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How To Use Monkey Math To Prove Whatever You Want
- achompas 16y agoSorry guys, botched the title. It's called How To Use Monkey Math To Prove Anything You Want My favorite numbers: 1. $10,000/year on house cleaning and "maintenance," and $450/month on gas and electricity. That mansion won't support itself! 2. $13k a year on groceries. Are they shopping at Dean & Deluca? More importantly: these partisan articles are toxic to discourse and friendly debate. If we cannot agree on facts, how can we hope to debate opinions?
- iwwr 16y agoThe problem is not a lack of revenue, but a lack of restraint on spending. More tax incomes will simply mean comparatively more spending; a drunk will keep on drinking if he suddenly receives a reprieve in the form of a new liver. If we take away the ballooning costs of the wars, foreign bases, surveillance and the bailouts, the US budget would just about have been balanced.
- achompas 16y agoWe can debate the necessity of war until the end of time, but those bailouts were a definite need. Agree on the lacking restraint though. The problem is even worse, though: a misrepresentation of the facts. A family that purchases enough gas for 40k miles in travel AND takes a yearly vacation AND spends $10k on "cleaning and house maintenance" isn't excessive--it's divorced from reality.
- Travis 16y agoAlthough I agree with you, I would avoid using phrases such as "trust me on that". Especially when discussing an issue that has generated vigorous debate. It weakens your argument, and only makes me trust you (and your point) less.
- achompas 16y agoGood point. I'd prefer to not reveal why I said that, so I've edited my comment.