Unofficial Off Topic Thread

[sk47]

Like the tax cuts that preceded them, these didn't pay for themselves. We indebted future generations so we could get a handout today

Hello; I differ with you on this characterization. A handout is when the government take money from me and you so as to give it to someone else for reasons i may or may not agree with. A tax break is when the government lets me keep more of the monies I actually earned.
I even get the implication about future spending but do not particularly like it. Back during my working life I often had two or three jobs. The idea of my working so many hours just so the government can continue it's crazy spending binge by taking more of my pay does not seem right.
I fear you have hit upon a great injustice when it comes to the hype against these tax breaks. Sort of a notion the government is due all my wages and is being kind if it allows me to keep some of my earnings. Before taxes the money i earn is my own and in no way a handout.

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[K4fxd]

- Like the tax cuts that preceded them, these didn't pay for themselves.

Generally when you reduce taxes, the amount of actual dollars to the treasury increases. This can be searched easily. Look back as far as JFK when he did it.

The problem is for every extra dollar in revenue our politicians spend an extra $1.50 or there-a-bouts.

Since Covid I trust news organizations about as far as I can throw my house. Although they were never very trust worthy.

 

[sk47]

Using Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and other organization scoring, extending the tax cuts while spending more on border security, defense and immigration control will result in trillions of dollars of additional deficit spending over the next 10 years; this is why Congress is eyeing cutting Medicaid payments.

Hello; I see the scare tactic is inserted at the end of your comment. They will cut Medicaid if I get to keep more of my earnings. Medicaid is, to use one of you phrases, one of the handouts. Unlike Medicare which you, I and all other working folks paid into, Medicaid is a handout program.
The idea for Medicare is sympathetic enough- help out folks having a hard time. The application of the program is flawed. Two examples.
First example is a man I have known for decades. He took over his father's business of being a middleman for retail furniture stores. Not sure of the actual title of the job. He made very good money all his life. Has a large three-story house on several acres of land outside of Louisville KY. Somehow, he has been able to get on Medicaid for years now.
Second example is it is now becoming know many, perhaps millions, of illegal immigrants are on Medicaid. I guess this is some less of a point as the illegal immigrants can go to emergency rooms and those of us who work for a living have to pay for that anyway.

When the border is secured and millions of illegal immigrants are deported such will amount to a savings for federal, state and local governments. So, to me in the long run border control will pay off. The error in terms of cost was allowing an open border for these last years. You can't have millions of dependent peoples who must be fed, housed and given medical care for cheap. Interesting how you seem to focus only on current border control and fail to not the trillions of cost because of open borders.

 

[sk47]

The problem is for every extra dollar in revenue our politicians spend an extra $1.50 or there-a-bouts.

Hello; The government spending problem in a concise sentence.

 

[sk47]

What we actually need is an overhaul of our revenue system, entitlement reform and spending reform. We need a strategic, 30-year (I see it as akin to paying down a mortgage) vision to get back on track. We all need to take one in the shorts. Government austerity.

Hello; This is something I can get behind. I do get the point that it will take time. The 30-year mortgage idea is not bad although for a national debt such as ours the timeline may be longer.
What likely will be critical is showing that the plan will not be scrapped with a new administration. That will very likely need strong legislation absent of loopholes.

A decent start on government austerity is in place currently. Ferreting out waste & fraud will be a good start but i fear an additional reduction of regular spending will be needed.

Waste, fraud and abuse are easy to justify. Even so lots of screaming right now as someone's gravy train is being taken away. We need to keep in mind those billions have been going into the pockets of folks. They are not going to like having that taken away.

 

[sk47]

This 1,000-mile river suffered decades of oil spills. Now it’s a legal person, things could change

Hello; Not much in terms of comments from me, more that another inanimate object is to be legally treated as a person.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Are Phoenix Arizona courts the only ones that encourage cannibalism? Got called for jury duty. Fortunately, I was able to grab a seat in the back against a wall while waiting. So at least I'd have a fighting chance.

 

[sk47]

A weird phrase is plaguing scientific papers—and we traced it back to a glitch in AI training data
Hello; Came across this tidbit today. Not sure what to make of it. A casual take could be "so what". I do not have much of a clue as to the potential for bad outcomes from such input mistakes regarding AI machines.
If we look back a few months at the bias outcomes of an AI when it changed the race of historical figures in images the AI generated, we may get a taste of how using AI can go wrong.

Back in threads on this site I came across acknowledgement of errors in the computer models upon which so much climate change legislation has been based. Those discrepancies were played down for a large part, but they stood out to my thinking. Essentially the programs were fed data from the past and then expected to predict things which actually happened. That the prediction did not align completely with real events is the disturbing aspect.

 

[sk47]

A weird phrase is plaguing scientific papers—and we traced it back to a glitch in AI training data
Hello; Came across this tidbit today. Not sure what to make of it. A casual take could be "so what". I do not have much of a clue as to the potential for bad outcomes from such input mistakes regarding AI machines.
If we look back a few months at the bias outcomes of an AI when it changed the race of historical figures in images the AI generated, we may get a taste of how using AI can go wrong.

Back in threads on this site I came across acknowledgement of errors in the computer models upon which so much climate change legislation has been based. Those discrepancies were played down for a large part, but they stood out to my thinking. Essentially the programs were fed data from the past and then expected to predict things which actually happened. That the prediction did not align completely with real events is the disturbing aspect.

Google pauses 'absurdly woke' Gemini AI chatbot's image tool after backlash over historically inaccurate pictures

Hello; Here is a little of those images.

 

[sk47]

F-18 rolls off US carrier as it turns to avoid Houthi fire

Hello; Wow!

 

[sk47]

AI models routinely lie when honesty conflicts with their goals

Hello; Not sure how to evaluate this information. Guess one way could be to say by lying to get what they want, AI has become more human. Even if that tack is taken still makes AI less desirable. I foolishly want something (AI) to be very, very smart and also tell the truth. Seems the value of what AI's figure out is not worth much if it can lie about it.

 

[sk47]

De Tomaso’s Mustang-Powered Supercar Is Finally Here
Hello; From the pictures not a fan of the new car over the one from the 1970's. The old version still stirs my blood. New pictured one not so much.
However a new Coyote V8 in an updated chassis with the body of a 70's Pantera would be nice. Likely still out of my reach as those back in the 70's were at the time.

 

[sk47]

Dodge Is Killing Off The All-Electric Charger R/T
Hello; Not exactly surprising if this comes to pass. Did not make sense to begin with. Those hairbrained EV mandates forced car companies to waste billions as well as converting entire assembly lines over to make vehicles few are willing to buy. Let us hope that insanity has not bankrupted too much of the industry.

Perhaps not definitive but likely illustrative is the way the EV advocates have turned on Tesla. Does not make sense assuming those same EV advocates truly believe only the "green agenda" and EV's can save the future. Sort of the equivalent of killing off a golden goose.
Back during the Covid 19 threads on here active in the heights of the pandemic I posted links about one of the scientists who was instrumental in developing the mRNA type vaccine medical tech. He was not a fan of the mandated vaccines and detailed potential problems. He was shouted down by some on here. The attacks on the creator of Tesla remind me of that episode.

Too bad, I guess.

 

[526 HRSE]

How about something that isn't from Fox News and is more objective:
https://www.factcheck.org/2025/03/both-sides-spin-who-would-benefit-from-extending-trump-tax-cuts/

You can bash FOX news all you want, (I don't watch anymore since they fired Tucker), but history is the real barometer of news worthiness. FOX has been right on way more than the alternative at about a 90/10 split. If not more. Any fact check site you can link has been bought and paid for the skew the results to what they want you to believe. If you deny the facts that history proves to you, then you can't be helped.

Case in point, CNN was 100% wrong on "Russia Collusion" and FOX was right. Of course, when FOX was calling it a witch hunt, there were people all over the net saying, "Oh you can't believe FOX news", but turns out, FOX was telling the truth. On top of that, it turned out that Hillary was the one colluding with Russia. You can probably Cherry pick any major story out there and FOX was hitting the nail on the head while CNN and MSNBC lied their asses off.

History as seen with your own eyes lets you know if you're on the right side or not.

 

[526 HRSE]

Hello; I see the scare tactic is inserted at the end of your comment. They will cut Medicaid if I get to keep more of my earnings. Medicaid is, to use one of you phrases, one of the handouts. Unlike Medicare which you, I and all other working folks paid into, Medicaid is a handout program.
The idea for Medicare is sympathetic enough- help out folks having a hard time. The application of the program is flawed. Two examples.
First example is a man I have known for decades. He took over his father's business of being a middleman for retail furniture stores. Not sure of the actual title of the job. He made very good money all his life. Has a large three-story house on several acres of land outside of Louisville KY. Somehow, he has been able to get on Medicaid for years now.
Second example is it is now becoming know many, perhaps millions, of illegal immigrants are on Medicaid. I guess this is some less of a point as the illegal immigrants can go to emergency rooms and those of us who work for a living have to pay for that anyway.

When the border is secured and millions of illegal immigrants are deported such will amount to a savings for federal, state and local governments. So, to me in the long run border control will pay off. The error in terms of cost was allowing an open border for these last years. You can't have millions of dependent peoples who must be fed, housed and given medical care for cheap. Interesting how you seem to focus only on current border control and fail to not the trillions of cost because of open borders.

Illegals get fake socials as soon as they get here and not necessarily one social either. Some use one number for work, and they'll use another for benefits. Also, the money they earn leaves our communities and gets sent back 'home'.

It is true, working people pay for non working people's health care, just like paying people pay for non paying people's phone and other similar services. Illegals and homeless don't get "free" phones, they get phones paid for by all of us that pay - don't think so? it's right there on your bill.

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