tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post7091712094747850889..comments2024-02-18T13:53:30.168-08:00Comments on Surgeonsblog: Everything's FineSid Schwabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-24951120113532851182008-05-08T09:31:00.000-07:002008-05-08T09:31:00.000-07:00well.........I happen to believe, maybe foolishly,...well.........I happen to believe, maybe foolishly, but hey, I'm 24, possibly naive, but that's my right goddammit!- that the Democratic Party will save its own ass at the 11th hour, and still remain intact enough to take on John McCain in the fall. <BR/><BR/>Dr. Schwab: if you come across someone who still thinks Barack Obama is a closet Muslim....RUN, don't walk, back to the OR and continue with your dictations. I mean that. Otherwise your brain will start oozing out of your ears....trying to explain the truth. Those who would believe that......ain't nothin' gonna change their minds.....<BR/><BR/>I won't believe that doctors think that way. I just won't. I can't. Call me an idiot but I refuse. <BR/><BR/>with the way things are going, I'm a very frustrated "idiot". <BR/><BR/>The Integral<BR/>I got smoke comin outta my ears cuz of this shit.........Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-25831572687462956112008-04-16T08:09:00.000-07:002008-04-16T08:09:00.000-07:00P.S.: here's how to make a link. (I tried to spell...P.S.: <A HREF="http://www.htmlcodetutorial.com/linking/_A_HREF.html" REL="nofollow">here's</A> how to make a link. (I tried to spell out the code, but it made a link!!)Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-71017442862450625332008-04-16T08:03:00.000-07:002008-04-16T08:03:00.000-07:00Well, first of all I was primarily addressing the ...Well, first of all I was primarily addressing the myth that tax cuts increase revenue. Second, it's not exactly big news that if a person gets richer he/she will pay more taxes than if she/he had not made more money. Third, the question is what to do about deficits. Cutting earmarks, as McCain says is the big deal, will eliminate a few billion. Whoopee. As I said, it will have to be -- unless people want to continue to keep their heads in the sand -- a combination of things that will be tough: cutting spending (which means re-defining medicare and social security, politically questionable; or reducing military spending, which would work if we'd stop invading countries that don't need invading) and raising taxes. It would seem there's more "room" to do that to the very wealthy, although I personally don't have a problem with the idea that everyone needs to pay the piper more, to save our country. It's a matter of how to distribute the burden. Ought more be levied on the guy in the Maserati than the guy with the smoking beater who can't afford a mechanic?Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-78226929032433798842008-04-16T07:27:00.000-07:002008-04-16T07:27:00.000-07:00sorry, not sure how to put in a link.....http://ww...sorry, not sure how to put in a link.....<BR/><BR/>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2008/04<BR/><BR/>/the_rich_and_their_taxes.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-7373888900662322412008-04-16T07:26:00.000-07:002008-04-16T07:26:00.000-07:00read this and tell me again how tax policy favors ...read this and tell me again how tax policy favors the rich? this is NOT a zero sum game. ....anyway, thought there was some great numbers in this article that shows tax policy is actually as lopsided as ever in terms of the % contribution from the top. Yes the income disparity is not utopian, but what is the favored policy to get rid of this?....the rich already pay all the taxes - ok, almost.<BR/><BR/>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2008/04/the_rich_and_their_taxes.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-17815589274905503132008-03-19T14:32:00.000-07:002008-03-19T14:32:00.000-07:00matt: see how they skyrocket this quarter. And it'...matt: see how they skyrocket this quarter. And it's about income matching spending. The tax cuts Bush got have sent the imbalance skyrocketing. That's the bottom line. It's unsustainable, unwise, intolerable.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-39080070549125823152008-03-19T13:42:00.000-07:002008-03-19T13:42:00.000-07:00the war has absolutely been a waste of $$, but loo...the war has absolutely been a waste of $$, but look what happened to government revenues after the bush tax cuts...they skyrocketed. same with reagan's and kennedy's. the deficit is the result of out of control spending (including the war). the tax cuts themselves were brilliant, and should be extended. and just a reminder that the top 5% pay 60% of all income taxes...so "soak the rich" messages from the left are a little off target. love the blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-40338588048199438112008-03-18T08:36:00.000-07:002008-03-18T08:36:00.000-07:00So it must be that for a given set of circumstance...<B>So it must be that for a given set of circumstances there's a "sweet spot." </B><BR/><BR/>Problem is that I can't afford anyone's sweet spot. I will never see it as my job to fork over nearly half my pay to fund every entitlement that strikes the fancy of our weak-minded politicians. While I have to watch my own checkbook like a rabid dog, I see governmental abuse with my money every day. I'm beyond cynical.<BR/><BR/> <B>What next, Sid, homeopathy? </B><BR/><BR/>Hey, hey, HEY!!Lynn Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02958402288888144904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-236688091456359262008-03-17T20:19:00.000-07:002008-03-17T20:19:00.000-07:00Come now Gentlemen, let's not resort to acrimony a...Come now Gentlemen, let's not resort to acrimony and heat in our disputes.<BR/><BR/>Yes Dr Schwab, America has "jumped the shark"; and you're quite right Mr Scalpel that it is not all GWB's fault.<BR/><BR/>Maybe if we lived in the era of the duel we might be able to sort this out in some definitive manner...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-30430579461977212752008-03-17T19:39:00.000-07:002008-03-17T19:39:00.000-07:00No, seriously: I keep giving you what I consider f...No, seriously: I keep giving you what I consider facts, and you keep insisting I haven't. So I'm as much pissed at me as you. I'm unable to convince you of some things I consider self-evident. It's not whether adding several trillion to the money we owe people who wish us harm is bad; it's what we do about it. But you don't see it as bad. It's not whether paying $110/bbl to those who hate is us bad; it's what we do about it. But you don't see it as bad. It's not whether running 400 billion annual deficit is bad; it's what we can do about it. But you don't see it as bad. And it's not whether the war is harming us by depleting our military, losing the propaganda war, distracting us from the real threats; it's how to deal with it. But you think the war is a great thing. So we simply have no realistic hope of getting anywhere. I see nearly everything Bush has done as making our country and our world more dangerous, and our democracy more imperiled. You see a great leader. So let's just shake hands and walk away. I'm not going to change your mind, nor you mine. It's not "reasonable people disagreeing and having a discussion." It's polemics that adds no value. My rants included.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-27021673656875938972008-03-17T18:51:00.000-07:002008-03-17T18:51:00.000-07:00C'mon man, we've had a civil discussion despite ou...C'mon man, we've had a civil discussion despite our differences. I haven't called you any names or disparaged your character in any way whatsoever. You have my utmost respect. <BR/><BR/>Can reasonable people not disagree but still discuss these sorts of issues as adults, or must we build artificial walls between us and simply hide behind rhetoric?<BR/><BR/>I've had plenty of internet political discussions of the type you suggest we've sunk to, but I'd hoped we could rise above that sort of nonsense.scalpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12163296819469420123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-59755306660006098702008-03-17T18:31:00.000-07:002008-03-17T18:31:00.000-07:00if my comment from 1:14 pm didn't do it for you --...if my comment from 1:14 pm didn't do it for you -- not to mention reading the papers every day -- then there's nothing more I can say; it's silly really, to continue this sort of "argument." So I won't. It's not that you won. It's that you are refractory to any input. So let's just agree not only to disagree, but also that nothing I can say will affect your point of view. I produce fact, you respond either with denial or non-sequitur. It's actually beginning to piss me off, and, as you know, I'm a lily-livered, yellow-streaked pacifist, reality-seduced and, by your standards, America-hating. So rather than sinking any further, let's call the whole thing off. George Bush is a brilliant guy, oil is cool, the war is the best thing that ever happened, the economy is smokin' hot, Obama is a Muslim, the world both loves us and trembles at our name, our children will be rich, and far better off than we ever were. It's a wonderful world.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-12567683873136593802008-03-17T18:08:00.000-07:002008-03-17T18:08:00.000-07:00"I happen to think that the policies of George Bus..."I happen to think that the policies of George Bush has made us far less safe, and there is much evidence for that."<BR/><BR/>Then it shouldn't be too much trouble for you to produce some for us. The state of the economy is hardly a defense of your hypothesis, by the way. I'd like something a bit more filling than that, if you don't mind. I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy. <BR/><BR/>Where's the beef?scalpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12163296819469420123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-30851203381361129232008-03-17T16:09:00.000-07:002008-03-17T16:09:00.000-07:00I think you're still buying what the politicians a...I think you're still buying what the politicians are selling. The stereotypes you inflict on Republicans and Democrats alike aren't productive or true in my experience, they're media labels that make the talking heads on TV more comfortable with their talking points.<BR/><BR/>The truth is debt only goes up, government ineffecieny only goes up, and corruption, well, it only goes up. You only get smaller bureaucracy if you're willing to kill some bureaucracts (Which, lest I sound mad, I am not). There's only one long term solution, and Jefferson saw it in his day. 'The Tree of Liberty must...'<BR/><BR/>This too shall pass. The only good government is a young government, inexperienced in manipulating the vicissitudes of power to pull the public about by their noses. Republican, Democract, Whig, Federalist, heck, Communist, Socialist, and Monarchist too, these are just terms that lay a thin veneer of respectability over the same old accumulation of wealth, power, and influence.<BR/><BR/>When too much gathers in the hands of too few, we'll get that good government back in the form of whatever bit of polish is popular at the moment.<BR/><BR/>...but maybe I'm just a cynic? If what I were saying was true you'd expect debt to outstrip inflation as an increasing trend over the history of the nation, wealth to accumulate in ever smaller clans, the excercise of political power to infringe increasingly on the rights of the majority. Is that actually happening?<BR/><BR/>I leave the reader to his own conclusions. ;)Roshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06063451527144209692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-82606155898293235822008-03-17T16:06:00.000-07:002008-03-17T16:06:00.000-07:00BC: "...from someone saying that attacks elsewhere...BC: "...from someone saying that attacks elsewhere are Bush's fault."<BR/><BR/>Nowhere did I say that. What I said was that there's no way in which the war in Iraq has made us (and by implication, the world) safer. Increased attacks may or may not be Bush's fault: I didn't address it. But I'm sure you will recall the many times Bush has said that around the world freedom is "on the march" and terrorism is "on the run." Neither statement is true. <BR/><BR/>Also, if you read the previous comments, you know I said that the things that Bush has done that have made us safer are 1) things any president would have done and 2) have nothing to do with the war. To claim Bush has kept us safe is not to disprove what I said; nor would it be true to say that since your house is not on fire, the person who set the nearby forest to burning has kept you safe. I think your sense of logic needs a tune-up. I happen to think that the policies of George Bush has made us far less safe, and there is much evidence for that. The fact that there hasn't been an attack is not a logical disproof of that. Bush's economy is tanking. I'm not yet living on the street. The second fact doesn't disprove the first. I could go on. You won't buy it. The second fact doesn't change the first.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-60732171621445653292008-03-17T14:57:00.000-07:002008-03-17T14:57:00.000-07:00" Sid Schwab said...likewise, there have been no a..." Sid Schwab said...<BR/>likewise, there have been no attacks on American soil since I started blogging. post hoc ergo propter hoc."<BR/><BR/>An interesting argument from someone saying that attacks elsewhere are Bush's fault. Is it your contention that the fact that there have been no attacks in the US is coincidental to Bush's actions? I am sure you apply better logic to your medical pursuits.<BR/><BR/>BCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-8032374700431357332008-03-17T14:37:00.000-07:002008-03-17T14:37:00.000-07:00likewise, there have been no attacks on American s...likewise, there have been no attacks on American soil since I started blogging. <I>post hoc ergo propter hoc.</I>Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-20336374288136933732008-03-17T14:07:00.000-07:002008-03-17T14:07:00.000-07:00"...attacks have increased around the world."I won..."...attacks have increased around the world."<BR/><BR/>I won't get into a point by point discussion of your response unless specifically requested, but this statement bothers me.<BR/><BR/>Are we responsible for the safety of the world? I think not. Given the newfound strength of foreign currencies, they can drop a dime (or a yen, or a Euro) to protect themselves.<BR/><BR/>There have been no successful homeland terrorist attacks since 9/11, and many more have been thwarted. Many terrorists are dead, and many more are in custody. Thank you, President Bush, for protecting America.scalpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12163296819469420123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-44888994313370635422008-03-17T13:14:00.000-07:002008-03-17T13:14:00.000-07:00To enlarge: I'd consider "empirical" the national ...To enlarge: I'd consider "empirical" the national intelligence reports that state al Queda is stronger than at any time since 9/11. That our military is depleted and, by the words of its top generals and admirals, less able to fight another war. That attacks have increased around the world. That our deficits will paralyze us. I'm guessing there have been political polls to your liking that you've considered empirical. There are many around the world that indicate our moral standing, our respect, willingness to cooperate with us have gone down, while attitudes that it's OK to kill Americans are up. I find that of concern, especially since it's empirically true that the rare intelligence successes we've had have depended on help from others. All of those things derive directly from the war. To the extent that we are safer, it's had nothing to do with the war; ie, airport security, etc. Some things are indeed better, those things that any president would have done. The war by no empirical measure has made us safer; and by many, less so. I think it may be you that has "water memory."Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-22839891503431515742008-03-17T13:02:00.000-07:002008-03-17T13:02:00.000-07:00you never disappoint, scalpel.you never disappoint, scalpel.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-86456581168778513992008-03-17T12:24:00.000-07:002008-03-17T12:24:00.000-07:00Sorry, must have slept through my pager.Looking at...Sorry, must have slept through my pager.<BR/><BR/>Looking at the empirical evidence, rather than relying upon nebulous left wing unmeasurable/irrelevant talking points (like number of terrorists created, world respect rating, or the like) would suggest that we are in fact safer as a result of "Bush's" war.<BR/><BR/>What next, Sid, homeopathy?scalpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12163296819469420123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-7834289115094193312008-03-17T07:34:00.000-07:002008-03-17T07:34:00.000-07:00I'm beginning to enjoy your weekend rants Dr. Sid....I'm beginning to enjoy your weekend rants Dr. Sid.<BR/><BR/>The so called "death tax" and the taxes that need to be put back in place are not generally affecting the middle class but the very wealthy. <BR/><BR/>Yet the alternative minimum tax, which no-one seems to want to change because it continues to bring in a lot of revenue, continues to hit the middle class hard.<BR/><BR/>Sadly, when the average middle class voter hears the word taxes they automatically assume it means them, if the voters would take a little time to actually look at the issue they might realize how they've been pillaged by the current administration.mark's tailshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08097539019772913051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-2516867424302057212008-03-17T06:28:00.000-07:002008-03-17T06:28:00.000-07:00I'm glad I'm not the only liberal who is realistic...I'm glad I'm not the only liberal who is realistic about how this election is actually going to play out: <BR/><BR/>"Terrorists will kill your children and the other guy can't stop them." <BR/><BR/>Bingo - Republican victory, end of story, hello President McCain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-84496059579731383702008-03-17T02:14:00.000-07:002008-03-17T02:14:00.000-07:00Well said. Seems we were in a financial mess after...Well said. Seems we were in a financial mess after Bush Sr., money/debt/I am a poor church mouse, but the USA fat cats always find a way to shift this decimal, plunk that zero, and eureka! We are in the black again. Sometimes I think if the USA isn't in a mess, we get bored. What would all the new MBAs DO?? What would all our macho military men do??Diane J Standifordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11862850657925658079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-76181388634817559422008-03-16T17:29:00.000-07:002008-03-16T17:29:00.000-07:00I remember my brother (an economist, he's sort of ...I remember my brother (an economist, he's sort of a game theory type) said that there's some sort of problem with the theory behind the Laffer curve. <BR/><BR/>I just don't remember what that was. <BR/><BR/>Heck of a way to add nothing to the discourse, eh?Midwife with a Knifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04309579302399381913noreply@blogger.com