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The Biden Presidency

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ahhell said:
I'd more than that, that someone somewhere already has.

I think is was Wilson that started that tradition. Presidents are required to report on the state of the Union, it started as mostly a written report.

And we are obligated by treaty to defend all but about four of those 13, mostly from two of those 13.

Personally, I don't disagree, we spend too much on the military, but what happens if we stop? I think the results of that will be terrible unless some other at least equally responsible actors step up. Europe or the Asian democracies need to before we can realistically pull back with out some fairly dire consequences.
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What i want to know is where exactly do we make the cuts?
Sorry, but I still feel a lot of this is driven by a dislike of the military based on ideological grounds.
I also think a lot of htem know nothing about modern military and defense strategy.
 
dudalb said:
What i want to know is where exactly do we make the cuts?
Sorry, but I still feel a lot of this is driven by a dislike of the military based on ideological grounds.
I also think a lot of htem know nothing about modern military and defense strategy.
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Here's one proposal. It's not huge cuts.
 
Paul2 said:
Here's one proposal. It's not huge cuts.
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Excellent article.
I am very skeptical about the need to upgrade our Nuclear Arsenal. It.s not like you need a nuke to be superaccurate......
The F 35 i have not made up my mind on. It has had a lot of problems, but our current strike fighter fleet is simply wearing out and is going to have to be replaced. Don't know if back to square one is the most economical move.
And some troubled programs do have good endings. The Osprey had more of it's share of problems, but they seemed to have been finally fixed, and it's working like it was supposed to..and the services all love it. And, once again it was a case that the heavy helicopter fleet was simply wearing out and needed to be replaced.
 
dudalb said:
If you want to argue the military is overfunded, OK, but question is how strong a Military sould the US have? IMHO, given the state of the world, we need a pretty damn strong one. if we can have that for less money, I am all for that.
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Does it have to be one strong enough to take on all the rest of the worlds armies at once?
 
I guess, but with the way wars are actually being fought, when's the last time the US got into an air battle, or a naval battle, or a tank battle? There's an awful lot of equipment that doesn't really do anything, and if that stuff exists solely as a deterrent, they already have better ones. I think it could be stronger, cheaper, and more practical.
 
dirtywick said:
I guess, but with the way wars are actually being fought, when's the last time the US got into an air battle, or a naval battle, or a tank battle? There's an awful lot of equipment that doesn't really do anything, and if that stuff exists solely as a deterrent, they already have better ones. I think it could be stronger, cheaper, and more practical.
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The cyber defense front, in particular, is much more urgent to focus on than building more tanks, at last check. Ships and Air have at least some notable general value. Tanks... if Russia invades Ukraine and we actually provide some direct help, then maybe there would be some use for them in modern times?
 
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dirtywick said:
I guess, but with the way wars are actually being fought, when's the last time the US got into an air battle, or a naval battle, or a tank battle? There's an awful lot of equipment that doesn't really do anything, and if that stuff exists solely as a deterrent, they already have better ones. I think it could be stronger, cheaper, and more practical.
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Problem is if you get in to an air battle, naval battle or tank battle it's a bit late to order some tanks or ships or aircraft.
 
What do you mean? Just dump in some gold to rush production, and voila--tanks.

Of course, they don't have the promotions they would have if they were produced in the Barracks.
 
Biden is acting to reverse some of Trump's anti-abortion policies...

From: ABC News
The Biden administration on Wednesday began to undo a Trump-era ban on clinics referring women for abortions, a policy directive that drove Planned Parenthood from the federal family planning program and created new complications for women trying to get birth control.
...
However, the Biden administration stopped short of immediately suspending the Trump regulation, an additional step that some abortion rights advocates had sought. The Trump policy will remain in effect until it is formally superseded by the Biden rule, a process that can take months. Biden administration officials believe that exercising restraint now will increase the odds of the changes ultimately being upheld in court.

So a start to things, but he still has to navigate a potential legal minefield.
 
Tax Cheats Cost The U.S. More Than Previously Thought by Andrew Keshner

The Internal Revenue Service could be missing out on collecting approximately
$1 trillion every year from taxpayers who are not paying their full tab, Charles
Rettig, the tax collector agency’s commissioner, said Tuesday.

“It would not be outlandish to believe that the actual tax gap could approach
and possibly exceed $1 trillion dollars,” Rettig told members of the Senate
Finance Committee.

“We do get out-gunned. There’s no other way to say it,” he later added.

The $1 trillion number was “shocking,” said Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat
from Maryland.
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It finally happened.
Government income taxation is obsolete.
Time for a fair tax on goods and services perhaps?
 
Solitaire said:
Tax Cheats Cost The U.S. More Than Previously Thought by Andrew Keshner
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But... but... Trump promised in 2016 that he was an expert in taxes and would fix the problems in the tax system! And the republican tax cuts for the wealthy was supposed to somehow make businesses and the wealthy more honest! What happened?
It finally happened.
Government income taxation is obsolete.
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I wouldn't say 'obsolete'. There are inefficiencies, but they still pull in hundreds of billions per year.
Time for a fair tax on goods and services perhaps?
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Perhaps. But then, you might just be shifting the tax cheating from "not paying income tax" to "not paying sales tax". (E.g. more private sales where the retailer doesn't charge the required taxes.)
 
Segnosaur said:
Perhaps. But then, you might just be shifting the tax cheating from "not paying income tax" to "not paying sales tax". (E.g. more private sales where the retailer doesn't charge the required taxes.)
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Which is far easier for the rich to arrange than for the poor.

No I didn't buy a $2M boat, I bought a $100k boat with a two year $1.9M warranty. Practically a dingy, really, but you know how expensive repairs can be on a boat.
 
Mitch McConnell says “What we are confronted with here is a totally left-wing administration trying to transform America into something no one voted for last year.”
 
Can we not have a catch-all thread for the Biden Presidency?

We never did this here for any president until Trump came along, and I believe it was because there would have been hundreds of Trump threads. Special circumstances and all that.

I can't keep track of conversations in this thread. My 2 cents.
 
dudalb said:
I think the FBI should inform the company before they hack.Not comfortable with them just doing it wihtout any notification.
The possibilty for abuses are endless.
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The article says they are attempting to contact the companies. I see no reason to assume they hack then notify as opposed to notify then hack.
 
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