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July 25th, 2009
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5 days ago
I think this has been a good conversation, and I want to add a few data points for everyone.
First, in January of this year, before President Obama took office, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the deficit this year would be $1.2 trillion. The actual deficit this year was $1.4 trillion (the 2009 fiscal year ended on Oct. 1). So for those people saying that President Obama “exploded the deficit” that’s just incorrect. Actions taken since January, the Recovery Act primarily, account for only about 15% of this year’s deficit.
Second, a large portion of this year’s deficit comes from policies pursued under the last administration. See here and here and here for three different, independent reports on the sources of this year’s large deficit.
Third, the concerns about China are a bit overstated. Only about 11% of our publicly held debt is in Chinese hands.
Fourth, a brief note for @Tenpinmaster regarding the Clinton era. You wrote, ”...you all remember in the 1990’s during the technological boom the economy was thriving. Taxes were relatively low and everyone had a job.” You’re mostly right, except for the part about taxes. Tax rates were higher in the 1990’s then they are now across the board. In fact, raising taxes, starting in 1990 under the first President Bush and continuing under Clinton was a major reason why the federal budget went from red to black.
Finally, I’m going to editorialize for a minute: this year’s deficit number is eye-catching, certainly, but its not actually dangerous, by any means. Some people worry that deficits of that size will lead to inflation, and in the long-run – if you continuously run deficits of that size – they are right to worry. One or two years of big deficits, however, aren’t going to spark inflation. Indeed, this year’s prices have been completely flat (and so, unfortunately, have been wages).
The real problem, then, is not this year or next year. The real problem is long-term deficits caused, in the main, by rising health care costs and by the aging of the population. Those two trends, which have been building for decades, will need to be addressed if the we are going to get the federal budget onto a more sustainable path.
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April 14th, 2009
@Qingu I understand your ambivalence toward (perhaps even rejection of) your religious/cultural/ethnic(?) background. No group of people that has been around as long as “The Jews” could have a history, culture or tradition that is spotless. As a result, there are things about Jewish history, culture and tradition that give many contemporary people pause, or more than pause. I guess the question is do you throw the baby out with the bathwater? Yes, there are troubling things in the 4,000 year history of “Jewish Civilization,” but there are inspiring, uplifting, and extraordinary things too (much like all of human history).
I will also say that I think you are ignoring a very important aspect of Jewish religious and cultural practice, namely the Talmud. While the “Bible” is the founding document of Judaism, in practice the Rabbinic discussions, arguments, and exegeses are the real drivers of Jewish practice. I think you’ll find that the Rabbis were just as troubled by many of the same stories in the Bible as you are.
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April 14th, 2009
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April 14th, 2009
@Qingu You are quite right that slavery is both assumed and therefore “allowed” in the Bible. A couple of points though. First, and this is relatively minor, you cite 1 Timothy 6:1, which is not in the “Old Testament.” For Jews, that book has no relevance. More to your point, that book was not included in the “revelation at Sinai.”
Second, I think it is worth noting that celebration of Passover does not necessarily require one to take the stories in the Bible as literal truth. Indeed, one of the Seders that I attended this year began with the question, “Is this story true?” Perhaps the Passover story, and indeed the Bible as a whole, is best understood as a literary and cultural product of its time and place (or more appropriately, its times and places). Does this invalidate the themes and lessons of the holiday? Not in my opinion. A three thousand year old celebration of freedom and resistance to tyranny and oppression seems like a worthwhile tradition to uphold.
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April 9th, 2009
@sevenfourteen I will actually attempt to give you a rather succinct answer to your question.
First, Judaism (as @Zen pointed out above, the religion is called Judaism, and those who practice it are Jews) is a monotheistic religion, meaning that Jews believe in the existence of one and only one god. Historically, Judiasm was the first monotheistic religion (or at least the oldest one to have survived into the present day).
Catholicism is also monotheistic (in traditional Catholic theology, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are three parts of one whole – the Trinity). However, Jews do not believe in the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth. A few people here have written something like, “Jews do believe in Jesus, just not the same way that Christians do.” That’s actually misleading. Jesus plays no role, whatsoever, in Jewish religious belief or practice. The question of his existence, divine or otherwise, is not a part of Judaism.
The “founding documents” of the Jewish religion are the books of what Christians call the “Old Testament,” namely the five books of Moses, the books of the Prophets, and Writings. These are all also part of the Christian bible, put the “Hebrew Bible” obviously does not include the Gospels and what is commonly referred to as the “New Testament.”
It is not possible to get too much deeper into the similarities and differences between Catholicism (as the oldest form of Christianity) and Judaism here in a Fluther post. If, in your efforts to learn more about Judaism, you come across more specific questions, definitely come back and post them.
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sorry dont mean to be bothersome, did some auto shopping saterday. found a 98 VW Jetta GLX ” i love vw’s ” anyways they want 7900 im going to ask for about 7100 also car has 67.000 miles im going to be making a DOWNpayment of 2500 i think @ Least 20% of the gross of the car ( been doing Research on Financing scams goods bads and percentages) found great insurance for about 150 a month due to fullcoverage…..and a ticket i got last year “Driiving on the wrong side of a Devided Highway” happend on pch opps.. lol anyways….so from my Calculations i have come to this figure:
Auto loan amount $ 4600.00 (Do not use commas.)
Auto loan term 5 years or 60 months
Interest rate * 17.00 % per year
* Find the best interest rates in your area for more personalized results.
Auto loan start date June,2nd 2008 ,
Monthly auto loan payment $ 114.32
now im guessing on the intrest Rate cause i donot knwo my Credit History iv never owned a CC or any kind of loans i only owe to cell phone companys cause i signd a contract with bullshit stuff and just stopped makng payments on phone 2 companys T-Mobile & US Cellular…with helio but there stupid so now im verizon but my point is are my Caulculations correct? also iv contacted experian trans union and or Equifax and all they do is send me a ( ) blank REPORT. so yea. im going tomorrow to the dealership what was soo funny i know cars well expecilly VW’s anyways so the car has been sitting for 4 years right and i test drove it and told him hey ya knwo the alingment needs some fixin a little he says:” well the car has been sitting for a while” and im like : DUDE dont be fucking stupid alighnments dont just go BAD” yea i put the salemen in his place i had 2 salesmen at the end of the day anyways there such cokroaches and liers haha. but there going to work 2 my standerds or i go someplace else….i know my auto stuff. and im not going to get stiffed by some hoky poky lier. :) ok well thanks man. again sorry for the bother, just seem’s you know ur math :) and a nice person
thanks for the advice helps me decide what the right thing to look for