Words are important, just ask Frank Luntz.O Really wrote: ↑Fri Nov 18, 2022 1:40 pmGood catchy slogans are always more effective than anything else. And sometimes they don't even have to be good. And often they don't have to be even close to true. And if they feed into existing myths all the better. Repugs are long-time experts at the propaganda game.
For a smart guy he does seem kind of stupid. With all that money why didn't he flee to a non-extradition country - either permanently or to negotiate his sentence before returning?
I agree with towns being able to prohibit short term rentals in certain areas. Airbnb's wreck neighborhoods. Homes should primarily be a place to live. I don't think short term rentals are all bad, though. I think within reason they're ok. But I could see Greenville being overrun by them. Especially in neighborhoods close to town.In effect, the bill would ensure Airbnbs and other short-term rentals can operate anywhere across the state, regardless of what local government — and local neighbors — have to say on the matter.
The proposed state law comes as Greenville and surrounding municipalities have increasingly debated the merits of short-term rentals.
Impacts don't stay confined to your own property. Local govt has historically shaped the character of neighborhoods through zoning a bunch of different factors. As O Really says, it's difficult to achieve "fair" for all. Whether govt should ban or otherwise regulate short term rentals and how is debatable, but whether it can was settled long ago. It's not like residents will ever stop making demands nor that govt will stop being responsive to them.GoCubsGo wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 3:00 pmI'm so mixed on this. Who is to say what I can or cannot do within the confines of my own home and limit my income potential. MYOB.
The reality of it is probably 95%+ of Airbnb's are not a neighborhood problem. It's the occasional bad apples or absentee owner that ruins it for most, especially when homes are turned into party houses that do disturb neighborhoods.
Dickens and Orwell could relate.
Companies Push Prices Higher, Protecting Profits but Adding to Inflation
... As a result, some economists warn, policymakers at the Federal Reserve may feel compelled to keep raising interest rates, or at least not lower them, increasing the likelihood and severity of an economic downturn.
“Companies are not just maintaining margins, not just passing on cost increases, they have used it as a cover to expand margins,” Albert Edwards, a global strategist at Société Générale, said, referring to profit margins, a measure of how much businesses earn from every dollar of sales....
They endangered a lot of SSI and VA checks. 
BRD's sole contra-partisan vote.
What to Know About the History of the Debt CeilingO Really wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 11:04 amI wonder how long these idiots can pull this stunt before people start realizing that while there are some (too many), there are not and probably wont' be enough certified moon-barking rubber room crazies in Congress to actually cause default. There are, unfortunately, enough of those to prevent passing a bill that would prohibit using social security recipients as hostages for demands against what is inevitably going to happen. They're too addicted to the power rush and thrill of officious assholery.
Why?... What is the debt ceiling and why was it created?
The debt limit refers to a ceiling imposed by Congress in 1917 that sets the maximum amount of outstanding debt the U.S. can incur.
"eight consecutive years" - woohoo!The first debt limit was established to give the Treasury autonomy over borrowing by allowing it to issue debt up to the ceiling without congressional approval, making it easier to finance mobilization efforts in World War I. Before that, Congress generally had to authorize the Treasury to borrow in smaller increments.
But the U.S. began accumulating more debt as it got involved in more wars abroad. After entering World War II, the U.S. raised the debt limit every year to accommodate increased borrowing. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, “By the end of the war, in June 1946, the debt limit is lowered to $275 billion as war costs dissipate and the federal government begins to run three years of surpluses. The federal debt limit remains unchanged at this level for eight consecutive years – the longest such period since its inception.”
Damn tax and spend Republicans!... How many times has the debt limit been raised?
Since 1960, Congress has raised, extended, or revised the debt limit 78 separate times, of which 49 were under Republican presidents and 29 were under Democratic presidents, according to the Department of Treasury. In each of those instances, Congress took action on the debt limit before the nation defaulted.
GoBillGo!... When was the last time the U.S. was debt free?
January 1835 was the first and only time all of the government’s interest-bearing debt was paid off, according to the Treasury Department. President Andrew Jackson, who was suspicious of banks and did not trust the paper money they issued, liquidated the Second Bank of the United States, returning the government’s original investment plus a profit.
As a result, the government had a huge surplus of money, at $17.9 million, far greater than the actual government expenditures for the year. Congress divided the surpluses up among the states, which were bogged down with debt.
The last time the federal government ran a surplus was in 2001.
Maybe we're just being stupid:Has the U.S. ever defaulted before?
It depends on who you ask. Yellen, the Treasury Secretary, has said that “the U.S. has always paid its bills on time” and that if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, “America would default for the first time in history.”
The White House has also claimed that the U.S. faces a first-ever default if Congress is unable to raise the debt limit.
But Alex Pollock, a former Treasury Department official, argued in a 2021 op-ed in The Hill that there are four precedents for U.S. defaults: 1) During the Civil War in 1862, when the U.S. printed paper money after the Union’s reserves of gold and silver coin were depleted; 2) during the Great Depression in 1933, when the government refused to repay bondholders with gold, as agreed to when the securities were sold; 3) in 1968, when the U.S. did not honor silver certificates with an exchange of silver dollars; and 4) in 1971, when the government abandoned the Bretton Woods Agreement, which included a commitment to redeem dollars held by foreign governments for gold.
Is the debt ceiling an illusion, anyhow?... Do other countries have a debt ceiling?
There are only two countries that maintain a debt ceiling: the U.S. and Denmark. But the debt ceiling in Denmark does not regularly threaten economic disruption since it is set much higher than the country’s spending. In 2021, Denmark’s debt was about 14% of its ceiling.
Only once has Denmark approached its limit—in 2010 after the 2008 financial crisis—and the nation’s parliament quickly decided to raise it....
What is the role of the 14th Amendment? ...
Indefinitely. The capacity for stupid is infinite.
Ya, patriotism vill be punished.Vrede too wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 9:57 amMeasure Title: A bill to provide for a responsible increase to the debt ceiling.
Vote Counts:
YEAs 63 (60 were needed)
NAYs 36
Not Voting 1
... North Carolina: Budd (R-NC), Nay; Tillis (R-NC), Yea
Bigoted RepuQs detest the military and love failed, stupid construction.NCGOP votes to censure Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis
... U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican who has served in Congress since 2015, has attempted in recent years to work on bipartisan deals in Congress on hot-button issues — particularly guns, immigration and gay marriage — which have left some conservatives feeling dissatisfied with his record. The official resolution against Tillis is vague, saying he is being censured for “blatant violations of our party platform.”
... State Rep. Mark Brody, R-Union, told WRAL that the dissatisfaction started building several years ago when Tillis initially opposed then-President Donald Trump’s plan to shift millions of dollars from military construction projects toward building a wall along the Mexican border. Tillis eventually changed his position and supported Trump’s plan, but conservatives never forgot his initial stance.
Bigoted RepuQs detest marriage and freedom.The final straw for the GOP base, Brody said, was Tillis’ work on the Respect For Marriage Act last year, which codified legal protections for same-sex marriage—something the GOP officially opposes in its national and state party platforms, Brody said.
The recession the America-hating RWers were desperately wishing for never materialized either.O Really wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 11:04 amI wonder how long these idiots can pull this stunt before people start realizing that while there are some (too many), there are not and probably wont' be enough certified moon-barking rubber room crazies in Congress to actually cause default. There are, unfortunately, enough of those to prevent passing a bill that would prohibit using social security recipients as hostages for demands against what is inevitably going to happen. They're too addicted to the power rush and thrill of officious assholery.
74% total approval shocks me. A younger incumbent would be a shoe-in, and Joe may ride this economy to victory.Unscientific MSN News Poll
To what extent do you approve or disapprove of President Biden's handling of the US job market?
Strongly approve 58%, including me
Somewhat approve 16%
Somewhat disapprove 3%
Strongly disapprove 21%
Other / No opinion 2%
Based on 1,411 responses. Snapshot of real-time results.
