Glen Beck's asteroid

[Loukuss]

Glen Beck's view on America's problem

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Let's say a giant asteroid was headed toward Earth right now and experts say it has a good chance of ending civilization as we know it. Let's also say that we've known about this asteroid for years but even as it gets closer and closer our leaders do nothing.

"Don't worry," they tell us, "The next administration will figure something out."
With the future of our country at stake, would Americans really sit back and tolerate that kind of inaction? Of course not -- we'd be sharpening our pitchforks and demanding answers.

Well there may not be a space asteroid heading toward us, but there is an economic one -- and the threat to our future is just as severe.

 

[kermit]

I don't disagree with Beck on the face of what he says. The problem is that he doesn't follow through. McCain literally has no ideas on how to solve our economic woes in the short-term or in the long-term. Yet Beck, who is quick to jump on any Democrat for any reason, has completely given McCain a pass.

Just last night Beck talked about political arrogance. As expected he talked about Obama and Clinton and how they, from his perspective, think the rules don't apply to them. He found some things he could stretch enough to make is seem like he was being honest. But somehow Beck completely missed the fact that McCain is violated the campaign finance law which he wrote and said he would follow. Basically, McCain is guilty of the very thing that claimed Obama and Clinton is guilty of. Of course, McCain gets a pass from Beck.

 

[Loukuss]

Kermit,

I dont agree with Beck very often, but this article caught my eye. I dont believe his point is diminished at all by who he supports in the upcoming election. While I may not agree with him ignoring Mccain's mistakes, I believe his views in this article deserve examination sans the power politics of the '08 elections.

 

[kermit]

Kermit,

I dont agree with Beck very often, but this article caught my eye. I dont believe his point is diminished at all by who he supports in the upcoming election. While I may not agree with him ignoring Mccain's mistakes, I believe his views in this article deserve examination sans the power politics of the '08 elections.

As I said, I agree with what he had to say. I just question whether or not he really does.

 

[Nathan45]

I don't even understand how this is possible. Article said the obligations for social security and medicare ammount to $455,000 per person. There are only so many seniors or people who need medicare, can someone explain to me how this math even works out?

And the obvious/only solution is to cut spending, "obligations" be damned, but watch out for that third rail of death.

 

[Nathan45]

need to find a breakdown on what that 53 trillion is going too, anyway, if the number is even accurate.

Probably prescription drugs, mostly.

 

[TheReasoner]

The threat of our future is just as severe as if an asteroid as headed our way?
Man, that's bleak! Does the author of the article know what an asteroid impact will do to earth? I do. In exquisite detail. The fall of the US will very very likely not be nowhere near as powerful an event as an asteroid impact and the following issues. Well, that DOES depend on the size of the asteroid, but still.

It does amaze me to see Americans not caring about their nation enough to recognize it's decline. Well, I DID... Then I spent some time over there and watched the news. Now I am not surprised. There was nothing on about the crisis the US is experiencing as far as house prices go, and a LOT about Brittany Spears' sister getting pregnant. Talk about prime time news! Goodness! No wonder Americans don't care. Americans don't know! A friend of mine (American) lives in Bangladesh. He knew about the crisis. His brother - in the US - did not. And was looking to sell his house and buy a new one.

Here in Norway we have open lectures at the universities, debates in media about the imminent fall of the US. We follow the US with Argus eyes. It is in a decline now which will not turn around until the US has plummeted so far it's status as world leader in economy and military are both gone. Unless it goes totalitarian and focuses all it has on maintaining the war machine it has. But it's days of glory are all but spent. From this economic recession there is no getting back up. It has been coming for a long time, the US foreign policy and oil addiction have seen to that. But it may not have come as quickly had Bush not messed up as much as he did. It may not have come at all if someone in the presidency had turned off the idiocy and on the pursuit for technological development. Now, however, I fear it may be too late.

 

[TheReasoner]

need to find a breakdown on what that 53 trillion is going too, anyway, if the number is even accurate.

Probably prescription drugs, mostly.

...
Americans do take way too many drugs. Then again, the lifestyle and diets of stereotypical Americans does help them along on the path of bad health which leads o the land of drugs.
Especially so when the American mentality leans heavily towards popping pills to solve problems. *sigh*

 

[TheReasoner]

What happened? How come my post number 9 ended up as the OP?

???

 

[trunks2k]

What happened? How come my post number 9 ended up as the OP?

???

CF has had major timestamp issues over the past week. Posts are showing up all out of order and as duplicates, etc. I was hoping the outage earlier today meant they fixed the problem, but I don't think it did, although I can't be sure yet.

 

[Conspiracy Theory]

What happened? How come my post number 9 ended up as the OP?

???

I happened.

As for the coming crisis, keep your friends close and your ammo closer.

 

[Avatar]

The threat of our future is just as severe as if an asteroid as headed our way?
Man, that's bleak! Does the author of the article know what an asteroid impact will do to earth? I do. In exquisite detail. The fall of the US will very very likely not be nowhere near as powerful an event as an asteroid impact and the following issues. Well, that DOES depend on the size of the asteroid, but still.

It does amaze me to see Americans not caring about their nation enough to recognize it's decline. Well, I DID... Then I spent some time over there and watched the news. Now I am not surprised. There was nothing on about the crisis the US is experiencing as far as house prices go, and a LOT about Brittany Spears' sister getting pregnant. Talk about prime time news! Goodness! No wonder Americans don't care. Americans don't know! A friend of mine (American) lives in Bangladesh. He knew about the crisis. His brother - in the US - did not. And was looking to sell his house and buy a new one.

Here in Norway we have open lectures at the universities, debates in media about the imminent fall of the US. We follow the US with Argus eyes. It is in a decline now which will not turn around until the US has plummeted so far it's status as world leader in economy and military are both gone. Unless it goes totalitarian and focuses all it has on maintaining the war machine it has. But it's days of glory are all but spent. From this economic recession there is no getting back up. It has been coming for a long time, the US foreign policy and oil addiction have seen to that. But it may not have come as quickly had Bush not messed up as much as he did. It may not have come at all if someone in the presidency had turned off the idiocy and on the pursuit for technological development. Now, however, I fear it may be too late.

Argus eyes, interesting, had to look it up. We in Canada are doing the Argus eyes thing to the US as well. We are so closely tied to them that when they go we go. Doesn't matter that we don't run a trade deficit or budget deficit. We're still going to be sucked down the drain with them. We might recover, but it will be nasty for a while.

 

[Loukuss]

The threat of our future is just as severe as if an asteroid as headed our way?
Man, that's bleak! Does the author of the article know what an asteroid impact will do to earth?

Extreme hyperbole.

No wonder Americans don't care. Americans don't know!

Americans dont know because far too many get all their news from the MSM. When you rely on big business to tell you everything you need to know, you're in trouble.

Here in Norway we have open lectures at the universities, debates in media about the imminent fall of the US. We follow the US with Argus eyes.

What does "following with Argus eyes" mean?
How much attention is the American economy crisis garnering over there? Possible to scale it for us?

Unless it goes totalitarian and focuses all it has on maintaining the war machine it has.

I'm sure that those in the military industrial complex already has that in mind. Money above all else, no?

Now, however, I fear it may be too late.

Sucks for us up north, as we're tied to the US.

 

[invisible trousers]

I opened this thread expecting to be jealous that Glenn Beck got an asteroid named after himself

 

[TheReasoner]

Extreme hyperbole.

I guess...

Americans dont know because far too many get all their news from the MSM. When you rely on big business to tell you everything you need to know, you're in trouble.

No kidding!

What does "following with Argus eyes" mean?

Argus Panoptes was a giant with a hundred eyes according to greek mythology. He was the watchman of Io, and blessed by the gods he never slept and never wavered. Hence the expression to watch someone with Argus eyes. Which means you watch them constantly, with great interest. Basically.

How much attention is the American economy crisis garnering over there? Possible to scale it for us?

It is getting a lot of press. It has done for some time now. Of course, the US is an important trading partner for Norway. And it doesn't help that we had a few municipalities being duped into investing millions in risky funds in the US. Whcih due to the US crisis was all lost. There were lawsuits and a huge mess over those incidents here. But we generally follow the US closely anyway. Only a lot more whenever something big happens. Like after 9-11. Experts here said the worst thing Bush could do was to go to war. Which was what he did. And now, we're following another key period in the history of our ally.

I'm sure that those in the military industrial complex already has that in mind. Money above all else, no?

Mammonism is the one true religion of the capitalist.

Sucks for us up north, as we're tied to the US.

MMm. Most of the world is to some degree. As it is falling we'll all notice it. Probably not as much as you though :S

Darn Bush! What an idiot! He had a great economy to start with. Great country, liked by many. Trusted by more. He ruined the economy, ruined the reputation, ruined the nation's immediate future or at least harmed it severely....
I hope few will vote Republican any time soon. The US sorely needs someone to do some serious repairing. Someone who is clearly different from Bush.

 

[Conspiracy Theory]

I opened this thread expecting to be jealous that Glenn Beck got an asteroid named after himself

Glenn Beck didn't.

Micheal Stackpole did, though.

 

[Avatar]

Darn Bush! What an idiot! He had a great economy to start with. Great country, liked by many. Trusted by more. He ruined the economy, ruined the reputation, ruined the nation's immediate future or at least harmed it severely....
I hope few will vote Republican any time soon. The US sorely needs someone to do some serious repairing. Someone who is clearly different from Bush.

Thing is at this point the two remaining dem candidates will destroy the US economy. They want to pull out of Nafta unless Canada and Mexico make concessions we will not. Clinton or Obama will collapse all three of our nations economically. Assuming there's any chance of staving off a collapse.

Bush was an aberration. Conservatives are supposed to be about fiscal restraint. Bush put the US into phenomenal debt. Unneccesary war coupled with tax cuts. While McCain believes the US has to see the Iraq war through, I seriously doubt he'll start a new one. And he won't cut America's trade ties to it's immediate neighbors which make up more than half its trade.

I think McCain is the best choice now, a Republican who can't be influenced by the Neo-cons because he has too much strength of will and character. After he saves the boat from sinking, maybe then a dem can be elected to help the deckhands.

 

[jamesrwright3]

I have been saying this for a long time. The current people in Congress only care about re-elected and groups like the AARP make it impossible for anyone to even think about restructuring entitlement programs. Wealthy seniors get a SS check when that was not even the initial goal for the program. If the program was going to be a government funded pension system, then it should have been treated like a pension system..

When SS was running a surplus, the money should have been set aside and invested instead of being diverted to pork barrel projects. That would have increased our savings and capital base in the US. If they had done that, there would never be an entitlements crisis. I am just upset because I have been paying into SS for 12 years now and won't have anything to show for it when it comes to be my turn to retire..

 

[TheNewWorldMan]

I have been saying this for a long time. The current people in Congress only care about re-elected and groups like the AARP make it impossible for anyone to even think about restructuring entitlement programs. Wealthy seniors get a SS check when that was not even the initial goal for the program. If the program was going to be a government funded pension system, then it should have been treated like a pension system.

We need to decide what we want Social Security to be. If it's a mandatory retirement savings program, then fine--politicians need to keep their mitts off the money therein. Ideally we'd get the government out of managing the fund entirely, and make Social Security savings like a 401k.

If it's a wealth transfer program from working Americans to retired seniors and the disabled, let's treat it as such, means-test recipients, and lift the cap on taxable income.

 

[Conspiracy Theory]

I want it to be an optional retirement program.

I think I can manage my money more effectively than a stupid government bureaucrat that has less vested interest than me in making sure that my money is managed well.