I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

crazy4carrots

 From the Vanity Fair article, I thought this was worth posting:

Some people look at income inequality and shrug their shoulders. So what if this person gains and that person loses? What matters, they argue, is not how the pie is divided but the size of the pie. That argument is fundamentally wrong. An economy in which most citizens are doing worse year after year—an economy like America’s—is not likely to do well over the long haul. There are several reasons for this.

First, growing inequality is the flip side of something else: shrinking opportunity. Whenever we diminish equality of opportunity, it means that we are not using some of our most valuable assets—our people—in the most productive way possible. Second, many of the distortions that lead to inequality—such as those associated with monopoly power and preferential tax treatment for special interests—undermine the efficiency of the economy. This new inequality goes on to create new distortions, undermining efficiency even further. To give just one example, far too many of our most talented young people, seeing the astronomical rewards, have gone into finance rather than into fields that would lead to a more productive and healthy economy.

Third, and perhaps most important, a modern economy requires “collective action”—it needs government to invest in infrastructure, education, and technology. The United States and the world have benefited greatly from government-sponsored research that led to the Internet, to advances in public health, and so on. But America has long suffered from an under-investment in infrastructure (look at the condition of our highways and bridges, our railroads and airports), in basic research, and in education at all levels. Further cutbacks in these areas lie ahead.

River_Rat

Thanks, Lindasa.  I should have copied a couple of paragraphs but I couldn't decide which ones to choose.   

Income inequality and decline of the middle class is something that I have been concerned about for quite some time.  I fear that this trend is escalating dramatically and I'm very worried about what America will look like in another decade.

Anonymous

Blue, just wanted to tell you have gorgeous you look.  A man that much younger............?  What can I say?  He loves you.

I saw Michael J. Fox on an award show last night...TV Land (awards for older shows).....and he looked pretty darn good.  Do you know if he had the same surgery as you?  I thought he had something like that a few years back. 

Bren, that picture was gorgeous!  Our dogwoods are blooming too.

bluedahlia

Thank you Shirley.  Yes, he is a true angel.  Seen me through BC and PD.  My parents love him and are so happy I have someone who will love and care for me.

M. J. Fox had a thalamotomy years ago.  It didn't really work very well.  Not sure if he can have what I had because of it.

Nothing is blooming here....darn.

molly52

Interesting article.  Makes me worry for the future too.

bluedahlia

Freedom of speech??????  Or just plain stupid!

molly52

When fear runs so deep ......... no telling what they will do.

Alpal

I've seen similar things on other web sites. The posters said there was nothing racist about it. It is unbelievable to me that in 2011 this battle is still being fought. I've come to the conclusion that no matter how civilized we become, there will always be racist bigots. How sad....

bluedahlia

Well her job's on the line now!  Too bad so sad.

BarbaraA

Blue, just plain disgusting. Makes me feel dirty looking at it. Need a shower.

I saw this at NRO and was intrigued:

So here is a technical question for Jim or whoever else can answer it: how much would taxes need to be raised to maintain our current entitlement regime?

The total present value of payments expected under Social Security and Medicare beyond what is expected to be collected under current tax laws is about $100 trillion. One way to put that amount of money in context is to note that it is about twice the amount of all the net private assets that exist in America today.

To answer cw's question directly, the best back-of-envelope estimate is that meeting this unfunded portion of our Social Security and Medicare commitments would require roughly an immediate 80 percent increase in federal income taxes, sustained forever.

That is one end of a spectrum. The other is to cut out $100 trillion of present value of anticipated entitlement spending. 

The entire piece is here.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/265052/very-good-question-about-our-national-debt-jim-manzi

AnneW

Racist AND stupid.

On a better note, AZ Governor Brewer veoted a "birther bill"--good on her! Something positive from that woman for a change...

Bren-2007

"Well, the birther [bill] is the requirement that any presidential candidate or any other candidate would have to show proof of citizenship, and if they didn't, then they would have to show a batt -- baptisiminal -- baptisimal -- baptismal certificate or a certificate of circumcision. So it is something that I felt very, very uncomfortable with and I feel that it serves no purpose. So today, I went on record and I vetoed it.
...
And it doesn't help Arizona. This bill is a distraction, and we just simply need to get on with the state's business."

Comment from Gov. Brewer on the "birther bill."  She also noted that it 'went too far' in another article.  I think it was a political decision for her to veto this bill.  Not everyone in AZ is far rightwing.

Bren

Anonymous

The Presidency has only a couple of Constitutional requirements.  It seems reasonable that there should be a specific process for verifying the credentials and eligibility/ineligibility for any candidate for any office that is in line for the Presidency.  That would include the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Speaker of the House, and on and on.  Not that ineligibility to become President would eliminate anyone from most of those positions, but there should be a standard process in place to keep this kind of speculation from occuring in the future.  Since the office in question is a federal office, it should be a federal process, and should be as standard as presenting your Social Security to any potential employer as verificaton of your eligibility to be employed, and presentation of a birth certificate or other adequate proof of age for employment in a position that has an age requirement.

There have been people in the past who have been personally ineligible to become President who have held offices that normally would be in the line of succession, and if a catastrophe had occured during their tenure, the succession would have simply passed on to the holder of the next office in the line of succession. 

I can certainly understand that having to meet the requirements of 50 different states could become burdensome, and that is why the process should be federal.  In this day and age, when people can be in one place one day, and be halfway around the world the next, it seems like this question might occur with more frequency in the coming years, and now that we as a nation realize that it could become an issue, we should address it before it causes greater harm.   

rosemary-b

I find it puzzling that if President Obama's staus as a natural born citzen is an issue John McCain did not bring it up during the last campaign. It is not and never has been one.

CherrylH

I'm 61 and have followed elections all my life, since the age of 10 (JFK). Never before Obama's candidacy has anyone had to "prove" they were born in the US. I find it very interesting that with Obama it became an issue (really it's not, but I'm just saying...)

crazy4carrots

Just wondering -- had any past U.S. Presidents been asked to show their birth certificate -- or has this been limited to a Pres. candidate with an unusual (for some) name?

As many have suggested, your President's birth certificate could be held, examined and declared valid by every means and responsible person possible (which, I understand, it actually has been) and there would continue to be those who are convinced it's a fraud.

Besides which, isn't obtaining a passport a federal process?  Pres. Obama has held a U.S. passport for most of his life.

Anonymous

rosemary-b wrote:

I find it puzzling that if President Obama's staus as a natural born citzen is an issue John McCain did not bring it up during the last campaign. It is not and never has been one.

Maybe he didn't bring up the issue because his own eligibility was questioned since he was born at a US military installation in the Panama Canal zone while his father was stationed there.  This notion that the question is being asked only of Obama is wrong. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/world/americas/28iht-28mccain.10514626.html?_r=1

This issue will come up more and more frequently in the future as our society has become more mobile, and family structures have become more fluid as divorce, living together without marriage, and blended families become more common. 

rosemary-b

Our snow melted and it is now raining. I'll take that over snow.

Medigal

One doesn't need a birth certificate to get a US Passport from my own experience.  I don't see what harm it can do in the future to expect every presidential candidate to show proof of being a US citizen.  This would help keep insinuations like what is happening with Obama useless.  Frankly, I don't think his backers would have put him in for the Presidency if they thought or knew he could not prove he was a US citizen.  In politics, one has to be ready to answer to whatever is thrown at you. There are always enemies who look for ways to keep someone outside of their particular party from getting elected.  I think Trump is only going to hurt his chances (if he is serious about running) if he keeps up this "birther" stuff.  I thought he was smart enough to know how the political game is played but evidently he is not as astute as I had hopped.  Too bad.

Bren-2007

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/19/byron.trump.president/index.html?hpt=C2

In my opinion, the Donald is nothing but a bunch of hot air.  He's pulled this stunt before where he has considered running for President.  It was just an attempt for more publicity.

Bren

YramAL

I got my passport last year, and I had to show my birth certificate. Not only that, I had to bring a certified copy of my marriage license so I could prove my name change. 

crazy4carrots

I don't see what harm it can do in the future to expect every presidential candidate to show proof of being a US citizen.  This would help keep insinuations like what is happening with Obama useless.

Medigal -- it hasn't helped so far!  Obama's birth as a U.S. citizen has been verified by every possible means, and court cases trying to prove otherwise have been tossed out.  I agree with BinVa -- Trump is using this to drum up publicity.  Hmmmm....maybe he's a Democrat in disguise, and is doing this to make the other party look ridiculous!

Wabbit

Thunderstorms here today.  Just to prove that we always want what we don't have ... I think a couple of inches of snow (if it melted quickly) would be more pleasant. 

Trump is a publicity hound and excellent self promoter.  It is hard to be anything more than amused by him.  

Maybe Obama needs to go on tour with his original birth certificate?  He could do a walk around the country showing it to everybody who asks ... cause you know if they don't see it with their very own eyes it don't count.  Of course I wouldn't do that if I was him ... somebody would probably steal it and rip it up.  Yes I'm being silly ... this whole thing is silly. 

Edited to add:  I was also born on a military base in another country.  My birth certificate was issued by the State Department as a 'Child Born Abroad of American Parents'.  I would imagine John McCain has the same thing.  Questions about his citizenship were silly also.      

-angel-

WhiteRabbit:  I too have a similar birth certificate, being born in an Army hospital in Germany.  Mine was issued by the Dept. of State, Foreign Service of the USA and reads Report Of Birth Abroad Of A Citizen Of The United States Of America.  I also have with it a Certification Of Birth that was issued a few days afterward.  Oh well, good thing I never strived to be President of the USA!

BarbaraA

Why anyone would want the job of president is beyond me.

Having baked free-range chicken with sauteed spinach, garlic and brussels tonight. Plus Turtle Trails coconut milk ice cream.

bluedahlia

Stir Fry tonight.  Better get moving!

3monstmama

I can one up you---I actually have a certificate of citizenship even though I was born in a Naval Hospital on a US Navy Base to 2 American parents.  But it was Japan and it was the height of the Cold War and you know how tricky them darned Russkies were. . . .

I got my certificate when I was about 3 and my mother tried to go to see Niagara Falls. . . .in those days, a baby would be on the mother's passport.  Well they told her they knew what she was up to, trying to sneak some commie baby into the country.  And they were NOT going to let her do it, darn her.  Nosirree, if that evil little baby didn't have a passport of her own, proving her to be a true blue citizen of the Good old US of America, why then  she could just stay in Canada . . .. .  some time later, when sanity returned, there was some sort of retroactive bill that granted citizenship to all the children born on military bases overseas.

Honestly, who gives a rats patootie if he is or isn't a citizen?  Being President of the US is NOT the same as being President of Libya or Egypt or Ivory Coast where the job comes with fantastic opportunitities to line your pockets with zillions of dollars.  Youi don't really get to go invade who you want--you are surrounded by checks and balances as established by the founding fathers.   Its not like being President of some place where what you say goes and everyone bows down and you get no backtalk from anyone.   Its not even like being Queen of England where you have little responsiblity besides yelling "let the games begin" when Parliament goes in session and go to lots of openings and do charity work while you live in a cool house.  Take a good look at every man who has been President--look at them the day they go in the White House and then look at them on the day they leave. . . .

why on earth would anyone want the job?

1Athena1

I was born abroad - a dual citizen by birth. I can't be president, though (perish at the thought) because I wasn't born in US military installations.

Barack will win a second term, so I will just let the birthers and other racists keep going at it. 

Beautiful weather here this last weekend but I envy those of you with snow because I am dreading the summer. I loathe hot weather and DC summers are unbearable - so much so that even a lovely Spring day makes me shudder in anticipation. Our Springs are the most beautiful I have ever seen, though - just like Bren's picture in an urban setting. 

Medigal

Athena:  I cringe at the thought of Obama winning a second term and it has nothing to do with where he was born.  It has to do with our country going in the tank and he just comes on tv smiling like all is well with the world.  IMO, he has no concept how to lead a country and if we truly lose our AAA rating as is being warned, he will have no country left to lead.  He acts like he is completely unaware of the economical damage being done to the country and he does not have the leadership abilities to guide us once we lose our rating and the rest of the world considers us another 3rd World Country.  He is already in "campaign" mode for 2012 while we are going into the trash can.   Just "my" opinion and at least I still have the right to express it, thank goodness.

1Athena1

Medigal, the ratings thing is entirely because of the republicans. I have no hesitation in saying that. The Tea Party's childishness, to be precise. When you threaten to take the country back to the 18th century and profess nonsense about not wanting to raise the debt ceiling, naturally Wall Street gets jittery. And for once, I agree with the money lenders. As for who started this empire's demise: Bush/Cheney on the day the decided to invade Iraq. Obama is fully aware of what is going on and far from smiling. He is a very able leader - the first we have had in more than a generation. Too bad that not everyone can see that at the moment. 

Back in a moment....