GannonFan wrote:kalm wrote:
Show me exactly where I said we should "return to a 50's era economy" and I will give you a snickers.
That being said, there were some things to be learned from that era. Like how to pay off a massive war debt while building infrastructure and educating an entire generation for free. But of course your conk mind only embraces the white picket fences and nostalgia rather than the investments we made (and yes, I acknowledge we had a huge assist from being the last economy standing).
Ironic that you're the one using the ostrich analogy. We have no choice...it MUST be this way...no learning from history allowed....BRrrrrrawwwk!
Wow, an actual acknowledgment from you that the economic boom and capabilities of the 1950s American economy was greatly assisted by the devastation of the rest of the world due to the previous world war. It's almost like you read the whole history book this time rather than reading the captions on the pictures. Of course, even with that knowledge, you still think we can make all those investments you list - you provide no details on how that can be done (lower the debt, rebuild all the infrastructure, and educate the nation for free), but why be bogged down by details.
The difference between us is easy - I see the world as it is and think of what we have to do to succeed in it (innovate, compete, etc) while you see the world as it is and complain that its not as easy as it used to be and want to go back in time. The key about history is to learn from it, not to be so enraptured with it that you forget to learn anything. In the next election make sure you don't write in for "Ike" - I'm pretty sure he's not running.
I know you're in love with the narrative you've created that I simply want to roll everything back to the 50's and have it
exactly as it was back then. It's a nice straw man for sure, and I can see it cracks you up, but I also noticed you declined to show me where I've made that suggestion.
And there in lies your troubles Ganny. As William F. Buckley once said, a conservative is a fellow who sits athwart history, and yells "stop!"
You have me confused for a conk!
You and I don't always see eye to eye because I tend more toward parallel thinking. In other words, not only what has been, but the possibilities of what can be...rather than just what is.
Correct me if I'm wrong but IIRC you're an engineer. Engineers by necessity tend to be pragmatic and linear thinkers. Everything needs to go in order. I know a few engineers one of which is my closest friend. FWIW, I drive him absolutely bat shit crazy when we have these type of discussions.
Neither method is wrong and both have their strengths in weaknesses.
As for solutions, how far do you want this conversation to go? We could start with government waste, cutting redundancy, and non-essential programs while raising taxes revenues (by rate increases and/or eliminating loopholes - especially corporate) back up to reasonable levels to help balance and pay for things like wars, bailouts, prescription drug benefits, stimulus packages etc). But as you can see, that's opening up not just one but a whole crate full of cans of worms.
So lets just start with the reason none of these cuts or tax policy changes are likely to happen...campaign finance.........
