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This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the Great Leap Forward, Mao's attempt to overtake and surpass the UK in 15 years. The Chief Soviet Ideologue Mikhail Suslov derided it as "trying to industrialize through cavalry charges", it was actually Stalinist style labor mobilization and central planning-and bullying and intimidation-on a much larger scale. It inflicted on the long suffering Chinese people misery that exceeded anything inflicted on them by a foreign invader by a factor of 20. I am reading a good book entitled Mao's Great Famine by a Hong Kong based scholar named Frank Dikoetter, in his forward he cites it as a cautionary for anyone who believes that central planning and direction is the key to economic advancement and prosperity, I recommend it for those who want to see how Socialism actually works and where it leads.
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Last edited by blackhawknj; 08-13-2018, 08:04. -
But ....But... This time it will work...it just has to ! -
We had a woman with cancer in our church, and one of the other members of the congregation had her Power of Attorney. That lady got my wife (who is a nurse) to help her.
One day she called in a panic -- "Sharon has collapsed and is in the hospital!"
My wife went in to our little rural hospital and the doctor was in a panic -- "I have to send her to Batesville, but I can't find a diagnosis!" Under Obamacare (central planning at its finest) he had to have an "approved diagnosis" off a list of approved diagnoses in order to transfer her!
(He finally bit the bullet and made something up -- otherwise she would have died.)Comment
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Socialism is fantastic so long as you're not among those suffering under it. American socialists have a complete totalitarian attitude. "Nothing can go wrong this time because we say so."
Which brings us back full circle to the old line: 'Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.'2016 Chicago Cubs. MLB Champions!
**Never quite as old as the other old farts**Comment
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Don't feed the troll.Comment
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Vern you're such a wuss. A case can be made that the blue collar base that votes in GOP people has a lot less to show for it than the donor class. Exactly the argument you would use against the coastal liberal elites. And who gives a sh*t if poor people can't get abortions, so long as rich people can hop on a plane and go where necessary, right? Oh and there are a few union guys here. In their heart of hearts they know that the Democrats are still better friends of organized labor than the GOP. Just look at Trump's NLRB appointments compared to Obama's. My principal beef with organized labor has always been how short-sighted it is, and thereby its own worst enemy, and the stalwart union guys who vote GOP, only to see right-to-work legislation passed in their state, are a perfect example.Last edited by togor; 08-14-2018, 01:23.Comment
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The people handed over pots and pans and tools-even farming implements-to the backyard blast furnaces. Which turned them into useless lumps of low quality pig iron.
When Socialism fails, it's always the fault of "wreckers", "rightist deviationists", "bourgeois elements", "agents of foreign imperialism."Comment
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Togor, politics be damned. Union contract bargaining belongs at the negotiating tables in the various locales. Sand is right that unions are our own worst enemy. Too many members are brainwashed into believing the Dems are on the side of labor. Yeah...that's what they say at election time. Then they screw everyone afterward. Organized labor, unorganized labor, and contractors/business owners alike. Crazy pork packages which cost everyone. Businesses move away to avoid the pitfalls thus creating employment slumps. Guys who voted their wallets see less and less as they pay more and more taxes on everything.
"Right-to-work" practically equates to right to work for less in the long haul. I would rather see ALL politicians stay the F out of our private lives. Contracts can be bargained at whatever the local market will tolerate. Quite frankly I got sick of paying into my own pension fund for matched amounts while paying into others funds at the same time. Chicago Teachers Union just to name one. Why shouldn't they contribute to their own health and welfare funds like the rest of us. Like so many suburban and private teachers do. I'm going off on a tangent so I digress.
You asked me a loaded question with narrow parameters which you set. Guess what? I ain't biting! Besides, I think you already knew what I was talking about. Even "trolls" aren't that stupid.
2016 Chicago Cubs. MLB Champions!
**Never quite as old as the other old farts**Comment
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Actually just a question, JB, to do with as you like. I'll agree with you that public employees in IL seem overpaid for what they do. It's a wonder the entire state doesn't pick up and move next door. Well, thank God for small mercies.Comment
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Look over your shoulder because I spend a lot of time in the land of cheese and flannel.2016 Chicago Cubs. MLB Champions!
**Never quite as old as the other old farts**Comment
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I'm thinking that the "Illinois border crossing problem" could become an issue in future campaigns. As it is, if a bunch of the Foxconn jobs go to people crossing the border from the south, then yeah, people will wonder why Wisconsin taxpayers are footing the bill for Illinois jobs.
Oh and PS, I hear Darvish will be back soon. Good news!Last edited by togor; 08-15-2018, 05:42.Comment
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