(02-17-2009 02:38 PM)Artifice Wrote:  This is the dumbest thread on page 1 of this board, and that's saying something given that 80% of them are ridiculous.

You must have forgotten your own thread "Is there anyway we could get a direct newsfeed from newsmax?"

Not to worry thought, I have fixed that one for you.

(02-17-2009 11:18 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  

(02-16-2009 10:18 PM)niuhuskie84 Wrote:  Also, many points of interest (museums, zoos, theaters) are key pieces of the economy, and attract further investment in restaurants, hotels, and related businesses. The issue in stimulus bill shouldn't be about the art or type of art, it should be about the INFRASTRUCTURE supporting the arts.

Rehabilitating theaters, museums, or zoos could turn around a dead or dying area. It has happened so many times before.

Where?

Those things you talk about are like retail...they follow the money. When people have discretionary money, they spend on theatres, museums and zoos. When they don't have money, they don't spend.

Fixing the economy doesn't start w/ fixing the top layer, the fluff. It starts w/ fixing the fundamentals.

And for the US, that means innovating to provide goods and services better/faster/cheaper than the competition. It has ALWAYS been that way.

In the 1850's, the US produced a small fraction of the world's goods...China and India accounted for about 50%. (See that figure in history books very often!?) Then the industrial revolution took hold...innovation drove out the competition. The US was the big beneficiary, dominating production, and growing the largest economy.

Now the rest of the world is catching up in production capability, and thus those economies are converging again.

Furthermore, this is the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. It is inherent in the universe. It cannot be thwarted by isolationism, protectionism, or deficit spending. It doesn't matter if the dumb idea comes from the political left or right...it won't work. (Just so happens more dumb ideas come from the left, but whatever)

If anything is to help the economy, it must aid in the production of desired goods and services. Roads and bridges do help, they're not the full cure, but they are a rational starting place. High speed internet could help as well, although I believe there should be a sound, straightforward plan to recoup the costs of this when turning it over to the private sector...otherwise it hurts the overall economy.

What really needs to be done is reduce unnecessary regulation and oversight by the gov't, and streamline any necessary regulation+oversight, followed quicky by tax reductions...so that industry can innovate and improve where industry needs to improve...not where the Government thinks it needs to improve.

On the flip side, zoos and theatres won't do squat. And I can provide ample evidence of that.

Ditto....Elimination of barriers to competition is ALL that really needs to be done. Government is simply trying to do what it always does....correct the problems it created by creating MORE problems...It is the nature of government and will be it's eventually downfall....It is inevitable.