dajafi wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:From Social Security to Medicare to Medicare Part D all old people do is suck money from younger folks even though they're one of the wealthiest segments of the population because old people vote so damn much. It's lovely to see someone asking them to pay a little more for a change.

I have a lot of sympathy for this argument, especially as the actuarial tables have turned against us. (See what I did there?) The political nightmare is that while everybody knows that we'll have to raise the retirement age, possibly adjust/partially means-test SS or Medicare, and take serious steps toward squeezing out the (quite substantial) bloat and waste in the program, the AARP and related angry oldsters are so potent that this can only be done if both parties hold hands and jump together. Fat friggin' chance of that these days.

There's a substance argument against means-testing entitlement programs, summed up in the line "programs for the poor are invariably poor programs." IOW, the exact reason Social Security and Medicare work is that they reach wealthier beneficiaries. I'm starting to wonder if this is policy superstition, though.

And yet, out of the other side of the mouth, we're discouraged from having more than one yuppie pet per family...

Don't discount the health insurance savings.

I didn't; my second sentence began "On big ticket items like health care costs the savings do add up..."

As anyone who's done any kind of budgeting for home or work, it's the multiple savings of small amounts that can sometimes make or break you.

I work in corporate finance so I know all about budgeting and I agree that small savings here and there add up. Keep in mind, though, that while saving $500 by switching to Geico at home might be 10% of your monthly budget, even the $50,000 in savings is a drop in the bucket of a $40 million municipal budget like Collingswood's or a $286 million budget like Cherry Hill's. The point I was trying to make (albeit not very well) is exactly what TV followed up with; mainly, that combining government services may look like a great idea on paper but generally lead to little actual savings.

I think you mentioned before that you live in Cherry Hill which is not far at all from Collingswood (my town). Given your proximity, I am sure you know the disaster that our police shared services agreement with Woodlynne has become. Overall, though, I agree with you and TV 100%. There is a lot of government waste out there. I think the best place to start is to review one's own structure first; look to see if there are departments that can be consolidated or even eliminated. Once that is done, THEN worry about consolidating services.

jerseyhoya wrote:From Social Security to Medicare to Medicare Part D all old people do is suck money from younger folks even though they're one of the wealthiest segments of the population because old people vote so damn much. It's lovely to see someone asking them to pay a little more for a change.

Although they do "suck money" from younger folks, be careful what you wish for. I haven't seen the demographics, but I would bet that the old people have been much more careful with their money than the younger folks. A lot of the money they're sitting on will pass to the younger set that hasn't saved enough for retirement and leveraged their home. Asking them to pay for a little more here and there can really add up. Not to mention, that money may be necessary for long term care.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 0031503503

We know Beck probably isn't doing much good for conservatives because he is insane, but here is a good article on how Beck might not be helping even FoxNews...

If art truly does imitate life, expect an ending not unlike Network.

This is not really a political statement, just a place to grouse about a local problem, but after operating under the assumption that our NJ school district would have to deal with a loss of about 300,000 in state aid, they learned today that the loss would be $1.5 million. And a budget has to be submitted by March 22.

Meanwhile the Catholic schools are coming up with new ways to raise revenue!!

Catholic school principal charged with theft at Cherry Hill Mall.

Mary Matalin on tonite's Colbert mentioned that Christ said "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Uh, perhaps someone should tell her that's a Chinese proverb from like 500BC.

Yeah, really. Jesus is the "Give the man a fish and he'll feed a thousand people with it" guy.

well 5 loaves and 2 fish and he will feed over 5,000 guys. but who is counting?!

Phan In Phlorida wrote:Mary Matalin on tonite's Colbert mentioned that Christ said "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Uh, perhaps someone should tell her that's a Chinese proverb from like 500BC.

I'd long known (only because I've sold them) that the 1560 Geneva Bible was often referred to as the Breeches Bible because it has Adam and Eve constructing "breeches" out of fig leaves, but I'd forgotten that it's also called the "Place-maker's Bible" because in the 1562 edition in Matthew 5:9 it states "Blessed are the place-makers". That's a nice nod toward 1970s urban planners and it's a shame it was dropped, really.

It just gets on my nerves when people, regardless of what side their ideology lies, use religion as a political tool... even moreso when they get it wrong because there's enough people that'll believe it anyway.

For those wondering... that fish proverb is from Lao Tzu, the dude that founded Taoism. Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Perhaps fitting re Matalin's miscredit as the Zhous used the "Mandate of Heaven" to take rule.

I'm pretty sure it says in the Bible that thou shalt not tax estates.

swishnicholson wrote:

Phan In Phlorida wrote:Mary Matalin on tonite's Colbert mentioned that Christ said "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Uh, perhaps someone should tell her that's a Chinese proverb from like 500BC.

I'd long known (only because I've sold them) that the 1560 Geneva Bible was often referred to as the Breeches Bible because it has Adam and Eve constructing "breeches" out of fig leaves, but I'd forgotten that it's also called the "Place-maker's Bible" because in the 1562 edition in Matthew 5:9 it states "Blessed are the place-makers". That's a nice nod toward 1970s urban planners and it's a shame it was dropped, really.

that's the one with the awesome Genesis right

Bucky wrote:

swishnicholson wrote:

Phan In Phlorida wrote:Mary Matalin on tonite's Colbert mentioned that Christ said "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Uh, perhaps someone should tell her that's a Chinese proverb from like 500BC.

I'd long known (only because I've sold them) that the 1560 Geneva Bible was often referred to as the Breeches Bible because it has Adam and Eve constructing "breeches" out of fig leaves, but I'd forgotten that it's also called the "Place-maker's Bible" because in the 1562 edition in Matthew 5:9 it states "Blessed are the place-makers". That's a nice nod toward 1970s urban planners and it's a shame it was dropped, really.

that's the one with the awesome Genesis right

...with awesome Phil Colins drumminz...

Bucky wrote:

swishnicholson wrote:

Phan In Phlorida wrote:Mary Matalin on tonite's Colbert mentioned that Christ said "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Uh, perhaps someone should tell her that's a Chinese proverb from like 500BC.

I'd long known (only because I've sold them) that the 1560 Geneva Bible was often referred to as the Breeches Bible because it has Adam and Eve constructing "breeches" out of fig leaves, but I'd forgotten that it's also called the "Place-maker's Bible" because in the 1562 edition in Matthew 5:9 it states "Blessed are the place-makers". That's a nice nod toward 1970s urban planners and it's a shame it was dropped, really.

that's the one with the awesome Genesis right

Exactly. Most of my bible exegesis is inspired by joking responses to random pop music threads, as was Saint Augustine.

swishnicholson wrote:
Exactly. Most of my bible exegesis is inspired by joking responses to random pop music threads, as was Saint Augustine's.

fixed?

drsmooth wrote:

swishnicholson wrote:
Exactly. Most of my bible exegesis is inspired by joking responses to random pop music threads, as was Saint Augustine's.

fixed?

Since this is a political thread, I'm perfectly justified in calling you a grammar Nazi.

But, yeah, that was one of those sentences where I ambled along and ended up somewhere totally different than where I started, lost and confused.

I think what I was going for was, "Most of my bible exegesis is inspired by joking responses to random pop music threads, as was [the case with] Saint Augustine.

swishnicholson wrote:

drsmooth wrote:

swishnicholson wrote:
Exactly. Most of my bible exegesis is inspired by joking responses to random pop music threads, as was Saint Augustine's.

fixed?

Since this is a political thread, I'm perfectly justified in calling you a grammar Nazi.

But, yeah, that was one of those sentences where I ambled along and ended up somewhere totally different than where I started, lost and confused.

I think what I was going for was, "Most of my bible exegesis is inspired by joking responses to random pop music threads, as was [the case with] Saint Augustine.

I hesitated to comment, but the imagery was just so powerful I had to get in on it; so decided to, as unobtrusively (2 lousy characters) as possible

A Blue State Deep in Debt Rethinks What’s Important

Talk to leaders of the interest groups on the receiving end of the budget ax, and even some Democratic lawmakers, and you’ll hear the predictable apocalyptic warnings. But privately, many liberals who feel like they can’t afford all of their ideals anymore will also admit to cheering Mr. Christie on, out of sheer pocketbook politics.

“There’s a lot of that,” said Raymond Lesniak, an influential Democratic state senator.

“There’ll be people howling,” said another Democrat who operates behind the scenes. “But people at night are saying, ‘I’m paying too much, I’m worried about my job, something has to change. The guy’s cutting, and yes, things have to cut — just don’t cut me.’ ”

I just read about the tea partiers who threw slurs at John Lewis. Utterly despicable.