Term limits is not the answer. A more educated and informed electorate is.

Well, the second idea isn’t going to happen. Might as well wish for a CFB playoff. The electorate is only getting dumber. People vote against their own interests every single election, and the rise of partisan cable news has only increased the dumbassery.

I don’t think term limits is a cure-all, but its a quick, effective solution to the problems we have.

Germany: a quarter our size, 100 billion more in exports a year. We fucking suck.

Trade deficit is probably my biggest concerns for our nation.

What the Marlins are doing is making the Mets look terrible. The Wilpons need to go. [Post]

I take umbrage with this statement. The Mets are more than capable of making themselves look terrible. They don’t need help from anyone, least of all from a team with a logo that looks like something out of an Atari video game.

that her parents didn’t let her take a year off between undergrad and masters

Jesusfuckingchrist, who listens to what their parents tell them to do after 18, forget about 22??? If you’re still sucking at the financial teat, you have to do what they tell you, and you better not complain. I realized very quickly that being broke, and not obligated to visit/call/listen unless I really wanted to was well worth it.

/has a much better relationship with my parents since I told them I don’t want their help and money

I don’t think there is only one answer, but do think term limits are the quickest way to fix what’s killing DC.

term limits has you lose more good public servants seeking to make a difference than shady ones seeking to maintain power and influence. The quickest way to change what is going on in DC is creating lobbying,and campaign finance laws that limit the influence of money in legislative decision making.

Term limits is not the answer.

I don’t think there is only one answer, but do think term limits are the quickest way to fix what’s killing DC.

Even with meager wages, I can consume, just not as much as somone with greater wages.

Essentially what has happened it to live presently people are renting their wage. It’s not that Americans are dumb and spend too much money as much as they are forced into debt by limited economic opportunites coupled with rising cost of living. The number one cause of debt in American is health care costs. Not sure if Americans spend the most on recreation I do know they spend the most per person on health, $1000 year more than the next country. In modern American you rent a wage to assuage living costs through debt.

/England, Norway and Denmark all spend more per person on recreation.

Term limits would be a good start, as would serious reform of Senate rules.

Term limits is not the answer. A more educated and informed electorate is.

I worked with all sorts of young folk who took it for granted that they had to live as well right now as their folks (newer cars, vacations, toys), without the 20 to 30 years of working and saving that their parents had to endure to get to this point.

my roommate’s girlfriend was borderline tears (TEARS!) that she had to work as part of her masters program (for fucking sexual therapy) and couldn’t go on a vacation for a week.

nevermind that her entire fucking life is a vacation (also, nevermind that she was borderline tears – TEARS! – that her parents didn’t let her take a year off between undergrad and masters) already…she’s worked so hard for that vacation, damnit!

Term limits would be a good start, as would serious reform of Senate rules.

tort reform would help. what hospitals and doctors spend on insurance is ridiculous.

You should watch Hot Coffee before you ask for tort reform. It’s eye opening.

hey husker … how long before Crowell transfers?

uga got a good one in Mike Davis – kinda small but a better attitude than Crowell – at least it appears that way. I’m not a dog fan, but good get anyway.

That’s the big question. They also didn’t get Mike Davis (they offered him) but landed Keith Marshall. Crowell needs to grow up fast. He was great when he played, but he’s a bit of a diva, something that Richt absolutely hates. If I were betting on it, I’d say IC is not w/ UGA when they open the 2012 season, but I can hope. He just needs a wakeup call, and hopefully signing Marshall (who enrolls in Jan) will be the kick he needs. I think he looks at the current depth chart and knows he’s the best option. That may not be the case with spring ball. He’s too talented to just let him go, though. While Marshall is a stud, Crowell is an NFL back for sure. If he can grow up between now and next season, UGA is going to be insane in the backfield for the next three years.

To me, and maybe me alone, it looks like you are making opposing points. I agree with the second one more. Rich people spend a lot of time and effort maintaining their riches. As a nation, we consume so much, especially when it comes to wants and recreation. (As an aside, that is a part of why many nations hate Americans – nobody spends more on BS than we do.)

When I mentioned the “shut up and step up” point, I meant we have spent years talking about what to, but we make the same decisions. Every succesive generation wants, at least, what Mommy and Daddy had. Part of the American experience was the expectation that your standard of living would be better than your parents’. I think we have gotten to the point where you can’t assume that any more.

I worked with all sorts of young folk who took it for granted that they had to live as well right now as their folks (newer cars, vacations, toys), without the 20 to 30 years of working and saving that their parents had to endure to get to this point.

With a broader brush, consumption drives most of what we do and have in America. Even with meager wages, I can consume, just not as much as somone with greater wages.

tort reform would help. what hospitals and doctors spend on insurance is ridiculous.

Tort reform would save one tenth of one percent of healthcare costs. Much, much, much bigger fish to fry.

Tax increases of varying degree, recalibration of Social Security and Medicare, and cuts to defense spending (but nothing that has a direct impact on the troops on the ground). Okay, I’m sold.

What’s sad is it really is that simple, yet it has no chance of ever happening. It’s almost depressing, actually. I think if we had term limits for those in Congress it would be be much easier to get done. So many choose not to do the right thing because someone will attack them in an election year for doing so. We all need skin in the game. We should grandfather in those who are within 10-15 years of the current retirement age and then raise the age by 5 years. Then we cut the pet projects in the military. Yes, that will lead to a good bit of unemployed people, but we can have them build things we actually need, not want. Problem is, when someone proposes that, the gentleman from the 56th district in whatever state where a part of that useless item is built, stands pat and won’t vote for it because someone will take his job via protecting his constituents’. It sucks.

They can design and engineer the fuck out of an automobile. We build ours in Mexico.

We don’t make or build shit here anymore

Germany: a quarter our size, 100 billion more in exports a year. We fucking suck.

uga got a good one in Mike Davis – kinda small but a better attitude than Crowell – at least it appears that way. I’m not a dog fan, but good get anyway.

Neither side has the balls to make the real choices. The Tea Partiers won’t raise taxes (a must) and the left wont cut spending for their pet projects (another must). No side is for less government, they are just for less of their opponents’ government.

All of this.