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  1. S

    Are USA Economic Numbers Cooked?

    I'm a financial/managerial guy, but GAAP has nothing do to with it--the BEA is actually closer to following FASB 78 on pensions now. But they aren't accountants and they do not not need to go through and adjust books for it all. They get information and process it according to their...
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    Are USA Economic Numbers Cooked?

    Yeah. I know/knew. I enjoy giving people the benefit of the doubt despite the moving goalposts. Fun times.
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    Are USA Economic Numbers Cooked?

    Umm, not really. You definitely know that making the switch from cash to accrual requires some work at the time, but going forward it is extremely easy. You, for instance, would certainly have no problem. The only way a mess could happen is if you are employing absolute morons. Why should...
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    Are USA Economic Numbers Cooked?

    I guess I misunderstood the source of your complaint then, as it certainly seemed to be related to changes being made at all, not the extent of the changes being made. Sorry, I was under the impression you were unaware that this is nothing unusual.
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    Are USA Economic Numbers Cooked?

    http://bea.gov/national/an1.htm#2013comprehensive Can be found quite easily on the BEA's website if you look in the right section. So this is the 14th revision. They occur about every 5 years. Revisions can cover the entire period, back to 1929. In other words, this is just another pile of...
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    Out Of Their Anti Tax Minds

    I've grown tired of this. Look at the three stimulus bills of the past 10 years and their creation of a special and temporary increase in depreciation of certain assets and the provision added to the tax code in 1987 changing depreciation schedules for corporate jets to 5 years while leaving...
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    Out Of Their Anti Tax Minds

    I haven't said anything about accelerated depreciation (or depreciation) in general, only accelerated depreciation in the context of the specific case of corporate jets--in this case accelerated depreciation that was enacted in order to encourage businesses to buy jets in order to stimulate the...
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    Out Of Their Anti Tax Minds

    Try not to go off on a tangent. I did not say that a deduction for corporate jets was illegitimate. This is not at all about whether or not a business should take a deduction. Businesses would still be able to take a deduction. Talking about whether or not it is valid is just a deflection...
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    Out Of Their Anti Tax Minds

    When you are talking about deductions created specifically to spur an activity it is essentially spending. Take the private jet issue. It allows accelerated depreciation. There is no real difference between allowing accelerated depreciation and having the gov't cut a check to equal the...
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    Obama goes from most Pro-israel President to most anti-Israel President

    ADL: So, ADL, real jews, or are they fake jews? Also, how is one a fake jew? As has been stated several times, Obama said absolutely nothing new in regards to US policy. Also, you are a very sad individual.
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    Shame! Shame! Shame!

    They were chanting shame as the republicans held the vote open for only a few seconds, preventing the majority of the democrats from voting. The shame was in response to that.
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    Clarence Thomas at it again

    Sorry, I should have made it clear before, but I was quoting directly from the letter that Common Cause sent to the Clerk of the Supreme Court. http://www.commoncause.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4773617&ct=9126701 I would consider the actual letter sent to be the...
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    Clarence Thomas at it again

    Actually the complaint was "If Justice Thomas received a four-day all-expenses-paid trip to Palm Springs in January 2008 just to give a speech at a dinner, the bulk of his expenses should have been reported as a gift." Fairly reasonable complaint. Its really more of a trap though, either...
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    Social Security fund will be drained by 2037

    Who said plummeting? The only reference I saw to plummeting was made by you. Tax receipts from the rich have decreased in relation to their share of AGI. This is fact. Decreased is not plummeting. I suppose its easier to challenge the claim that the receipts are plummeting, but I certainly never...
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    Social Security fund will be drained by 2037

    That link doesn't actually address receipts from the rich, only their share of the tax burden. So you have proved that the tax burden has increased. Why has the tax burden increased? Simply because AGI for the top 10% has increased at a greater rate. Tax receipts in relation to AGI have...
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    Cuomo sues E&Y over Lehman

    Yeah not so much. Enron and Andersen most certainly did not follow GAAP. You should really read the Powers Report some time, you can find it pretty easily...might be educational. Or any of the many, many articles available online detailing the fraudulent actions undertaken by the two. Here's...
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    Chicago bar denies entry to black college students

    Anti-discrimination laws require that people are treated the same. If you were previously discriminating against minorities, then yes, upon passage of an anti-discrimination law you would have to treat them differently. But the different treatment would be treating them like everyone else...
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    Chicago bar denies entry to black college students

    That would be swell. Unfortunately, its rather unrealistic. Government can be blind once its people are. So long as our we continue to treat people differently based on skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc, it is in society's interest for laws to exist that...
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    Chicago bar denies entry to black college students

    While not the exact scenario you have outlined, lawsuits alleging gender discrimination based on Ladies Night discounts/charges have been quite common and successful at the state level. If you feel that you have been wronged by a night club, feel free to seek recourse. The bar in question is...
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    Man wants to to tape daughters recital.

    Minors can enter into contracts without their parent's consent and they do so all the time. The caveat to a contract with a minor is that the minor can void the contract at will (most contracts). Minors can also apply for their own copyrights, but states may have their regulations that need to...
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    Maryland NAACP

    While there is certainly racial motivation to the NAACP's actions, I will admit to it not bothering me. All men may created equal, but they haven't been treated that way, and in the context of the history of race relations in the US, the NAACP is not the same as a white power organization...
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    Democrats Plot 2nd Stimulus

    In reality, the deficit hitting 1 trillion in July in no way invalidates the CBOs January estimate of 1.2 trillion for the total FY2009 deficit. It is really sad how intellectually bankrupt you appear to be, though, to be fair, you are likely merely dishonest. To reiterate for you: in...
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    Democrats Plot 2nd Stimulus

    No, the deficit at the time of that article, July 28th, 2008, was estimated by the White House to be 482 billion. In January, before Obama took office, the CBO estimated the 2009 deficit at $1.2 trillion. Text In other words, you are, as usual, wrong.
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    crazy for god

    Sure. I have faith that my wife loves me, but I do not have definitive proof. Religious faith, however, is not belief without proof, it is belief without evidence. Atheism is not the lack of faith. It is the lack of religious faith. Obfuscating the discussion by declaring faith is...
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    crazy for god

    A theist has belief in god(s). An atheist does not. The absence of belief is not faith and does not need proof.
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    Acorn video - encouraging committing crimes

    ACORN did not receive 5 billion in the stimulus bill.
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    Acorn video - encouraging committing crimes

    I'm not sure what ACORN's QC practices have to do with a county performing their own audit. All voter registration forms should be subject to a random audit designed to weed out the majority of the bad ones. If a county decided to accept ACORN's, or the RNCs, or any group's word as to which...
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    Should you be allowed to sell your organs? How does this relate to your stance on health care

    Great point. I wonder how much I could get for my heart... Reality is that we should not as a society further prey upon the poorest and most desperate members of our society. The solution to the donor shortage is not to encourage the desperate to undergo a dangerous operation, but rather to...
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    On Atheism vs. Christianity

    In reality there is no reason that someone who lacks belief in religion can not have faith in other things. Religious belief is only an example of having faith. Having faith in other things does not equate to having religious belief. Religion is more than just having a belief in the way the...
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    Anyone watch the Obamacare Infomercial on ABC?

    Hospitals can and do refuse care in the US all the time. Go by your local hospital and tell them you need a transplant and you don't have any insurance or any way to pay for it. You can get emergency care, which is great if you have chopped off a finger, not so useful if you are in need of...
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    deals dead

    He was saying that it doesn't make sense to buy a four year warranty, not that it doesn't make sense to buy the laptop. Its actually a very good arguement, but I guess it wasn't quite obvious enough.
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    Gas prices should not be rising... lets look at the facts:

    Well, its because some states may not be getting much gas for a while, so supply is decreased, yet demand has skyrocketed, mainly because everyone knows that they may not be getting much gas for a while. Yes, both 1 and 2 are correct. No, not artificial. Real shortages caused by your...
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    Just curious.. what were the profits for the oil companies again?

    You should also do some research. The market price is determined by supply and demand. Think of it as an auction. The big oil companies don;t have to raise prices because the comapnies that are buying the oil are willing to pay an increasing amount. Their rational is essentially that supply...
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    Update on Canada-US Softwood Lumber Trade Dispute -WTO Rules in Favor of US

    Umm, the US gov't is actually taking a stand for free trade. Free trade does not equal the Canadian government heavily subsidising the softwood lumber industry (note: I am not saying that the US gov't is correct, just that your position is wrong).
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    Fox News: Hey, a terrorist lives at this house, here's his address... oh *$*%@#(* someone else lives there now?

    BaliBabyDoc said: Miller would be a serious issue, but I think the fraudulent reporter is Jayson Blair (I think thats the right spelling), the guy who just made up his stories. Old news though. Idiot on Fox said: I'm just thinking that maybe calling the local police is the smart step...
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    HOT: Avoid Verizon Early Cancelation Fee, get out your contract free

    It seems that the real key here is the word Material. You may be able to argue that an extra 40 cents is a material amount, but I certainly don't see it that way. Has anyone actually tried to cancel their account because of an increase of 40 cents a month? My plan runs 40 a month, plus some...