The Real timschochet

This is the best argument I’ve read yet. The problem with these discussions, always, is that the sample size is too small, and that as important as the QB is, the team around him needs to play well. You could have added that until Peyton Manning got his first ring, he was also largely considered a choker in the big games, especially when Tom Brady was on the other side.

Actually I’m not blaming Trump for the deficit. He ignored it and increased it, but that’s no different from every other President in living memory. But I’m not giving him credit for trying to reduce it either, which some have done here. Thats laughable. And I’m certainly not going to entertain the argument that somehow Republicans are more responsible on this issue than Democrats because that’s absurd. Neither party has shown any fiscal responsibility whatsoever and that’s because they will lose elections if they do and they know it. We’re going to have to live with this problem. It’s so large that at this point it’s basically unfixable because the American people will never accept the cost involved. So we had better hope our economy keeps growing because that’s all we have.

I strongly disagree with you about how Biden is perceived around the world vs the previous President. But the purpose of this thread wasn’t to bash Biden OR Trump. My question was how we should respond to this current event.

The narrative that Biden somehow decreased oil production from what it was under Trump is obviously untrue.

The numbers you’re posting here are all higher under Biden. So I don’t understand your point.

These are isolationist thoughts that have no bearing on reality.

Cutting foreign aid creates instability which would actually increase the need for military spending. In addition it would create far more refugees and people swarming our borders even more than we have now. Foreign aid is one of our best investments; it’s literally pennies on the dollar:

But I keep providing links. Look above. I asked him to prove me wrong because my position on this issue isn’t really all that controversial, or even challenged by economists. You can’t reduce the deficit unless you’re willing to tackle military spending, Social Security, Medicare, or raise taxes. Thats it. There are no alternatives to this. You can try to grow the economy. How to do that is more debatable. I offered my solutions.

1. It wouldn’t, it would generate far less revenue: https://itep.org/the-pitfalls-of-flat-income-taxes/#:~:text=Contrary to the claims of,during times of rising inequality. 3. Foreign aid is less than 1% of the budget: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_foreign_aid#:~:text=In actuality%2C less than 1,budget goes towards foreign aid.

You need to read through this thread again. I don’t bring up Trump. Trump has been no worse on this issue than any other President.

Which part? How about some links refuting it?

He didn’t. Not in any meaningful way. He wanted to cut a few programs he didn’t like.

There isn’t enough useless fat that, if it were all removed, would make any difference whatsoever in the deficit or debt. And a flat tax would result in less annual revenue which would only increase the deficit. I gave you the 5 ways to address this problem. There aren’t any others.

Thank you. Thats from his first year before he got his tax cut through, which significantly increased the deficit. And his cuts were insignificant. Trump made no move to seriously address this issue. To be fair, no other President has either.

More on Biden and oil production: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/09/business/oil-production-biden-trump/index.html https://www.krtv.com/the-us-hits-record-oil-production-levels-under-biden-administration This argument that Trump did more than Biden on this issue is simply the opposite of the actual facts.

Can you link one please? Thanks

This just doesn’t match the facts. Biden has pursued energy independence far more than Trump has. But it won’t make any difference.

Under Biden oil production in this country has increased far more than it ever did under Trump: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/31/us-oil-production-has-hit-record-under-biden-he-hardly-mentions-it/ But in terms of this discussion it really doesn’t make any difference. We need the Middle East oil flow to be stable.

I honestly can’t recall one proposal from Trump, when he was President, that involved reducing the deficit in any way. You’re welcome to offer one.

For about the last 50 years or so. We could change that but it would take a lot of effort, money and time. It’s not something we can change overnight.

The reason we have troops in the Middle East is because our economy depends on a stable flow of oil from that region.

Trump did not try to reduce spending or address the deficit in any way.

Of course it’s a problem. But it can only be addressed by cutting military spending, or Social Security, or Medicare, or raising taxes. Thats it. Those are your 4 choices. You could eliminate everything that conservatives typically complain about and you wouldn’t make the slightest dent. OR- you could try and grow our economy so that the deficit and debt become less significant. How do we grow the economy? We invest in infrastructure, which Biden has done. We invest in viable new energy sources (see-nuclear fusion) which neither party seems willing to do. And you expand trade by eliminating tariffs, which Biden will not do and which Trump will only make worse.

Why do conservatives only care about this issue when a Democrat is President?

Not in the clear and direct way you’re claiming. And it also says the letter is filled with inaccuracies. Read it again, and then consider your own tendency to make snap judgments before you insult others.