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This week's recommended reading:
The Law by Frederic Bastiat
and
Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques, Second Edition
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Good video. Midas perfectly explained the reason why I voted down prop 19. I know that weed isn't as bad for you as alcohol, but California and the US as whole already have too many degenerate potheads who do not contribute to society. An example of how legal drugs can weaken a civilization historically are the events leading up to the opium war in China.
Well, thank you Captain Buzzkill.
You ever stop to think how much more competitive you'd be if the rest of the country was walking around in a dope-induced haze?
I was talking to someone about this and we agreed that working professionals getting high on the weekends are not the problem. There should be a productivity requirement before people are allowed to do drugs.
Thank fucking god you aren't in charge.
For a guy who preaches free market ideals you sure do support a lot of government regulation.
Oh wow, how am I against free market?
Do your parents tell you what to do with THEIR car and THEIR money? If you are on the public dole why should you be doing drugs? How is that control? Simply get off welfare and you are free to do whatever.
So glad you support people who cannot support themselves getting high. Because as we all know, if you don't have an education or marketable skills the one thing that will increase your chances of working is smoking pot or doing other drugs.
Lol, Anthony are you talking about a "price floor-like" mechanism? Slippery slope for us non-big government types with regards to this topic. Defintely a NSFW theme in more ways than one.
there are plenty of worthless weed-smoking individuals in amsterdam, but all of the bankers i've met are ballers and say no to drugs
People who are for the governments arbitrary prohibition of marijuana aren't conservatives.
Can anyone provide any evidence that people who smoke weed are less productive than those who use alcohol, prescription medications, tobacco? If you people actually believed the government should be prohibiting things because they make people less productive, than you would be for a ban of facebook, alcohol, tobacco (kills workers), women's sports, video games, liberal arts and maybe even recreational fornication.
MMM, speak for yourself. Don't extrapolate your void of self control to others. Just because you lacked the drive and self-ascendance to do something productive instead of smoke weed doesn't mean everyone is afflicted with you disposition.
Already, in excess of half of all college aged adults smoke marijuana. You guys are almost acting like no one smokes it.
smoke up if you like. tax if you like..
Thanks for taking my question.
I just bought more credits; you both shall be compensated when they come through.
Found a pdf of the book Midas recommended for those interested...
http://www.fee.org/pdf/books/The_Law.pdf
There should 100% be weekly drug tests for people on welfare or other government subsidies. If you are so uneducated, lazy or disabled that you can't go out and work I am sure as fuck not going to give you money if you are out getting high.
If I am giving you money out of my pay check I have an interested and say in how you live your life. Welcome to socialism.
Cocaine also grows from nature....does that make it ok ? Think before you speak, seriously.
Uhhh....yeah, it does make it okay. Think before you speak. Seriously.
Well sorry pal, looks like you will still have to enjoy your favorite activities while hiding for now.....good luck next time !
To the dude I quoted, my bad. I thought this was pertaining to the welfare comment.
Just finished The Law. Easy read, interesting ideas (I found myself agreeing with most of it). Thanks for the PDF link.
As for prop 19 debate, both sides bring up interesting points. However, I still think it should be legalized (though I do think MMM is right that it will make us more unproductive... but thats for us to show on our own, and not for the government to decide).
Debate whether going back to the gold standard is a good idea...Also, should we look into another reserve currency (preferable a currency that isn't the dollar, euro, or yen)?
I agree with Anthony as usual but want to add an additional requirement to weekly drug testing for welfare recipients. Birth Control. It's been mentioned but in all seriousness if you can't stop spending your money on drugs and just add to your financial burden by having more children, there is no reason you should be given the PRIVILEGE of more tax payer dollars. Benefits should be capped at X amount based on your situation when you start to receive benefits. I think it should also be modeled after unemployment in some way like you can only receive benefits if you show that you are taking steps to get off welfare. That's about as likely as Nancy Pelosi leaving the house to go work for the NRA.
I think if 3M and Eddie debated the negative income tax it would be highly entertaining, partially because its the ultimate ivory tower solution to the current system and partially because it would require getting rid of all the current deductions which would surely piss people off.
As for pot making us less productive, so do a lot of other things as someone else already mentioned and it becomes a matter of choice. I think its absolutely fucking hysterical that Mary J is a schedule I drug while coke and heroin are Schedule II. The thought process being that it has no "medical value" and acts as a gateway drug. Unbelieveable.
The estate tax is highway fucking robbery plain and simple but I think that has been exhausted.
You guys should also debate euthanasia just for kicks.
Man dude, it is scary how much we are on the same wave length. I am huge proponent of population control.
The best thing you can do for the global and environment is limit the number of children you have. Birth control should rain from sky.
I actually wrote a paper once titled "The Human Parasite". Got an A.
If you want to hear a rant on population and birth control I am your man.
Lets start our own video series and call it "Why People Suck" and I think you should work that rant into a political platform and run for something and I'll be your campaign manager.
But in all seriousness I don't see how anyone can make a legitimate case against either drug testing or birth control. It's completely logical. If you were having trouble paying your bills would you go out and buy a new car or go out to eat more frequently. Of course you wouldn't because no one increases expenses when they have limited spending power. If it werent political suicide, it would already have been suggested.
I love it....Only on this site should be debate Euthanasia "just for kicks".
Eddie you can't drink eat or smoke, I am a Pokemon.
Dude some of the shit you come up with is absolutely ridiculous but still hilarious keep it coming
Squirt is a fucking King Kong. How nuts is that.
I know, shit....when is he going to evolve.
We sent Dr. Kevorkian to jail for helping people end their life with dignity. I think that is pretty fucked up.
Agreed, how is it humane for an animal, that can't make their wants and needs known, but not for a human being that can. My buddy lived next door to him growing up and had tons of stories about him helping doctors all over the world end their patients lives in ways that made it impossible for them to be charged...seems like a medical consultancy could make some serious cash going into this a bit more.
As soon as I posted I wanted to add something, but I'll just do it here.
I do support the right to die, but I have one reservation.
We all have known someone or have had someone in their family who becomes old, frail and a burden on their family. I kind of feel that allowing assisted suicide might create this monster where elderly either out of sadness or not wanting to feel like a burden would push to die. I could also see cases where family members might push the point a little.
Doctors kind of skirt around things now with palliative care and pretty much juicing you up until nature steps in. I've read some articles where family members are torn afterwards wondering if they did the right thing.
Mixed emotions on the topic, but I do support it.
I really cannot imagine how someone could be against drug testing welfare recipients. You take from the government you should be doing everything imaginable to get off welfare and get a job, not smoking weed.
What the fuck do people on welfare need to get high for? How about the guy making barely a living while paying taxes so someone else can sit around. That hard working dude needs a joint or free beer.
You know what really pisses me off. Poor people never say thank you! You give a homeless guy a buck and he says "God Bless". You give someone with 4 kids on welfare some food stamps and they act like it is their right to have it. How about writing me a thank you card with pictures of your kids so I can put it on my mantle to warm my heart since I am raising your family.
I 100% support a welfare cap on 2-3 kids. I also support free condoms and birth control for people on welfare.
haha I have never thought about it but you're exactly right. Use 99 cents of that cash you're getting and send a christmas card to those of us who gave it to you. I'm sure being broke and on welfare is stressful but it can't be as bad as busting your as just so that the balance sheet at the end of the year is zero instead of a negative. Not only that but spending your meager disposable income on brew and grass seems like a great way to make it more stressful but if you're earning it then you have EARNED the right to make that choice.
I read recently that California just out lawed using welfare debit cards to pay for things like psychics and palm readings. How the fuck would have ever thought that would even become an issue...its unfathomable
Where to start? So you know I mostly agree with you on many topics but I feel I need to bring a dose of reality to this debate. While I agree that welfare recipients should be drug tested and birth control should be used, it's just very unrealistic that it would ever occur. I had an economics teacher who commented on welfare in class one day and just explained that it's far more expensive for the government to enforce and investigate the proper use and abuse of welfare than it is for them to just cut the bi-monthly check. I don't know if that is true, but he was an exceptionally intelligent guy and lived for statistics, etc., so I doubt he made it up (plus it sounds reasonable).
The problem with the drug testing is going to be cost and the logistics of getting it done, not to mention the difficulty in enforcing any of the punishments. The bottom line that remains is, the recipients of welfare are to lazy and/or irresponsible to hold a job, thus to irresponsible to raise and feed their children. They are also to irresponsible to not have the children that they can not afford to raise and feed. So we are in a catch 22. Without welfare kids would be starving, literally, but having it available only incentivizes people to continue to get knocked up. Obviously this is where the birth control argument comes into play, but it seems reasonable to argue that if someone would be willing to have a kid without any means of supporting, raising and feeding it...they are not too likely to have to foresight to obtain and use birth control. Thus, the only option would be to force them to take it or operate so they couldn't procreate...and this would never happen. I guess it is similar to the abortion argument, that there would be less crime because poor, uneducated people would have fewer kids, fewer poor kids would be fewer criminal candidates, etc, etc...but that, of course, implies that these poor, uneducated people could afford to get an abortion and, again, have the foresight to get one if they got knocked up...which doesn't seem too likely in my book.
What our country lacks is any sort of moral standard. At least it we still had one, people might be less inclined at a younger age to become "parents" (I use that term loosely) and just maybe, by the time they were old enough to decide for themselves, they would be smart enough to realize that they could if they wanted to, but won't because they shouldn't due to being immature, poor, uneducated, etc. Does that make sense?
I wish the birth control dream could be true, but I just don't see it happening, right along with the drug testing. Withholding the money from a parent, or capping it, would only hurt the kids...which is probably the argument for having welfare, etc. in the first place.
Regards
Happypants---it wasn't just psychics, it was gambling, beer, a whole list of shit that any normal person would outlawed from the beginning.
The funniest part about the whole situation is that when they originally designed the program, they probably never imagined that people 'struggling' to get by would even dream of spending that little bit of coin on psychics or any other such nonsense. Beer though they should have expected.
Anthony, 70 percent of our budget is spent on Defense, Social Security and Medicare. Why not try to put your big boy pants on, and see how we can cut Medicare fraud and stupid military projects.
Where have I ever said I am against cutting these three things?
What I do repeatedly say is I think the rest of the world is free riding off of our military. The USA is always there whenever something happens. If we all enjoy a strong police force on the beat we should all pay for it. Whether you agree with what we are doing in the ME, the USA has done a lot of good in the recent past with the military. The rest of the world should step up so we can scale down a little.
I also think that you are missing one key part. SS and Medicare are social welfare programs. The defense budget is not. The defense budget has a velocity of money factor. SS goes right to the consumer and done with. So before you talk about cutting the defense budget you should realize that along with that will go jobs and company earnings which will be passed on to every pension fund and retiree that holds these stocks.
Raise the SS age and reduce the level of increases.
Tighten up medicare. Too much fraud, waste and easy money.
Slim down the DoD budget. I think this will naturally occur as we see Iraq and Afghanistan wane down.
Reduce spending, lay off government workers, switch defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans.
Anthony, the US military is not always there when something bad happens. If so, we would be in Sudan, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Chechnya.., We would have to enlist every able body person in the USA so that we could be "there" . We rarely ever impede a brutal dictators onslaught on his own people.
The defense budget is a welfare program that acts as yearly stimulus. The military is a vast reservoir of unskilled labor. 85% of all those in the military are working in some support position. Thats people filing paper work, moving things around, cleaning, etc. The overwhelming majority of military expenditures aren't on necessities. We buy destroyers that cost between 6 billion dollars even though they will never be used. The same is for fighter planes, submarines, military bases, etc.. Without the government, many of these people would have to get jobs in the private sector.
And Anthony, that entire, "So before you talk about cutting the defense budget you should realize that along with that will go jobs and company earnings which will be passed on to every pension fund and retiree that holds these stocks." argument is bull. If we were to cut all the wasteful defense spending, we could cut the top marginal tax rate from 35% to 25%. Do you know what people would do with that money? They would invest, create business make deposits.
You aren't a conservative.
People who are for the government's prohibition of drugs aren't conservatives. MMM may want to call the world we live in a "liberal idiots world" but he will have to admit he is one of those liberal idiots.
Where in the constitution does it say that the federal government can prohibit what we can consume? Before the federal government was given the power to prohibit the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol, Congress had to amend the constitution. This ended in sheer unadulterated failure for the pro prohibition forces.
Read the constitution, the 10th amendment makes if very clear that any power not afforded to the federal government is a state power. "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." All you people for government interlopers are tools.
dp
dp
At the end of the day, all those that want legalized marijuana are pot heads or used it in the past.
I actually have friends, and most importantly siblings that I adore, that smoke pot and want it legalized. As much as I love them, I can't help but notice that their lives, well, kind of suck. No stable jobs, education was approached with minimum efforts, and their happiness is very strongly related to whether or not they will get high anytime soon.
I lived for many years with a friend who smoked pot regularly, and based on that experience I know that it brings nothing good. I can say with 100% convintion that most people who smoke pot are trying to fill a void they have.
Why is it that if you completely remove it from them, they go into depression and feel lost ? Is this healthy living ? When faced with such reality, is the government at fault for preventing its distribution ?
I think that John Lennon, a regular pot (and drugs) user, said it best when, in a moment of clarity, said "I think it is amazing that no one is studying why there is such a big need for society to get high to escape from the real world." In other words, he was admitting that "hey, it's escapism, and we need to understand why so many people are so sad inside that they feel the need to escape through substances."
And we are supposed to legalize it ????? Do you have any idea how it will increase the chances of having pot heads driving around town stoned ? Would you want YOUR child crossing the streets while this happens ?
Is this real!!! LMAO. Do you know our past three presidents smoked marijuana? Are these guys losers who did nothing with their lives? Shit, stop extrapolating your personal experiences; its not my fault you have unambitious family members and loser friends.
How will legalizing and REGULATING marijuana increase the proportion of those who drive high? Do you know that in excess of half of all college aged adults smoker marijuana?
I am talking about regular marijuana users, you moron. And who are you to even speak about my family members ? You should be ashamed of yourself. Can't you use other examples to defend your habits, pothead ?
So is it just a coincidence that the majority of DUIs are alcohol related ? It has nothing to do with the fact that it is because you can buy a beer at the grocery store, while you can't buy pot there ? Are you really saying that legalizing pot will not result in more stoned people driving around ?
And you work in finance ???? Scary....
What an awesome sample size.
I gotta leave this forum I get dumber every time I come here.
@CPH -
1) Calling supporting members of the military unskilled labor is BS. Trying going through boot camp and all the training necessary to be in the military. The US military pumps out skilled people and leaders.
2) You build battleships because something might happen. These things are not just in time units. You cannot wait until you are in the middle of an engagement to produce an air craft carrier. Get fucking real. Navy power is also the hallmark of a strong country and military.
3) Chechnya is Russia deal. The USA has sent troops throughout Africa on various peace keeping or humanitarian aid missions. I am sorry the USA is not 100% perfect for you.
I have ZERO problem with cutting wasteful spending. You know why you are on the top of the money shit board? Because you put words in other peoples mouths and make bullshit statements. Where did I say I am against cutting defense or wasteful spending???
Who the fuck said I was a conservative? I believe in smaller government and less taxes. I support environmental issues. I believe in sex ed in classrooms. I support Republicans because they are the the best fit for what I believe in.
Once again, stop putting words in my mouth.
Those menial jobs are absolutely fucking critical in a lot of cases. Do you have to be a brain surgeon to serve me my potato mush at chow time no, not at all. But without that trailer dwelling 17 year old kid that had the balls to sign up to scoop mush in Shitholeistan, I would have to allocate one of my guys to do it or someone else would. Its all part of the puzzle. Menial labor might be an accurate description but the sum of all those parts is an extremely efficient machine. Were you in the military?
For all the shit you talk about foreign policy and history, you obviously know very little about it. America has not stopped a single war or genocide in Africa, Asia, South and Central America. I am an ardent conservative; the USA should not engage itself any offensive military effort unless there is some benefit to the American people.
It was your ignorance that you foisted on the forum by saying that the USA intercedes whenever "something" goes down. And I am just pointing out you don't know what you are talking about.
Isn't that we did in WW2? How did that turn out...pretty well?
Holy fuck dude, since when did I say being in the military = skilled. There are levels of skill. I think the military has some of the best leadership and technical training programs in the country. Pure technical.
You are using skilled to infer highly skilled. I think someone who is an Army mechanic is skilled in the sense that they went through multiple formal trainings and can take their knowledge into the civilian world and work as a semi skilled worker.
No skill - McDonalds Semi-skilled - Machanic Skilled - precision machinist Highly Skilled - Doctor
3 million people include a lot of part time soldiers, National guardsmen, etc. Our full time, active duty force is not nearly that large.
Anthony, you did say that. You said that people in the military have to go through basic training and further training, thus they have attained some skill.
I apologize for using generalities. The USA has been and is continually involved in MANY, not every issue around the world. Whether it is through our UN council vote, humanitarian aid, Nato troop involvement, US peace keeping envoys, or direct engagement, the USA does a lot.
The USA has sent troops all throughout Africa on many missions. Just because they do not respond to every single event does not mean the USA is not doing anything.
So, you will admit that our military expenditure has very little to do with reality. These military efforts in developing countries in strife, are very small proportions of our military expenditure.
Dude, dont waste your breath on EOK. He is the new biggest troll on this site.
Obviously.
Dude, Basic training and further training implies going through specialized training. Everyone goes through basic training and once done you specialize through various schools and programs. Numerous friends of mine are in the military or have been in the military and you are always in school or training. Give some credit to these people.
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