US Politics Mega-thread - Page 1028

On April 30 2014 14:50 FallDownMarigold wrote:
Yes, suggesting you read up on the subject from someone that is studying the issue from an academic rather than political pundit perspective (http://www.amazon.com/Capital-Twenty-First-Century-Thomas-Piketty/dp/067443000X/ref=zg_bs_6343232011_1) is 'advocating talking out of your ass'.

lol?

On April 30 2014 14:38 Danglars wrote:
All free speech is equal, but some is more equal than others.

Wait a second, are you advocating talking out of your ass? Don't watch Fox, Piketty instead? Surely you're some kind of tea party plant made to discredit the left.

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed legislation on Tuesday requiring some applicants for food stamps and welfare benefits to undergo a drug test.

Under the bill, testing could be required if authorities have a "reasonable suspicion" of drug use. A person failing the test would temporarily lose benefits, although their children could receive assistance through another adult.

Drug use is a barrier to finding and keeping a job, Deal spokesman Brian Robinson said.

"If some, however, reject treatment and instead choose a lifestyle that renders them unemployable, taxpayers shouldn't have to subsidize that," Robinson said.

Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, called the legislation "shameful" and said it violated the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches.

She also argued that state employees are not adequately trained to detect signs of possible drug use.

"It's a badly flawed bill," she said. "It will be challenged."

Deal, a Republican, is up for re-election this year and will likely face State Senator Jason Carter, a Democrat and the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, in the November general election.

Jason Carter, who voted against the bill, declined through a spokesman to comment.

A federal judge late last year struck down a Florida bill requiring drug screening for welfare recipients, ruling it violated the constitutional prohibition of unreasonable searches.

Last summer, North Carolina Republican Governor Pat McCrory vetoed legislation that would have required some recipients of cash welfare benefits to undergo drug screenings, saying it had proven ineffective in other states.

On April 30 2014 15:12 Danglars wrote:
Yes, yes, we should listen to "people that actually look into that issue with unprecedented focus on actual data spanning decades in the US and around the world claim it IS problematic" (gag-inducing). I'm sure you either agree with Piketty or are too dumb to understand him. He's the Left's new favorite economist from Socialism Works France. The degree of condescension people like you use while claiming his 577 pages somehow blast apart modern economic thought and political considerations is breathtaking. Equally so is your blindness to your haughty attitude when you suggest turning off Fox to tune in to Piketty.

On April 30 2014 10:05 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

I think you'll still have exposure / overlap.

Regardless, safe traditional banks and unsafe shadow banks doesn't leave you with safe system. Moving risk around doesn't eliminate it.

Edit: and hang on, they aren't removing the bank funding into shadow banking with this regulation. Can traditional banks no longer provide liquidity backstops to shadow banking?

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (D) leads Gov. Rick Scott (R) 48 percent to 38 percent in this year's gubernatorial race, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

That 10-point difference, Crist's largest margin against Scott in polling this year, is similar to the 8-point lead Crist held in a January Quinnipiac poll. Although most non-partisan surveys find him leading, many show a somewhat narrower race. HuffPost Pollster's average, which includes all publicly available polling, gives Crist a lead of about 5 points.

Scott has spent more than $4 million on television advertising, largely attacking Crist over his continuing support for the Affordable Care Act, while Crist has called Scott ethically suspect and out of touch with Floridians. Crist has also targeted Scott for failing to expand Medicaid in the state.

Almost half the country — 147 million Americans, to be precise — live in counties with unhealthy air, according to a new report.

The data was pulled from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and analyzed by the American Lung Association (ALA). They tracked two forms of pollution over the 2010-2012 time period. One form was small particles like soot that hang in the air, and which the ALA tracked on both short-term and a year-round basis. The other was ozone, the main ingredient in smog and air pollution, which is created when nitrogen oxides and other chemicals interact with heat and sunlight.

The report found that particle pollution during 2010-2012 improved in most cities from 2009-2011. Ozone pollution, on the other hand, worsened in many areas — probably due to generally hotter temperatures over the latter time period. That led to higher ozone levels, and higher levels that occurred more frequently.

About 147 million Americans live in counties where at least one of those measures — short-term particle pollution, year-round particle pollution, or ozone — topped national safety standards often enough to be a threat to public health. Over 27 million Americans live in counties where all three measures are at unhealthy levels.

On April 30 2014 23:17 farvacola wrote:
Haha, I can't help myself.



That you Danglars?


Bahahaha, this writers "o bama" construction is awfully cute.

But let's not forget "California mom"



There's a nice nutshell for ya. At least we can be thankful that the conservatives in this thread aren't pretending that they've read the book.

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats could not advance their bill to raise the minimum wage on Wednesday, failing by a vote of 54-42 to clear the filibuster threshold.

The vote was an early hurdle for legislation that Democrats have put at the top of their economic agenda for the year. Even if the measure eventually garners the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster in the Senate, it still faces long odds in the GOP-controlled House, where Republicans have shown no interest in bringing it to the floor.

Senate Republicans were expected to block the bill, which would raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour and tie it to inflation so that it rises with the cost of living. Democrats are hoping the issue will play well for them in this midterm election year given the overwhelming support among the general public for hiking the minimum wage.

"They don't even want us to have a proper debate on the bill, let alone pass it," Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said ahead of the vote. "What is so radical about what we're trying to do?"

Discussion on the measure fell along familiar ideological lines on Wednesday. Democrats pointed out how the wage floor has eroded in recent years, leaving more low-income workers below the poverty line. Republicans argued that a wage hike would hurt the very workers it was meant to benefit.

Overall, 73% of the public favors raising the federal minimum wage from its current level of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour.
Among Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party, 70% who agree with the Tea Party oppose an extension of unemployment benefits and nearly as many oppose raising the minimum wage (65%). Yet 52% of non-Tea Party Republicans favor a one-year extension of unemployment benefits and an even higher percentage (65%) supports increasing the minimum wage.

On April 30 2014 23:04 FallDownMarigold wrote:


Expected this response. Just like a talking head on Fox News or even a conservative economist, there's no response to Piketty's work other than name calling: "it's socialist".

Of course I largely agree with him. Have not finished the book but the amount of research and raw data included is rather hard to ignore and simply discount by crying "Marxism" if you're an honest person not driven by your political agenda. It's sort of interesting you find academic work 'gag inducing' but don't find name calling gag inducing.

On May 01 2014 07:42 IgnE wrote:
Danglars is what you would call a fundamentalist conservative. He doesn't respond to things like "evidence."

On May 01 2014 07:15 oneofthem wrote:
what do you think modern economic thought is? friedman? lucas? sure, extreme believers of rational markets perfection may challenge picketty's policy conclusions or explain away his empirical results, but the guy did his homework and facts are facts.