Peter Navarro:China Tariffs are "not hurting anybody" in the US. Politifact: Pants on Fire!

[Alex2507]

Yeah, and you probably also enjoyed being differentiated by the quality and quantity of your work, rather than just seniority.

I'm going to respectfully disagree. Seniority has no bearing on who a company lays off. Granted, it's about 1 part performance and 2 parts personality that keeps you employed but when the work slows down or when a company gets sick of an employee, they're gone. Sometimes a company gets sick of a person after 15 or 20 years.

Quantity and quality of work have always mattered, union or non. I've been bumped out by younger and faster in the union. When work slows down, the bids have less profit built into the numbers but there is plenty of talent available to still make it work. That was how it was about 10 years ago when it was super slow. I was at the edge of my abilities, barely keeping up with a 50 sheet/day quota. To be clear, that's in the union.

The only good thing about doing drywall for about 30 years is all the beers.

Maybe your union experience wasn't with the building trades. My experience certainly wasn't with city workers or teachers unions or the UAW. Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, laborers, iron workers and the like actually need to perform. I've talked to you before about how the safety crap has impacted cost.

... and now I gotta go get ready do this again. Good chat.

 

[shadyJ]

One more point: as I am sure so many have read, Trump canceled his meeting with the Danish Prime Minister because they ruled out the possibility of the sale of Greenland to the US. Just imagine something like that occurring in a movie or a book, the American President cancelling a meeting because Denmark wouldn't sell Greenland. It would be implausibly stupid to put in any fiction aside from comedies such as 'Idiocracy'. Yet it really happened.

Consider: the absolute ignorance of history and culture to think that Denmark would be willing to sell Greenland, the mind-boggling stupidity to think that the USA could afford it, the incredible myopia needed to think that Greenland has such value that it should be purchased, and the jaw-dropping pettiness to cancel a meeting with a Prime Minister because they necessarily declined such an asinine proposition. Yet it really happened.

To continue this cringe-inducing spectacle, Trump called the Danish Prime Minister 'Nasty' and complained about the PM's 'not very nice' response. Somehow, an adult said that. Supposedly he has no mental disabilities or developmental delayment too. Just imagine if a Democratic President ever acted so childishly. It's pretty much impossible to even imagine that.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Oh really? How about this section written into the Medicare for All bill:

COMPETITIVE LICENSING AUTHORITY.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any exclusivity under clause (iii) or (iv) of section 505(j)(5)(F) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, clause (iii) or (iv) of section 505(c)(3)(E) of such Act, section 351(k)(7)(A) of the Public Health Service Act, or section 527(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or by an extension of such exclusivity under section 505A of such Act or section 505E of such Act, and any other provision of law that provides for market exclusivity (or extension of market exclusivity) with respect to a drug, in the case that the Secretary is unable to success fully negotiate an appropriate price for a covered drug for a negotiated price period, the Secretary shall authorize the use of any patent, clinical trial data, or other exclusivity granted by the Federal Government with respect to such drug as the Secretary determines appropriate for purposes of manufacturing such drug for sale under Medicare for All Program. Any entity making use of a competitive license to use patent, clinical trial data, or other exclusivity under this section shall provide to the manufacturer holding such exclusivity reasonable compensation, as determined by the Secretary based on the following factors:

(i) The risk-adjusted value of any Federal Government subsidies and investments in research and development used to support the development of such drug.

(ii) The risk-adjusted value of any investment made by such manufacturer in the research and development of such drug.

(iii) The impact of the price, including license compensation payments, on meeting the medical need of all patients at a reasonable cost.

(iv) The relationship between the price of such drug, including compensation payments, and the health benefits of such drug.

(v) Other relevant factors determined appropriate by the Secretary to provide reasonable compensation.


In other words, the government will confiscate the intellectual property of any company when the government's pricing demands are not met and the intellectual property is deemed crucial.

Regarding the higher tax rates of the 1950s and 1960s, hardly anyone paid those rates. More expenses were deductible, compensation was rerouted into expense accounts and club memberships, and a lot of compensation was through equity grants, just like today. And capital gains taxes were similar. Sheltering income was simpler. Those rates were so unsuccessful that they gave birth to the Alternative Minimum Tax act, which was really dumb, and eventually affected hundreds of thousand of workers in high tax states.

Sorry I took so long to respond, but life gets in the way.

Where you see this measure as a government power grab, others will see it as an effort to address predatory and extortionate pricing by drug makers. I suppose how you see it depends on what side of the issue you're on.

As for tax rates, you would know more about that than I, as American taxes aren't important enough to me to dig that deeply. So, I won't argue that point.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Really fellows it been one big joke since the JFK administration all the way todate! Truman administration which was before my time probably was the last time, the people had this country. It's been one big fiasco after that. Anyone remember the Bay of pigs? JFK, backed out on his so called promise, wasn't to long after that lil fiasco he was assassinated. He running up to Vegas to meet his little sweetheart. Yes the way one of our presidents was assassinated with his wife riding in the car next to him was as bad as it can get not to mention being filmed with media all around. Sad, very very sad the condition this country is in now. Drug gangs, kingpin drug lords, cartels, organized crime is rampant in this country. Not to mention all the corruption we have with some of our elected officials. Trillions of debt, broken down federal law enforcement. I could go on but you guys know this already. Those reasons that just stated, are why I could give a rats ass, who is put in that pretty little white house up in Washington. The legal citizens of this country done lost this country to the rich, powerful, and wealthy. The supreme judges our Supreme Court rule mostly in favor of political ties to whom they are associated with. The only way I see getting our country back is for each State elect better Representatives, kick out those 80 year olds who have been in Congress for 30, 40 plus years! Who do nothing for this country, but feed their special interest groups and their bank account. That's just my thoughts on this so called two party system that's all but ruined this country.

Term limits for EVERYBODY. No elected or appointed official can hold office for more than 8 years. And that's judicial, executive, or legislative. The world changes too fast.

Of course, no one in power is ever going to vote themselves out of power. So yeah, the people will have to take action... but don't hold your breath.

 

[GO-NAD!]

To continue this cringe-inducing spectacle, Trump called the Danish Prime Minister 'Nasty' and complained about the PM's 'not very nice' response. Somehow, an adult said that. Supposedly he has no mental disabilities or developmental delayment too. Just imagine if a Democratic President ever acted so childishly. It's pretty much impossible to even imagine that.

It certainly beggars belief. For someone in his position to suggest that buying and selling part of a country - with NO regard for the desires of its people - is still a thing, is mind-boggling. And, imagine what it would do to the already increasing federal debt.

This isn't helping much either:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/trump-disployalty-1.5255203

 

[Ponzio]

I'm going to respectfully disagree. Seniority has no bearing on who a company lays off. Granted, it's about 1 part performance and 2 parts personality that keeps you employed but when the work slows down or when a company gets sick of an employee, they're gone. Sometimes a company gets sick of a person after 15 or 20 years.

Quantity and quality of work have always mattered, union or non. I've been bumped out by younger and faster in the union. When work slows down, the bids have less profit built into the numbers but there is plenty of talent available to still make it work. That was how it was about 10 years ago when it was super slow. I was at the edge of my abilities, barely keeping up with a 50 sheet/day quota. To be clear, that's in the union.

The only good thing about doing drywall for about 30 years is all the beers.

Maybe your union experience wasn't with the building trades. My experience certainly wasn't with city workers or teachers unions or the UAW. Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, laborers, iron workers and the like actually need to perform. I've talked to you before about how the safety crap has impacted cost.

... and now I gotta go get ready do this again. Good chat.

I agree.

I've had both union (RCA) and non-union (NEC) tech jobs and in both instances the quality and volume of worked performed saved me over more long tenured employees during slow downs. Management simply assigned me a new title each time. It happened all the time and for various employees and not just in the tech field, from talking to other people in the building trades.

As Rocky told Bullwinkle, you're on your own Moose

 

[highfigh]

I'm sure England great Britain would have a lot to say about it too. Even though the two are the same country. NY just loves kissing some Royal a$$. Just read any media story. You'll find just about anything on the royals over in England. Prince Andrew just took a golden s$$t breaking news. They way I look at it, they should give Greenland to the United States! How much is owed to us taxpayers, just from protecting the world sorry-ass from dictators and communists, and Islamic extremist, isis, let's not forget the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan! I'm with Trump on the one issue, pull all our troops from South Korea, pull our nukes from Turkey, stop paying taxpayers dollars to those who take taxpayers money, than hide out terrorist like Pakistan did with Osama bin laden!! Politics? My a$$! And wide out our debt also!! I would bet my last dime, if the United States with just sit back, let Iran, china, North Korea, Russia them evil bastards! Run amok the world would be begging.

Those nukes in Turkey are positioned to prevent Russia going nuts and taking over in Ukraine and other places.The damage would take a long time to repair, it it even could be.

The World economy is the reason Russia doesn't invade other countries- they need us too much. I worry far less about Russia than Muslim extremists.

 

[highfigh]

Because it's fascinating! Maybe not in a good way, but nevertheless...
To paraphrase: "Never in the field of observing another country's politics was so much popcorn consumed by so few".

So, it's like being a little kid in the 1960s, watching an Alfred Hitchcock movie? Morbid curiosity?

 

[highfigh]

As for Sanders' net worth, if he has three homes, one being a town house in DC, there is no way his net worth is only $2M.

Don't forget the income from his wife, from the now defunct college she ran and where she was accused of fraud in a land deal.

 

[highfigh]

When Obama was told of Russian efforts to interfere with our electoral process, he didn't do nothing. He might have done enough, but at least he acted.

Exactly, what did he do? He said that the US election process couldn't be hacked because it's too decentralized. Beyond that, I haven't seen that he did anything.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I'm going to respectfully disagree. Seniority has no bearing on who a company lays off. Granted, it's about 1 part performance and 2 parts personality that keeps you employed but when the work slows down or when a company gets sick of an employee, they're gone. Sometimes a company gets sick of a person after 15 or 20 years.

Quantity and quality of work have always mattered, union or non. I've been bumped out by younger and faster in the union. When work slows down, the bids have less profit built into the numbers but there is plenty of talent available to still make it work. That was how it was about 10 years ago when it was super slow. I was at the edge of my abilities, barely keeping up with a 50 sheet/day quota. To be clear, that's in the union.

The only good thing about doing drywall for about 30 years is all the beers.

Maybe your union experience wasn't with the building trades. My experience certainly wasn't with city workers or teachers unions or the UAW. Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, laborers, iron workers and the like actually need to perform. I've talked to you before about how the safety crap has impacted cost.

... and now I gotta go get ready do this again. Good chat.

That was not my union experience. Lectured by the union rep about working too fast, hours allocated by seniority, lay-offs by seniority. High union dues. Every worker was interchangeable. I'm glad to hear that in the construction trades it might be different.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Where you see this measure as a government power grab, others will see it as an effort to address predatory and extortionate pricing by drug makers. I suppose how you see it depends on what side of the issue you're on.

This part of the draft bill is just a derivation of a US law called Eminent Domain, which allows governments to confiscate land for the public good, for example to build power transmission lines. (As an aside, the amusing thing about Eminent Domain laws is that they work in a hierarchy. A state government can claim land from local governments, and the feds can claim land from the states. Of course, any government can claim land from an individual. I get an odd sense of satisfaction from the spectacle of watching the grabbers get grabbed.). But patents and other intellectual property aren't land, which is a unique and physically limited resource; intellectual property is the same as any other property, and is protected by the 5th amendment. What Sanders is saying is that when property rights are inconvenient, we'll just ignore the Constitution and seize the property anyway. And, to make matters worse, in the negotiation process the bill tries to divert the compensation claims to the Court of Federal Claims, rather than the US Circuit Courts, which is stacking the deck in favor of the government.

So everyone hates the drug companies for seemingly trying to profit from human misery, but let's turn this precedent around to get closer to home, literally. Once you let the government seize personal property for the public good you're on a very slippery slope. Let's say you're an empty nester and you have a big house with a few empty bedrooms. The government says there's a big problem with homeless people, and for the public good you're going to have to take in homeless people to live in those bedrooms, and the government will compensate you based on a formula they come up with. And you don't get to choose who the homeless people are either. And there's no requirement that the law gets applied evenly. You may have to take homeless people in, but your neighbor doesn't. Yes, I'm turning up the contrast, but legally there's no difference. Property is all the same to the laws. Private property is either protected or it isn't.

 

[shadyJ]

Exactly, what did he do? He said that the US election process couldn't be hacked because it's too decentralized. Beyond that, I haven't seen that he did anything.

I know you might have missed this, since it wouldn't have been reported on foxnews or breitbart or stormfront or where ever you get your fascist propaganda, but Obama did take action, although perhaps not strong enough action.

That was not my union experience. Lectured by the union rep about working too fast, hours allocated by seniority, lay-offs by seniority. High union dues. Every worker was interchangeable. I'm glad to hear that in the construction trades it might be different.

That is certainly not my experience as a former USW member. Our union fought for decent benefits and a living wage but did not protect stupidity and laziness.

 

[highfigh]

I know you might have missed this, since it wouldn't have been reported on foxnews or breitbart or stormfront or where ever you get your fascist propaganda, but Obama did take action, although perhaps not strong enough action.

You and your type need to stop assuming- you're usually wrong. I asked a simple question and you chose to assume my sources were three of the ones I DON'T use, but because the mainstream media are so slanted, I probably wouldn't have found an unbiased source, so I asked, rather than look it up.

And you still didn't bother to answer my question.

 

[Irvrobinson]

That is certainly not my experience as a former USW member. Our union fought for decent benefits and a living wage but did not protect stupidity and laziness.

I'm heartened to hear from you and Alex, but my experience was profoundly negative. And from watching the exploits of teachers unions and other government employee unions my experience still seems to run rampant. And there are a lot of contracts where seniority is paramount, like the UAW contracts.

 

[lovinthehd]

I'm heartened to hear from you and Alex, but my experience was profoundly negative. And from watching the exploits of teachers unions and other government employee unions my experience still seems to run rampant. And there are a lot of contracts where seniority is paramount, like the UAW contracts.

Is seniority any worse than the old white boys club that run many corporations?

 

[Irvrobinson]

Is seniority any worse than the old white boys club that run many corporations?

Yes.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes.

How so? Both yield people in positions they don't deserve. Met quite a few useless corporate guys in my career whose only saving grace was having been a fraternity brother, or related, or married into positions. Usually these guys made far more than any union guys with seniority, too.

 

[Irvrobinson]

How so? Both yield people in positions they don't deserve. Met quite a few useless corporate guys in my career whose only saving grace was having been a fraternity brother, or related, or married into positions. Usually these guys made far more than any union guys with seniority, too.

I can't speak to companies which are privately held, because they can do anything they want that's legal. Publicly held companies have to produce competitive returns on investment, or the management typically gets replaced. I've only worked for public companies, and the landscape is littered with ex-VPs and CEOs who don't perform, even when they are old white guys. Seniority in union contracts is often paramount, and unless they're derelict lack of performance doesn't matter.

 

[lovinthehd]

I can't speak to companies which are privately held, because they can do anything they want that's legal. Publicly held companies have to produce competitive returns on investment, or the management typically gets replaced. I've only worked for public companies, and the landscape is littered with ex-VPs and CEOs who don't perform, even when they are old white guys. Seniority in union contracts is often paramount, and unless they're derelict lack of performance doesn't matter.

Yeah, that's the theory. Met plenty at public companies.