Employers looking at health insurance options

[TheCorinthian]

Corin,

 

"And sadder, you all know that."

 

Horseshit (said in a polite, yet argumentative, tone). We spend most of our military budget on war, exporting democracy supposedly. The true cost of a true defense budget is not what breaks the bank here. It is the offensive budget (which I DO find offensive), the cost for the wars, the police actions, the use of our military by the pols to help protect the corporate conglomerates that give these fuckwits money to keep getting elected. We police the world, and it is not our job, and not a good use of our tax dollars. Let the rest of the world police themselves, and fight their own wars and free themselves from the tyranny they allow themselves to live under if they have the balls to die for their freedom and their children's. Take care of our own country first and foremost. The money we spend around the world is tremendous. Spend it fixing home first before worrying about the rest of the world. I am tired (as I think many Americans are) of my tax dollars going to these wars that have little if anything to do with protecting our country, and bankrupting our country when we most need these tax dollars spent at home, for us, our kids, and our grandkids' future.

 

Spend that money at home for 'defense', true defense, and you'd be able to cut the budget in half or more (if you stop borrowing money from the Chinese to pay for the, what should be, illegal use of our military overseas in wars the citizens don't even want or need.

 

 

 

Sadly, I have to disagree with some of this, but not all of it. Don't get me wrong, I am all for a "America for America" and the rest of you can stuff it. It would save trillions to begin paradise building.

 

The problem with that is if America went isolationist, you all in LOS would be learning Chinese very quickly.

 

I hate this police the world crap, but I dont see a way out of it with out letting a dramatically more savage world order emerge. I welcome ideas on how to change it.

[Old Hippie]

"...The problem with that is if America went isolationist, you all in LOS would be learning Chinese very quickly..."

 

I have commented on this before, that is, for all those who are cheering the demise of the USA, will they feel better under the Chinese thumb? or will they cry like bitches and ask why the USA did not do something?

 

As for spending the money at home, which I agree with, the problem is, we gave away a lot of our manufacturing. Example, the new span of the Oakland bay bridge is being built \with chink steal...the same people who gave us contaminated baby food and dry wall, are being trusted with this project...America, what went wrong...?

[Central Scrutinizer]

Holy shit Batman! I actually agree with Cent on something!!! Or maybe he agrees with me on something?

 

HH

 

 

 

 

 

Let's just say we agree to agree... sometimes.

 

If we sat and chatted over beers we'd likely find we agree on many things.

[cavanami]

Corin' date='

 

"And sadder, you all know that."

 

Horseshit (said in a polite, yet argumentative, tone). We spend most of our military budget on war, exporting democracy supposedly. The true cost of a true [b']defense[/b] budget is not what breaks the bank here. It is the offensive budget (which I DO find offensive), the cost for the wars, the police actions, the use of our military by the pols to help protect the corporate conglomerates that give these fuckwits money to keep getting elected. We police the world, and it is not our job, and not a good use of our tax dollars. Let the rest of the world police themselves, and fight their own wars and free themselves from the tyranny they allow themselves to live under if they have the balls to die for their freedom and their children's. Take care of our own country first and foremost. The money we spend around the world is tremendous. Spend it fixing home first before worrying about the rest of the world. I am tired (as I think many Americans are) of my tax dollars going to these wars that have little if anything to do with protecting our country, and bankrupting our country when we most need these tax dollars spent at home, for us, our kids, and our grandkids' future.

 

Spend that money at home for 'defense', true defense, and you'd be able to cut the budget in half or more (if you stop borrowing money from the Chinese to pay for the, what should be, illegal use of our military overseas in wars the citizens don't even want or need.

 

 

 

Sadly, I have to disagree with some of this, but not all of it. Don't get me wrong, I am all for a "America for America" and the rest of you can stuff it. It would save trillions to begin paradise building.

 

The problem with that is if America went isolationist, you all in LOS would be learning Chinese very quickly.

 

I hate this police the world crap, but I dont see a way out of it with out letting a dramatically more savage world order emerge. I welcome ideas on how to change it.

Ni hao ma?

 

I already spent some years learning Chinese (and Japanese), so what is yur point

 

How to change it...send the invoice to Germany, France, etc...let them repay the USA, if not, we STOP this police action NOW!!!

[cavanami]

The US politicians sold out America! All the politicians from the Prez down!! That's what went wrong and the US people sat on their azz.

[Flashermac]

Well, you see Osama Bent Hardon (who is a Saudi) attacked the USA on 11 September with hijacked aircraft (flown by Saudis), killing thousands of innocent Americans (and dozens of non-Yanks too). Therefore, the USA had to invade Iraq to put an end to that evil Sodom Insane (who was the Saudis' enemy and had nothing to do with 9/11). So what don't you understand?

 

 

[cavanami]

All the above

[Bangkoktraveler]

There is serious talk of letting Wall Street run Social Security. If this happens, the money the government has stolen from Social Security will probably never be repaid back.

 

And as HH always claims, it is the unions, etc. which have made the USA non-competitive with the rest of the world. When people start making $15.00 a week and Social Security and pensions are done away with, who do you think will be screaming the loadest?

[cavanami]

I've been on both sides; management and union.

I don't think one can say that the unions 100% made the US non-competitive.

 

I saw weak, lazy management just cave in to unions where the management should have stood its ground.

 

Unions can be broken; air traffic controllers? yes, a lot of help from the US gov, but the union was broken.

 

I was management when the union went on strike. At this time, management told the union to go ahead and do their strike. Us in management put on our work boots and kept things running, for some months! Management could have broken the union at this time, but the union came around and agreement was made. This was in the late 70's/early 80's, a time with strong unions!

 

Fast forward to today, most unions are much weaker. Employees are not in a position to make demands with the steel industry hurting, automobile industry struggling, etc.

 

The next few years will be critical, IMO, for all citizens in the USA.

[Central Scrutinizer]

Cav,

 

The only reason the Air Traffic Controllers union was broken is because they went against their legal contract. They had a 'no strike clause' in their contract. Once they broke the contract by going on an illegal strike the government was legally within their rights to fire the ATC union members and hire new ones. What union in their right mind would sign a no strike clause into their contract?

 

Unions have 2 things that give them power, strength in numbers, meaning a brotherhood of members that truly stick together (much less so since the yuppie guppies started entering the work force in numbers a decade or two back - wimps, pussies, and overextended ninnies with houses with huge mortgages and 2 financed autos), and, the legal right to go on strike. That is where a union's power and strength lie. A no strike clause is about the stupidest thing a union can have in their contract. And the ATC guys paid dearly for their stupidity breaking their contract clause.

 

I remember that strike clearly. I knew and drank with a few ATC guys at Logan airport. Stressful job. Government unions are a farce.