thank your once again sir

Perhaps i missed the sarcasm, in which case i apologize, but you do understand that the devaluation (cheapening, if you will) of our currency is pretty much the definition of inflation right? And lowering the cost of our exports to other countries also hurts our economy, as it lowers the amount of money we import?

This is quite common. Personally know two people that have been robbed by police. Cops are people too I suppose. Some good, some bad.

You are correct. But Dickie even mentions in his first Red Cell book that the stories and details were fiction. He was not authorized to share real information as it was all classified.

To put things simply; there are many different forms of antidepressants, most of which are quite harmless to MOST people. But there are possible (but rare) reactions in people that can cause pretty much any type of mental and/or physical problem you can think of. Also, if one stops use of these medications (of certain categories) suddenly, you will likely have a return of symptoms that is greater in magnitude than you originally had prior to starting on these medications.

I heard ambien mentioned earlier, this medication does alter ones mental status. I've heard of people taking this drug and waking up in a gas station the next town over in their PJ's. Again, these cases are more on the rare side, but it does happen.

Red Cell did actually exist, although the stories in the books are fiction. They were disbanded back in the 90's.

I could be wrong, but I think the Civil War put an end to states having the final say in anything.

Grandmother always said; "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".

I know I am about to offer a huge generalization, but from what I've seen here in my state, many, or most democrats will treat issues without putting much thought into solutions, or trying to predict outcomes. To many (and I've heard it mentioned by several here on mingle), doing "anything" is better than doing nothing.

For instance, here in Maine, legislation was written to expand welfare to include a broader base of clients on the healthcare front. Funding for this was an afterthought. Hospitals were forced to take patients, and the state, not being able to afford it, just wouldn't pay the bill. The result over the course of a decade or so, was the state owing our hospitals $400+ million, which is a ton of money for a low populated, low income state. This actually caused quite a few job cuts, and salary decreases.

Democrats wanted to expand healthcare again, without answering this debt. Our republican governor actually resorted to vetoing virtually everything that came across his desk until they payed back the money (a compromise was reached and some of the money was paid). He got a TON of backlash for this.

I believe Ben Franklin said "Never confuse motion for action".

That being said, I have wondered if the long-term effects of welfare is beneficial at all economically.

Took a sociology class where the instructor was a relationship therapist. According to her you have two separate entities in a relationship that depend on one another.

1. Sex

2. Other forms of affection and romance (like the "support" you spoke of).

When one suffers, the other will eventually follow, so both are important to keeping a healthy relationship. When there is a good physical reason one area is lacking than a couple, who are committed, will find ways to work around it.

She also mentioned that if there is something, anything, missing in a relationship that one person finds important, he/she will find said thing elsewhere. She claims it is important to remember that fact, and the fact that your significant other will NEVER be "off the market". This is important because it reminds us to never get complacent. We must continue to go out of our way to please those that are so special to us with the same vigilance we used to win him/her over.

In response to the OP, I say if they are in international waters, let them hang out where they please.

Think our best response is to not take it seriously (maybe even turn it into a joking matter) and let the Iranians wear themselves out. If they try anything stupid or threatening we could blow them out of the water with the snap of a finger.

JMO

No, MY daddy can beat YOUR daddy up...

Seriously guys, we really arguing about this?

Special Air Service. Started a while back as a counter terrorist group. Comparable to DEVGRU (what people call Seal Team 6) and Delta Force. We actually based the training of these two groups on SAS training.

Thanks for info. Done plenty of research on this. Spoke with physician recruiters at 2 different hospitals. Only way for Docs to make money is private practice. Affordable Care Act is likely to make things tougher on them now. Hospitals are gunning after Doctors' salaries pretty hard (General practitioners start at 125K, for instance). Saw two ER docs get fired for refusing pay cuts.

Upon graduation from medical school, if military benefits haven't been further cut, I was planning on joining again to pay off my student loans. There are still ways around it, but they are becoming fewer and further between. Docs aren't the only ones with issues. Law school graduates are another. Seen nurses graduate with 6 figure debt.

Perhaps if it wasn't so easy to sign a piece of paper instead of being forced to shop for the best school for the least amount of money, we would be better off. I really do see banks being a major culprit in this arena.

Agree completely

Not necessarily. Doctors don't get paid as much as one would think. 150k a year is almost nothing with $3000+ monthly student loan payments, and $15,000 a year in malpractice insurance. Not to mention many MD careers are taking cuts in pay while being expected to take on more patients.

And yes, I agree with your example on spending large sums to get B.S. degrees. That is probably the majority of the problem today with un-managed student loans.

That being said, its horrible to have 7%+ interest on 300k+ of debt. So i guess what Im trying to say, is that I don't see a problem with allowing these loans to be consolidated at a lower interest. Its essentially private banks dealing with private banks. Only thing the government pays is the interest while said student is attending college.

Non prestigious medical schools are around 180k. After paying for a 4 year degree that is prestigious enough to compete for a slot in the 180k program. Many cost more. Got friends graduating 300k in debt.

Irresponsible, perhaps. But costs and interest rates are killing people.

Law school is more than 100k. Hit or miss as far income is concerned after graduation.

I agree. Going to college for the sake of going to college is foolish nowadays. You need a plan. But this is madness. Honestly I wish banks would have stayed out of college from the beginning. Costs would be MUCH lower.

See, I really wish he would explain this a bit more. How in the world is he "lifting" anyone to the "middle class"? How is he planning on increasing anyone's income?

OC, for instance, costing a couple $700 monthly with outrageous deductibles while simultaneously decreasing the tax brake on medical expenses. This couple is middle income, and now health care costs have increased.

There was an interesting proposition an economist brought up once about attaching the dollar to infrastructure instead of gold or fiat currency. Government wouldn't be able to just print the money, instead they would have to build a bridge, or building, etc. Was quite interesting. Your comment made me think of it.

If it's something people benefit from directly, then it does, indeed, constitute capital.

Think what he was trying to say this the economy is truly boosted if the job created creates capital as well. This is primarily a public market deal. Unless uncle sam hires a bunch of people to produce vehicles or houses, etc., pays those employees fair wages, and sells those products for fair prices...

Any job that doesn't, only redistributes wealth, instead of building or adding to the economy.

If greed were defined as "desire for excess", than it is what drives our economy, produces food, builds homes, cars etc. Greed matched with productivity can be beneficial everyone.

The desire to obtain these things without providing efforts to contribute is a problem. These people can be found in all income brackets.

It can be the able-bodied person wanting an increase in welfare benefits while refusing to find a job. Or it can be the person making a $1M+ annually who continually gets raises each year, while only works 3 months, and cuts employees' wages/benefits to maintain his lifestyle.

I personally know people from both categories.

Luckily here in the U.S. one can obtain necessities regardless of income. You just have to know where to look.