Extinction Rebellion Wants to Do Away with Economic Growth

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

14 minutes ago, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

Very well then!  Some of that I knew of, but I'd missed the diplomats and US attorneys.  Where do you get your news; I'd like to read the same. 

Given the opportunity, would you work for him? 

Does he actually help his constituents, or is there something else going on? 

Working in that Administration is not conducive to a long employment tenure.  Take a gander at the case of Anthony Scaramucci, who flamed out and was fired after 11 days on the job. 

No, I would not work for Mr. Trump.  First, I am not even a Republican, so I seriously doubt I would be considered. Second, Mr. Trump places no value on either intelligence or intellectuals.  Third, he continues to drag infants out of the arms of those impoverished Guatemalan moms, puts the kids in cages, and then - loses them, in that nobody knows whose child that is.  Trump and his goons now have some 2,300 children in cages, with the parents deported, and no names or home towns to go with the children.  That is somewhere between enslavement and kidnapping.  And it is official govt policy.  Americans should be ashamed that they allow this to go on. 

America has serious problems.  You cannot even attack them (or for that matter, identify them) with buffonery.  You have to get serious.  This Administration is not serious.  At least, not with these issues. 

As to your last question, does he help his constituents, Trump has no constituents.  Trump stands for Trump. Nobody else counts.

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

9 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said:

Working in that Administration is not conducive to a long employment tenure.  Take a gander at the case of Anthony Scaramucci, who flamed out and was fired after 11 days on the job. 

No, I would not work for Mr. Trump.  First, I am not even a Republican, so I seriously doubt I would be considered. Second, Mr. Trump places no value on either intelligence or intellectuals.  Third, he continues to drag infants out of the arms of those impoverished Guatemalan moms, puts the kids in cages, and then - loses them, in that nobody knows whose child that is.  Trump and his goons now have some 2,300 children in cages, with the parents deported, and no names or home towns to go with the children.  That is somewhere between enslavement and kidnapping.  And it is official govt policy.  Americans should be ashamed that they allow this to go on.  

America has serious problems.  You cannot even attack them (or for that matter, identify them) with buffonery.  You have to get serious.  This Administration is not serious.  At least, not with these issues. 

As to your last question, does he help his constituents, Trump has no constituents.  Trump stands for Trump. Nobody else counts. 

I'm trying to compose a thoughtful response, but I can only think of this: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uPoDNEn3I0



At least it's a pretty good show. 

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

On 5/2/2019 at 5:55 AM, Marina Schwarz said:

In any case, the point I meant to make by mentioning the tax issue was this: if you pay taxes you can make demands on the government (not that there's any guarantee these demands will be met, of course). If you don't... how come you're making demands?

Let he who is innocent throw the first stone... 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Rasmus Jorgensen

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

I'm not sure I understand your point, Rasmus. We should not make demands on governments in exchange for the taxes we pay, we should not pay taxes or... what? How's a Bible quote suggesting everyone has evaded taxes at some point (I dislike generalisations) relevant?

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

18 minutes ago, Marina Schwarz said:

I'm not sure I understand your point, Rasmus. We should not make demands on governments in exchange for the taxes we pay, we should not pay taxes or... what? How's a Bible quote suggesting everyone has evaded taxes at some point (I dislike generalisations) relevant?

Sorry. I was trying to be funny. The literal consequence of what you stated is that only those that pay taxes can make demands means to me that no-one can make demands. Show me anybody in any country that follows the letter of the law 100%...

I generally believe in human rigths and civil liberties... I think they should be universal even for those that don't pay taxes.  

 

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Rasmus Jorgensen

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

Well, I was being as basic as I could to illustrate what I think is wrong with that ER idea of mass refusal to pay loans and mortgages. Let me rephrase: if you keep your end of the deal, you can insist that the other party keeps theirs. If you cheat, you're in no position to complain that the other party cheats. I hope it makes sense.

[WayneMechEng + 89]

On 5/1/2019 at 5:53 AM, Meredith Poor said:

Economic growth appears to be going away on it's own. Some of us remember a campaign for ZPG (Zero Population Growth) in the 1970's. This effort is no longer necessary in western industrialized societies.

Correct, western population growth is down but immigration holds things steady.  Below is a small excerpt from a UN report. ZPG is now "Sustainable Development".

World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision

21 June 2017

 

The current world population of 7.6 billion is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, according to a new United Nations report being launched today. With roughly 83 million people being added to the world’s population every year, the upward trend in population size is expected to continue, even assuming that fertility levels will continue to decline.

The World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, provides a comprehensive review of global demographic trends and prospects for the future. The information is essential to guide policies aimed at achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals.

 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

On 5/3/2019 at 11:22 AM, WayneMechEng said:

The current world population of 7.6 billion is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100

I would suggest that what you are seeing here is the predicted effects of longevity.  Previously, populations would die off after one or 1.5 generations.  With improved health and food supply, the developing world is seeing its older generations living longer.  Thus even with reduced fecundity, below replacement rate of the parents, you have this overhang of the older folks who, while not reproducing, are not dying off either.  That gives you a population "bulge" that the UN anticipates will create a continuing overall population expansion. 

I remain unconvinced that this is true.  First, age expectancy has been dropping even in the better-developed countries such as Russia.  Second, it is not clear that a country with an outsize impact such as India will follow the pattern of increasing life-span.  It does not allow for the results of war or internal chaos.  It does not account for starvation, as you see in North Korea.  And there is no accounting for the possibilities of plagues, which are especially worrisome.   All manner of resistant mutated diseases seem to be developing.  If a plague also impacts  (wipes out) a large swath of infants and the young, then obviously those will never enter into the fecundity profile in the first place. 

There are too many variables to determine how population collapse will take place, or when.  The UN is making some large assumptions. 

Edited May 5, 2019 by Jan van Eck
typing error

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

On 5/1/2019 at 9:55 PM, Jan van Eck said:

2.   The US govt does not have the resources to scrutinize what you have declared.  Unless there is a tip-off, you are ignored, just as if you are a nobody.  Which, in govt eyes, you are. 

 

In Canada at least, if you deposit $10,000 or more the banks tell the revenue agency about it in an attempt to detect tax evasion and money laundering... two deposits of $9,999 is just fine.  Similar rules when crossing borders.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Enthalpic

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

On 5/1/2019 at 10:15 PM, Jan van Eck said:

So the "private entities" privatized the profits and socialized the losses.  Classic Wall Street behavior.

Yep, dump all negative externalities (like pollution, debt defaults, etc.) on the public. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality

You sir, are enlightened and give me hope for the US.

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

On 5/1/2019 at 10:15 PM, Jan van Eck said:

N In the US, you can pay no taxes and still have the perfect right to make demands on the government.  Half the population fits into that bracket.

Plus of course corporations.  Thanks to equity based compensation Amazon- with 11 billion in profits- paid no federal tax.

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

39 minutes ago, Enthalpic said:

Yep, dump all negative externalities (like pollution, debt defaults, etc.) on the public. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality

You sir, are enlightened and give me hope for the US.

You forget that I am an expat Canadian.  Don't place hopes on me, that is totally misplaced.

[ronwagn + 6,290]

On 5/1/2019 at 10:55 PM, Jan van Eck said:

Ward, I am going to quote your entire post (which I typically do not do) as it does need dissection.  Here we go:

1.  The USA is a self-assessment tax regime.  Nobody is going around reviewing what individuals are putting down on their 1090's.  YOu put down what you think is correct, and then you sign it "under penalty of perjury" that it is up to snuff.  

2.   The US govt does not have the resources to scrutinize what you have declared.  Unless there is a tip-off, you are ignored, just as if you are a nobody.  Which, in govt eyes, you are. 

3.   The IRS is chronically under-funded to do audits.  And that is deliberate, to avoid creating an oppressive govt. 

4.   If the govt does not agree with what you have declared (and paid), then they can do an audit.  Those are civil procedures. 

5.   You are taxed on earned income, and to some extent on capital gains and dividend income.  You are not taxed on a million dollars lying in the road.  It is definitely not "earned income."  If you were to find it, as a practical matter is likely belonged to some seriously bad-ass people who kill for a living, so you have bigger problems than the IRS to worry about.  Guns have this certain finality about them. 

6.   Self-assessment is not tax evasion.  "Evasion" requires a conscious state of mind to be a crime.  The govt has to prove that state of mind. It is not easy to do, and for ordinary folks, the govt never does.  You see that in hefty swindles by scam artists, but the really smart ones never get caught, and the ones that see themselves being exposed, hey they skedaddle over some Border to a non-extradition country.  I think Brasil has no extradition treaty with the USA.  Neither does Switzerland.  Not sure about Malta.  I suspect the Isle of Man has no Treaty, nor the Isle of Guernsey.  Lots of places to go park yourself until the heat is off.  Look at Bill Erbey, the former boss of Ocwen Financial, the largest single swindle operation ever forged in the USA, if you discount JPMorgan Chase Bank. It even outranks Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse (itself convicted of aiding tax evasions and is a convicted criminal enterprise, but still allowed to do banking in the USA as if nothing ever happened - go figure). Erbey stole a few billion, then purchased Maltese citizenship for the paltry sum of Euro 660,000, thus getting instant Maltese citizenship and a Maltese passport, good for travelling around Europe, including Monaco.  Must be nice.  He remains unindicted, and the govt is not chasing him, too much like work.

7.  All of this, including my diversion into federal income taxes, diverges from the implied tenet of Marina, who was really addressing local property taxes on realty.  But she drifted off to federal taxes, and that was my opening.  Just saying. 

I was once audited two years in a row just because I bought some audio tapes from a real estate advisor who included the words "tax avoidance". It was about making money with rentals. I think they got $50 from me. 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

52 minutes ago, ronwagn said:

I was once audited two years in a row just because I bought some audio tapes from a real estate advisor who included the words "tax avoidance". It was about making money with rentals. I think they got $50 from me. 

That is fascinating.  How on earth would the IRS know the titles of some audio tapes you buy?  

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

6 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

That is fascinating.  How on earth would the IRS know the titles of some audio tapes you buy?  

They probably started by going after the real estate advisor, then just worked their way down his customer list. Many times the IRS gets their money by merely writing threatening (and often erroneous) letters demanding payment. About 9 out of 10 just cave and send the money in. That doesn't impact the statistics I linked to you previously. 

They tried it with my friend, who used to teach accounting in college. He analyzed what they had done, sent them a 16 page letter showing them the error of their ways and they responded with more threatening letters. Bad move. He's retired and really didn't have anything better to do with his time. By the time the dust settled, instead of him paying the IRS the $50k they demanded, they paid Him $78,000 which included interest. He bugged them for another two years trying to get them to tell him what the interest rate was. They refused, literally claiming it was a state secret. He just wanted to know so he could figure out to the penny what had happened. I'm reasonably sure his name is now on a list to never bother, ever. 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

3 minutes ago, Ward Smith said:

sent them a 16 page letter showing them the error of their ways and they responded with more threatening letters

Classic incompetent bureaucrats!   

4 minutes ago, Ward Smith said:

I'm reasonably sure his name is now on a list to never bother, ever. 

Ha, Ha!!!!!!   I am rolling on the floor, convulsed with laughter.  That is great stuff!

[Arjun + 39]

On 5/1/2019 at 4:03 PM, Marina Schwarz said:

The founder of Extinction Rebellion has ambitions to upend the UK’s financial system after her organisation targeted the City in two weeks of London protests.

Gail Bradbrook wants to provoke a “mass refusal” to pay off loans and mortgages in a bid to throw London’s financial district into disarray following action that saw climate change activists deface Shell’s offices and glue themselves to the London Stock Exchange.

“Economic growth tends to require the taking of resources from the Earth,” Bradbook told Reuters in an interview published today. “So something has to change on a debt-based economy.”

Here. I'll go be speechless in the corner.

http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2019/01/17/the-manufacturing-of-greta-thunberg-for-consent-the-political-economy-of-the-non-profit-industrial-complex/

 

More about extinction rebellion. Nothing is organic in the activism industry.

[Arjun + 39]

On 5/1/2019 at 4:32 PM, Tom Kirkman said:

So, this group is pro - extinction, and they are rebelling against hydrocarcons and CO2 molecules?  Lots of gluing bodies to objects seem to fit into this plan somehow, although the mental gymnastics involved in their plan escapes me so far.

Does manufacturing glue increase CO2?  Because that would be amusing.

Will this lead up to Extinction Rebellion gluing their bodies to ATM machines?  Because that would be amusing as well.

 

http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2019/01/28/the-manufacturing-of-greta-thunberg-for-consent-the-most-inconvenient-truth-capitalism-is-in-danger-of-falling-apart/

 

Very interesting.

[tldpdb1 + 24]

  I suggest you all do what I do and ignore these Left Wing Nutt job news reports the same way I ignore Right Wing Nutt Jobs Posters on Oil Price and other Discussion sites.☺️

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

Speaking of extinction events, another one bites the dust in Canada

Hasta la vista Trident Exploration.

I spoke to my friend up in Calgary this weekend, he said this is just the tip of the iceberg

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

17 hours ago, Ward Smith said:

I'm reasonably sure his name is now on a list to never bother, ever. 

This is worth a laugh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gkiw7zpULo

 

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

6 hours ago, Ward Smith said:

Speaking of extinction events, another one bites the dust in Canada

Hasta la vista Trident Exploration.

I spoke to my friend up in Calgary this weekend, he said this is just the tip of the iceberg

No, no, Randy from the Trailer Park Boys was elected - all will be well in the oil industry now.

That's a joke.

Sadly all the cleanup is now dumped on the AER aka taxpayers "abandonment and reclamation obligations are estimated to be $329 million"

Edited May 5, 2019 by Enthalpic

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

6 hours ago, Enthalpic said:

No, no, Randy from the Trailer Park Boys was elected - all will be well in the oil industry now.

That's a joke.

Sadly all the cleanup is now dumped on the AER aka taxpayers "abandonment and reclamation obligations are estimated to be $329 million"

What cleanup? My understanding is those were producing wells. The problem of course is no takeaway capacity. The Wells /could/ be plugged and abandoned but that seems excessive. Ideally they could be idled, but I gather the AER doesn't let operators do that? We read right here on this site that some Permian operators were Paying $3 per mcf to get rid of gas that came in with their oil. I don't know what the GOR is, but have seen other operators buried under excessive under priced gas. 

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

25 minutes ago, Ward Smith said:

What cleanup? My understanding is those were producing wells. The problem of course is no takeaway capacity. The Wells /could/ be plugged and abandoned but that seems excessive. Ideally they could be idled, but I gather the AER doesn't let operators do that? We read right here on this site that some Permian operators were Paying $3 per mcf to get rid of gas that came in with their oil. I don't know what the GOR is, but have seen other operators buried under excessive under priced gas. 

We have tons of "orphaned wells" in various states of plugging and/or cleanup.  Ideally we don't want a ton of crap sitting around - use it or reclaim the land as best as possible ASAP.

http://www.orphanwell.ca/about/orphan-inventory/

Edited May 6, 2019 by Enthalpic

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

On 5/2/2019 at 6:13 PM, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

I'm trying to compose a thoughtful response, but I can only think of this: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uPoDNEn3I0



At least it's a pretty good show. 

Kind of dated but still funny.  NSFW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGQaH3-LK54

 

LOL it was the same link

Edited May 6, 2019 by Enthalpic