How does everyone feel about the spending bill?

[BudKing8806]

I really hope she has a sense of humor. Point to reporters on opposite sides of the room and say "I've got my eye on you"

She's obviously a fan of The Rock. Look at that eyebrow.

 

[ManCityFC9]

I'm vastly disappointed...
I did come to the epiphany that the legislative branch does as it wants; with member self-preservation and maintaining position being paramount.

No president, with any number of Twitter followers, or brazen demeanour has enough pull to get them to do the right thing...not yet at least.

Increased department funding beyond all requested amounts, DACA completely ignored, $1.6B in funding for a $20B wall?...
-we judge presidents harshly but the problem is really East on Pennsylvania Ave.

 

[Prime Rib]

Mother of God is that a photoshop???

 

[Prime Rib]

Democrats only care about deficits when a Republican is president. But go ahead and keep spreading your dividing propaganda, sucka

I'm not hearing the same amount of outrage from DEMs as I did with REPs under Obama. The two things are not nearly equal. Sucka!!

 

[faustian]

What's it backed by? Genuinely curious, i always thought it was fiat.

OPEC petroleum



After LBJ's 6 year compulsive spending spree (which I'm not knocking LBJ for, I believe it was by design), the amount of USDs in global circulation far exceeded our actual gold reserves. It was obvious, but the West was supposed to go along with it in order to keep the dollar lubricating free trade. But France of course being France, decided to cash out and in doing so they nearly wiped out our gold reserves. I think Switzerland cashed out as well iirc. This is where the rumor that Ft Knox is empty derives from.

So the US was literally in default on its foreign debt. So what was Nixon to do here? The US was literally facing bankruptcy. Well, he did what's in that vid clip up there. He came out and flatly told the world that we will not be redeeming any USDs for gold. So the question is how the hell was he able to get away with that without collapsing the world economy and setting off another world war.

Ever wonder why these Middle East oil exporting countries never get invaded, there's never any coups, even though they have absolute jokes of a military if they even have one at all? Life is pretty stable for the rulers of these places even though they're literally sitting on a fortune that the entire world should be after. You'd think at least some nation with a borderline capable military would just go in and claim the fortune and kick Ahmad to the curb. How has the Saudi Royal Family been protected for so long?

When LBJ spent us off gold, Nixon and Kissinger did the unthinkable and went into enemy territory and made a deal with the devil. The deal: OPEC accept USDs and only USDs as payment for their petro, and in exchange the US military polices the region and keeps their partner OPEC regimes in power and protected. We play both bodyguard to the regimes who cooperate and bully to the region's non-exporting nations and executioner to the petrodollar regimes who decide that it's a good idea to go rouge and take their petro off the dollar. That worked out really well for Saddam and Gadaffi when Saddam moved his petro onto the Euro and Gadaffi was trying to create a gold dinar for Libya and other petro exporters to trade in

Literally everything we do militarily in the ME involves maintaining the petrodollar agreement. From defending Saudi Arabia and Kuwait from invasion by Saddam, to removing Saddam and Gaddafi, to sending Naval fleets of aircraft carriers and destroyers to patrol the Strait of Hormuz the instant it looks like Iran might be getting frisky

The function of this petrodollar agreement is that any nation who's economy depends on industry is forced to hold USD reserves so that they can have access to the source of energy that literally fuels their economy. So when it appeared the USD was literally worthless once Nixon removed its convertibility to gold, the world held on to their USD reserves because they had no other choice if they planned on continuing to import oil from the ME

It's why Nixon is one of my favorite presidents ever. Truth be told it was actually Kissinger who did the negotiating but you gotta love that Nixon knew he had the world by the balls, he knew he had the military might to create economic opportunities for the US which probably isn't fair to the rest of the world, and he was unapologetic about it. Might makes right amirite. And all the while he played it cool with the American public and kept the calm of the nation without ever revealing what his administration was doing behind the scenes in order to keep American citizens from losing their entire life's savings and worth overnight

 

[all caps]

I'm not hearing the same amount of outrage from DEMs as I did with REPs under Obama. The two things are not nearly equal. Sucka!!

DAMN!!!

SNIPER BTFO!!!

 

[Dogstarman]

This border wall is the bane (just one of the bands) of this administration. The dumb ass idea is the worst shit ever. Just pass the budget already.

 

[Falsedawn]

OPEC petroleum



After LBJ's 6 year compulsive spending spree (which I'm not knocking LBJ for, I believe it was by design), the amount of USDs in global circulation far exceeded our actual gold reserves. It was obvious, but the West was supposed to go along with it in order to keep the dollar lubricating free trade. But France of course being France, decided to cash out and in doing so they nearly wiped out our gold reserves. I think Switzerland cashed out as well iirc. This is where the rumor that Ft Knox is empty derives from.

So the US was literally in default on its foreign debt. So what was Nixon to do here? The US was literally facing bankruptcy. Well, he did what's in that vid clip up there. He came out and flatly told the world that we will not be redeeming any USDs for gold. So the question is how the hell was he able to get away with that without collapsing the world economy and setting off another world war.

Ever wonder why these Middle East oil exporting countries never get invaded, there's never any coups, even though they have absolute jokes of a military if they even have one at all? Life is pretty stable for the rulers of these places even though they're literally sitting on a fortune that the entire world should be after. You'd think at least some nation with a borderline capable military would just go in and claim the fortune and kick Ahmad to the curb. How has the Saudi Royal Family been protected for so long?

When LBJ spent us off gold, Nixon and Kissinger did the unthinkable and went into enemy territory and made a deal with the devil. The deal: OPEC accept USDs and only USDs as payment for their petro, and in exchange the US military polices the region and keeps their partner OPEC regimes in power and protected. We play both bodyguard to the regimes who cooperate and bully to the ones who decide that it's a good idea to go rouge and take their petro off the dollar. That worked out really well for Saddam and Gadaffi when Saddam moved his petro onto the Euro and Gadaffi was trying to create a gold dinar for Libya and other petro exporters to trade in

Literally everything we do militarily in the ME involves maintaining the petrodollar agreement. From defending Saudi Arabia and Kuwait from invasion by Saddam, to removing Saddam and Gaddafi, to sending Naval fleets of aircraft carriers and destroyers to patrol the Strait of Hormuz the instant it looks like Iran might be getting frisky

The function of this petrodollar agreement is that any nation who's economy depends on industry is forced to hold USD reserves so that they can have access to the source of energy that literally fuels their economy. So when it appeared the USD was literally worthless once Nixon removed its convertibility to gold, the world held on to their USD reserves because they had no other choice if they planned on continuing to import oil from the ME

It's why Nixon is one of my favorite presidents ever. Truth be told it was actually Kissinger who did the negotiating but you gotta love that Nixon knew he had the world by the balls, he knew he had the military might to create economic opportunities that probably isn't fair to the rest of the world, and he was unapologetic about it. Might makes right amirite. And all the while he played it cool with the American public and kept the calm of the nation without ever revealing what his administration was doing behind the scenes in order to keep American citizens from losing their entire life's savings and worth overnight

Damn son, that makes sense. I was aware of the petrodollar system and how we relied on it, but it never occurred to me that we were pegging our currency value to it.

 

[cooks1]

http://www.breitbart.com/big-govern...lmost-1000-pages-longer-than-gutenberg-bible/

Any of you Trump Lick Spittles want to explain, the discretionary spending level of $1.3 trillion in this Omnibus is higher than any year in the Obama Administration.

I thought Obama was ruining the country with all his spending. For 8 fucking years, I listened to the GOP complain about the deficit. Then the GOP controls all branches and then INCREASES THE FUCKING DEFICIT.
It is amazing that next time there is a Dem as President, the GOP will pedal their we hate deficits and the rubes will buy it once again.

I remember when the GOP was against the deficit, this current crop of charlatans will say whatever to get the rubes votes and once elected will run this country into the ground, in service of their largest donors.

Not sure why that surprises you. The last Republican president to lower the Debt-GDP ratio was named Richard Nixon. And until Obama had to deal with the Great Recession, that was something every single Democratic President going all the way back to Truman managed to do. And that included Jimmy fucking Carter for Christ sakes.

 

[PolishHeadlock]

OPEC petroleum



After LBJ's 6 year compulsive spending spree (which I'm not knocking LBJ for, I believe it was by design), the amount of USDs in global circulation far exceeded our actual gold reserves. It was obvious, but the West was supposed to go along with it in order to keep the dollar lubricating free trade. But France of course being France, decided to cash out and in doing so they nearly wiped out our gold reserves. I think Switzerland cashed out as well iirc. This is where the rumor that Ft Knox is empty derives from.

So the US was literally in default on its foreign debt. So what was Nixon to do here? The US was literally facing bankruptcy. Well, he did what's in that vid clip up there. He came out and flatly told the world that we will not be redeeming any USDs for gold. So the question is how the hell was he able to get away with that without collapsing the world economy and setting off another world war.

Ever wonder why these Middle East oil exporting countries never get invaded, there's never any coups, even though they have absolute jokes of a military if they even have one at all? Life is pretty stable for the rulers of these places even though they're literally sitting on a fortune that the entire world should be after. You'd think at least some nation with a borderline capable military would just go in and claim the fortune and kick Ahmad to the curb. How has the Saudi Royal Family been protected for so long?

When LBJ spent us off gold, Nixon and Kissinger did the unthinkable and went into enemy territory and made a deal with the devil. The deal: OPEC accept USDs and only USDs as payment for their petro, and in exchange the US military polices the region and keeps their partner OPEC regimes in power and protected. We play both bodyguard to the regimes who cooperate and bully to the region's non-exporting nations and executioner to the petrodollar regimes who decide that it's a good idea to go rouge and take their petro off the dollar. That worked out really well for Saddam and Gadaffi when Saddam moved his petro onto the Euro and Gadaffi was trying to create a gold dinar for Libya and other petro exporters to trade in

Literally everything we do militarily in the ME involves maintaining the petrodollar agreement. From defending Saudi Arabia and Kuwait from invasion by Saddam, to removing Saddam and Gaddafi, to sending Naval fleets of aircraft carriers and destroyers to patrol the Strait of Hormuz the instant it looks like Iran might be getting frisky

The function of this petrodollar agreement is that any nation who's economy depends on industry is forced to hold USD reserves so that they can have access to the source of energy that literally fuels their economy. So when it appeared the USD was literally worthless once Nixon removed its convertibility to gold, the world held on to their USD reserves because they had no other choice if they planned on continuing to import oil from the ME

It's why Nixon is one of my favorite presidents ever. Truth be told it was actually Kissinger who did the negotiating but you gotta love that Nixon knew he had the world by the balls, he knew he had the military might to create economic opportunities for the US which probably isn't fair to the rest of the world, and he was unapologetic about it. Might makes right amirite. And all the while he played it cool with the American public and kept the calm of the nation without ever revealing what his administration was doing behind the scenes in order to keep American citizens from losing their entire life's savings and worth overnight

I read about this evry so often but I'm not sure how much credence to give it.

On a related note China has been talking about moving away from it for a while and looks poised to do it.

In a move that could portend massive shifts in the global oil game, the Shanghai International Energy Exchange will soon unveil an oil-futures contract denominated in Chinese yuan rather than U.S. dollars (product symbol: SC). Experts warn that the growing clout of Chinese currency in international financial markets could erode the primacy of the U.S. dollar, a long-term economic trend that should greatly trouble Washington.

The International Energy Exchange conducted a final set of drills to test trading, settlement, and quote transmission back in December. China’s Securities and Regulatory Commission has announced that the crude-futures contract will launch on March 26.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-end-the-petrodollar-25002

I wonder how this will impact the trade war or how the trade war will impact this.

 

[HomerThompson]

Yeah I've never seen current USD referred to as anything but Fiat. And if it's not I have no clue what backs it

Internet trolling.

 

[faustian]

Damn son, that makes sense. I was aware of the petrodollar system and how we relied on it, but it never occurred to me that we were pegging our currency value to it.

It really is one of the most amazing accomplishments in world, let alone economic, history imo. First to be able to get the deal done in the first place -- OPEC nations hated us for Israel and there was a strong Soviet influence in the region -- and then to be able to maintain it all this time. The US was essentially able to execute on the fly what the British Empire had been trying to achieve since 15th century mercantilism

We achieved it because we had an administration with just the right mix of shady and brilliant who devised the scheme and then was willing to follow through and pursue it

We've maintained it because the degree of military superiority and projection of force the US possesses is unprecedented and unfathomable and so much greater than that of all our potential rivals combined. To put it into perspective; the post-WWII era might be the first time in recorded history that the world contains a lone superpower with no real close #2. Superpower is actually an understatement when you consider the dual economic and military hegemony owned by the US and the broadness of scope: literally the entire planet

We've also been able to maintain it because our leaders have shown restraint in the exercise of this power. The US actually practices diplomacy even though in harsh realistic terms we don't really have to much of the time. The US catches shit for being the "world police" but the reality is that the world does need police protection and the US has for the most part been remarkably disciplined and patient in its exercise of police power. Unless of course you fuck with the petrodollar, then the gloves come off lol


The elephant in the room is that OPEC petro is a finite commodity. And at some point we're gonna have to invent a new monetary scheme with which to dominate the world. But something tells me we're already working on that

 

[Rod1]

The USD isn't a fiat currency. It's a commodity-backed currency and it has been for nearly 50 years now

Um no?

The US dollar isnt backed by anything, in fact the Bretton Woods system ended almost 50 years ago, so exactly the opposite.

 

[faustian]

I read about this evry so often but I'm not sure how much credence to give it.

On a related note China has been talking about moving away from it for a while and looks poised to do it.

In a move that could portend massive shifts in the global oil game, the Shanghai International Energy Exchange will soon unveil an oil-futures contract denominated in Chinese yuan rather than U.S. dollars (product symbol: SC). Experts warn that the growing clout of Chinese currency in international financial markets could erode the primacy of the U.S. dollar, a long-term economic trend that should greatly trouble Washington.

The International Energy Exchange conducted a final set of drills to test trading, settlement, and quote transmission back in December. China’s Securities and Regulatory Commission has announced that the crude-futures contract will launch on March 26.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-end-the-petrodollar-25002

I wonder how this will impact the trade war or how the trade war will impact this.

And then we ban Chinese imports and their economy and currency collapses

 

[faustian]

Um no?

The US dollar isnt backed by anything, in fact the Bretton Woods system ended almost 50 years ago, so exactly the opposite.

Ok Rod

Question: if nothing backs the USD, then why does it continue to function as the world's lone reserve currency? And why hasn't it been devalued to nothing by now given the absurd global oversaturation of USDs?

 

[SBJJ]

It may be impossible to be a Rep or Dem and not be a hypocrite at this point

 

[Rod1]

Ok Rod

Question: if nothing backs the USD, then why does it continue to function as the world's lone reserve currency? And why hasn't it been devalued to nothing by now given the absurd global oversaturation of USDs?

1.- US economic growth, and the use of USD as an international reserve currency itself.

2.- USD exports balance out with USD capital flow and services surplus, this is a point readily ignored by a lot of the "trade war hawks".

 

[HomerThompson]

Ok Rod

Question: if nothing backs the USD, then why does it continue to function as the world's lone reserve currency? And why hasn't it been devalued to nothing by now given the absurd global oversaturation of USDs?

Because we're the most powerful nation in the history of the planet. Fucking duh. Our economy and military are what make the dollar. Which is obvious when you grow up a little.

 

[PolishHeadlock]

It's not often these 2 agree

 

[LMP]

@faustian I don't agree with what you said, but damn I appreciate your effort.