[dorknexus]

ha! i'm a civilian engineer/scientist employed by the department of the navy == essential. although, apparently the people who sign my paychecks are considered non-essential (wtf?) which means i'm not going to be receiving a paycheck until the furlough is over.

reasons to have a years worth of your living expenses saved up.

[supersloth]

hookiethe1, on 08 April 2011 - 08:49 AM, said:

I feel bad for Obama, I think he could have been a really good President, but it'd be just about impossible for anybody to come out on top after the pile of shit he was handed.

to be fair, he hasn't done himself a lot of favors since he got in. example: passing a budget last year when democrats controlled both houses. example 2: libya. example 3: guantanamo bay. example 4: keeping the status quo in iraq and afghanistan. example 5: signing an extension of the bush tax cuts.

blech blech blech.

This post has been edited by supersloth: 08 April 2011 - 08:57 AM

[MATTtheSEAHAWK]

Dark_Nexus, on 08 April 2011 - 08:50 AM, said:

ha! i'm a civilian engineer/scientist employed by the department of the navy == essential. although, apparently the people who sign my paychecks are considered non-essential (wtf?) which means i'm not going to be receiving a paycheck until the furlough is over.

reasons to have a years worth of your living expenses saved up.

Thats messed up. Good luck with that. I would think that that is an essential job.

[Craig328]

Sethro117, on 08 April 2011 - 11:43 AM, said:

I'm going to buy an island. Change of plan, Ecuador.

Ah. Good choice. Pretty country, nice people. I have a good friend from college who is Ecuadorian (lives in Toronto these days). He wouldn't move back. Ever. For one thing, while the employment rate there is about the same, the average Ecuadorian earns about $1,280 whereas the average American earns around $38,000.

Good luck!

hookiethe1, on 08 April 2011 - 11:47 AM, said:

Actually Craig, the government before the current one in Australia raised taxes and trimmed budgets and in the space of 2 terms reduced Australia's foreign debt to zero.

Well, I'm going to guess that their debt situation wasn't as severe as ours to begin with. That said, you're exactly right. The only way to fix the deficit and debt is to raise taxes and cut spending. Problem is, the American Congress is REALLY good at raising taxes...they have absolutely no clue how to spend within their means. You cannot achieve success with only one of the solutions, you have to have both and quite a few Americans aren't willing to, once again, have their taxes fucked with when the government has shown zero inclination to control themselves. It's time for the government to show they're serious and at least pass a balanced budget, much less a surplus one.

Quote

On the technology thing, didn't Bill sell the Chinese the technology to be able to locate and track our stealth subs? That was a fucking brilliant idea.

No, he didn't. At least, he didn't do so directly. Things happen during a president's term that you can't blame directly on the man as if he himself pulled the drives, walked them over to the Chinese embassy and exchanged them for a briefcase full of unmarked bills. His administration was responsible for lax security and oversight (as well as gutting the CIA's humint capabilities which often gets swept under the rug) so only insofar as his being responsible for his appointees actions go is he to blame.

However, Al Gore WAS practically the bag man at a Chinese temple where he personally accepted contributions to the DNC that he absolutely knew originated from Chinese government agents. To me, selling out your country in favor of your political party should have been rewarded with a bullet or an eternal stay in Joliet.

[Craig328]

supersloth, on 08 April 2011 - 11:55 AM, said:

to be fair, he hasn't done himself a lot of favors since he got in. example: passing a budget last year when democrats controlled both houses. example 2: libya. example 3: guantanamo bay. example 4: keeping the status quo in iraq and afghanistan. example 5: signing an extension of the bush tax cuts.

blech blech blech.

Well, if we are being fair, I can't blame him for number 1. (he's Obama, not Reid/Pelosi), number 2 (he has passed the air campaign on to NATO and Ghadaffi was slaughtering people), number 3 (he's been fully briefed and whatever info he now has he thinks it trumps the PR gain of keeping a campaign promise), number 4 (he hasn't kept the status quo as we're on track in Iraq per his pledges to draw down and we're gaining in Afghanistan which is better than cutting and running).

There is a marked difference between what a guy says when he's ignorant and on the campaign trail and what he does when he's in office and has full access to all the information. It often does make him look like he's backing out on campaign promises but the real culprit there is that he made promises in what he had to know was ignorance. Happens to every president.

[Sethro117]

I have money saved so I can buy a place for cheap. I only eat fruits and veggies so I can grow everything. Plus with that I could just do my business remote to make a living.

[Craig328]

Sethro117, on 08 April 2011 - 12:13 PM, said:

I have money saved from my living in affluence in the United States relative to Ecuador so I can exploit the difference between the two which no native Ecuadoran could and buy a place for cheap to me but what is probably anything but to my new neighbors. I only eat fruits and veggies so I can grow everything. Plus with that I could just do my business remote to make a living.

So, you're good with taking the benefit of the country you're abandoning and using it to exploit your destination country? You realize when American businesses do that, they're scorned by some for exploiting cheap labor, lax local environmental laws and the like. It's okay when individuals do it tho?

I'm not being intentionally mean...just pointing out a slight bit of blindness with your cunning plan.

This post has been edited by Craig328: 08 April 2011 - 09:29 AM

[Sethro117]

I earned the money while here. It's mine. I paid taxes on it, the rest is MINE which I can do whatever I choose to do with it. And who said I wouldnt give back to Ecuador? I dont have to hire anyone, I can take the jobs I have remote now and do it from anywhere. The reasons businesses are scorned is because it takes away jobs. My leaving would be providing one.

[Craig328]

Um...yep. You've got it all worked out.

Hasta luego!

[Sethro117]

Damn...I should probably learn Spanish eh?

[Craig328]

Why? You're going to grow your own food (sin grocerias o mercados para usted), hire no locals (ningun empleados hispanicos) and all your other needs (utilities, transportation, companionship, mail, bills, entertainment) will all somehow work themselves out.

I wouldn't sweat it.

[hookiethe1]

Sethro117, on 08 April 2011 - 09:51 AM, said:

Damn...I should probably learn Spanish eh?

Don't stress, you'll pick it up quick, it's just English with an "el" at the front and an "o" at the end. El trusto el meo!

[supersloth]

so el trueo.

[Craig328]

T3h lulz. Not just for gringos anymore.

This post has been edited by Craig328: 08 April 2011 - 11:09 AM

[Sethro117]

Damn it Craig! Why you always gotta make sense! You ruin everything!