Originally Posted by PilotAlan (Post 2424232)

How quickly everyone forgets the pandemic. When we discovered that our medications, PPE, repair parts for almost everything, and thousands of other critical items were made overseas.
We have an expansionist China threatening war, and we're dependent on them for the steel to make our ships and tanks. The computer parts of our fighter jets (and for our internet, and phones, and everything else).

We have made ourselves dependent on our enemies for almost everything that is critical to maintaining our defense, our industry, our health, our communications, and almost everything else.
This isn't about blue jeans and tchotchkies. This is about losing the ability to make almost anything in this country. That's not a good prescription for our economy, our defense, or our future.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 2424305)

The national debt over recent years is because MONEY OUT (from all expenses) exceeds the MONEY IN (from taxes). That is a simplification. The problem is that since about 1990 the tax brackets have favored the top 10% not the middle class. ANY country without a STRONG middle class is going to end up in a DICTATORSHIP. The tax bracket manipulation since 1990 should concern every AMERICAN, but most are unaware.

Originally Posted by justjim (Post 2424240)

Interesting Thread. What are you going to do with the millions of Americans on “public aid”’of various types? I read recently that 40% of Americans cannot come up with $400.00 in cash. That would be 140 million plus folks. And we are the most prosperous and greatest country on the planet! The divide between the rich and poor is a GREAT divide and our “leaders” won’t “touch it with a 10 foot pole”. Fore.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2424247)

So we're driving into a brick wall, and the solution is to destroy the car, and then rebuild it - leaving everyone with no transportation until a new one is made.

That - is a pretty stupid idea.

Here's a different idea:

Build a new car, and stop driving it into brick walls.

We're driving our country toward a recession because we want to not use Chinese products.

Okay so...
Instead of making everyone in America suffer by increasing the costs of those products (which is what happens when you impose tariffs)...

start making those products in America FIRST. THEN ease off on the imports.

Originally Posted by Normal (Post 2424309)

Everyone needs to pay taxes, not just the rich. If everyone had skin in the game there would be a lot less debt and a lot more reasons to work at ambition.

I’m looking forward to American advances in manufacturing though. Not only will companies have a lot less shipping time on needed parts (6 weeks when shipped from China), but the country will feel a whole lot more unified.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 2424088)

30 years ago the Medical Schools went out of their way to make US Medical Schools HARDER to graduate from. Their graduate alumni doctors wanted harder standards so that graduate Doctors could have MORE patients and make more money. US doctors were in charge of US Medical production and all things medical. Then the US population increased drastically and there were not enough US Doctors to handle the NEED.The large medical groups turned Doctors into mere laborers (with big degrees). Doctors are mere worker bees today. And imported Doctors helped make that possible.

Originally Posted by Pugchief (Post 2424316)

Aside from the constant conspiracy theories that the "rich are out to get you", it is actually DESIRABLE to make medical school "hard". If they make it easy, to accommodate students that they should never have let in in the first place, will you be comfortable letting that surgeon cut you or that dentist drill you?

And what made doctors into laborers is government interference in the the free market via massive regulations.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 2424091)

The Debt could EASILY be repaid merely by changing the tax brackets to make the top brackets pay more (their fair share). But, it may be too late. We may have lost our Democracy already.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 2424314)

If getting more taxes from the working lower classes was the object - what I would do is ONLY ALLOW a maximum of 2 children to be exemptions. Huge families were the right thing in 1930 because infant morality was HIGH then, but not TODAY. With modern medical advances children can live longer, especially the ones that get ALL the immunization shots.

Originally Posted by justjim (Post 2424240)

Interesting Thread. What are you going to do with the millions of Americans on “public aid” of various types?

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580 (Post 2424265)

Sounds simple. Where do we get the materials? The expertise? The equipment? The food?
We import it.

Originally Posted by Pugchief (Post 2424318)

Would you please define what is "fair"? That term gets thrown around a lot but is very vague. The top 1% of income earners already pay 50% of the tax. Would you be happy when the top 1% pay 75%? 90%? Or is your only solution communism where there is zero incentive to be productive or innovative bc there is no reward for hard work?

Originally Posted by Pugchief (Post 2424316)

Aside from the constant conspiracy theories that the "rich are out to get you", it is actually DESIRABLE to make medical school "hard". If they make it easy, to accommodate students that they should never have let in in the first place, will you be comfortable letting that surgeon cut you or that dentist drill you?

And what made doctors into laborers is government interference in the the free market via massive regulations.

Originally Posted by Pugchief (Post 2424316)

Aside from the constant conspiracy theories that the "rich are out to get you", it is actually DESIRABLE to make medical school "hard". If they make it easy, to accommodate students that they should never have let in in the first place, will you be comfortable letting that surgeon cut you or that dentist drill you?

And what made doctors into laborers is government interference in the the free market via massive regulations.