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27-25

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Posts posted by 27-25

  1. 2 hours ago, bernorange said:

    A lot of people judge a President by how the economy fared during their tenure even though Presidents have very little to do with it.  Carter's term coincided with the fallout from Bretton Woods.  It was an economic situation decades in the making.  The great economic malaise sucked ass and few peeps were happy living through it.   On foreign policy - where Presidents actually have influence - Carter tried to liberalize the USA's influence (emphasizing human rights and such) and made some progress until the Iranian hostage crisis near the end of his term.  That was his undoing as Reagan talked tough and Iran actually feared him.

    Reagan was the beneficiary of the Volker shock which ended the inflation and economic malaise that dominated the 70s.  He was also really good at delivering speeches.  He was charismatic and life was good while he presided.  The wall also came down shortly after his tenure in part due to the deficit spending on the military that the Soviets couldn't match. 

    They both did some good things, but the legacy of their actual accomplishments is largely overshadowed by the economic conditions that prevailed during their tenures.  Conditions that were created/governed by monetary policy (ie. the Federal Reserve) more than their fiscal policies.

    Reagan gets credit for the economic recovery that followed Paul Volcker's steps to curb inflation.  Who nominated Volcker as chairman of the Fed?  Jimmy Carter.  Life isn't fair and politics even less so.

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  2. I'm OK with a site containing ads.  What grilled me a bit about the ads on surly were the constant pop out video ads and particularly the ones that took up the entirety of the screen warning me about a computer virus, requiring me to back out of the page to get back to the content.  I've never seen ads like that on any other site I've ever been on.

    Surly would be an ideal place for Longhorn-connected companies or those selling Longhorn gear could advertise without abusing the eyes too much.  It may be less money than the previous ad mix brought in.  But it would be something going to a good cause and more relevant to our interests.

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  3. 20 hours ago, Nathan Jessep said:

    If you’re winning, i don’t see how it can be a good thing to have unplanned changes in leadership. Hopefully the new guy doesn’t rock the boat too much. 

    The new guy being a Crimean Tartar certainly sends a message about Ukraine's intentions toward the recapture of that peninsula.  Hopefully his effectiveness matches the positive optics.

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  4. 3 hours ago, Serak The Preparer said:

    Sure reparations won't be part of national 2024 platform but I also wouldn't dismiss it as "fringe". I fully admit that I don't know the ramifications / likelihood of passing but in California there was a state task board that has met and presented recommendations to the state senate including economic reparations. Those weren't defined, as the task force specifically said they weren't able to come up with a number and recommended economists come up with something, but I do think there is something brewing.

    Now the word reparations can mean way different things to way different people, but again just wouldn't dismiss it as kooky talk.

    Well, some numbers have been tossed around.  For California alone this amounts to up to $800 billion (2-3 times the entire CA yearly budget) and somewhere between $1.2 million and $5 million per eligible person in the state.  I'm not aware of a single reputable official who has backed this actually being enacted.  The optics of coming out actively against it wouldn't play well I assume.  I think most politicians are just expecting (and hoping) it will run out of steam.

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