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Top 5 Issues That Face US


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What the top 5 issues that the US faces in the 21st century? I selected 5 because it's a lot harder to settle on 5 than on 10. There will no doubt be major disagreement with visceral responses. Each has his/her own list and there are no right or wrong answers. Here are my top 5. Let's hear it from the peanut gallery.

1. National Security

2. Population control

3. Financial aid to elderly

4. Public high school and college education

5. Cost of criminal juctice system

The material provided and the opinions expressed in this post are for general informational purposes only and should not be used or relied upon as the basis for any action or inaction. You should obtain appropriate tax, legal, or other professional advice.

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Hmmm... I was going to take issue w/ #2 but when I went to census.gov to get the figures to back my statement, I had to concede the point partially.

I'll throw the Federal Debt into the mix... current debt is $9.6T... current Federal Budget puts revenues at $2.5T. This means our govt owes nearly 4 times what it earns. And it projects to increase its debt to income ratio for the foreseeable future. We pass laws to mandate real minimum payments for credit card borrowers but then we don't do the same for ourselves collectively.

Kurt Vonnegut: 'To be is to do'-Socrates 'To do is to be'-Jean-Paul Sartre 'Do be do be do'-Frank Sinatra

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1. balanced federal budget

2. balanced federal budget

3. balanced federal budget

4. balanced federal budget

5. balanced federal budget

I'm a retirement actuary. Nothing about my comments is intended or should be construed as investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Occasionally, but not all the time, it might be reasonable to interpret my comments as actuarial or consulting advice.

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Hmmm... I was going to take issue w/ #2 but when I went to census.gov to get the figures to back my statement, I had to concede the point partially.

I'll throw the Federal Debt into the mix... current debt is $9.6T... current Federal Budget puts revenues at $2.5T. This means our govt owes nearly 4 times what it earns. And it projects to increase its debt to income ratio for the foreseeable future. We pass laws to mandate real minimum payments for credit card borrowers but then we don't do the same for ourselves collectively.

I believe I've heard that song before . . . Wasn't this Herbert Hoover's campaign song?

Well we're movin on up,

To the east side.

To a deluxe apartment in the sky.

Movin on up,

To the east side.

We finally got a piece of the pie.

Or was that two chickens in every garage?

The material provided and the opinions expressed in this post are for general informational purposes only and should not be used or relied upon as the basis for any action or inaction. You should obtain appropriate tax, legal, or other professional advice.

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I think that ALL your 5 selections are the result of the same problem, the "Dumbing of America". I recall that there was a book with such a title published back in the 1960s that predicted all of this.

We no longer act with intelligence or common sense. We no longer measure competence we instead have become what was called in 1980's Sociology textbooks "The Credentials Society". It no longer matters what you know or how well you know it, it nolonger matters of you can actually apply what is in a textbook, it only matters that you have the "piece of paper". In fact we no longer seem to be able to read or hear and understand, we instead rely on sound bites and buzz.

So the top issue is How do we correct that which we do not understand ?

Didn't someone say that we should first seek knowledge ?

George D. Burns

Cost Reduction Strategies

Burns and Associates, Inc

www.costreductionstrategies.com(under construction)

www.employeebenefitsstrategies.com(under construction)

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1. balanced federal budget

2. balanced federal budget

3. balanced federal budget

4. balanced federal budget

5. balanced federal budget

I agree with David Rigby. And also with GBurns, as his comments apply to this item as well.

Unfortunately I have no one to vote for. Ron Paul I guess. Sigh.

Ed Snyder

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masteff:

I agree with you completely.

It is interesting how you compute the total debt in proportion to the total current revenue.

Most economists I have seen quoted refer to the current debt as a percentage of the current GDP, which looks to be reasonable.

Your proportion is much more accurate, imo.

By the way, it is interesting to note that of the public debt total, about half, I believe, is intragovernmental debt, that is debt owed by the trust funds to the treasury.

The CBO came out with a paper recently which, in effect, stated that intragovernmental debt was of much less concern than the other portion of the debt, that owed to individuals (investors).

Apparently, debt owed to the citizens, collectively, is of less concern than debt owed to specific people.

Don Levit

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George:

You are right on.

You must be speaking the truth, since we both agree.

In fact, the general lack of concern about our public debts is due to this lack of knowledge you wrote about.

By the way, is the book you are referring to "Amusing Ourselves to Death," by Neil Postman?

Don Levit

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#7 - 0/0 (that assumes I can't reorder the priorities and move this one to number 0--or would that mean that it really is not part of the list at all?) :blink:

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TV theme from the Jeffersons.................. you forgot the rest

Fish don't fry in the kitchen

Beans don't burn on the grill.

Took a whole lotta tryin'

Just to get up that hill.

Now we're up in the big leagues

Gettin' our turn at bat.

As long as we live, it's you and me baby

There ain't nothin wrong with that.

AtA are you including immigration in national security or population control?

JanetM CPA, MBA

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AtA are you including immigration in national security or population control?

I'd say in population as it's a component of growth (while enforcement and control of illegal entry would be a national security issue).

Kurt Vonnegut: 'To be is to do'-Socrates 'To do is to be'-Jean-Paul Sartre 'Do be do be do'-Frank Sinatra

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masteff I will say the question is tainted by recent Denver news. On 9/04/08 here in Denver 23 yr old Guatemala ILLEGAL francis Hernandez did hit and run on pickup truck that carried 49 and 51 yr old women. Truck ends up shoved into a Baskin Robbins - killing a 3yr old. This piece of trash has long (read 16) history with law enforcement. Problem is local cops call ICE and ICE won't come get them. Locals can't keep them locked up on immigration charges so they have to let him go.

JanetM CPA, MBA

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JanetM

Is he a "piece of trash" because he is illegal or is it becuase he is from Guatemala ?

It has to be one of those 2 because it is very easy to find hit and run drivers, hitand run drivers who cause multiple deaths, drivers who kill children, hit and run drivers who kill children, people who kill more than 1 person, people who shoot school children and college students, etc etc.

The only difference between this case and many others is "illegal' and "Guatemala", race being unspecified.

George D. Burns

Cost Reduction Strategies

Burns and Associates, Inc

www.costreductionstrategies.com(under construction)

www.employeebenefitsstrategies.com(under construction)

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George --

While I agree with your analysis of Janet's post, I will begin by temporarily giving her the benefit of the doubt and say that she believes this guy is a piece of trash in the same manner that any other person who drove & caused the same deadly havoc would be so described. In that case, I doubt that anyone would consider such a poor driver worthy of a complimentary description. [Thanks, George. My apologies.]

By the way, why isn't a hit & run by an illegal considered a flight risk so that he can be locked up on that--or another--local felony charge?

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Larry

Giving benefit of the doubt is considerate. By the way, I think that you mis-typed in your 2nd sentence and might want to consider rephrasing. I doubt that is what you meant to say.

My response to her post was really triggered by the fact that her post was in response to masteff's mention of enforcement and illegal entry which was in the context of the population issue. Her post included "Problem is local cops call ICE and ICE won't come get them." (take note of "them") and " Locals can't keep them locked up on immigration charges so they have to let him go." (again the use of "them" before getting to "him").

To me she clearly meant "piece of trash" not from the committing of a common crime.

George D. Burns

Cost Reduction Strategies

Burns and Associates, Inc

www.costreductionstrategies.com(under construction)

www.employeebenefitsstrategies.com(under construction)

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I'll just nitpick the syntax some more.... the orginal usage was:

This piece of trash has long (read 16) history with law enforcement.

"piece of trash" is the subject and is modified by "long history with law enforcement". This to me equates "piece of trash" with "law breaker". Nothing in the sentence can be equated back to religion race creed or national origin.

Anyone w/ a documented history of 16 law violations who causes vechicular manslaughter is a piece of trash no matter how you slice it.

Let's not devolve this conversation, lest a moderator should decide to lock it down to prevent tempers from flaring.

Kurt Vonnegut: 'To be is to do'-Socrates 'To do is to be'-Jean-Paul Sartre 'Do be do be do'-Frank Sinatra

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By the way, it is interesting to note that of the public debt total, about half, I believe, is intragovernmental debt, that is debt owed by the trust funds to the treasury.

The CBO came out with a paper recently which, in effect, stated that intragovernmental debt was of much less concern than the other portion of the debt, that owed to individuals (investors).

Apparently, debt owed to the citizens, collectively, is of less concern than debt owed to specific people.

Don Levit

I'll also note that much discussion was held back in 2001, when the Treasury temporarily discontinued the 30-year bond, about the need for a certain minimum amount of Federal Debt in order to provide a base of so-called "risk-free" securities in the debt market. With the budget surpluses of the time, people were actually speculating what minimum amount of the Debt should be left open to faciliate the markets. (In terms of CAPM, how could you price a security w/out a risk-free rate from which to start?)

Kurt Vonnegut: 'To be is to do'-Socrates 'To do is to be'-Jean-Paul Sartre 'Do be do be do'-Frank Sinatra

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My piece of trash comment got some discussion while I was away. The guy has been in trouble from the day he arrived in this country, fights, theft, assault, you name it. Now he has killed three and rathen than send his sorry butt back to his own country, we will pay to keep him in a nice jail cell with cable TV and three squares a day.

You want to come to the US fine with me as long as you play by our rules.

JanetM CPA, MBA

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  • 2 weeks later...

GMK:

Isn't that fear what this great bailout is supposed to correct?

Maybe I am a bit naive, but imo, this bailout does nothing to correct the behavior that caused this "crisis."

It simply provides a holding vehicle, the government, in which short-term losses can be sustained, until the markets recover.

Theoretically, that's what reserves are supposed to do.

Don Levit

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