27 thoughts on “Off To Mordor On The Potomac”

  1. If the US would properly invest in high speed rail, you could be sitting in a snow drift in Colorado right now. 🙂

  2. I guess I’ll dump this here.

    CBO is revising its latest future budget projections for the harmful effects of Obamacare. They stated six items of interest, four of which were Obamacare related (and three of which were corrections to previous CBO attempts at forecasts): 1) two million more people not on full time employment in 2024 than previously forecast, 2) two million fewer people this year on Medicaid or insurance through the exchanges because of the recent botched rollout, 3) expecting Obamacare “risk corridors” to be revenue positive (CBO still carries the torch on that one), and 4) Obamacare provisions increase federal deficit by almost $1.5 trillion over the next ten years.

    Another bait and switch accomplished with the help of the CBO.

    2. Obamacare provisions increase federal deficit by almost $1.5 trillion over the next ten years

      See the note at the bottom of page 106:

      Those estimates address only the insurance coverage provisions of the ACA; they do not constitute all of the act’s budgetary effects. Many other provisions, on net, are projected to reduce budget deficits. Considering all of the coverage provisions and the other provisions together, CBO and JCT estimated in July 2012 (the most recent comprehensive estimates) that the total effect of the ACA would be to reduce federal deficits.

      So yes, there are provisions that increase the deficit by $1.5T, and other provisions that reduce it by even more than $1.5T. The net effect, as before, is to reduce the deficit.

          2. How do you define “terrible” and “horrible”? The deficit fell to 4.1% of GDP in 2013. Going from 2.6% (2015) to 2.8% (2016) doesn’t sound that scary.

          3. The best comparison is between spending and tax revenues. The GDP isn’t a good metric to compare with, you might as well substitute GDP with ipad prices.

          4. The best comparison is between spending and tax revenues

            I.e. the deficit, which is what we’ve been talking about.

            The GDP isn’t a good metric to compare with, you might as well substitute GDP with iPad prices

            Huh?

            If you want to know whether a level of deficit spending is sustainable, you have to know the size of the economy. A $3,000 debt is crippling to someone making $10k/year, and no problem to someone making $100k. A $300B deficit is crippling to a country with GDP of $1T, and no problem to a country with a GDP of $10T.

          1. If you consider a wealth transfer of 80 percent to 20 percent a big boost, then you are incredibly economically illiterate.

            Please read Economics in One Lesson by Hazlitt. It’s free, you’ll like that. Just google it and a pdf will appear.
            There is also a free online course: https://online.hillsdale.edu/econ101

            These rational (non-emotional) ideas will show you that your “boosts” are counter-productive. Your arguments always ignore the incredible prosperity that our country gained under the free market. The underlying motive for your decisions is just a silly emotional tantrum and a desire to get stuff for free.

          2. And, you completely ignored the fact that the rich are paying less of a percentage than the middle class.

            As usual, your fixation on government programs to help the poor merely transfers money from the middle class, and not “the rich” that you despise.

            Out of curiosity, how much do you give to help the poor, being a rich businessman? I know of no democrat that gives money to charity.

          3. And when it does happen, as it did with the Bush tax cuts, you will lie about it. Just like you lied about what Obamacare would do and just like you are lying about Obamacare saving money.

            Obamacare is going to save us money! For reals this time, period. Obama and the Democrats haven’t been wrong yet…

  4. Please tell me you brought the ring. Where can you drop it to destroy it? Wait, don’t tell me… the Eye of Sauron, i.e. NSA, is watching.

    Being an orc in the new Mordor is both better and worse than being an orc in the old Mordor, probably an even trade of better living conditions for more ennui. The new Mordor traded spirit for corporal.

    The old Mordor might have been better.

  5. I believe the ring was forged in about 1908 at Princeton, New Jersey. It was forged by the hand of Woodrow Wilson.

    It can only be destroyed there.

  7. Also off topic, a beautiful view of a brand new 100 foot impact crater on Mars.

    link, which I found posted at WUWT.

    Okay, so the Mars colonists will be at some small level of extra impact risk due to the thin atmosphere, slightly raising their homeowner’s insurance permiums.

  8. I’m still waiting for Jim to justify the 10 Trillion in debt the democrats have bestowed upon their children.

  9. Have you heard of this guy Barack Obama?

    Yeah, he started giving charity when he was in the public eye, some philanthropist!

      1. Good luck with the search for a generous lieberal . (I spell it this way to distinguish these beings from classical liberals per Rand’s objections, which I obviously agree with)

        I believe Kristoff makes an error in claiming that the religious conservatives are more generous than the non-religious, but that’s just my opinion. He says he did the research …

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