SocialD
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Posts posted by SocialD
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14 hours ago, SurelySerious said:
This screenshot is an example of how some have the ability to create some insane wealth. Choose wisely.
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15 hours ago, Pooter said:
No. But you can change course without going full retard.
True, but when were the smartest men going to change course? They've had multiple administrations to do so (including Trump 1.0). Were they just going to keep talking about it, or actually doing something about it? A few more debt ceiling increases? After another 36T in debt? When our economy collapsed under the weight of our own debt? *Insert bench skeleton waiting meme here.*Also, if tariffs don't work, then other countries should have no problem ending them if we agree to end them as well.
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5 minutes ago, Pooter said:
I just don’t see how starting a worldwide trade war that tanks our markets and makes virtually every product more expensive fixes our debt problem. And the republicans just passed a continuing resolution that failed to cut spending in any meaningful way so I have a hard time believing this is some all-aspect strategy to attack the national debt.
Quite frankly, idk either. But doing what we have been doing clearly wasn't working. So do we just keep doing that? My guess is they hope it will bring people to the table. Big gamble, then again, maybe it pays off big. Time will tell, but I'm not going to cry wolf because the market hits the same level we were in last summer. I say that as someone who isn't all that fond of 47.
5 minutes ago, Pooter said:I will grant that trumps tariff plan is at least different. But so is shooting yourself in the dick.
Maybe just cut it off, that seems to have become popular over the last few years.
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Maybe some day, those shouting the loudest about what will and what will not work, will actually fix the economic situation we're in. But from where I'm sitting, they've done nothing but 3x our national debt in the last three decades.
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Man, the movie Pushing Tin wasn't that far off.
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^^^^ the corporate partner.
I kid, I kid CH.
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On 3/23/2025 at 5:18 AM, brabus said:
The two companies took different approaches to meeting the requirements. Boeing came up with a better concept - I don’t know a single fighter pilot from any service that doesn’t share that sentiment. Sorry, can only be vague on the internets.
FWIW, it’s badass and a slam dunk…in theory. The pessimist (realist?) in me says they’ll fuck it up and it’ll be F-35 2.0 from a programatics perspective. At least there have been some solid fighter guys involved in the program up to this point, unlike the F-35 where the fighter SMEs of the early days were F-4 guys, who God bless ‘em, had zero fucking idea what a 5G fighter should be like (though they may have carried their balls in wheelbarrows, respect).
The F-4 could just barely eek out 5 G's, so that story checks out.
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14 hours ago, ClearedHot said:
Captain of 18 years had only 3600 hours...worked primarily as a sim instructor.
Niceeee...well minus the sim IP and crashing part.
13 hours ago, SurelySerious said:
Peformance increasing shear 15 seconds before touchdown, power came back a ton, never went back in and ~1000 fpm from that time until impact. 15 seconds is a long time to not direct a go around or take the aircraft if parameters aren’t what you would expect.
https://avherald.com/h?article=52439b47&opt=0Back a ton...it seems like they went to flight idle and we're never touched again.
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20 hours ago, BashiChuni said:
he's a good guy IRL wish he wouldn't have left. we disagreed, but the debate was fun.
Agreed. Pretty sure I could have great conversation over a bourbon with NS...probably learn a few things.
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Whatever you all do....panic because the sky is most certainly falling. But seriously, this is why you never budget based on getting premium flying every month. Best to be good with min guarantee, better if you're below that. It's already been a good year so far on reserve, might be a good year to keep riding the reserve train. I'm just excited that I'll be able to drop a bunch of my summer schedule as I have way too many plans this summer.
10 hours ago, Lord Ratner said:If anyone thinks the airlines just figured this out last week, I have a bridge in New York to sell you...
Someone certainly knew that DAL was about to make an announcement. I saw a post on X showing someone massively shorted DAL just before the announcement, then cashed out the next morning. Main millions for a few clicks. It's good to have insider info, especially if you have a few degrees of separation.
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Let's not act like either side has the market cornered on "honor," both sides do bullshit that makes their cronies rich. Why do you think one side is so petulant right now...their babies are in danger of being thrown out with the bath water. There would likely be a similar reaction if the roles were reversed, though maybe not to the extent we saw in the Trumps speech this week.
The problem with spending cuts is that everyone thinks their program is the lynchpin holding the US together. Cut deep and walk it back as needed. I'm all for looking at cutting tax loopholes that making business owners ultrawealthy, but first lets trim the fat that we've all seen with our own eyes (so clearly there is MUCH more) and stop blowing taxpayer money on bullshit. Also, figure out social security in a way that doesn't force us/future generations to be taxed even more. If that means sunsetting it, so be it, just do it in a way that allows people to plan for it. I'm already expecting to not get anything, or at the very least, a severely reduced benefit.
QuoteOne useful way to describe the effect of the change in the aged dependency ratio and the resulting effect on the ratio of beneficiaries to workers is to consider the implied number of workers per beneficiary. For the past 35 years, there have been about 3.3 workers per beneficiary (consistent with the ratio of 30 beneficiaries per 100 workers). After 2030, the ratio will be two workers per beneficiary (consistent with 50 beneficiaries per 100 workers).
With the average worker benefit currently at about $1,000 per month, 3.3 workers would need to contribute about $300 each per month to provide a $1,000 benefit. But after the population age distribution has shifted to have just two workers per beneficiary, each worker would need to contribute $500 to provide the same $1,000 benefit.
Thus, in order to meet increased Social Security costs, substantial change will be needed. The intermediate projections of the 2009 Trustees Report indicate that if we wait to take action until the combined OASDI trust fund becomes exhausted in 2037, benefit reductions of around 25 percent or payroll tax increases of around one-third (a 4 percent increase in addition to the current 12.4 percent rate) will be required. Past legislative changes for Social Security suggest that the next reform is likely to include a combination of benefit reductions and payroll tax increases.
Because the large shift in the cost of the OASDI program over the next 20 years is not due to increasing life expectancy, it is not clear that increasing the NRA should be the principal approach for restoring long-term solvency. Increasing the unreduced retirement age beyond 67 is one option that may be considered, given that the population may be healthier in the future and able to work to an older average age. However, this raises the question of the adequacy of monthly benefit levels. After the NRA reaches 67, those persons claiming benefits at age 62 will receive only 70 percent of the unreduced benefit level. Further increase in the NRA would decrease the adequacy of monthly benefits at age 62, and at all other ages, even further.
There is no one clear solution to the problem of increased cost for retirees because of fewer workers available to support the retirees, which in turn is caused by lower birth rates. This issue is not specific to Social Security, but also affects Medicare as well as many other private and public retirement income systems. The decline in birth rates has been far more dramatic in Japan and many European countries that are struggling with the effects of aging populations because of declines in birth rates even more severe than in the United States.10
A variety of possible changes to the provisions of the Social Security Act have been considered by policymakers and have been scored by the Office of the Chief Actuary. The reader is invited to look through these options, both as individual provisions and comprehensive proposals for improving solvency of the OASDI program.11
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4 minutes ago, busdriver said:
Is anyone surprised the organization that made people take photos of their wives off of desks would also over-react here?
The DoD only knows bang-bang control logic.
Oh man, I totally forgot about that. I remember the runners world magazine that had to be removed because of the chick in a sports bra. The magazine was a chicks lol. Apparently fitness isn't in the DOD business model.
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That bridgeee not your target.
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1 hour ago, ClearedHot said:
The LED lighting issue on nogs was news to this dinosaur.
LEDs are a lot cooler than the kerosene lanterns you guys had to use as landing lights back in the day.
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20 hours ago, polcat said:
The summer slowdown is normal for Delta. They do most of their hiring (aka indoc) in the 1st quarter in preparation for the busy summer.
Ya, we've done that nearly every year since I've been here. Just pointing at that AA isn't the only one doing this, so it could just be a slow down for an all hands on deck summer.
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I think Delta is stopping classes for the summer as well. They did up hiring from 500 back up to 800 but I think they've just found some efficiencies in the new contract.
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9 minutes ago, EnriquePallazo said:
False.
If you wear a morale patch or a friday shirt, you'll clearly not follow the TO, the plane will crash and babies will die.
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12 hours ago, Splash95 said:
So the Captain joined a regional 18 years ago and is still there, though he purportedly did not fail Delta training? How often does that happen?
Sadly, many that were hired in mid-2000s, got stuck at the regionals and/or just got comfortable. I think there was even a time where many though that some of the high time regional guys weren't get hired because they were viewed as "untrainable." I'm not sure if there was anything to that or not though.
I knew a handful from college who stayed at their regional because they were not commuting, flying day turns M-Th and the QOL was just too good to pass up. Unfortunately for them, their regional shut down and now they're all at United and way junior than they could have been.
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8 hours ago, brabus said:
@Sua Sponte Yep, all makes sense. The hard thing, as you’ve probably seen, is firing those shitty workers. It is a mountain to climb to build the requisite documentation for poor performance history, make the improvement plan, document them not meeting the plan, etc. A shitload of work to fire horrible workers - very frustrating.
You know the system is fucked when it's much easier to fire a technician by non-retaining them militarily.
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This should fix that shitty morale and retention problem! 🤣
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48 minutes ago, nsplayr said:
The first folks I'd can are the non-leadership O5s who have 20 years in the bank but are still just cruising on, taking up space.
This is exactly why I left when I did. Finished up a CC tour with 22 YOS and less than zero desire to continue down the leadership track. I knew I'd just be a deadweight O-5 DSG, soaking up sorties and holding up an O-5 slot. Unfortunately, way too many of those Mr. Bumpers out there who are filling a seat, dug in like a tick, maintaining the status quo.
Walked into the local FSDO a few years back and the place looked like a geriatric facility. Talking with one of the reps, most were retired military, who already were fed retirement eligible and clearly old enough to collect SS. Anyone who has worked with the FAA knows how painful some of those crotchety old dudes can be. I understand the desire to keep working, but new blood is a good thing. Hell, one of the reasons we can't get enough DPEs in the area is because the early 70s dude at the FSDO doesn't want to manage more DPEs (per a friend/DPE).-
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2 hours ago, bcuziknow said:
Hate much, or just that bitter over life’s choices?
Nah man, life actually couldn't get much better now that I'm retired from the military lol. Just had flashbacks to dealing with GS employees who were just road block after roadblock, rather than supporting the people their shop is supposed to support. I just see those types as easier to let go than a bunch of newhires, especially those closest to SS age. Best way to figure out who to keep/dump would be to talk to those who they're supposed to support.
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9 hours ago, Sua Sponte said:
Do you support a means test for VA compensation?
At the very least it should be heavily scrutinized. Auto 50% for Sleep Apnea? How many (likely non-pilots) claiming PTSD out there who never saw a deployment outside of Qatar...nice way to pump up their VA rating. I don't believe in means testing but payouts could probably be looked at big time. I'd actually be OK with just submitting expenses that I incur to fixing/tending to all ailments from a career of high-G flying.
I'm guessing by the time I'm SS eligible, it will be means tested, which is bullshit, but it is what is. Truly a take from the "rich" and give to the poor situation. If we're going to talk means testing, then DOGE is firing the wrong people. They need to take a hard look at the top of the tenure chain. Find that, retired military pension guy, 100% VA and getting paid another $100k+ from the federal gov, especially those at/near SS eligible. We've all ran across these types...the ones that are more of roadblock to progress than anything, never wanting to upset the fiefdom they have built for themselves and stuck in the days from when they were in the military.
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29 minutes ago, nsplayr said:
Should we build lots more "starter homes" that are < 1,500 sq/ft and don't cost an arm and a leg...yes! Would love to discuss what policy changes are needed to make this happen. Liberal states have failed on this utterly and some more conservative areas of the country have done better.
I've been pouring over a bunch of zoning information today (horrible reading), you're right, LOTS of work to do on this. Sadly, it's tough to even find someone willing to build such "small" houses.
29 minutes ago, nsplayr said:Disagree on this. You are going to have an impossibly hard time achieving the above goals without more and better spending. The "ideal life" most folks here probably envision was in the 1950s, right? Single working father buying a home and a car and providing for his family while his wife would SAHM with 2.5 kids and white picket fence right? I'm not saying that's the only good life, but it is a good one and one I personally live pretty much!
The problem with that "ideal life" is that wasn't really all that idealistic as we want to remember. Or maybe we just come from different classes, but my parents upbringing wasn't exactly "ideal," based on what they were required to do to raise a family on a single income.
break break
When you factor everything right down to things like real estate tax, etc...(taxed money on taxed money), we already pay a huge portion of our income to taxes. After looking at my needs and this years final tax bill, I'm already working less this year lol. Anyway, I'd entertain backing higher tax rates if I knew it would be spent wisely. Based on what I've seen after a career in the military, some of the things we fund coming out lately and having a family member heavy into an industry that is heavily subsidized by taxpayer money, I just don't believe that will happen. On the latter point, I sure wish my family had a few hundred acre of land because govt subsidized cheese is great for many landowners right now...
The Next President is...
in Squadron Bar
Posted
Plenty on here have the opportunity to capitalize on this opportunity. The Covid dip was a big help in working toward my "number." This is just another opportunity to take advantage where you can.