bozodog
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Posts posted by bozodog
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So creating jobs is not difficult for government. What is difficult for government is creating jobs that produce wealth. Pyramids, holes in the ground and war do not produce wealth. They destroy wealth. They take valuable resources and convert them into something less valuable.
Instead of iPods, great art, cures for diseases and machines that replace back-breaking work, we get the equivalent of digging holes and filling them up.
Under President Obama's "stimulus" plan, jobs will be created to weatherize buildings, construct schools and wind turbines, and repair roads and bridges. But outside the market process, there is no way to know whether those are better uses of scarce capital than whatever would have been produced had it been left in the private economy.
Since government services are paid for through the compulsion of taxes, they have no market price. But without market prices, we have no way of knowing the importance that free people would place on those services versus other things they want.
So although we'll see the government putting people to work and even some new schools and bridges, we won't be able to calculate how much wealth we've lost because scarce resources were misallocated by the politicians.
Nevertheless, we can be sure we will have lost. If the government's projects were truly worthwhile, they would be undertaken by private efforts, and in their quest for profits, entrepreneurs would handle them more efficiently. Real Jobs Create Wealth
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Oh Matt, Matt, Matt... You are young, you're supposed to be socialistic. After all that is/was your position in your family and household for what, twenty whole years? Family is your government, and have always given you what they think you need.
Since you are willing to think, unlike many, let me introduce you to some food for thought.
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest." Adam Smith, the father of economicsIf you have doubts about Adam Smith's prediction, ask yourself which areas of our lives are we the most satisfied and those with most complaints. Would they be profit motivated arenas such supermarkets, video or clothing stores, or be nonprofit motivated government-operated arenas such as public schools, postal delivery or motor vehicle registration? By the way, how many of you would be in favor of Congress running our supermarkets?
Now turn a few words around and have a glimpse at Washington DC.
"He (the politician) generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. ... He intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain." Adam Smith continues, "He is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. ... By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it." And later he adds, "It is not from the benevolence of the politician, the soldier, or the lawyer, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest." (I borrow this insight from my debate buddy, Harold) -
Well after two several day outages last year, and us buying a generator, line maintenance has begun in earnest. They are performing the most serious pruning I've seen in over 30 years. They're taking out whole trees, clearing in the woods along the river with a big wheeled "crawler", and really have a huge amount of equipment in the area. Shucks, they're even relocating transformers from easements closer to road access.
*Sigh, we won't be needing that generator for a long time now.
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We did have oversight. Barney Frank and his ilk oversaw the tanking of the mortgage business, by believing everyone should own a home. The banks then took that worthless note paper and sold it of to the greedy guys on Wall Street., who passed it along once again.
Guess what? The house of cards has collapsed, and while it was on Bush's watch, the Dems ruled congress.
When will DC get a clue? Over 70% of Americans were against TARP and the big 3 bail out. Do they listen? Not to us peons, they know better than us, ya know?
And here's a list from Sen. Coburn's office on the wasteful and non-stimulative items in the Nelson-Collins substitute:* $2 billion earmark for FutureGen near zero emissions powerplant in Mattoon, IL
* $39 billion slush fund for "state fiscal stabilization" bailout
* $5.5 billion for making federal buildings "green" (including $448 million for DHS HQ)
* $200 million for workplace safety in USDA facilities
* $275 million for flood prevention
* $65 million for watershed rehabilitation
* $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges and libraries
* $650 million for the DTV transition coupon program
* $307 million for constructing NIST office buildings
* $1 billion for administrative costs and construction of NOAA office buildings
* $100 million for constructing U.S. Marshalls office buildings
* $300 million for constructing FBI office buildings
* $800 million for constructing Federal Prison System buildings and facilities
* $10 million to fight Mexican gunrunners
* $1.3 billion for NASA (including $450 million for "science" at NASA)
* $100 million to clean up sites used in early U.S. atomic energy program
* $10 million for urban canals
* $2 billion for manufacturing advanced batteries for hybrid cars
* $1.5 billion for carbon capture projects under sec. 703 of P.L. 110-140 (though section only authorizes $1 billion for five years)
* $300 million for hybrid and electric cars for federal employees
* $198 million to design and furnish the DHS headquarters
* $255 million for "priority procurements" at Coast Guard (polar ice breaker)
* $500 million for State and local fire stations
* $180 million for construction of Bureau of Land Management facilities
* $500 million for wildland fire management
* $110 million for construction for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
* $522 million for construction for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
* $650 million for abandoned mine sites
* $75 million for the Smithsonian Institution
* $1.2 billion for summer jobs for youth
* $412 million for CDC headquarters
* $500 million earmark for NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD
* $160 million for "volunteers" at the Corp. for National and Community Service
* $750 earmark for the National Computer Center in MD
* $224 million for International Boundary and Water Commission – U.S. and Mexico
* $850 million for Amtrak
* $100 million for lead paint hazard reduction
No pork in there, nope, notta, no way...
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The risks are far higher than the rewards. You are pushing your computer to it's limits waiting for it to break. Why? A faster machine won't make you a better gamer, and there really isn't any other reason to to overclock. No matter what anyone says, overclocking stresses components to a short life. Just like running your car at red-line all the time.
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Thanx, Liz. We were just looking for a few that our customers could look at. I don't worry about my BIG kid in the house, he reload his machine whenever he needs to.
He knows better than to touch mine ;-)
I'll just google up a few to add to our website.
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We are looking for some applications we can recommend to our customers with kids. I know Vista has something, but I'm not sure how effective it is.
I do understand they can be broken by a savvy user, but anything can be of use to some parents...
So if anyone out there has some personal experience, let me know...
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Sorry, I still have to say: DON'T GIVE THEM A BAILOUT!!! If they fold, those guys will really have a cap on their income.
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Ineffective law enforcement costs too much money. It certainly could be better spent elsewhere. People ARE doing it anyway, even with all the bucks being tossed down the drain.
It ain't working, FIX IT! There has to be a better way.
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Chuck, all of that is happening now! The cash spent on the "Drug War" has done nothing to stop the use/abuse. It makes all of it "seedier" and more dangerous, with low-life's dealing and unknown content. Just like prohibition did nothing but make entrepreneurs rich.
Stopping the cash flow of the gun toting dealers will put a stop to much bloodshed. Take that money and spend it wisely on education, treatment and programs that work.
I truly believe the worst drugs (meth, etc.) would quickly go away if cannabis, opiates and speed were legalized, and taxing them would add to programs designed to educate and treat. Lets train more counselors and less cops.
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At last a reasonable response, Shanenin. If you add up the costs of the DEA, state and local enforcement, courts, jails and harm to families, it's immense. DrugSense
In states with a 3 strike law, folks are doing life for marijuana possession. While people convicted of some sort of murder do only months at times. The cost of incarceration is another addition to the tally. Also no one thinks about the murder and mayhem caused by all the cash to be made. Cash that is not taxed.
I say legalize it all, control it, tax it, send the DEA to Homeland Security for control of illegals entering our country, and let the weak blow their minds out if they choose. Just like with alcohol. There will always be the same balance of recreational users, abusers, and the hopelessly addicted, be it booze, drugs or even sex. Better they be in a hospital or program then in prison.
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Don't forget Dell service... Jeesch!
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Happy Birthday old friend!
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The mayor of Portland apologized Tuesday for lying about a sexual relationship with a male teenager he was mentoring three years ago, but asked the city to consider it an anomaly in two decades of public service.
"I screwed up. I blew it. There's no way to sugarcoat it," Mayor Sam Adams said during a City Hall news conference scheduled after he cut short a trip to the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C.
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What I see in your post, I see wrong with America...
"the system to kick up some money", "I wanna ", "my benefits", "if I tried", and last, "to allow for people to be able to afford ". So who's stopping them?
I, me, mine... Let the g'ment do it for me.
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I'm trying out Win7 at the moment. I passed on VISTA just because I didn't need it. Heh, I don't need 7 either. I still don't see all the hype. Except the need for upgraded hardware.
Perhaps someone can point out the changes that makes these new OS versions better? (besides making M$ a few more bucks)
IMHO, XP does more than any "average" PC user will ever need.
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What about heat issues? A broken clip on a processor heat sink drove us crazy troubleshooting. We also had a fan going bad on a power supply that created slowdowns.
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Thanx again, everyone. I remember so many of you from even before BT.
You all have a Merry Christmas!!!
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Thanx ... But you got it all wrong. It's my birthWEEK! When you get my age, you have every right to celebrate 7 days. ;-P...
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Bless you Joe, and I pray your surgery will come out well. Be brave!
My neighbor had his shoulder (joint) replaced two years ago and still has no mobility, and plenty of pain.
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Dell makes a "toughbook", so does Panasonic.
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We saw $1.62 yesterday!!! That's what I'm talking about.
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