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Doesn't punish me. It WILL, however, continue to make things increasingly difficult for the middle class, and increasing numbers of them will continue to see their socioeconomic levels and standard of living decline.
You can lead a horse to water, and all that...
Living in a third world, crime ridden dirty country wouldn't be a punishment to you?
Its certainly better than hereditary monarchy or military dictatorship. If you don't like them vote them out.
I think they're all horrible, but even hereditary monarchy is debatable. At least people don't have a false sense of control, or think they're in charge.
Living in a third world, crime ridden dirty country wouldn't be a punishment to you?
We already are. Same thing is happening up and down the west coast. There's even a San Francisco human poop map online. Publishes reports of the homeless' human poop on the sidewalks, etc. Particularly bad, even in Nob Hill and Russian Hill.
Yeah, well, hyperbole and clever one liners don't make a thing true.
True, but I don't see how electing someone makes you them.
In theory, politicians and law enforcement work for us, because we (actually it's not "we", because many of us don't vote) elect them and/or pay their salary. Problem is, they literally make/enforce the rules, take your money, and decide how it's spent. They're the boss.
Dave Smith has a good joke about that. There's a part along the lines of...the thing you're leaving out is force. Imagine a guy comes up with a gun and demands your wallet..."well...I guess that guy works for me now".
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by InformedConsent
No, he wasn't. The Roman Empire succumbed. We're living it now. Greece is having significant issues. Even Australia is having problems with too many on the dole. Socialist/Communist societies fail for the same reason. Even worse, look at the draconian steps their leaders took to try to stem the tide of impending implosion: disarming their population, followed by widespread democide numbering over 100 million in just the 20th century, alone.
Maybe 40-50 years ago. The consensus currently is that he is correct. PBS published a brief article. Researchers at Cornell published a longer analysis. Etc., etc. Times and population demographics change, don't you know...
We already are. Same thing is happening up and down the west coast. There's even a San Francisco human poop map online. Publishes reports of the homeless' human poop on the sidewalks, etc. Particularly bad, even in Nob Hill and Russian Hill.
Boo freakin' hoo. Being unappreciative of what you got doesn't mean you don't got it. Neither do a few examples of humanities foibles. This is an AWESOME country to live in and you should appreciate it more. If for no other reason than to honor the people who gave their life efforts, and sometimes their lives, to make it so.
True, but I don't see how electing someone makes you them.
In theory, politicians and law enforcement work for us, because we (actually it's not "we", because many of us don't vote) elect them and/or pay their salary. Problem is, they literally make/enforce the rules, take your money, and decide how it's spent. They're the boss.
Dave Smith has a good joke about that. There's a part along the lines of...the thing you're leaving out is force. Imagine a guy comes up with a gun and demands your wallet..."well...I guess that guy works for me now".
But when he's the government there is a way to fire him and way to change the rules under which he operates. You can specify how much money he can take from your wallet.
I don't claim that our system is perfect, nor that any governmental system is, just that they're necessary and ours is a lot less burdensome than most.
Everyone who works gets federal withheld from their paychecks during the year, but the EITC gives low earners their withholding back at tax time as a refund. And that is because the the federal government decided that they don't earn enough money. Btw, as a libertarian, I'd think you'd support the EITC, as it's close to Milton Friedman's idea of the "Negative Income Tax".
Or is Friedman now verboten amongst modern libertarians?
I think you may be misunderstanding the EITC. The EITC is NOT just a refund of what has been withheld. In fact, the amount withheld from paychecks has nothing to do with the amount of the EITC. If a person has no income tax liability, then they will be refunded any withholding. If eligible for the EITC, then they will receive a refund of any money withheld PLUS an additional amount equal to the EITC. The EITC is not close to Friedman's idea of "Negative Income Tax"; it IS negative income tax.
Boo freakin' hoo. Being unappreciative of what you got doesn't mean you don't got it.
That's just it. The 47% of 1040 filers who pay no federal income tax whatsoever but TAKE and/or USE Fed Gov resources/services/benefits don't appreciate what OTHERS paid to give them for FREE, at all. They just whine and complain about how they want MORE free stuff, and insist that society's productive class has to pay EVEN MORE federal taxes. It's sickening. /puke
Quote:
This is an AWESOME country to live in and you should appreciate it more. If for no other reason than to honor the people who gave their life efforts, and sometimes their lives, to make it so.
How about the TAKERS start appreciating what others do for them EVERY DAY? That INCLUDES honoring the people who gave their life efforts, and sometimes their lives, so the takers have get FREE stuff and complain ceaselessly about it. /again... puke
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