User talk:Lawrencekhoo/AltTalk

My alternate talk page. Leave me a message here if you are unable to use my regular talk page.

For those who are new to Wikipedia, please read the Simplified Ruleset for a short description of our policies, norms and practices.

--

History of the United States public debt: Difference between revisions
Why is the previous version better than mine? My contribution adds more content from the original source article. Also, the "As a result..." phrase is an interpretation of the pertaining CBO record, the record should be stated and nothing more. Adding "As a result" implies that the 2 factors listed in the paragraph by themselves account for the debt- that is unsubstantiated in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Medium dave deranged (talk • contribs) 04:44, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Hi there, I see you reverted my change that economics utilises the scientific method. I didn't quite understand the reason you gave in the edit note.

Scientific method (from the wiki page)

Define a question Gather information and resources (observe) Form an explanatory hypothesis Test the hypothesis by performing an experiment and collecting data in a reproducible manner Analyze the data Interpret the data and draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypothesis Publish results Retest (frequently done by other scientists) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.168.146.61 (talk) 12:22, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

Hello, how are you? This is the first time I've been able to find any comments, "talk", on this matter, I apologize, I am a newbie. I did ask for help on my own page and this is the response I received, "That notice is from a few days ago. If you and another editor have been changing text back and forth a time or two, the best thing to do is to take it to the talk page of the article in question and discuss the reasons why, etc and try to gain a consensus of editorial opinions. But no worries, it looks like everything is fine now. Cheers, Shearonink (talk) 02:23, 1 September 2012 (UTC)"

So, I was under the impression that the matter was settled. Also, it appears to me that someone else has also made revisions to the paragraph in question, mostly a rewording of it, or was that you? Also, I did not revert any change regarding economics and the scientific method, as far as I know. If I did it was unintentional.

At any rate, the issue I had/have with the original paragraph is that, basically, it equates Reagan's lowering of income taxation with the democrat's not allowing welfare reform. First of all, it is entirely misleading to simply state that Reagan lowered taxes, the source article itself indicates the he broadened the tax base, instituted other tax reforms, and effectively increased tax revenue. That is something that was changed, it happened, and to equate something that wasn't accomplished- welfare reform- with something that was accomplished is illogical. The welfare system had already been in place prior to Reagan's tax reforms, so to place blame, an equivalent amount of blame as to why the debt increased during Reagan's two terms, which is the implication of the original paragraph, on the welfare system that was already in place, doesn't make sense.

Moreover, as I mentioned in my second message to you, it was the "As a result..." phrase which tied these two ideas together, indicating that per the CBO's records, these were the reasons for the debt increase- tax reform without welfare reform. Why would welfare reform be the sole counter-weight to a reduction in tax revenue anyway? It's as if those are the only two areas where the federal government spends tax income revenue. We both know that is not true, the revenue is spent in many other ways. So even if Reagan had reduced income tax revenue, which is an entirely misleading and oversimplified statement, it is a half-truth, the reduction in tax revenue that would have resulted, the action, would be the cause of the the debt increase, not the inaction of welfare reform. And this is assuming, again, that the only option to offset a reduction in tax revenue is to reduce welfare spending, which is not true. Medium dave deranged (talk) 15:41, 6 September 2012 (UTC)