Seems to me that TEA party legislators should vote against the internet sales tax bill if they are serious about starving the beast. The authors of this bill don't care about Mom and Pop stores. They only see a potential source of revenue for the states that ultimately comes out of the pocket of consumers.
Local sales taxes are to support the infrastructure - roads, cops, firemen, schools - that local businesses depend on. Internet companies don't require any local infrastructure therefore they should not have to pay for it. That's the REAL fiscal conservative stance.
Speaking of the uber-right wing Heritage Foundation:
A few years ago I remember seeing stickers with rebel flags on them gracing the bumpers of pickups that said, "Heritage, Not Hate."
I've since come to believe that "heritage" is a code word for "we don't want black people here." Does anyone else get that feeling?
What is the percentage of non-whites living in subdivisions with "heritage" in the names compared to the population at large? Can someone track that number down for me please? Thanks.
jtwhatever said, "I thought it was a fairly good rebuttal to your claim that on average looks, height, and hard work were greater determiners of success than talent/intelligence."
I guessed that was what you were trying for. But no, it wasn't a good rebuttal. What you pasted was a news report dumbing down a study of the highest educational attainment of the top .1% IQ on the normal curve. That really has little to do with monetary success of the population at large like I mentioned. As well, a physics Ph.D. is not a ticket to great wealth.
IQ is correlated with genetics as well as socioeconomic status. Contrary to popular belief, it can increase and decrease throughout life with use, just like a muscle. Children who get good nutrition, lots of reading and education early in life have relatively higher IQs. IQ has less correlation with monetary success than looks for women, height for men, or hard work for anyone.
There is much more variation among individuals in a group than the average between groups. So I don't think a discussion regarding the IQ of particular groups of people is meaningful. Because we don't really want to start comparing IQ's by state or region now, do we? Since we live in Tennessee?
jt, I'm wasn't referring to you specifically, but your wiki quote did spur my comment. There are a lot of people who have a high opinion of their ideas, all evidence to the contrary. We need look no further than the article in today's paper referring to the Tennessee electrician who proposes to stop tornados with microwaves on jets. I'm embarassed for him, and the paper that would publish that article as if it were a serious proposal.
But no, my ego wasn't crushed by your cutting and pasting. Thanks for your concern. I know the definition of a Ponzi scheme; I was merely pointing out that matters of degree, matter. A firecracker and a hand grenade are both compacted gun powder in a shell, but you should be careful which one you choose on the Fourth of July.
Hey, here's a thought. Instead of being a jerk and having to be saved and born-again all the time, just don't do those bad things to begin with. That's called "judgement" and "self control." Theoretically things that would be nice for our Representatives to have.
It's pretty sad when people read something on Wikipedia for two minutes and then think they are experts. I blame Hamilton County "education" and participation awards.
I'm sorry, your opinion is not worth just as much as an expert's if you are not highly intelligent and thoroughly educated in the subject.
You could easily argue that the stock market is more Ponzi-like than social security. Both of them depend on future growth. The growth of the companies represented in the stock market though, is much more unpredictable than population growth.
Neither of them, however, depends on exponential growth like an actual Ponzi scheme. So making that comparison isn't valid. One it mathematically sustainable and the other is not.
Representatives need to get behind bill and other letters to the editors
Seems to me that TEA party legislators should vote against the internet sales tax bill if they are serious about starving the beast. The authors of this bill don't care about Mom and Pop stores. They only see a potential source of revenue for the states that ultimately comes out of the pocket of consumers.
Local sales taxes are to support the infrastructure - roads, cops, firemen, schools - that local businesses depend on. Internet companies don't require any local infrastructure therefore they should not have to pay for it. That's the REAL fiscal conservative stance.
The Welcome Mat
Simplistic Truthiness just called me shallow. Interesting.
The Welcome Mat
Speaking of the uber-right wing Heritage Foundation:
A few years ago I remember seeing stickers with rebel flags on them gracing the bumpers of pickups that said, "Heritage, Not Hate."
I've since come to believe that "heritage" is a code word for "we don't want black people here." Does anyone else get that feeling?
What is the percentage of non-whites living in subdivisions with "heritage" in the names compared to the population at large? Can someone track that number down for me please? Thanks.
The Welcome Mat
jtwhatever said, "I thought it was a fairly good rebuttal to your claim that on average looks, height, and hard work were greater determiners of success than talent/intelligence."
I guessed that was what you were trying for. But no, it wasn't a good rebuttal. What you pasted was a news report dumbing down a study of the highest educational attainment of the top .1% IQ on the normal curve. That really has little to do with monetary success of the population at large like I mentioned. As well, a physics Ph.D. is not a ticket to great wealth.
The Welcome Mat
jtwhatever, Excellent demonstration of cutting and pasting. Do you have an actual point?
The Welcome Mat
IQ is correlated with genetics as well as socioeconomic status. Contrary to popular belief, it can increase and decrease throughout life with use, just like a muscle. Children who get good nutrition, lots of reading and education early in life have relatively higher IQs. IQ has less correlation with monetary success than looks for women, height for men, or hard work for anyone.
There is much more variation among individuals in a group than the average between groups. So I don't think a discussion regarding the IQ of particular groups of people is meaningful. Because we don't really want to start comparing IQ's by state or region now, do we? Since we live in Tennessee?
The Welcome Mat
jt, I'm wasn't referring to you specifically, but your wiki quote did spur my comment. There are a lot of people who have a high opinion of their ideas, all evidence to the contrary. We need look no further than the article in today's paper referring to the Tennessee electrician who proposes to stop tornados with microwaves on jets. I'm embarassed for him, and the paper that would publish that article as if it were a serious proposal.
But no, my ego wasn't crushed by your cutting and pasting. Thanks for your concern. I know the definition of a Ponzi scheme; I was merely pointing out that matters of degree, matter. A firecracker and a hand grenade are both compacted gun powder in a shell, but you should be careful which one you choose on the Fourth of July.
Drew's Views
Hey, here's a thought. Instead of being a jerk and having to be saved and born-again all the time, just don't do those bad things to begin with. That's called "judgement" and "self control." Theoretically things that would be nice for our Representatives to have.
The Welcome Mat
It's pretty sad when people read something on Wikipedia for two minutes and then think they are experts. I blame Hamilton County "education" and participation awards.
I'm sorry, your opinion is not worth just as much as an expert's if you are not highly intelligent and thoroughly educated in the subject.
The Welcome Mat
I don't really get the cartoon.
You could easily argue that the stock market is more Ponzi-like than social security. Both of them depend on future growth. The growth of the companies represented in the stock market though, is much more unpredictable than population growth.
Neither of them, however, depends on exponential growth like an actual Ponzi scheme. So making that comparison isn't valid. One it mathematically sustainable and the other is not.