Recent Comments

1. 4 days ago on Pearls Before Swine

   I meant that the millionaire locked in a 3% rate when mortgages were cheap.

   The first house I bought came with a mortgage rate of 8.5%. The second house came with a mortgage rate almost 15% (1982). We paid off the second one as soon as we could. The value of the house back then was about 1.5 times the annual family income so it wasn’t really a big deal. Family income nowadays is a much smaller fraction of the cost of a house (a generalization, but probably accurate in most locations now).

   I kind of doubt that we will see those ultra-low interest rates any time soon. But then, it’s not up to me.

2. 4 days ago on Pearls Before Swine

   First of all, inflation has reduced the value of a million dollars. Around 2022 there were around 20 million millionaires in the USA. To get to be a millionaire you have to be able to manage things well (manage your money, your job, your relationships). If you’re not a good manager, the probability of being elected to Congress is pretty low since politics is heavy on management.

   Second, when the mortgage interest is hovering around 7% and you have a 3% mortgage on your million dollar house, it doesn’t make sense to pay off the mortgage since you can get 5% or more in a CD. (I should note that the mortgage rate kind of follows the ten year treasury rate. The average ten year treasury rate between about 1960 and today is just a bit less than 7%. The old 4-5% mortgage rates are long gone).

3. 11 days ago on Robert Ariail

   The border implies that the USA is the place for political violence. While the USA has too much of it, political violence certainly occurs worldwide. It’s not just us.

4. 12 days ago on ViewsAmerica

   It means that the recent violence has been developing for years by the polarization of politics.

5. 13 days ago on Michael Ramirez

   Maybe a cognitive assessment should be in the future for Mr. Ramirez?

6. 20 days ago on Al Goodwyn Editorial Cartoons

   That question was also asked in 1919 when Woodrow Wilson had a stroke.

7. 22 days ago on Al Goodwyn Editorial Cartoons
   "Tank the economy? Based on what? "

   trump DOES NOT understand economics. I might extend that the a lot of other Rs also. Isolationism did not work in the 1930s and led to WWII. Tariffs did not work in the 1930s and exacerbated the depression. Both of these things are major characteristics of trump’s platform. I would prefer not to see those things repeated.

8. 22 days ago on Clay Jones

   The real problem is that SCOTUS has seized power. THEY are the ones who determine what is an ‘official act’.

   I’m not a constitutional expert but I suspect the only way to get rid of a SC Judge is impeachment. And with the current makeup of Congress, it won’t happen, just as it didn’t happen twice with the last president. And impeaching six of them at one time would be REALLY unlikely. Is packing the only option? That sets a problematic precedent. What happens 100 years from now when there are 137 judges on SCOTUS due to back-and-forth political power switching (assuming we retain our electoral determination of the people in power)?

   The Constitution was written so long ago, language has evolved and that causes judicial activists to misinterpret what it means (in addition to ignoring important words in the original text). The only way to clarify it is through the amendment process, which is similarly unlikely due to the makeup of Congress and the number of states required to approve an amendment.

9. 22 days ago on Views of the World
   “Except there’s 3 that shouldn’t have his face.”

   Need a LOT more.

10. 22 days ago on Views of the World

    9 plus the ringleader