Balta1701

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 01:26 PM) That's what we were told when we had the last package pushed through. That hasn't exactly happened the way it was supposed to. You bolded it but obviously missed it, because I already added the qualifier in anticipation of your response.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 10:33 AM) That works great for about a year, then doesn't do s***. The people in this economy have embraced austerity (at least relatively, compared to before - Americans are still massive consumers). So give them cheap technology that saves them money. That's the businesses and infrastructure needs to address. The people will spend on those things, but also save money on a recurring basis, thus giving them more cash to spend or invest. Fixing a road won't do it. FWIW, "Works great for about year" is exactly what it would take if the package was large enough to get things done. That's the WWII example; a very brief spurt of massive government spending/expansion of government debt and a huge stimulus as a result. I focus on things like roads, sewers, dams, rail lines, schools, explicitly because these things have been terribly neglected since "Have your tax cuts and your cake too" became the motto of one party a few decades ago. The electrical grid would fit in there nicely as well.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 01:08 PM) I meant in election results. I don't see the GOP taking the senate - the math just doesn't work for them. They will probably take the House, by a slim margin, but even that is far from a given. They're very, very close on the Senate. The polls suggest something like 51-49 right now.

QUOTE (Cali @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 11:38 AM) I missed the game yesterday...how was Infante? Did he show that upper-90's pop on his fastball? He was a little wild, but yes, was hitting 94-97.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 11:35 AM) Just curious when we'll see Sarah Palin, John Boehner, Rudy Guiliani and the other Burlington Coat Factory mosque panic pushers talk about how insensitive and inappropriate "International Burn a Koran Day" is. Or the Ground Zero church that another guy from Florida decided to found (he spent his first sermon ranting against Muslims and Mormons).

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 10:55 AM) Exactly. They have an opportunity here to have a 1994-like take-over, but they ultimately will not have that dramatic a shift, thanks to that complete lack of actual ideas. You really think there won't be a dramatic enough shift? I'm expecting it to be dramatic enough that we have a government shutdown mid next year. The Republicans have been talking about it casually for at least 6 months.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 11:18 AM) I've always been in favor of two tax increases - the SS cap (its regressive as it stands now), and treating carried interest and trading PnL as income if primary source for non-retirees and above a certain amount. Those two things alone could solve a good chunk of the deficit, though I do not know how much. Not very much now. The former, for example...currently covers something like 80% of total income. Raising the cap back to where it originally was would cover something like 90% of income. (That does, however, essentially make Social Security solvent forever).

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 10:25 AM) The article was interesting, and I agree with much of it, but... the author also suggests no solution. Anyone in here want to give it a try? Large scale, temporary, construction and infrastructure development spending program financed by the only group that can borrow cheaply in the current economy; the government. Get those factories back running on a temporary basis such that the capacity gap is mostly filled for a period, and private hiring will pick up as customers reappear.

Somehow, someone's going to look at this and say it is the union's fault.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 10:01 AM) "That is, we have factories sitting idle for lack of workers – low capacity utilization. At the same time we have workers sitting idle for lack of factories – high unemployment." That's always struck me as odd. We have people who want to work and people who would consume the goods or services produced if they could also work, but they all just sit at home. It makes sense though if you're recovering from a large shock/deleveraging that temporarily killed off demand for goods and services. Due to the bubble popping, balance sheets were suddenly $10 trillion or so worse off, so people cut back on expenditures. The factories making the products that were being sold cut back on making stuff because they were selling less, they cut back on people working, this eroded balance sheets further, and people cut back on spending further.

Today's stuff I want to post. NSFW on the language if you follow through to the link.

Today's stuff I want to post.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 09:40 AM) Surprised no one has posted this yet. Ozzie must have been drowning his sorrows last night, because around 1am, he sent out a salvo of tweets, all of which contained a link to the ESPN page that shows the Sox with an 11% chance of making the playoffs. Can anyone translate the Spanish better than a web engine can?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 09:24 AM) Well, many have exited his administration under a "cloud", if you will. I don't know if any of his close advisors have actually been indicted - I can't think of any off hand (maybe someone else can). I'll totally agree that there has been a "cloud" throughout his term there...I just don't feel like there have been many people thrown under the bus and actually sent to prison for anything. As such, I'll believe that someone will be indicted when the indictments roll down, and until then I'll express skepticism. For a similar example...I'm going to express skepticism that the Twins will not win their next 30 games until they lose a g*dd*mn game.

Have many of Daley's "lieutenants" gone down previously? I can't recall very many specific cases, and as such, I'm wondering how much things will change once he's personally gone.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 09:17 AM) Clearly, liberal media at work. From that liberal rag the NYT: Obama's plan; extend Bush's tax cuts for everyone except the highest wage earners. Compromise; giving the Republicans everything they want.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 01:18 AM) The 10 point Gallup GOP edge from last week? Completely gone this week. Of course, the take home message is not that Obama's prime time address last week changed anything...the point is that Gallup's poll is noisy, like many polls are...and yet last week, there was a slew of "Republicans surge to huge lead!" stories based on Gallup's data, and there are crickets chirping instead of "Democrats surge to close gap!" stories this week.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 08:56 AM) Oh, well, you didn't lay down any ground rules... If they keep up this pace and wind up with nearly 100 wins, we might well just have to tip our caps.

QUOTE (11and1 @ Sep 7, 2010 -> 10:49 PM) The instantaneous warnings make it counterproductive for the retaliating team. Tonight was the night, since no warnings were issued. We f****d it up and hit the umpire instead. You can't make this stuff up...... It's not even that though. Even when guys get hit repeatedly and on purpose and Hawk is sitting up in the booth saying "it will be dealt with", like after the Delmon Young/AJ play, and perfect opportunities to plunk Young come up (early in the game, nobody on base), we don't do it.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 08:33 AM) They'll have to lose eventually... Against NYC in the playoffs doesn't count.

QUOTE (T R U @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 04:04 AM) Soriano would have been a rental, we still have Jackson next season as well.. And I still think you are way ahead here on Hudson.. He could fall flat on his face next season with a full MLB rotation spot, you never know.. its too hard to say this was a bad trade right now.. That's exactly why the deal for Soriano fell through...KW doing the deal was contingent on Soriano signing a big money extension.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Sep 7, 2010 -> 04:15 PM) I wish we had a cardboard cutout to pull a piece off of for every time we win, ala Lou Brown... Who is the picture underneath?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 7, 2010 -> 04:12 PM) My opinion only, but, I'd bet that the setup here is to have some schmo take office, try to clean things up, fail miserably, look terrible, then Daley's son steps in. How old is his son/how long would they have to wait for him?

Mayor Rahm Emanuel?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 7, 2010 -> 03:52 PM) So when do the indictments happen? The day after Pete Carroll and John Calipari get caught by the NCAA.