5 ms·

"I am not a cargo-cult thinker." ...eh. Sorry to say but it looks a lot like you are.

robomartin 14y ago
Let's see. I've actually modeled the fiscal problems I talk about in Excel and understand how they work and where the levers might be. Most people (right, left, whatever) watch TV and allow themselves to be indoctrinated. No brother, I am far from cargo culture, very far. On fiscal issues the stuff you'll see me write might seem to align with the Republicans. On social issues the right wing would burn me on a cross if they could because I tend to align with the godless left (gay rights, religion, abortion, gun rights, war, etc.) The thing about fiscal issues is that they are very, very simple. Anyone with high school math can confirm or refute claims. If you use a spreadsheet even better; you can model a far larger system and see how it actually works. The problem with most who react negatively to calls for severe cuts, balanced budget and reduced government footprint is that they are simply parroting what has been indoctrinated into their brains without even making a small effort to put pen to paper and really understand how things work. Here's a simple example. Model this in your spreadsheet and then tell me how YOU would solve the problem. You hire a union gardener. He gets $200 a month. After working ten years he can retire with 80% of his salary for the rest of his life. Ten years later he retires. Now you pay him $160 per month to stay home. You still need a gardener and hire another one. Now that position effectively costs you $360 per month. Ten years later this new guy retires. Now the position costs you $200 + $160 + 160 or $520 per month, nearly triple the salary for just one person. If I hire non-union I pay my gardener $100 per year and, when he retires, I pay a similar gardener a similar amount. Get it?
- robomartin 14y ago
  TWO MILLION retired government workers and counting. Who pays for their amazing lifetime pension benefits. You, of course. Do the math.

Let's see. I've actually modeled the fiscal problems I talk about in Excel and understand how they work and where the levers might be. Most people (right, left, whatever) watch TV and allow themselves to be indoctrinated. No brother, I am far from cargo culture, very far. On fiscal issues the stuff you'll see me write might seem to align with the Republicans. On social issues the right wing would burn me on a cross if they could because I tend to align with the godless left (gay rights, religion, abortion, gun rights, war, etc.) The thing about fiscal issues is that they are very, very simple. Anyone with high school math can confirm or refute claims. If you use a spreadsheet even better; you can model a far larger system and see how it actually works. The problem with most who react negatively to calls for severe cuts, balanced budget and reduced government footprint is that they are simply parroting what has been indoctrinated into their brains without even making a small effort to put pen to paper and really understand how things work. Here's a simple example. Model this in your spreadsheet and then tell me how YOU would solve the problem. You hire a union gardener. He gets $200 a month. After working ten years he can retire with 80% of his salary for the rest of his life. Ten years later he retires. Now you pay him $160 per month to stay home. You still need a gardener and hire another one. Now that position effectively costs you $360 per month. Ten years later this new guy retires. Now the position costs you $200 + $160 + 160 or $520 per month, nearly triple the salary for just one person. If I hire non-union I pay my gardener $100 per year and, when he retires, I pay a similar gardener a similar amount. Get it?

robomartin 14y ago
TWO MILLION retired government workers and counting. Who pays for their amazing lifetime pension benefits. You, of course. Do the math.