Friday, December 19, 2014

Rubio and Paul on Cuba



Florida Sen. Marco Rubio isn’t mincing words when it comes to his Republican colleague Sen. Rand Paul’s support for the U.S.’s new Cuba policy.
“Like many people who have been opining, he has no idea what he’s talking about,” Rubio said Thursday on Fox News’ “The Kelly Report.”

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has emerged this week as the face of the GOP’s opposition to President Barack Obama’s change in policy toward Cuba. While it does not lift the embargo — that would require Congressional approval — it does ease restrictions and open diplomatic ties.


“The 50-year embargo just hasn’t worked, if the goal was regime change, it sure doesn’t seem to be working,” Paul, Kentucky’s junior senator, said during an interview this week. “Probably, it punishes the people more than the regime because the regime can blame the embargo for hardship.”


But Rubio pushed back on Paul’s claim, saying, “I would expect that people would understand that if they just took a moment to analyze that, they would realize that the embargo is not what’s hurting the Cuban people, it’s the lack of freedom and the lack of competent leaders.”

31 comments:

  1. Paul's right. Whatever implementing the embargo was intended to accomplish, it hasn't. We gave it the ol' college try for 50+ years. Time to move on. As brutal as the Castro regime may be, the U.S. has normal relations with many countries as bad or worse.

    Ok, gotta go now. Gotta finish my Xmas shopping at Crap Mart. They're having a huge sale on plastic and electronic doohickeys made by Chinese child-slave labor in some horrendously polluted province ...

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    1. Congrads of sticking with the imports.

      Export of American jobs in return for cheap crap which no one needs is a priority for this Christmas. With new free trade agreements, imagine the jobs we can export in the future.

      Don't you love it when a plan comes together.

      As a side note, I found 1 thing at the Mart which I actually buy, compost from the local mushroom farm. Great stuff for the lawn. $1.50 for a 1 Cu. Ft. bag. American made product (dirt) except for the made in China bag. Only downside is sometimes they don't sterilize the dirt/compost correctly and you get portabella or some other fungus/mushroom growing in the lawn.

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  2. Hi pfunky. I find it odd that Democrats are pushing for normalization, which would be a boon for business and industry while the Republicans are objecting.

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    1. A question.

      How can a small broke nation of 11 million be a boon to business and what's left of our industry? Are they planning to build a Walmarts in Havana?

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    2. Plans to increase trade and travel between the United States and Cuba should prove a boon to several industries, including Internet service providers, airlines and U.S. banks.

      As the two nations begin discussions to normalize relations, opening access to Cuba for U.S. companies as well as fostering entrepreneurship in the island nation appear to be primary goals. And if the economic pipeline between the U.S. and Cuba is fully opened in the future, it could lead to billions of dollars in business for companies on both sides of the Florida Straits.

      "The potential market for U.S. exports of goods and services is significant, even though not enormous,'' Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics and co-author of Economic Normalization with Cuba: A Roadmap for US Policymakers, said in an e-mail Wednesday. "At best, Cuba is a small economy.''

      If economic relations are fully normalized, a change that Hufbauer notes "is a long way off,'' U.S. merchandise exports to Cuba could reach $4.3 billion a year, and the export of goods from Cuba to the U.S. could total $5.8 billion a year, according to Hufbauer's study. USA Today

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    3. Yes, just what this country needs a trade deficit.

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    4. I predict for the people of Cuba... an island hellhole called Russia.
      Our next president posibliy or the one after will have to deal with a military crisis on that island again... While the one that will have to do it remains a mystery... Thank God it won't be this president.

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  3. It's a country that hasn't advanced past 1960 that's how. 11 million desperate and destitute people need a lot of stuff whether it's from Walmart or wherever.

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    1. Doctors in Cuba make $67 a month. How are they ever going to pay for our exports?

      On a more important note. The Paul-Rubio debate is exactly what we need on the subject. Air it out. Bring it on. All perspectives on the table. Best ideas win.

      A Paul-Rubio ticket would be one wining combination.

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    2. We can export more manufacturing jobs to Cuba this time at the expense of the American workers and the middle class. I love it when a plan comes together.

      Proof positive the administration doesn't care about the middle class or they are totally inept.

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    3. "Proof positive the administration doesn't care about the middle class or they are totally inept."

      Serious question, is there anyone you would consider a legitimate champion of the middle class?

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    4. Hey Max

      Your kidding. In Washington where the number one is themselves.
      2 their monied interests.
      Three, their party and then maybe the people that sent them to DC to represent them.

      Perhaps time for a new party tpo represent the people. Problem with that Washington like power corrupts in a very short time. Perhaps time for term limits as people vote their own best interests instead of what's best for the country.

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    5. "Serious question, is there anyone you would consider a legitimate champion of the middle class?"

      I know this will sound stupid from your perspective max but doesn't "all men are created equal" ring a bell? We were formed to be a classless society. Of course after 100 years of progressive propaganda this essential message has been buried.

      Some of us haven't lost that message.

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    6. "We were formed to be a classless society."

      By men who owned slaves. The reality is that all men are not created equal. No matter what, some will be smarter than others without working hard, others will work their ass off and still not be as talented as others. I don't, for second, believed that founding fathers ever intended for some uneducated farmer to have an equal standing in society, and as mentioned, they certainly didn't for slaves and not for women. Progressive thinking is what changed that.

      I don't particularly have a problem with unspoken levels of classes in society, there should be reward for achievement. However, for the stability of society, there should be reasonable distances between classes, not the grotesque gaps we have today.

      Of course, we are trading dog whistle messages here. I have no idea what, exactly, your point was.

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    7. My point max is that you are a Marxist. Every one of your posts has shades of class struggle. You constantly pit one part of society against the others.

      1%ers
      2%ers
      War on women
      Supporters of the "middle class"
      OWS

      All these progressive sound bites would be abhored by the founders.

      And don't be peddeling that slavery crap. You know damn well that our constitution would never have formed were it not for compromise on this issue. You know damn well that a majority supported eventual emancipation. Stop with the progressive bullshit already. Lincoln's emancipation occurred a half century before the fucking progressives reared their ugly faces.

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  4. I don't see how Rubio can say Paul doesn't get it. The comment Paul made seems spot on. IF, our goal was to embargo Castro into failure, it has not worked. Given our relationship with China and with people like the Saudi's, I don't think we have a shred of moral ground to stand on. That said, I have to imagine that normalization and full repeal of the embargo will do for us what similar agreements with other poor countries has. It will create a one way flow cheap stuff into our country and a way one flow of jobs to the poorer country. This is how business works, you exploit whatever advantage you can find. If the exploited benefit, that's great and if they don't, it's not personal, it's just business.

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    1. Yes we need to export the remaining manufacturing jobs.

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    2. I understand your position, however we are first and foremost a Capitalist economy. So, even though manufacturing jobs by U.S. citizens are at an all time low, corporate profits are at an all time high. If you are a Washington politician, that's all that matters. This imbalance is maintained (on purpose) by outsourcing manufacturing jobs. Maximizing corporate profits also maximizes contributions to politicians who support that same job disparity. And yes, exporting the remaining jobs would suit the political establishment just fine. Why do you think there's been no serious effort from Washington to create jobs? Keep people alarmed about Obamacare, abortion, gay rights, ebola Cuba or anything else. Let the good times roll.

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    3. So, even though manufacturing jobs by U.S. citizens are at an all time low.

      Americans prefer cheap imported goods vs. good jobs. import TV's, computers, power tools, you name it, export jobs.

      corporate profits are at an all time high

      What profits are at an all time high? Profits for every business in the US or are you generalizing?

      outsourcing manufacturing jobs.

      A requirement for providing cheap imported goods to the American people who DEMAND cheap.

      Why do you think there's been no serious effort from Washington to create jobs.

      Government doesn't create jobs, private business creates jobs.
      Government can expand government and create more government jobs however goods and services are provided by private enterprise.

      Keep people alarmed about Obamacare, abortion, gay rights, ebola Cuba or anything else.

      Better yet, give the people FREE and that will keep them quiet. We are about to have million of new citizens who will create few jobs, consume resources, compete for jobs Americans could do. Working so far isn't it.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0Gl8aMOpcg

      She like BO was just kidding, ROTFLMAO!

      Lose the rhetoric and think about where we are, how we got here. It didn't happen overnight and it's a product of our politicians past and present and their actions.



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    4. At one time, I believed we had a capitalist economy, now I believe something different. This from wiki, Plutocracy, defines a society or a system ruled and dominated by the small minority of the wealthiest citizens. The first known use of the term was in 1652.[1] Unlike systems such as democracy, capitalism, socialism or anarchism, plutocracy is not rooted in an established political philosophy. The concept of plutocracy may be advocated by the wealthy classes of a society in an indirect or surreptitious fashion, though the term itself is almost always used in a pejorative sense.

      When I read Adam Smith and Ayn Rand, I fervently believed that competition, IE free markets, would keep everyone honest. In real life, I've seen something much different. Competition is for people who have no assets. Protection or plutocracy is for those who have amassed some sort of empire. Whether in Washington or Business, it is very difficult to dethrone a well connected or well entrenched entity. I care less about Washington trying to "create" jobs than I do about seeing them try to force true competition. IN a simple example, I play hockey in a men's league here in Vegas. Every cycle, new players come in who clearly are better than everyone else who would rather dominate much weaker competition than play against others at their own level. In this setup, there is no competition and the only way to have competition is to remove that player or find some other way to handcuff them and tell them they will be out of the league if they score more than x number of goals a night.

      In the real world, under the guise of capitalism, we have done nothing more than allow a decidedly small amount of players to dominate the entire system. The massive bank consolidation was and continues to be a disaster, we could impose tariffs on goods from China and elsewhere that has labor paid pennies per hour, we could make big business play by the same rules small business does, but we don't and likely never will. I actually believe in competition and I believe in letting markets work. However, I also believe that preserve competition, you sometimes need to put limits on how much power can be amassed by any one business sector. I don't believe anyone goes to Washington saying to themselves, "I just wanna milk this game for all it's worth". Once they get there though and see how the system actually works, it's much tougher to change than expected.

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  5. What if the Congress enacted tax breaks for businesses who hire American workers? You really think that wouldn't create jobs? Not only would it create jobs but it would increase tax revenues and boost consumer spending which also boosts the economy. Nope, better to cut taxes for the super rich, those who contribute big bucks to politicians. Am I cynical, you bet, or maybe it's realistic.

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    1. The problem of over regulation and taxes remain.

      It would have to be a very large tax break to offset the cheap over seas labor.

      Why do the wealthy get a large tax break> They are the people paying the bulk of Federal Income Taxes.

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    2. "Why do the wealthy get a large tax break> They are the people paying the bulk of Federal Income Taxes."

      The also obtain the majority of income. If they wealthy want the poor to pay more taxes, why don't they pay them better?

      I used to believe in the cut taxes and reduce regulation. We've done both and have little to show for it. Small businesses don't get to play their own rules, large businesses do whatever the hell they want because they buy expemptions for themselves. However, the story goes that regulation is the real problem rather than the fact it isn't enforced properly. I don't think there is any single magic bullet to creating jobs. Cutting taxes for a producer who makes a product that isn't in demand doesn't solve anything, but we frequently follow such a path. Conversely, if a producer has a product that people want and people actually earn enough money to have enough cash to buy it, you start to get residual benefits and genuine growth. If there is such a thing as demand side economics, that's where I fall.

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    3. Of course they do.

      The more you have, the more you make. Unless Sammy takes a big cut. Then as a wealthy person you have tyo ask yourself, I pay 50% of my income in taxes, maybe I should pay less by making less. Works for me.

      As far as today, we have increased regulations, opened our borders to anyone who can walk, increased taxes and you have absolutely nothing to show for it unless you consider more people on benefits something to be proud of.

      Creating jobs is difficult when employers are faced with the healthcare mandate, taxes, more regulation, light demand.

      Are corporate taxes to high? Why would Burger King move it's headquarters to Canada? The problem is complex, taxes, regulations, open borders, Americans demanding cheaper goods, etc. Not a problem that's easy to fix.

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    4. Any tax at all is too high in the eyes of most, it's kind of moot about whether our corporate taxes are too high. Again, multinational corps don't pay them, small business does. Multinationals are allowed to exploit the complete disregard for human rights in countries like China, Vietnam, India and so on while small business owners in America are not. Your point is not lost on me Lou, but your frustration over what you personally faced as a business owner does not hold true for the entire economy. Since the end of Carter's term, we have comparatively seen massive deregulation in our economy despite the fact that regulation of cell towers has not become as non existent as regulation of banking.

      Regardless of the fact that we haven't put land mines, moats and sharks with frikin lasers on their heads on our southern border, another reality is that they come here because someone will give them a job in order to not have to pay an American worker a better wage. It's the local version of multinationals exploiting labor abroad. We could have no regulation, no taxation of business, no labor laws about amount of hours you could work and business would still bitch that they are being raked by ungrateful, greedy employees who don't deserve what they are making. It doesn't help that Americans would rather consume cheap shit than support their fellow Americans. My mom and my sister both bitch about how evil they think Walmart is, but they wont' stop shopping there.

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    5. bitch about how evil they think Walmart is, but they wont' stop shopping there.

      Americans love cheap. Recently needed a few new tools. Just try and find a made in America power tool or hand tool. Would love to but a new TV but refuse to buy an imported TV. guess I will stay in the stone age with the Tube TV.

      When I speak of regulations, I refer to:
      It’s Friday morning, and so far today, the Obama administration has posted 165 new regulations and notifications on its reguations.gov website.

      In the past 90 days, it has posted 6,125 regulations and notices – an average of 68 a day.

      The website allows visitors to find and comment on proposed regulations and related documents published by the U.S. federal government. "Help improve Federal regulations by submitting your comments," the website says.

      The thousands of entries run the gamut from meeting notifications to fee schedules to actual rules and proposed rule changes.

      In recent days, for example, the EPA posted a proposed rule involving volatile organic compound emissions from architectural coatings: “We are approving a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act),” the proposed rule states. “We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.”

      Another proposed rule will provide guidance for FDA staff on "enforcement criteria for canned ackee, frozen ackee, and other ackee products that contain hypoglycin A." (Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica; unripened or inedible portions can be toxic.)

      Some of the proposed regulations revise regulations already on the books.

      The last 90 days of regulations:

      Open or closed for comments, 5,990 new regulations.

      http://www.regulations.gov/#!searchResults;rpp=25;po=0;np=90;dct=N%252BFR%252BPR





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    6. I don't think anyone wins with government today.

      The very best to you and your wife.

      Kid's home for a month, enjoying some down time. 3.75 GPA.
      House is starting to come back together. 300 ft of wood floors, 2 baths remodeled and completed in Oct. 900 sq. ft of wood flooring, Kitchen remodeled just finished this week. Master math is under construction.

      Tonight, move furniture back in place.
      More furniture tomorrow and I may be able to set up a Christmas tree for my daughter.

      Had snow yesterday and more due tomorrow so looks like a white Christmas, a very unusual thing in Denver.

      Be well.

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  6. Rand Paul, Marco Rubio debate in spirit of Founding Fathers

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/22/wesley-pruden-rand-paul-marco-rubio-debate-in-spir/

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    1. "Such welcome back-and-forth between senators is what the Founding Fathers anticipated. Being high-testosterone guys, the founders were not impressed by mealy-mouth debate. But lively debate unsettles some people. “The spat highlights a fissure in the Republican Party,” writes a sage on The Huffington Post, notorious for its concern for Republican interests, “and at this rate, we might as well cancel the debates.""

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