EPTUS Politics Mega-thread - Page 206
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Read the rules in the OP before posting, please. In order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a re-read to refresh your memory! The vast majority of you are contributing in a healthy way, keep it up! NOTE: When providing a source, explain why you feel it is relevant and what purpose it adds to the discussion if it's not obvious. Also take note that unsubstantiated tweets/posts meant only to rekindle old arguments can result in a mod action. | ||
micronesia
United States24767 Posts
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{CC}StealthBlue
United States41117 Posts
A $10bn arms deal is under discussion between the United States and its Arab and Israeli allies that will send a "very clear signal" to Iran, Chuck Hagel, the US defence secretary, has said. Hagel, who is on his first visit to Israel as Pentagon chief, said on Sunday the US is committed to providing Israel's military with an advantage. "The bottom line is that Iran is a threat, a real threat," Hagel said. "The Iranians must be prevented from developing that capacity to build a nuclear weapon and deliver it." The first stop on Hagel's week-long Middle East trip came two days after the Pentagon said it was finalising a weapons deal to strengthen the militaries of Israel and two of Iran's key rivals, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Al Jazeera's correspondent Simon McGregor-Wood, reporting from Jerusalem, said Hagel's visit was an opportunity to put controversies of the past behind, such as his earlier comments on Israel which affected his confirmation. Source | ||
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oneofthem
Cayman Islands24199 Posts
On April 21 2013 14:30 JonnyBNoHo wrote: Largely agreed. You have a solution? Hell I'll gladly take a solution just for the short term-ism... if you've got one. i don't know. it's hard, for two reasons. 1. management culture is in the 'cat already out of the bag' phase. hard to put it back in. in the 70's and prior business had more professional, service orientation to it. nowadays, it's about being agile and outsmart everybody, including your clients. a cultural solution focused on reviving prior attitudes sounds nice, but has little chance of success. it is important for the surrounding debate though, because it should be recognized that there is a culture problem at play. 2. investing itself is becoming more short term, with funds focusing on short term, year by year results rather than elephant-like institutional investors with long term relations. so management culture mirrors the larger investor culture. so in a way, everyone is fine with short term compensation, because everyone is in for the short term anyway. i'm also not entirely comfortable with the idea of restricting how firms set up their own compensation system. because i don't think it'll get enforced and won't work as intended. however, having a requirement that ties the long term fate of a firm with the fate of the individual operators is, if possible, really great. also, solving the too big to fail issue also plays a large part here, and that's been tackled supposedly. however, in the last crisis we saw goldman etc dumping toxic liabilities onto AIG etc, so maybe they think they'll always be able to outsmart another firm and be ok even though the system itself may fail. | ||
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{CC}StealthBlue
United States41117 Posts
The number of detainees taking part in a hunger strike at the US-run Guantanamo Bay military prison has grown to 77, an increase of 25 in just the past few days, according to a US military spokesman. Lieutenant Colonel Samuel House said in a statement that of the detainees refusing food, 17 are receiving "enteral feedings," a process involving being force-fed via tubes. Five of the inmates have been admitted to hospital, although none faces "life-threatening conditions," House said. The facility, which houses 166 detainees, has been hit by hunger strikes since February 6, when inmates claimed prison officials searched their Qurans for contraband. Officials have denied any mishandling of Islam's holy book. The hunger strikers are protesting against their incarceration without charge or trial at Guantanamo over the past 11 years. "They say they want their freedom," Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington, said. "Or they'll die trying to get it." Lawyers representing inmates at the prison have said most of the estimated 130 detainees at Guantanamo's Camp Six wing, which houses "low-value" prisoners, are on hunger strike. Source | ||
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JonnyBNoHo
United States6277 Posts
Data shift to lift US economy 3% The US economy will officially become 3 per cent bigger in July as part of a shake-up that will see government statistics take into account 21st century components such as film royalties and spending on research and development. Billions of dollars of intangible assets will enter the gross domestic product of the world’s largest economy in a revision aimed at capturing the changing nature of US output. Full story here. Not only are they changing the way that GDP is measured going forward but they're also revising statistics going back to 1929 and on a state by state basis as well. New Mexico, for example, will see state GDP rise by 10% thanks to the inclusion of R&D. Neat stuff. Edit: Forgot to mention... Deficits in defined benefit pension schemes will also be included because what companies have promised to pay out will be measured, rather than the cash they pay into plans. “We will now show a liability for underfunded plans, which particularly has large ramifications for the government sector, where both at the state level and the federal level we have large underfunded plans,” said Mr Moulton. | ||
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farvacola
United States18856 Posts
WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel is suing Speaker John Boehner and six other lawmakers, alleging problems with the House ethics investigation that led to his censure in 2010. In a complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, the New York Democrat alleges "numerous, flagrant, knowing and intentional violations" of his due process rights. Rangel, 82, seeks to overturn the censure and says in the court papers that he suffers "irreparable harm that cannot be compensated by money damages." Rangel's office referred questions to his attorney, Jay Goldberg, who did not return a phone call seeking comment. The lawsuit names Boehner; Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who was chairwoman of the House ethics committee at the time of the censure; and other committee members and staff. The congressman alleges that evidence was withheld by the committee staff. In December 2010, the House voted 333-79 to censure Rangel for multiple ethical misdeeds — including failing to pay taxes for 17 years on rental income from his villa in the Dominican Republic and soliciting donations from companies with business before the Ways and Means Committee while he was chairman. The donations were going to a center being built in Rangel's honor at the City College of New York. Censure is the most serious punishment, short of expulsion, that Congress can impose on one of its own members. Rangel became the first congressman in nearly three decades to be publicly rebuked in such a fashion. Rep. Rangel sues Boehner to overturn House censure | ||
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JonnyBNoHo
United States6277 Posts
Restyled as Real Estate Trusts, Varied Businesses Avoid Taxes A small but growing number of American corporations, operating in businesses as diverse as private prisons, billboards and casinos, are making an aggressive move to reduce — or even eliminate — their federal tax bills. ... The trust structure has been around for years but, until recently, it was generally used only by funds holding real estate. Now, the likes of the Corrections Corporation of America, which owns and operates 44 prisons and detention centers across the nation, have quietly received permission from the Internal Revenue Service to put on new corporate clothes and, as a result, save many millions on taxes. ... "I've been in this business for 30 years, and I've never seen the interest in REIT conversions as high as it is today," said Robert O'Brien, the head of the real estate practice at Deloitte & Touche, the big accounting firm. ... Source Good job Obama... | ||
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{CC}StealthBlue
United States41117 Posts
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bkrow
Australia8532 Posts
Sorry, I am not familiar with American trust law or the structure of the IRS, but what does that have to do with Obama? | ||
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Sermokala
United States14104 Posts
On April 23 2013 11:37 bkrow wrote: Sorry, I am not familiar with American trust law or the structure of the IRS, but what does that have to do with Obama? You didn't know? Obama is wholly responsible for every single possible action that every single government agency in america may or may not do at any point in time while he is president. Michael Jackson died under his watch too. Its his fault that he died. | ||
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JonnyBNoHo
United States6277 Posts
On April 23 2013 11:37 bkrow wrote: Sorry, I am not familiar with American trust law or the structure of the IRS, but what does that have to do with Obama? From what I'm reading no laws have been changed. More and more companies are being allowed REIT status because the IRS is, well, allowing it. So these are administrative issues which ultimately fall under the authority of the Executive branch. If I'm wrong someone can correct me. I'm happy to use my pitchforks and torches on Congress instead  | ||
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ticklishmusic
United States15977 Posts
So a grad student found some big error in the paper that's generally cited as a reason for austerity. | ||
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Sermokala
United States14104 Posts
On April 24 2013 01:31 ticklishmusic wrote: http://www.peri.umass.edu/236/hash/31e2ff374b6377b2ddec04deaa6388b1/publication/566/ So a grad student found some big error in the paper that's generally cited as a reason for austerity. This was covered a few pages back in the thread. | ||
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ticklishmusic
United States15977 Posts
On April 24 2013 01:34 Sermokala wrote: This was covered a few pages back in the thread. woops, i see it now. missed it among all the junk about gun legislation and immigration. | ||
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farvacola
United States18856 Posts
WASHINGTON (AP) — The richest Americans got richer during the first two years of the economic recovery while average net worth declined for 93% of the nation's households, the Pew Research Center said Tuesday. The Pew report says wealth held by the richest 7% of households rose 28% 2009 through 2011, while the net worth of the other 93% of households dropped 4%. Pew says the main reason for the widening gap is that affluent households have stocks and other financial holdings that increased in value, while the less wealthy have more of their assets in their homes, which haven't fully regained their value since the housing downturn. The upper 7% of households owned 63% of the nation's household wealth in 2011, up from 56% in 2009, said the report, which analyzed Census Bureau data released last month. Tuesday's report is the latest to point up financial inequality that has been growing among Americans for decades, a development that helped fuel the Occupy Wall Street protests. A September Census Bureau report on income found that the highest-earning 20% of households earned more than half of all income the previous year, biggest share in records kept since 1967. A 2011 Congressional Budget Office report said incomes for the richest 1% soared 275% between 1979 and 2007 while increasing just under 40% for the middle 60% of Americans. Pew: 93% of households lost net worth 2009-11 | ||
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JonnyBNoHo
United States6277 Posts
On April 24 2013 02:48 farvacola wrote: Gosh, I wish I had enough money to insulate myself from the rest of the country! Pew: 93% of households lost net worth 2009-11 Three cheers for diversification! Edit: Maybe it's time to start emphasizing financial literacy in education a bit more? If as a country we want to give more economic control to the middle class then we best make sure that they'll be fine stewards of the wealth. | ||
Souma
2nd Worst City in CA8938 Posts
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DeltaX
United States287 Posts
On April 24 2013 04:06 Souma wrote: Educating kids on how to play the stock market just so they can support their family is an even more fucked up version of America. I don't see playing the stock market as being the same thing as being financially literate. A LOT of people got out of the stock market after the financial crisis (selling low) and are just now getting back in (buy high). They would have done much better just buying some diverse stocks and ignoring it or investing more after the crash. | ||
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Souma
2nd Worst City in CA8938 Posts
In any case, I don't believe Jonny meant that we should focus teaching kids how to play the stock market. However, pulling from the article just posted, it seems like stocks would play a big part in one being a "fine steward of wealth." | ||
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JonnyBNoHo
United States6277 Posts
On April 24 2013 04:06 Souma wrote: Educating kids on how to play the stock market just so they can support their family is an even more fucked up version of America. Day trading is hardly a cornerstone of financial literacy... Edit: Americans don't need to know how to trade stocks or anything complicated. They need to know basics like how mortgages, student loans and credit cards work because we expect them to take out hundreds of thousands in loans. They need to know how saving for retirement works because they're largely in charge of it. | ||
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