Elon Musk

[abasile]

I am grateful that Elon is hanging in there as an advisor, for the good of the USA and humanity. You don't have to like the President to want him to make the best possible decisions, as his choices will affect all of us.

Elon's endorsement of Tillerson also makes sense in light of statements like the above. While Tillerson may not, in an absolute sense, have been the best choice for Secretary of State, he appears to be a moderate when compared with other Cabinet members and advisors. Given today's political realities, lending support to moderates is pragmatic and reasonable.

 

[FlatSix911]

Tesla (and SpaceX) join tech industry amicus brief against Trump immigration order

From the comments ...
In a perfect world, people who settle in the United States should participate actively in the development of the country.
According to the chart below, we do not live in a perfect world.

 

[djplong]

There's a problem with that chart. They talk about "refugee households". That means any household where one person in the household is a refugee. I saw this debate about the working poor and food stamps where the stats showed a majority of SNAP recipient households DID have someone working in the household (yet still making so little that they qualified for SNAP benefits).

It also doesn't say how long these people stay on assistance or how long they've been refugees.

 

[jerry33]

It also doesn't say how long these people stay on assistance or how long they've been refugees.

If you are a refugee, aren't you a refugee for as long as you live in an asylum country? That aside, because there is a real prejudice against people who look as if they come from a Middle Eastern country, it's only to be expected that they will need assistance longer than folks who have a European look.

 

[ecarfan]

In a perfect world, people who settle in the United States should participate actively in the development of the country.
According to the chart below, we do not live in a perfect world.

You appear to be criticizing refugees who settle in America for accepting government assistance. Your criticism appalls me. Those people leave their homeland because of war or persecution and go to a another country in search of a better life. They often arrive with almost nothing but what is in their suitcase. And you are upset because they need assistance? Where is your compassion? You have absolutely no idea what it would be like to go through what they are going through.

 

[kort677]

You appear to be criticizing refugees who settle in America for accepting government assistance. Your criticism appalls me. Those people leave their homeland because of war or persecution and go to a another country in search of a better life. They often arrive with almost nothing but what is in their suitcase. And you are upset because they need assistance? Where is your compassion? You have absolutely no idea what it would be like to go through what they are going through.

millions of immigrants over the years have arrived in the US penniless over the years and most managed to survive and even prosper. the current way of giving handouts to all is a very imperfect way of handling this.
teach a man to fish........

 

[ohmman]

millions of immigrants over the years have arrived in the US penniless over the years and most managed to survive and even prosper. the current way of giving handouts to all is a very imperfect way of handling this.
teach a man to fish........

Except that your proposal is a proven way to failure. The poverty rate in the US has decreased dramatically since the introduction of safety nets. The data continuously support that assertion.

Here and here are some papers, and here is a brief summary. The more you read, the more you realize how useful these programs are.

 

[kort677]

Except that your proposal is a proven way to failure. The poverty rate in the US has decreased dramatically since the introduction of safety nets.

that's a falsehood, look at the huge increase in numbers of those on food stamps or collecting "disability" payment, in the last 8 years.

 

[ohmman]

that's a falsehood, look at the huge increase in numbers of those on food stamps or collecting "disability" payment, in the last 8 years.

Please dispute the data with argumentative facts - you're choosing to point out something that is already considered in the papers I linked. How does the increase in SNAP affect long term poverty? What does this assistance mean for those climbing out of poverty? What external factors are at work? Did you read the papers, or view the data?

Saying something is a "falsehood" means nothing unless you can dispute it logically.

 

[kort677]

Please dispute the data with argumentative facts - you're choosing to point out something that is already considered in the papers I linked. How does the increase in SNAP affect long term poverty? What does this assistance mean for those climbing out of poverty? What external factors are at work? Did you read the papers, or view the data?

Saying something is a "falsehood" means nothing unless you can dispute it logically.

look my friend, whatever I post will not be accepted. This is a very deep and complex issue. we are opposite ends of the spectrum on this. you advocate coddling people and I advocate people taking responsibility for themselves. unfortunately there are fewer people who hold my views and so I have to endure the tyranny of the masses who take my money to support those that for whatever reason do not support themselves.

 

[ohmman]

look my friend, whatever I post will not be accepted. This is a very deep and complex issue. we are opposite ends of the spectrum on this. you advocate coddling people and I advocate people taking responsibility for themselves. unfortunately there are fewer people who hold my views and so I have to endure the tyranny of the masses who take my money to support those that for whatever reason do not support themselves.

It is indeed deep and complex, which is why I ask that you do not distill it so simply. Or at least please consider that it's not as easily distilled. The complexity is why large research and government institutions dedicated to saving federal tax dollars have come to the conclusion that safety nets take less of your money when you look the entire life cycle. Think of it like going to the doctor for your physical as opposed to just going when you've got terrible chest pain. One might think they're saving money on each visit, but there's a reason insurance companies pay outright for preventative care -- they save money by doing so.

 

[ecarfan]

look my friend, whatever I post will not be accepted.

So that is your excuse for not posting real data to support your position? Or are you not posting data because it does not support your position?

This is a very deep and complex issue. we are opposite ends of the spectrum on this. you advocate coddling people and I advocate people taking responsibility for themselves

Yes it is a complex issue. So don't simplify it with pithy statements that you can't back up.

 

[kort677]

So that is your excuse for not posting real data to support your position? Or are you not posting data because it does not support your position?
Yes it is a complex issue. So don't simplify it with pithy statements that you can't back up.

yes, you're so right.

 

[FlatSix911]

Bottom line ... the grand experiment of the Great Society Programs were a complete failure

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

 

[Snerruc]

Bottom line ... the grand experiment of the Great Society Programs were a complete failure

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

+1

 

[ohmman]

1. Here is some evidence.
2. But, but.. that doesn't fit my personal narrative.
3. Let's just say the bottom line is something unsupported by evidence. "Bottom line" seems to imply that we've vetted it.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

One more try: Back to Elon Musk and Tesla Motors.

No?

Really, guys. Nobody is looking like a bastion of objectivity here - and everyone is looking off-topic.

 

[T34ME]

One more try: Back to Elon Musk and Tesla Motors.

No?

Really, guys. Nobody is looking like a bastion of objectivity here - and everyone is looking off-topic.

Uber has bailed on the advisory committee. It is obvious that the so-called President doesn't listen to anyone on anything other than the dark voices in his so-called head. He surrounds himself with wealthy, powerful people to give the air of legitimacy. It is only Elon's ego that makes him stay on this advisory committee. Elon has as much chance of influencing the so-called President as Rolls Royce has of making a production EV in the next year! Elon is embarrassing himself.

 

[3Victoria]

EM is trying to be constructive. There is talk of a carbon tax. If it appears to him that this course is a waste of time, he will bail. I do not think it is ego. Likely Thiel asked him to try.

 

[Red Sage]

As much as I admire Elon Musk, and as much as Space X is a success at privatizing near-Earth orbital launches, I think his Mars ambitions are nuts.

That is the proper position of a pragmatist realist pessimist skeptic. Pardon me now, while I go find the optimist line to stand in... So I can go to Mars!