Fed broke financial markets; will stimulate the economy at any sign of trouble ...

[Astro14]

Foreign aid and military costs and hand outs are the killer. Despite what people say year over year the numbers add up

Unencumbered by the facts, again. You really need to stop beating this dead horse.

Foreign aid is $63 Billion. That is less than 1%. That includes both State Department and USAID.

You're not balancing the budget with that small a percentage.

DOD is $840 Billion. That's a meaningful number but still, only 13% of the total US Federal Budget.

So, together, Foreign Aid and Military costs are14% - and you think that little slice of spending is the sole reason the the Federal Deficit is 30%, or $1.8 Trillion?

Your point crumbles in the face of simple math.

Your ability to ignore 86% of the budget while focusing on Foreign Aid and Military spending is fascinating.

 

[javacontour]

Unencumbered by the facts, again. You really need to stop beating this dead horse.

Foreign aid is $63 Billion. That is less than 1%. That includes both State Department and USAID.

You're not balancing the budget with that small a percentage.

DOD is $840 Billion. That's a meaningful number but still, only 13% of the total US Federal Budget.

So, together, Foreign Aid and Military costs are14% - and you think that little slice of spending is the sole reason the the Federal Deficit is 30%, or $1.8 Trillion?

Your point crumbles in the face of simple math.

Your ability to ignore 86% of the budget while focusing on Foreign Aid and Military spending is fascinating.

Some, who have an agenda take transfer payments out of the figures. So Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are not in the numbers presented by those with the agenda, making Defense look like about 50% of "Federal Spending" IIRC. (That 50% might be wrong, but the idea stands, they take out large categories to make defense look larger instead of looking at all spending.

They will call it "discretionary" spending, as the transfer payment programs are not discretionary.

The bottom line, the numbers can be manipulated. One must look at the complete budget authorized by Congress each year to get a true picture of what is spent.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Hardly accurate.

Those folks who have managed, through thrift and savings, to develop a net worth of a few million dollars are not arguing through authority, they are sharing the secrets of their success.

Listen, or don't, but when someone has made it to the top of the mountain, those who are still climbing would be wise to listen.

You obviously need to take a class in philosophy. It’s not about the results. It’s about the argument. It is a flawed argument. End of story.

 

[Vercingetorix]

For anybody who wants to know this is a textbook case of an appeal to authority argument. It is not logically sound.

 

[KrisZ]

For anybody who wants to know this is a textbook case of an appeal to authority argument. It is not logically sound.
View attachment 253616

Not sure which textbook you’re referring to, but that looks like a statement of opinion to me against your post. You made no argument at all, so no counter-argument was needed, and therefore no appeal to authority was used.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Not sure which textbook you’re referring to, but that looks like a statement of opinion to me against your post. You made no argument at all, so no counter-argument was needed, and therefore no appeal to authority was used.

Dave Hess started the argument. I refuted his statement as being a fallacy.

 

[Dave Hess]

Dave Hess started the argument. I refuted his statement as being a fallacy.

Dave Hess understands everything is fake, phony and manipulated.

 

[Astro14]

You obviously need to take a class in philosophy. It’s not about the results. It’s about the argument. It is a flawed argument. End of story.

The argument may be a logical fallacy - but your presumption that I was making it is also flawed.

You just want to argue.

End of story.

 

[alarmguy]

Since December 2022, we have given $175 billion in aid to Ukraine alone. I’m not sure why $65 billion is mentioned as far an aid for the world when Ukraine alone this year passed by Congress was $61 billion
I’m not sure how it’s been labeled, maybe congressional special authorization instead of RNI’m not sure how it’s been labeled, maybe congressional special authorization instead of Foreign aid?


https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-us-aid-going-ukraine

 

[SC Maintenance]

Since December 2022, we have given $175 billion in aid to Ukraine alone. I’m not sure why $65 billion is mentioned as far an aid for the world when Ukraine alone this year passed by Congress was $61 billion
I’m not sure how it’s been labeled, maybe congressional special authorization instead of RNI’m not sure how it’s been labeled, maybe congressional special authorization instead of Foreign aid?


https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-us-aid-going-ukraine

I don't know which line item it is either, but most of the "aid" is transferring cold war era equipment we were never going to use anyway. If we didn't use it in Iraq or Afghanistan, were not using it. In 10 years we will be paying someone to dismantle it - just like we have been paying Savannah river to dismantle cold war era nukes for a decade. We should almost be paying Ukraine to take the stuff.

Its like taking that jacket to goodwill that hasn't fit in forever, and then claiming a $100 donation on your taxes.

 

[JeffKeryk]

One year I had to pay over $200K in taxes….. $200K not $20K

Nothing I could do but pay the Big Man, keep my mouth shut, don’t complain and ignore all the malfeasance.

Nice problem to have! I wanna pay $200K every year!!!!!

 

[JeffKeryk]

Taking less money from someone (letting someone keep more of what they earn) isn't giving money to the rich.

Besides, in our progressive tax system, lower income individuals already have tax cuts given the structure of progressive rates.

Letting higher income earners get tax cuts just levels the playing field. Letting someone keep more of what they earn isn't the same as handing them a check.

It's disingenuous to say tax cuts give money to the rich. It's taking less from them if we are going to be honest.

Maybe in sheer dollars, but not in value.
If you make $50K, $10K is a lotta money. If you make $200K, $10K is money. If you make $500K, $10K is nothing.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Maybe in sheer dollars, but not in value.
If you make $50K, $10K is a lotta money. If you make $200K, $10K is money. If you make $500K, $10K is nothing.

Please send your nothing to me. I'll PM my address.

 

[Dave Hess]

Since December 2022, we have given $175 billion in aid to Ukraine alone. I’m not sure why $65 billion is mentioned as far an aid for the world when Ukraine alone this year passed by Congress was $61 billion
I’m not sure how it’s been labeled, maybe congressional special authorization instead of RNI’m not sure how it’s been labeled, maybe congressional special authorization instead of Foreign aid?


https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-us-aid-going-ukraine

Lots of exotic cars and yachts with Ukrainian owners in Monaco and they’re spending big $$$$$.

Crazy amount of money is unaccounted for in Ukraine just like what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Please send your nothing to me. I'll PM my address.

I won't tell you what I gave this year. Let's just say Schwab is helping me with the numbers...
At this point in my life, money is just a tool. Make your money work for you at all times.

There was a time when $10 was a lot of money to me; if I had $10 I would not have bought food; I had other priorities.
If anyone wants to have $$, go to college, move to Silion Valley, life tight and invest. It make take 50 years or more, but you can be worth millions.

I've seen it countless times.
Not you, but I see so many people snivel about money, "hand outs", etc. An immigrant from Vietnam once told me, "Stop crying." Best advice ever.

 

[Astro14]

Maybe in sheer dollars, but not in value.
If you make $50K, $10K is a lotta money. If you make $200K, $10K is money. If you make $500K, $10K is nothing.

I disagree.

If you make $500K, $10K buys the same number of dinners out, new tools, airline tickets, whatever, that it did when you were making $200K, or $50K.

If you go from making $50K to $500K and fail to watch every penny, you won’t be keeping much of that $500K in the end.

 

[skyactiv]

I'm no happier being where I'm at financially today vs when I was in my 20's. I'm sure people will be happy when my wife and I die.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I disagree.

If you make $500K, $10K buys the same number of dinners out, new tools, airline tickets, whatever, that it did when you were making $200K, or $50K.

If you go from making $50K to $500K and fail to watch every penny, you won’t be keeping much of that $500K in the end.

That's not my point. $10K to someone making $50K is 1/5 or 20% of their salary. It leaves $40K.
$10K to $500K is 1/50 or 2% of their salary. It leaves $490K.

$40K net vs $490K... One is scraping by while the other is well into the top 1% in America.
Which one has money to allocate to investments, which of course, is the road to financial security. Investments can carry you into a high tax bracket after your working days are over. Without you may be depending on Social Security for your income.

Which one plays the lotto, aka a tax on the poor?

 

[gfh77665]

Actually, I am a steward, not an owner of my portfolio and other assets. God owns them all. He just lets me manage them for a while.

 

[Astro14]

That's not my point. $10K to someone making $50K is 1/5 or 20% of their salary. It leaves $40K.
$10K to $500K is 1/50 or 2% of their salary. It leaves $490K.

$40K net vs $490K... One is scraping by while the other is well into the top 1% in America.
Which one has money to allocate to investments, which of course, is the road to financial security. Investments can carry you into a high tax bracket after your working days are over. Without you may be depending on Social Security for your income.

Which one plays the lotto, aka a tax on the poor?

In that case. I agree - A person making $500K should be able to write a check for $10K (for an unexpected expense, say, like new windows) with much greater ease than one making significantly less.

But that presumes responsible spending, and that’s not a universal situation. So, they should, but I have seen irresponsible spending folks making that kind of money.

Still, a grande coffee at Starbucks is $3.00 to both people.

The top 1%, by the way, is still slightly above your $500K, so, that person is not “well into” the top 1%, they’re just on the cusp.

Further, and this is really important, the top 1% is very transitory, and an earning level that represents the apex of a career. The 1% tend to be people between 55 and 60, who have reached the apex. You don’t just zoom up to 1% and stay there, in many cases, you spend just a few years there and then drop out.