippians received TANF payments. A family of 3 with no other income receives $260/month for a lifetime max of 24 months. This can of course be combined with SNAP & WIC (which are overwhelmingly used by Americans with jobs) but we're still talking less than $500 a month.
So that's your definition of "Rich".
You know before 1980, a man could provide this for his family in the public sector.
But If fair pay, and decent benefits is what ya'll call "Rich" I'll conceded.
I expected a max income of $152,000 for a GS-15 (requires a PhD) is NOT a Rich person in America today. It's about 2 orders of magnitude from "Rich".
That sounded kind of like Bill Clinton asking what's the definition of is is.
There's a lot of rich people in Congress, but I think they mean the super rich when they start talking about taxing the rich because I sure don't see them lining up to give more money to the IRS. Don't worry those 80,000 new IRS agents will be able to tell us what is rich it sure the hell ain't me.
YEP. I read an article on a UK news site about a week ago. I wish I could remember where. There was an ex-MP (as recently as 2017) that moved to Mississippi to head a think tank. He was shocked to find landscapers making more money in Mississippi than executives do in the City.
It's absolutely an answer to your question of " what needs more funding".
Infrastructure is more costly to "fix" now because it was neglected so long. It has nothing to do with "Cost Disease". A bridge that needed paint, 20 years ago is rusted out now and needs total replacement. It's the same issue with the Jackson water supply. If you don't maintain stuff, it breaks and has to be replaced.
Top 10% is not "rich" anymore.
As for countries I've Travelled to that are "models of the ideology that animates me" Mostly western Europe, but also knowing my American History. We used to be able to build things. We used to be able to work one job and afford to buy a house and a car and send kids to college.
You know that is the base pay right? They get a "cost of living" bonus (as high as 44%) among other things.
$220,000 is still 2 orders of magnitude from rich. It's very comfortable.
And to get that you need a PhD, and 20 years in.
I would submit if you made do with only what we had back then, including the level of healthcare and technology available then, you still could. IF you had a TV it was B&W and got three channels. Virtually ANY cancer or heart disease (and a lot of others) diagnosis was a quick death sentence. Social Security was safe because a LOT of people didn't live long enough to collect it. A LOT of roads were not paved, and few outside the major cities were four lane. You drove THOUGH towns, not around them. No cell phones, and MANY land lines were party lines. Air conditioning was still a luxury. Cars were bare bones, no gadgets and few if any safety features. Most families, IF they had one, had ONE. Computers only existed in the military, government, or major cooperations and were very primitive. Your choices in the grocery store were extremely limited by today's standards. People dressed up to go on airplanes because only the wealthy could do it. I could go on and on in virtually every aspect of life. You are comparing apples to oranges.....except apples and oranges are more closely related to life then and life now.
Yeah, so what do you think PHD level people make in the real world? Most of them don't qualify as rich by your standard.
You actually don't know much. You can't say the obvious, we need some infrastructure improvements, and then just flail and rant. Top 10% is rich. It really is. Here' an article on what infrastructure costs here compared to Europe from a lefty publication: https://www.vox.com/22534714/rail-roads-infrastructure-costs-america
"In the 2010s, New York opened two subway extensions (7 extension, Second Avenue Subway) for $1.3-1.6 billion/km. This decade, Paris has built several Métro extensions (M4, M12 in service; M1, M11, GPX under construction) for around $250 million/km."
"We used to be able to build things." And we still do. There's a new bridge going up not far from me. It's expensive. Nola remodelled it's airport and rebuilt some things. It's better. Check it out.
"We used to be able to work one job and afford to buy a house and a car and send kids to college." You can still buy a 1,000 square foot house on one salary. Homes are bigger now and with nicer things. Those Levitown houses were like 900 sq ft living and one bathroom. I grew up without a dryer and one tv and the family had one car. Try it out. It can be done still today. But, that minimalism is not for me.
We also have an incredible rate of howeownership. "65.8% of Americans own a home as of 2022. Some 74 million Americans, or about 27%, live in a condo or HOA property. 58.4 percent of the housing units were owner-occupied.Feb 4, 2023"
You might want to educate yourself on the things that make you angry. You also might want to properly evaluate Jackson's leadership.
Thanks Grandpa, I had no idea we had better Technology now...
That Black and white TV with 3 channels cost a months wages.
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