Climate Change Skeptic; Change My Mind - Page 20 - Politics and Economics

SACRAMENTO — California has come a long way to dig itself out of budget deficits, but the state remains on shaky ground due to nearly $400 billion in unfunded liabilities and debt from public pensions, retiree health care and bonds, financial analysts say.

“Yes, the state’s budget is balanced if you are looking at what they are required to spend cash on this year, but not when you look at their expenses,” said Gabe Petek, a credit analyst with Standard & Poor’s.

Gov. Brown’s State of the State may have familiar tone
The high debt and unfunded liabilities have resulted in the state’s rating lagging behind other states, Petek says. California saw its bond rating rise last year from A+ to AA-, the highest level the state has had in 14 years. Good bond ratings are a sign of a strong budget and financial management and allow states to pay lower interest rates when selling bonds.

“Compared to other states, though, California has one of the lower ratings,” Petek said.

And the reason is clear, he said. It’s California’s debt and liabilities that are concerning financial analysts, particularly the state’s rapidly growing unfunded retiree health care costs, which grew more than 80 percent over the past decade. California has promised $74 billion more in health and dental benefits to current and retired state workers than the state has put aside.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics...ts-6812264.php

Let's just see how it pans out.. It may not be the most desirable place to live due to taxes in the coming years.

As desirability goes down I'm sure the free market will bring real estate prices down to red state levels. Yeah.

02-26-2019 , 02:44 PM

#478

suzzer99

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 99,984

Quote:

Originally Posted by shorn7

Actually, I think it is more of a concern that the Government will control and assume more and more of the economy through climate change policy and single payer healthcare become a real thing. Most conservatives don't want that regardless of the outcome.

Right but they have no problem with the fossil fuel industry dictating all energy and environmental policy. Small govt = corporate govt.

02-26-2019 , 02:48 PM

#479

John21

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,558

Quote:

Originally Posted by batair

Trump has promised b and c....when is infrastructure week again.

A politician's promise isn't a governmental duty.

02-26-2019 , 02:48 PM

#480

batair

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 16,802

And no problem with the military industrial complex control.

02-26-2019 , 02:51 PM

#481

batair

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 16,802

Quote:

Originally Posted by John21

A politician's promise isn't a governmental duty.

Please eat a lot of large fish as your main diet.

02-26-2019 , 02:51 PM

#482

suzzer99

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 99,984

Quote:

Originally Posted by John21

Ya think...

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-...ution/109/text
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that—
(1) it is the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal—

(A) to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers;
(B) to create millions of good, high-wage jobs and ensure prosperity and economic security for all people of the United States;
(C) to invest in the infrastructure and industry of the United States to sustainably meet the challenges of the 21st century;
(D) to secure for all people of the United States for generations to come—
(i) clean air and water;
(ii) climate and community resiliency;
(iii) healthy food;
(iv) access to nature; and
(v) a sustainable environment; and
(E) to promote justice and equity by stopping current, preventing future, and repairing historic oppression of indigenous peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth (referred to in this resolution as “frontline and vulnerable communities”);

Wait til this poster finds out police are a government entity and criminals don't just police themselves.

02-26-2019 , 02:54 PM

#483

microbet

Solar Powered

Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 56,665

Supposed "freedom loving" conservatives who are big law and order and military supporters are the worst people on Earth. If you are going to be anti-government at least recognize the government agents who are running around with guns, locking people up and in their gentler moments just telling you that there's nothing to see here and ordering you to move along.

I know that's a semi-non-sequitur, but just the idea that some of these people are worked up about the totalitarianism of the Green New Deal is outrageous, as in I'm outraged by it.

02-26-2019 , 05:14 PM

#484

John21

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,558

Quote:

Originally Posted by suzzer99

Wait til this poster finds out police are a government entity and criminals don't just police themselves.

The poster would likely find your point irrelevant to his. His point being:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights...versus_liberty
Claim versus liberty
A claim right is a right which entails that another person has a duty to the right-holder. Somebody else must do or refrain from doing something to or for the claim holder, such as perform a service or supply a product for him or her; that is, he or she has a claim to that service or product (another term is thing in action).[3] In logic, this idea can be expressed as: "Person A has a claim that person B do something if and only if B has a duty to A to do that something." Every claim-right entails that some other duty-bearer must do some duty for the claim to be satisfied. This duty can be to act or to refrain from acting. For example, many jurisdictions recognize broad claim rights to things like "life, liberty, and property"; these rights impose an obligation upon others not to assault or restrain a person, or use their property, without the claim-holder's permission. Likewise, in jurisdictions where social welfare services are provided, citizens have legal claim rights to be provided with those service. [cont'd]

02-26-2019 , 05:44 PM

#485

Max Cut

Guest

Posts: n/a

definitions

02-26-2019 , 09:11 PM

#486

suzzer99

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 99,984

Preventing tragedy of the commons is like a top 5 killer app of government. There literally is no other good way to prevent it when enough money is involved. Unfortunately our government is mostly an extension of industry at this point - so nothing is happening.

Imagine a world where the science is so locked down that the US is destroying the earth - but the US is still so locked into a disbelieving cult - that every other country in the world decides to sanction us. They'd be completely justified.

If that didn't work and we left war as the only option - that would probably be justified too. Or at least orders of magnitude more justified than most of the pretexts for war the US has used.

For conservatives who can't read the above w/o the amydgala lighting up like a Christmas tree and clouding out all basic reason - imagine a world where a river flowed from Mexico into the US and it was poisoning our crops and wildlife. Now imagine Mexico disputed the science and by popular vote decided to believe a few shills from their river pollution industry who said the whole thing was a made up plot by the US.

02-27-2019 , 01:43 AM

#487

e1cnr

veteran

Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 2,008

Quote:

Originally Posted by suzzer99

For conservatives who can't read the above w/o the amydgala lighting up like a Christmas tree and clouding out all basic reason - imagine a world where a river flowed from Mexico into the US and it was poisoning our crops and wildlife. Now imagine Mexico disputed the science and by popular vote decided to believe a few shills from their river pollution industry who said the whole thing was a made up plot by the US.

Imagine a governmental agency like the EPA looking for places to clean up causing a disaster …

https://www.dailysignal.com/2017/06/...ng-mine-cover/

02-27-2019 , 01:54 AM

#488

suzzer99

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 99,984

Yeah no more toxic smog, rivers on fire, industrial accidents way down, polluters held accountable. But one screwup by the EPA = clearly things work better when we just let companies police themselves. Republologic.

Go to India or China sometime and see what a utopia lax environmental laws brings you.

03-12-2019 , 03:10 PM

#489

Strontium Dog

journeyman

Join Date: Oct 2018 Posts: 356

Thought this was pretty awesome

Greta Thunberg, schoolgirl climate change warrior: ‘Some people can let things go. I can’t’

Really interesting personal story.

She did a TED in Sweden also which was great

TEDx - The disarming case to act right now on climate change

Nice one Greta.

03-14-2019 , 05:36 PM

#490

vamooose

old hand

Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 1,309

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strontium Dog

Really loved this video, thanks for posting

I note Greta was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize today; if successful the youngest recipient so a timely recommendation from Strontium Dog!

Well worth a an 11min watch. Mind blown at 1:40mins (illness), 7mins (future ages) and 9mins (off-setting growing nations) timemarkers but ffs watch all 11mins and learn

Last edited by vamooose; 03-14-2019 at 05:41 PM.

03-15-2019 , 10:41 PM

#491

uDevil

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 6,941

With all the news today, I just want to note that this happened today. If you go to @gretathunberg's twitter feed there are hundreds of pics and videos from all over the world. Some with just a few kids like this and some with thousands. It's a powerful statement by these kids.

https://twitter.com/the_ecofeminist/...226941440?s=19

03-17-2019 , 05:52 PM

#492

goofyballer

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 70,719

https://twitter.com/heady_chris/stat...66295956914176

Record-High Floods in Nebraska Breach Levees and Isolate Towns

Quote:

Record-high river levels were reported in at least 38 locations in the Midwest, particularly in Nebraska and Iowa, said Jonathan Erdman, a senior meteorologist with weather.com. Heavy flooding was also reported in Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota, and the National Weather Service said it would continue past the weekend.

03-20-2019 , 10:08 AM

#493

iamnotawerewolf

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 31,482

03-25-2019 , 09:27 PM

#494

goofyballer

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 70,719

Happy Monday!

Worldwide energy demand grew at the fastest pace in a decade in 2018, both coal and overall CO2 emissions hit new records

Quote:

“To me, all this reflects the fact that climate policies around the globe, despite some limited pockets of progress, remain woefully inadequate,” he [Michael Mehling, deputy director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology] said in an email. “They’re not even robust enough to offset the increased emissions from economic expansion, especially in the developing world, let alone to spur decarbonization at levels commensurate with the temperature stabilization goals we’ve committed to under the Paris Agreement.”

Quote:

“We are in deep trouble,” [Rob] Jackson [a professor of Earth system science at Stanford University] said of Monday’s findings. “The climate consequences are catastrophic. I don’t use any word like that very often. But we are headed for disaster, and nobody seems to be able to slow things down.”

Hey maybe we can get an update from OP about whether this is fine because CO2 levels aren't really "supposed" to be anything mannnnnn

03-28-2019 , 08:28 AM

#495

NewOldGuy

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,935

It's hilarious to see all the contortions and hand waving about the Greenland glacier growing for three years in a row now.

Don't worry, "it's only temporary". Yeah, that means it could very possibly continue for the next 30 years according to the the NAO long term trend. And they really think they understand this ****.

03-28-2019 , 08:45 AM

#496

Max Cut

Guest

Posts: n/a

despite the fact that this particular glacier is growing, the whole Greenland ice sheet is still losing lots and lots of ice. Jakobshavn drains only about seven percent of the entire ice sheet, so even if it were growing robustly, mass loss from the rest of the ice sheet would outweigh its slight expansion. -natgeo

Yeah man, good one. ****ing hilarious. Keep standing up for the mega corporations.

03-28-2019 , 08:52 AM

#497

WillieWin?

adept

Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 893

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewOldGuy

I'm not going bald. Sure the hair on my head is thinning by the year but look at the length of my nostril hair.

03-28-2019 , 09:31 AM

#498

Max Cut

Guest

Posts: n/a

It's one step up from the Republican senator who brought a snowball to the floor to rant against climate change. But NOG isn't even paid to shill for mega corps like the senators. He's just a victim of their sponsoring propaganda.

03-28-2019 , 10:11 AM

#499

NewOldGuy

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,935

Yeah, that little glacier is just a trivial detail (even though the scientists said they were "shocked" by the finding). It corresponds well to the total Arctic Sea Ice annual minimum trend now rising for 12 years, and looking like 2019 will also be higher than 2007.