TxHoops

I thought we already established Gates and Jobs are/were highly intelligent. As good democrats, how could they not be. As for their education, both were exceedingly bright and could have finished at prestigious schools had they chosen. Both chose to take advantage of their tech skills instead. They may not be stock brokers, but they did pretty well for themselves. You seem to be full of questions and not answers. Maybe you aspire(d) to be a lawyer. Despite the fact that few of your questions could withstand objection in a court of law, I will play along you since you spend hours a day posing questions to others on this site and thus, perhaps merit some answers. The government is certainly can be more efficient than some private enterprises. Otherwise some companies, including a few in your field, would need to "bail out" the government and not vice versa. However, by and large, I agree with your premise. As for your litany of questions with regard to the President (with whom you may have an unhealthy obsession), I would say I do, in fact, have a problem with hypocrisy and unfulfilled promises. I won't make any assumptions as to whether he believed what he was saying when he said those things. As I won't when GHWB had us read his lips. I will say that in my humble opinion, history will not be particularly kind to any president elected thus far in this millennium.

Now to my theory on long term answers to the economy: First of all, it is a theory because obviously no one holds the magic answer to the question. If they did, we would have been doing it for some time and living in a utopian society. If you think you do, you are a fool (your vast fortune notwithstanding). However, we all have our thoughts and opinions and who knows if we are right. Our beliefs are our beliefs and we are entitled to them. I believe the biggest ill in our country (and in our state for sure) is the failure to educate. Specifically, our public education is severely lacking. You see, I believe education is the great equalizer. Education is power, or at a minimum empowering. We have undervalued it in our country for too long. Sure we talk about its importance and almost every politician has it in their platform. But we never see any serious reform. We see how important we believe it is when our teachers, those charged with shaping our children and, thus, our future, are paid just enough to survive if they keep to a right budget. It is appalling. I am not against government spending, per se, but I am against it when it is irresponsible. And in this millennium, we have seen it happen often with two different presidents from two different parties. It is not helpful to the discussion to say, "yeah, but he did it more!" Any of it is unnecessary. And far, FAR too much of it is spent overseas when we have so much to do within our borders. Yes, I believe welfare reform is needed. But it will take more than merely drug testing the recipients. If someone receives benefits, require them to be working, actively pursuing jobs (with proof), or best, working on an education. Put more money into grants and less into other forms of assistance. Make it more attractive financially to be working towards a degree than receiving assistance. If we become more educated as a society, a lot of other problems (crime, drugs, homelessness, poverty) will slowly eradicate themselves. We do a poor job in this country of educating the masses. For instance, I am not appalled by the recent discussions of student loan forgiveness. They have done this for years in the UK. I lived in London and can tell you with no reservation, the Brits, as a whole, are better educated than we are. Are our brightest and best educated behind theirs? Absolutely not and the reverse is probably true. But as a whole, top to bottom, they are well ahead of us. Don't believe me? Go spend some time there and visit with the people. They do not have anywhere near the "gap" we have in this country. As a result, walk down almost any street in London, at 3 am, bearing in mind that their law enforcement officers aren't armed. Do the same in NYC or LA and let me know where you felt safest. Hell do it it in Houston or Beaumont for that matter. It really is amazing. If we would spend more in areas where we are truly benefiting our people, I have no problem with the taxes we pay. And I have no problem paying a higher percentage than those who aren't as fortunate as me. The wealth gap in this country continues to expand and that is not healthy. If history has taught us anything, it is when a powerful country has an elite few who have everything and masses with nothing, it is bound to fail. You have to try and figure out how to pull up those beneath you, not hold them down. Although it is not the only answer, education is a great place to start.

May not be directly related but certainly helps. Ultimately you still have to make your way. I appreciate your concern but I am doing fine. I won't be switching to a career as a trader anytime soon. Since you seem to measure intelligence and success on wealth, who would you imagine is the wealthiest self-made individual in this area? Are you aware he is a hard-core democrat?

Interesting. I agree there is more to education than formal education. I was referring to your comment about google. I have a four year degree with honors. An advanced degree from the top school in the state in my field with studies in a joint program at two European colleges, one arguably the most prestigious on that continent. Oh and I passed one of the exams you were told was harder than the securities exam on my first try, after self studying, and finished in the top 10 percent of those taking the exam in my class. Where's my cookie?

You asked for answers not explanations and I gave them to you. And once again, you broad brushed a question so I said it depends. On a number of variables. In general, I agree with your assertion regarding the private markets assuming a number of variables which I did not have time to get into. As I stated, I will be happy to give you my thoughts on what reforms are needed when I get the time. And I will do it in this thread. Patience is a virtue Nash. As for Google, I have noticed you asking people to google a particular term or query numerous times on this board. I would agree with you that it is a good search engine. If you are assuming that is what I rely on for my information, once again heed the old saying about assuming. I assure you that you probably don't want to get into a comparison of educations with me. ;)

Nash - yes, no, and depends. Smitty - I think you think you know ;)

As am I. Particularly with this question. And I am pretty confident that my answer will be different than yours. But I am more than willing to be educated. :) As for the ills of the economy, you more than most knows there is no absolute blue print to a robust economy (much like the stock markets - as you well know). However, many of us have our opinions as to what is the best strategy to fostering a strong economy. I will be happy to share my opinion later when I have a little more time. As for who is to blame for the ills, the correct answer is there is plenty of blame to go around.

By the way, your assumption why I haven't answered is off base. (See what I mean about assuming?). I really wanted you and/or Smitty to provide your answer(s). I can't decide if you know the correct answer or not. From one of smitty's comments, I lean toward he doesn't (but could easily be wrong). Then again, I guess there could be multiple correct answers to ambiguous questions; hence, the ambiguity.

You know what they say about "assuming." And come on Nash! You are a pro at avoiding answering questions when the answer doesn't suit your cause! You deflect like you're at the net with a 100 mph forehand coming at your head.

I will provide you with this answer. Epic thread title fail 😂

Since a President has no authority to "raid," "invade," or borrow from the social security trust, perhaps you guys are still asking poorly worded question? Or maybe just failing to make whatever point you are jointly trying to make?

It WAS the debt which tripled under Reagan...since we're talking numbers....

When attempting to educate, it is helpful when the question you ask isn't premised on a term such as "raid," which is ambiguous as best. If you rephrase the question with more specificity, I will be glad to take a shot at the answer. For instance, had you asked under which president was social security created, I would have answered FDR. If you had asked under which president did social security annuities begin being taxed, I would have answered Reagan.

Trust me when I tell you the Democrats are praying it's not ;)

Pressure squarely on heat. Game 4 is now win or die.

Great kid and athlete. You would have several options with him.

Do you know what the price tag on the war in the Middle East is? Last I read was somewhere in the $4-$6 Trillion range. Seems a little in excess of the $100 to $200 Billion estimated by W's NEC Director....

It appears you don't want to answer the question.  Which tells me you already know the answer.  ;)

  No doubt the debt has skyrocketed.  To what would you attribute that rise?  Or better yet, what has been the biggest consumer of our federal expenditures?

  You are correct.  I misspoke.   The debt tripled during his presidency...

Oh, and the deficit also tripled during his presidency.

And yet the economy flourished. As it did with a subsequent president who was a democrat and was able to work with a republican congress. One was more liberal than the neoconservatives want to believe; the other was more conservative than the far left liberals want to believe. And despite being from different parties, may be the best two presidents of my lifetime.

I raised taxes 11 times during my presidency. I raised taxes 7 out of my 8 years in office, including 4 times in a 2 year period. I granted amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants which helped millions more family members achieve American residency. Who am I?

That is so un-football. Yet it sounds awesome.

3 out of 8 teams in Omaha from the great State. Awesome.