State of the Union address set for Jan 28th, 2014

[Atomic Playboy]

Nonsense. Seriously nonsense. No one wants a king. The issue is that the GOP are being intentionally obstructionist for purely partisan reasons.
For example, compuwiz posted infrastructure problems in his rant of Obama's supposed failures. Yet here in Portland, far right GOPers just recently succeeded in killing a desperately needed transportation project for purely political reasons. If their guy was in the governors mansion or the White House, they would have backed it wholeheartedly. But their guy isn't, so the tea party would rather see the existing 100 year drawbridge fall into the Columbia River so they can blame the Democrats when it does.
Magnify this across the country, and you get the picture.

The CRC had problems beyond just conservative opposition based on Obama, Inslee or Kitzhaber. Granted, some of the opposition was stupid (such as MAX bringing criminals into Vancouver), but the construction was scheduled at a height that would restrict the ability of several heavy equipment manufacturers east of the bridge from being able to transport their products via the river, and moving the manufacturing facilities would have cost Washington an extra $500 million (or jobs if they just left the area). That and people are just resistant to change, especially the idea of a toll bridge, despite that being the most sensible solution (pay for what you use). But it wasn't just tea partiers, it was a hefty segment of the population in north Portland, Hayden Island and Vancouver/Camas. Obviously something needs to be done before the bridge collapses, but I would imagine they could come up with a proposal that at least addresses the issue of bridge height sufficient for the heavy machine industry that travels via the river. Now that Oregon is trying to go it alone, who knows?

I realize this probably has nothing to do with Obama's speech; I was watching it and got distracted with cleaning, so I missed the vast majority of what he said. I'm guessing the country is strong and all that.

 

[Vic]

The CRC had problems beyond just conservative opposition based on Obama, Inslee or Kitzhaber. Granted, some of the opposition was stupid (such as MAX bringing criminals into Vancouver), but the construction was scheduled at a height that would restrict the ability of several heavy equipment manufacturers east of the bridge from being able to transport their products via the river, and moving the manufacturing facilities would have cost Washington an extra $500 million (or jobs if they just left the area). That and people are just resistant to change, especially the idea of a toll bridge, despite that being the most sensible solution (pay for what you use). But it wasn't just tea partiers, it was a hefty segment of the population in north Portland, Hayden Island and Vancouver/Camas. Obviously something needs to be done before the bridge collapses, but I would imagine they could come up with a proposal that at least addresses the issue of bridge height sufficient for the heavy machine industry that travels via the river. Now that Oregon is trying to go it alone, who knows?

I realize this probably has nothing to do with Obama's speech; I was watching it and got distracted with cleaning, so I missed the vast majority of what he said. I'm guessing the country is strong and all that.

See the latest news. Oregon is dumping it. I doubt the project will come back for 20 years or until the Interstate bridge is resting on the bottom of the Columbia.

I agree that the anti highway hippies (the same ones who killed the Mt Hood freeway 40 years ago) opposed the project as well, but they weren't enough to kill it.
That took the tea partiers. For example, to your point about the height, the original design called for a higher bridge but they said that was too expensive. And now a cheaper bridge is too short. And so on with every single aspect.
I could go on here, but this is way too off topic.

My point is that bipartisan obstructionism is strangling this country. If both sides could come to the table in good faith and behave like adults, we wouldn't have half the problems that we do.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Agree. Notice how he had to use personal insults since he has nothing else and is intolerant of those who dare disagree with him.

Holy fuck, not this hypocritical shit again (I had to upgrade my meter just to measure indigestible)

 

[Incorruptible]

Holy fuck, not this hypocritical shit again (I had to upgrade my meter just to measure indigestible)

What are you bitching about?

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

What are you bitching about?

You, smacky. And this seems more apt, considering the troll

 

[Incorruptible]

You, smacky. And this seems more apt, considering the troll

What's your problem with me? Also I am not a republican.

 

[werepossum]

See the latest news. Oregon is dumping it. I doubt the project will come back for 20 years or until the Interstate bridge is resting on the bottom of the Columbia.

I agree that the anti highway hippies (the same ones who killed the Mt Hood freeway 40 years ago) opposed the project as well, but they weren't enough to kill it.
That took the tea partiers. For example, to your point about the height, the original design called for a higher bridge but they said that was too expensive. And now a cheaper bridge is too short. And so on with every single aspect.
I could go on here, but this is way too off topic.

My point is that bipartisan obstructionism is strangling this country. If both sides could come to the table in good faith and behave like adults, we wouldn't have half the problems that we do.

I dunno. We already owe more than our GDP (and that's not even including our unfunded mandates) and we're celebrating our new "low" yearly deficits which exceed half a trillion dollars. Without bipartisan obstructionism, we'd probably already be signing Hawaii over to Red China to make this year's interest payment.

 

[boomerang]

I dunno. We already owe more than our GDP (and that's not even including our unfunded mandates) and we're celebrating our new "low" yearly deficits which exceed half a trillion dollars. Without bipartisan obstructionism, we'd probably already be signing Hawaii over to Red China to make this year's interest payment.

I'm kind of fond of Hawaii even if it is a progressive stronghold. If push comes to shove do you think they'd take Guam (assuming it hasn't tipped over of course), American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands?

 

[boomerang]

Hah! Obama plagiarized portions of Bush's 2007 SOTU speech. It was caught by the guy that was the lead writer on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO2mLIs__xo

 

[Vic]

I dunno. We already owe more than our GDP (and that's not even including our unfunded mandates) and we're celebrating our new "low" yearly deficits which exceed half a trillion dollars. Without bipartisan obstructionism, we'd probably already be signing Hawaii over to Red China to make this year's interest payment.

We're not going to balance the budget and pay down the debt by being penny wise and pound foolish.
A great deal of our crucial infrastructure is rotting and antiquated. To add some perspective, the CRC project would have replaced a mile long multi span truss drawbridge built in 1917 that serves as part of I5 and handles 130,000 vehicles a day. It's been a major traffic bottleneck for 25 years, has high maintenance costs, and will be structurally deficient within 20 years.
If we don't fix these kind of problems now, it will only cost us more later. And in the meantime, we could be spending our money here and generating jobs here. And improving our highway system.
If we can't afford this, we are already bankrupt.

 

[werepossum]

I'm kind of fond of Hawaii even if it is a progressive stronghold. If push comes to shove do you think they'd take Guam (assuming it hasn't tipped over of course), American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands?

lol Maybe - if we play down that tipping thing.

We're not going to balance the budget and pay down the debt by being penny wise and pound foolish.
A great deal of our crucial infrastructure is rotting and antiquated. To add some perspective, the CRC project would have replaced a mile long multi span truss drawbridge built in 1917 that serves as part of I5 and handles 130,000 vehicles a day. It's been a major traffic bottleneck for 25 years, has high maintenance costs, and will be structurally deficient within 20 years.
If we don't fix these kind of problems now, it will only cost us more later. And in the meantime, we could be spending our money here and generating jobs here. And improving our highway system.
If we can't afford this, we are already bankrupt.

We are the very definition of bankrupt, borrowing money to make the interest payments on our debt plus more for our new spending with no plan or even concept of ever again breaking even, much less being solvent.

 

[shortylickens]

I didn't watch the speech, no need to waste time listening to him blabber about the usual nonsense but I did see some small parts on the news.

I watched his inauguration in 2009. When I saw the big song and dance routine it taught me a lot about him. He's much more about publicity than solving problems.

 

[Incorruptible]

I watched his inauguration in 2009. When I saw the big song and dance routine it taught me a lot about him. He's much more about publicity than solving problems.

Definitely. He doesn't seem too interested in solving problems since he brings up ideas that don't work yet loves to talk about them on the media.

 

[shortylickens]

Definitely. He doesn't seem too interested in solving problems since he brings up ideas that don't work yet loves to talk about them on the media.

I guess you grab more votes if you Wow the people than if you actually help them.

 

[hal2kilo]

See the latest news. Oregon is dumping it. I doubt the project will come back for 20 years or until the Interstate bridge is resting on the bottom of the Columbia.

I agree that the anti highway hippies (the same ones who killed the Mt Hood freeway 40 years ago) opposed the project as well, but they weren't enough to kill it.
That took the tea partiers. For example, to your point about the height, the original design called for a higher bridge but they said that was too expensive. And now a cheaper bridge is too short. And so on with every single aspect.
I could go on here, but this is way too off topic.

My point is that bipartisan obstructionism is strangling this country. If both sides could come to the table in good faith and behave like adults, we wouldn't have half the problems that we do.

The whole thing was a cluster... It did not help that my state pulled out. Hell we can't even fund our own projects. Hopefully something will get done. Inslees called a special session to get something done with our transportation budget. It really doesn't help that the projects are constantly overrun by our incompetent highway department.

200 freaking million due to botched design of the floating pontoons for 520 bridge!

Sorry to side track.

 

[Vic]

We are the very definition of bankrupt, borrowing money to make the interest payments on our debt plus more for our new spending with no plan or even concept of ever again breaking even, much less being solvent.

This is not accurate. The interest payments on the federal debt do not exceed revenue. Quite the opposite, the deficit is shrinking.
Also, I think you missed my point about penny wise and pound foolish. Many of these infrastructure projects that we supposedly can't afford today cannot be put off forever. And they will cost more when we are forced to fix them later.
But hey, if you'd like to go back to fighting expensive wars and building infrastructure in foreign lands that we supposedly can't afford to build at home, then by all means keep voting GOP.

 

[Vic]

I watched his inauguration in 2009. When I saw the big song and dance routine it taught me a lot about him. He's much more about publicity than solving problems.

Sorry he's not fighting another unnecessary war or spending our tax dollars providing welfare and education to Iraqi children.

 

[fskimospy]

We are the very definition of bankrupt, borrowing money to make the interest payments on our debt plus more for our new spending with no plan or even concept of ever again breaking even, much less being solvent.

We are definitely not. Bankruptcy has a specific definition that we are not even close to.

 

[unokitty]

... the deficit is shrinking.

"Politicians love to crow "The deficit is down! The deficit is down!" like it's a great accomplishment. Don't be fooled. Reducing the deficit just means we're adding less to the Debt this year than we did last year. Big deal -- we're still adding to the Debt. When are we going to start seeing the Debt actually go down?"

Just another data point.

Uno

 

[fskimospy]

Just another data point.

Uno

Debt to GDP ratio is the important part, not the debt number.

For example: if you owe $100 and your income is $10 a year, you're in serious trouble. If you owe $10,000 and your income is $1,000,000 a year, you're totally fine. All debts are relative to the debtor's ability to pay.

This is why saying "we're still adding to the debt" is a dumb argument. The important question is where our debt/GDP ratio is going.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

This is not accurate. The interest payments on the federal debt do not exceed revenue. Quite the opposite, the deficit is shrinking.
Also, I think you missed my point about penny wise and pound foolish. Many of these infrastructure projects that we supposedly can't afford today cannot be put off forever. And they will cost more when we are forced to fix them later.
But hey, if you'd like to go back to fighting expensive wars and building infrastructure in foreign lands that we supposedly can't afford to build at home, then by all means keep voting GOP.

This is why liberal media needs to be banned. Anyone favoring of it needs to be hanged for stupidity because of quotes JUST LIKE THIS.


The "deficit" is not shrinking, because the deficit is the amount we are in debt. It should be more properly defined as Change in deficit YOY (Year over Year). What is referred to as "shrinking deficit" is simply "Hey mom! I lost less money today than I did yesterday!". How fucking stupid did that just sound?

It's absolutely NOTHING to brag or write home about, and it sure as fuck isn't anything of use. Carry on, peasants.

 

[UberNeuman]

This is why liberal media needs to be banned. Anyone favoring of it needs to be hanged for stupidity because of quotes JUST LIKE THIS.


The "deficit" is not shrinking, because the deficit is the amount we are in debt. It should be more properly defined as Change in deficit YOY (Year over Year). What is referred to as "shrinking deficit" is simply "Hey mom! I lost less money today than I did yesterday!". How fucking stupid did that just sound?

It's absolutely NOTHING to brag or write home about, and it sure as fuck isn't anything of use. Carry on, peasants.

So. Vote Republican. Am I right?

\maybe we can get some more budget busting wars...

 

[fskimospy]

This is why liberal media needs to be banned. Anyone favoring of it needs to be hanged for stupidity because of quotes JUST LIKE THIS.

The "deficit" is not shrinking, because the deficit is the amount we are in debt. It should be more properly defined as Change in deficit YOY (Year over Year). What is referred to as "shrinking deficit" is simply "Hey mom! I lost less money today than I did yesterday!". How fucking stupid did that just sound?

It's absolutely NOTHING to brag or write home about, and it sure as fuck isn't anything of use. Carry on, peasants.

This is why you need to be banned. The deficit is not the amount we are in debt.

It never ceases to amaze me that people who are so ignorant as to not even understand the terms under discussion are so quick to talk about how much other people need to be punished.

You are the personification of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

This is why you need to be banned. The deficit is not the amount we are in debt.

It never ceases to amaze me that people who are so ignorant as to not even understand the terms under discussion are so quick to talk about how much other people need to be punished.

You are the personification of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

You are the definition of a puppet. Always hearing, seeing, and believing only what you are told.

It's called a dictionary. Perhaps you should reference it before you declare what you want to hear.

deficit:
1. the amount by which a sum of money falls short of the required amount.
2. the amount by which expenditures or liabilities exceed income or assets. - DURP that equals our national debt.
3. a lack or shortage; deficiency.

 

[fskimospy]

You are the definition of a puppet. Always hearing, seeing, and believing only what you are told.

It's called a dictionary. Perhaps you should reference it before you declare what you want to hear.

You are the definition of someone who doesn't know how to use the dictionary or understands economics.

The deficit is how much expenditures exceeds income in a given time period. The debt is the amount of accumulated liabilities over time.

You need to listen more to what you are told. It would make you say fewer stupid things.