Read about Eastern Europe after the war. You wouldn’t be able to put a bullet in his head because the first thing they do is confiscate the weapons.
@“Ed Frugal”
I also saw that POS invoking the 5th . . . made me sick to my stomach
Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean it’s morally okay to do it . . . I suppose this dirtbag doesn’t see it that way
Clearly, the almightly dollar is the only thing that matters to him
Theoretically speaking, I would be quite pleased if somebody were to beat him within an inch of his life. If he had to get major reconstructive surgery to his face, I am quite certain that MANY people in this country would not shed a single tear
I sure hope that guy doesn’t have any kids . . . he’s not exactly a good role model. Not IMO, anyways
To keep this car-related . . . he’s probably the kind of POS that blatantly parks in handicapped parking spots. I may be wrong, but I’ll assume he doesn’t have any kind of permit. And he probably rationalizes it, in some pathetic way.
At Costco a few weekends, I saw a car being ticketed for parking in a handicapped spot with no kind of permit. And, as is typical, the car was parked completely crooked, as well. Because if you’re so special that you feel you can do that, then you don’t have to bother to do a good job parking, either.
Several people walked by and made comments such as “Serves him right. He deserves it. Who does he think he is? What a POS”
Another way you, (well, not “you” specifically) can get cheated in the primary. . . sometimes the Democrat is running unopposed, or nearly so, and the Republican contest is highly competitive in the primary (OR, vice-versa). Where I live you have to declare a party affiliation if you want to vote in the primary. Unless you want to change parties with each election cycle, you can basically be cheated out of your vote. I like it better the way you describe it @Bing , and what the news says about NH. Register to vote, and decide what party’s ballot you want on primary day. I think that’s a lot more fair.
Another thing we should have is runoff elections. You get a city or municipality where one or the other party is totally dominant, and 6 or more people running in the primary, you could wind up with a mayor elected with less than 20% of a vote that less than 20% of eligible voters participated in. W.T.F?
Edit to add: ". . . major reconstructive surgery. . . " cost: $50,000. For you, Mr. Schkreli, $500,000,000. Special price for you. . . Someone like him, though, probably has private security guards to make sure he doesn’t get what he deserves, SOCIOPATHS usually have above-average intelligence, so he’s probably aware of what the public thinks of him. . .
I’d bet he’d have no trouble getting a doctor to sign off on a handicapped placard (Money Talks. . . ) but he probably has a servant run down to the store for him in the first place. I’ve seen him on tv getting out of the back of a limo, probably has a chauffeur. . .
Another Edit: I wonder if being a sociopath / having no soul could be considered a “handicap”? A favorite quote from that old sit-com “Mama’s Family” Mama saying to Vinton, “Vint, you’ve had some dumb ideas before, but this one qualifies you for handicapped parking!”
@“Ed Frugal”
I have absolutely no doubt the guy is well aware of his lousy public image
But he probably doesn’t give a . . . pick a word. In fact, in some perverse way, he probably is proud of the fact that so many people despise him
It would be cool if his private security guards had a meeting and decided “This guy pays us extremely well, but we can’t stand him. Let’s all agree to beat him within an inch of his life, then dump him in some ditch, and let him figure out how to get back home.”
But that’s not going to happen, because, as you said, money talks :trollface:
This guy makes even some of the sleaziest politicians look like angels, in comparison 
privatize SS i.e.-gamble your retirement in the stock market,Far sooner put MY money in the market than use it (against my will) to prop up bad government debt. Investing (using the term loosely) in US debt is something I'd only do if somebody held a gun to my head, which is fitting: the money is taken from me automatically, and if I try to not pay, a man with gun and a badge tells me the error if my ways.
Social Security is a grim farce of a Ponzi scheme, forced on the workers against their will.
you guys are lucky. In New Hampshire (so I hear on the news) you do not have to choose a party affiliation.
Almost…but not quite. I’m an independent…if I want to vote in the primary tomorrow…I show up and before I vote I must switch from independent to the party I want to vote in. Then immediately after I vote I can switch back to independent.
BUT. . . WE DON'T SEE, or interact with, all of the investment bankers who wrecked the economy with their derivatives trading, bad mortgages, pyramid schemes, etc. They all got 8 and 9 figure bonuses which they get to KEEP, nobody went to prison (except Bernie Madoff which is another story), and we, the taxpayers, get to pay off all their bad bets.
Watch the movie “The Big Short”. I’ve read countless articles and seen countless reports on the mortgage fiasco…and the movie was extremely accurate.
I'd say a guy like Bernie Sanders is too too far to the left for me to ever vote for him, BUT, when you see a greedy greedy pig like Schkreli (sp?) smirking and snarky and oh so arrogant on tv, you start to think to yourself, hey, maybe a little socialism is a healthy thing. . . just sayin'. . .
Some of Bernie’s views are too left for me also…Bernie’s is a Democratic socialist…which is totally different then Socialism. View diff here
We already have many socialism policies in place. SSN for one.
Then sign me up for the “socialist party” . . . because I have absolutely no problems with social security. I agree it’s far from perfect, but I don’t think it’s wise to throw it out the window
I love this country, and I’m not planning on leaving
And there are far worse places to live
I’m blessed that I’m not living in one of those basket-case countries, with some bloody dictator and far less human rights than we enjoy
@meanjoe75fan “Social Security is a grim farce of a Ponzi scheme, forced on the workers against their will.” Personally, I must strongly disagree.
Personally, I would do very well if I were able to invest MY social security money in the stock market, because I understand how the stock market works and have a grasp on how to invest money, but I don’t think 95+ percent of working folks do. Blame it on an inadequate education, OR, blame it on the general short-sightedness and narcissism of most people.
I believe most people would either spend all of their money as soon as they get it. . . I hear it amongst most of my co-workers, the fatalistic attitude; hey, you might never live to see 62 years old, why they taking my money???
Or more likely, if you create so-called “private accounts”, the Wall Street hucksters and shills would con most of the people out of most of their retirements either through outright Ponzi / shell game schemes a la Bernie Madoff, OR, through selling high (very high) commission “Investment Products” i.e.- loaded mutual funds, so-called ‘whole’ life insurance, high commission fixed annuities, etc. Privatizing Social Security, or, as George Carlin referred to it, ". . . coming for your retirement money, so they can hand it over to their criminal friends on Wall Street. . . "
EITHER WAY, the net result would be an awful lot of elderly people sleeping on the streets, digging through garbage dumpsters for food. True, one could invoke Darwinism (survival of the fittest) or The Ant And The Grasshopper (those who didn’t prepare for the future face the consequences). But I don’t think all those people are going to just quietly crawl into alleyways and die. There would be a tremendous amount of social unrest, especially in a country awash in weapons, and that would also be very detrimental to those of us who DID prepare for retirement. i.e.- I wouldn’t want to live in a country where I had to exchange gunfire with homeless hungry elderly people while loading my groceries into my car.
I don’t see Social Security as a “Ponzi Scheme”. I see it as a “Social Contract Between Generations”. The shortfall in funding is mainly a result of folks living longer AND politicians siphoning off the money for other purposes.
I understand you disagree with me, and I’m sure others here will also disagree. That’s what makes America great, we’re free to disagree and argue our points-of-view on forums like this. 
Sociopaths’ lives Matter. Wipe that smirk off your face son!
Medicaid is a socialist program but I don’t think I’d call social security one. You pay your money into the fund and at some point collect it again. More like a pension or 401K plan. The problem is that it is back funded so its paid for by the current workers which is not any longer a good idea. It was the only way to do it when it started, but there should have been 1 or 2% all along going into a fund to front load it instead by now. Then you add in the insurance part of it like survivor’s benefits and disability and it gets a little screwier, but still it could work if it were front loaded.
Some states (including Minnesota) are now talking about a government pension program for everyone else to allow them to participate. Probably a good idea except its the same problem as every other one, you have to keep it solvent by putting enough money in and not draining it dry like the Teamsters.
On the other hand, I know certain Amish and other religious orders are able to opt out of Social Security / Medicare on religious grounds. (They consider it insurance, which goes against their religious beliefs). Perhaps there should be some mechanism for folks to “opt-out” if they can prove they feel that strongly about the matter, and sign affidavits that they will never file for benefits.
The fatal flaw in that argument is that eventually the 6 o’ clock news would fill up with the sob stories of sick hungry homeless broke 70 year olds claiming they always believed in Social Security and they were tricked / brainwashed into signing the affidavits, yada yada yada, we can’t just let these poor pathetic old grandmotherly (&grandfatherly) people starve in the streets. . .
Similar to the “health insurance mandate” in the Affordable Care Act. If people don’t want health insurance, let 'em opt out. By all means, be my guest. BUT, later on, when they show up at the emergency room with chest pains, or, they have a car accident and they’re laying on the highway twisted and bleeding, if they don’t have the cash on hand to pay for treatment, you let 'em lay there on the side of the highway and bleed out.
@Bing( Seems like they are trying to do that now ),a mileage tax has the possibility of doing away with yards of red tape you drive you ,pay ,but if you heat with petroleum ,you are not affected .When this horrible business started with dyed and undyed fuel it quickly escalated into a real pain in the @$$ ,peopl had a lot of confusion and sometimes the dye would affect aircraft fuel systems ,the list goes on ,when I asked a fuel supplier about the difference in those days between the standard fuel and low sulphur fuel he replied "I ,put dye in one tank and leave the other alone .
Taxes will be with us forever and most of the time will not be used for the “earmarks” ,hence the general fund ,over half the average persons income now goes into taxes and "user fees " what do we have to show for it ? Not the important things like universal healthcare etc, I would glady pay more taxes up front ,if I received something in return.When the doctor speaks a few words to me and I am kept in the little cubicle for 15 or so minutes and that little bit of time costs me more them I earn during that week,I want to cry foul and not to mention ,I dont have the parity to buy the new vehicles the auto workers produce.Seems a little lopsided to me . The Rich can pay more taxes (they are the only ones that can afford it )
From many sources I see that currently upwards of 60% of the US population is living pay check to pay check. Any setback in income or emergency would make them homeless. I can’t imagine that the 40% who are more financially comfortable consider everyone of lesser means expendible and deserving of a life on the street begging for handouts. The economy must somehow take those people into consideration. They are not lazy entitlement bums. The situation is causing a generational decline in morals and ethics and personal responsibility. But those who are suffering in the decline have zero influence in the situation and see no meaningful opportunity to find their way out of desperate poverty and isolation other than crime. How can anyone be surprised when so many become criminals?
Ed, stop it. The Amish actually are self-insured whether they realize it or not. If something happens, all the neighbors get together and raise the house, the barn, provide cattle, food, or whatever is needed to put the family back together. We do that too only with money and through insurance.
I’m a firm believer is health savings accounts and low cost catastrophic policies for young and old if that’s what they want. They can take care of the minor stuff themselves but if something big happens they are covered. I’d throw most of the ACA out except for guaranteed life-time coverage and a few other things but somehow the hospitals and clinics need to be covered. Our local non-profit hospital was running about 4% bad debts from people without insurance which was the difference between profit and loss.
BUT, later on, when they show up at the emergency room with chest pains, or, they have a car accident and they’re laying on the highway twisted and bleeding, if they don’t have the cash on hand to pay for treatment, you let 'em lay there on the side of the highway and bleed out.
Not easy. The daughter of a neighbor before the ACA went to the emgency room…where by the way people get some of the worse care if they are uninsured, was misdiagnosed, sent home and died of a burst appendix…at age 23 while working in nyc. The emergency room became a regular care facility for the uninsured. Accident victims had a tough time weaving their way in through regular patients without insurance. 30k a year died that way and she was the second in our area in the year before the ACA.
Hi, could you please bring this a bit back more toward cars? Thanks.
My sister-in-law is a doctor, and she worked a few years for the county
She said a lot of the people who went to the emergency room for free treatment were seen to be driving away in brand spanking new BMWs and Benzes, to name a few brands
She also said those same people were very insistent, that she sign off on imaginary ailments they did not have, so that they could get all sorts of prescriptions. She believed the purpose was to sell these drugs and make a handsome profit
Another thing . . . they also wanted her to attest to all sorts of imaginary illnesses, afflictions, etc., so that they could get those handicapped license plates. Because they wanted to be able to park for free, wherever and whenever they felt like it
Now that I’m on a roll . . . some of those guys begging for money at 7-Eleven, gas stations, etc. are on a schedule. Somebody drives them to each location, at a specified time. They’re part of a business. And the guy dropping them off always drives a really nice car.
Every once in awhile, I’ll see one of the “beggars” drive off in a fancy new Cadillac, or some other luxury vehicle. If I see a “beggar” leaving in a Cadillac, I suspect he might be the one actually running the operation.
The only ones I feel might be deserving of a handout are those with obvious cognitive developmental disabilities. They usually act differently, versus the common dope fiend. I never give money to dope fiends. Might as well throw the money in the fireplace
The road/gas tax has worked well until they raided the fund and didn’t keep up with inflation. So just fix it and quit talking about additional taxes. $10 today will be $20 or 30 tomorrow and I find it believable that this is just another round about way to eliminate more cars.
That’s my opinion. I got roads and cars in there.
There is one new proposal on the table about making hotrods and race cars out of stock cars ,it would be prohibited ,in an efffort to cut down on "climate change " , really ? Pass the bowl ,POTUS .
My fault the thread got off-topic. Sorry, sometimes I get carried away with myself. Like I often say, the posts here are usually concise and thought provoking, even when folks disagree; compare to many other places on internet which mostly devolve into name-calling.
If it makes anyone feel better, I was SUPPOSED to change oil and call around for a price on new tires yesterday and I didn’t get ANY of that done because I was reading & posting here; and today the weather is too bad . . .