![]() |
Re: [OT] Another heated discussion about the Iraq siutation, war and politics.
See Teal, we are not too far apart *family hug* though we both have different opinions, and hey that is the way things are here in the US and that's a good thing.
I want to take up your comment about our Politicians. One of the things I think our Founding Fathers intended was that "serving our country" would be a sacrifice, not a permanent pay check that our elected officials get after 1 term. If they did sacrifice their public (income and what ever) and would not get a lifetime paycheck after they left office, then perhaps they would "work for the common man". Especially if they were told, once you serve in office, you have to live with Medicare health when you retire (ohh I know, how can you make that happen, but it would be nice if they have to take the medicine that we take). At one time, I thought that term limits would fix it, but I have changed my mind over the years. There are good people from both sides of the isle that DO care about the people (ohh we can disagree how best to serve the people, that's cool), but many career politicians are the bane of our Country's well being. |
Re: [OT] Another heated discussion about the Iraq siutation, war and politics.
Quote:
So, given that calculating the exact benefit each individual gets from government services is imposible, we should try and arrange things so that whichever simple model we adopt get's closest to whatever that value actually is. Geo has effectively argued that benefit is proportional to how much one *spends*. I.e. I get more out of government services the more I spend. I shall argue that benefit derived is more closely proportional to how much one *earns*. Or to put it another way: given the choice between a sales tax generating $X and a flat income tax generating $X (in a world with no other taxes, ha!), which one should we choose? To answer this question, let's look at several government services and try and decide whether the benefit recieved from them scales more closely as a function of spending or of earning. 1) Roads: Here it seems likely that spending would scale more closely to benefit. One would buy more gasoline if they used the roads more, and the more goods one buys the more that they had to be trucked in from elsewhere and thus the more the roads were damaged due to your buying the good. 2) Police and fire protection: Once again it seems that the benefit scales as a function of spending, since the more expensive house you buy, the better the nieghborhood and the more likely it is to be that you will have excellent police and fire coverage. But what a minute here. How do I put a value on the stability that functioning infrastructure brings to a society? The wealthier person only has a wealthy career because of this stability. Smack a New York City stock broker into downtown Kabul, Afghanistan (which lacks the devloped infrastructure of the west) and ask them to start earning a living and they will soon find themselves doing something other than stock brokering. Put a janitor in the same situation and it is much more likely they will be able to continue janitoring. In this case, we have to say that the stock broker got far more benefit from the government services provided by the U.S.A. because put him in a situation where those government services function poorly and his livelyhood is hurt drastically more than the janitors. In this case I think we have to say that benefit scales as a function of income, not necessarily spending. Much of whatever income you are making is really only possible because the society as a whole is quite stable and that is largely a function of a mostly good government providing roads, courts, police protection, national defense and even quite possibly help for someone who recently lost their job and would other wise have to turn to crime (gasp!, ok maybe not that Last one http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif . So which of these two viewpoints more closely resembles reality? I have to say that income scales more closely to benefit derived than spending does, although both are imperfect. Also, we may decide as a society that people should not be taxed on necessities (i.e. food, clothing, shelter). This is because if we tax someone who can not quite provide for all their necessities then we are in effect taking the bread out of thier mouths. We may decide, as a society, that we would rather just tax people on "luxuries" instead. Now the question arises, what is a necessity and what is a luxury? Buying a $2 shirt from Goodwill is surely a necessity, how about a $10 shirt from the Gap, or a $100 shirt from a designer store? Obviously the $100 shirt is a luxury, yet if we have a blanket "no taxing clothing policy" then the person who buys it would be able to escape the luxury tax in part by buying luxurious "necessities". A better way to approach the problem would be to allow each person a set deduction of $X where $X was determined to be the necessity threshold (that amount of money necessary to provide for basic necessities). This would involve far less paperwork and interfering with the market than trying to figure out which kinds of shirts are luxuries and which are necessities. One final argument against the sales tax, which, although short, is perhaps the most powerful of all. The world is becomming increasingly globalized and it is now quite easy to buy something from somewhere other than where you live. Typically when you buy something off the internet (for example) you do not pay sales tax. Some people seek to avoid sales taxes by using the internet for big ticket items. Thus a sales tax (even a national one which could be circumvented by ordering from Canada or Mexico) has a bad effect on the free market and will become increasingly more of a logistical hassle to collect and fairly distribute as time goes on. Teal, who has used up his "arguing on the internet" time quota for the month and must now turn back to "doing productive things" time. |
Re: [OT] Another heated discussion about the Iraq siutation, war and politics.
So, how much of this is true?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX My Darn Good Resume Accomplishments as President By George W. Bush, The White House, USA I attacked and took over two countries. I spent the U.S. surplus and bankrupted the treasury. I shattered the record for biggest annual deficit in history I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period. I set all-time record for biggest drop in the history of the stock market. I am the first president in decades to execute a federal prisoner. I am the first president in US history to enter office with a criminal record. In my first year in office I set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history. After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, I presided over the worst security failure in US history. I set the record for most campaign fundraising trips by any president in US history. In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their jobs. I cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history. I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period. I appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history. I set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president since the advent of TV. I signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any other president in US history. I presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed. I presided over the highest gasoline prices in US history and refused to use the national reserves as past presidents have. I cut healthcare benefits for war veterans. I set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind. I dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history. I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any in US history. Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (The 'poorest' multimillionaire, Condoleeeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.) I am the first president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously go bankrupt. I presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world. I am the first president in US history to order a US attack and military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so against the will of the United Nations and the world community. I have created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States. I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more that any other president in US history. I am the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission. I am the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board. I removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of Congressional oversight that any presidential administration in US history. I rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant. I withdrew from the International Criminal Court. I refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions. I am the first president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US elections. I am the all-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations. The biggest lifetime contributor to my campaign, who is also one of my best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation). I spent more money on polls and focus Groups than any president in US history. I am the first president to run and hide when the US came under attack (and then lied, saying the enemy had the code to Air Force 1) I am the first US president to establish a secret shadow government. I took the world's sympathy for the US after 911, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history). I am the first US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability. I am the first US president in history to have the people of South Korea more threatened by the US than by their immediate neighbor, North Korea. I changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts. I set the all-time record for number of administration appointees who violated US law by not selling their huge investments in corporations bidding for gov't contracts. I have removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans that any other president in US history. In a little over two years I have created the most divided country in decades, possibly the most divided that the US has been since the civil war. I entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less that two years turned every single economic Category heading straight down, record unemployment being the most recent achievement. RECORDS AND REFERENCES: I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine (Texas drug conviction has been erased and is not available). I was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during a time of war. I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use. All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my father's library, sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view. All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view. All minutes of meetings of any public corporation for which I served on the board are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view. Any records of minutes from meeting I (or my VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review. DO YOU WANT FOUR MORE YEARS OF BUSH! THINK ABOUT IT. SEND THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
Re: [OT] Another heated discussion about the Iraq siutation, war and politics.
Aaaw, why u got 2 h8?
[edit: done making serious Posts in this thread] [ September 22, 2003, 18:53: Message edited by: Loser ] |
Re: [OT] Another heated discussion about the Iraq siutation, war and politics.
WarDad should that mass email list a few sources to bring a little creditability to it ??? Cause right now it looks like one of those pass it on emails that passes right to the delete bucket.
P.S. anyone see Letterman Last night. That bush speach was funny... "The left hand ( raises the right one ) knows what the right hand ( raises the left hand ) is doing." |
Re: [OT] Another heated discussion about the Iraq siutation, war and politics.
Quote:
Clinton drove me away from the Democratic party, and dumb asses like the moron who made this email keep me away. (My opinion is mine alone.) |
Re: [OT] Another heated discussion about the Iraq siutation, war and politics.
OK people, forgive me if I sound a bit harsh, but as an inhabitant of 'the rest of the world', I would like to state my opinion. While I speak for no one other than myself, I believe there are many people out here - a whole lot many people - who would agree with me (I also got a little carried away towards the end, but that is honestly the way I feel).
The US had - and has - the power to make or break the UN, and this time, they chose to break it. While some people claim that this is the first step in a worldwide power grab, I feel that the problem is, in fact, the opposite. America doesn't want to take the UN's place. You don't want to take on the role of world leader or even the lesser role of world mediator. As soon as all governments which threaten you have been removed or intimidated into submission, you will retreat back into your isolationism. And that is what makes me mad. You see, in their day, the ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence were as revolutionary as the Communist Manifesto. Your Founding Fathers believed their ideals applied to all people, everywhere. But from the late 80s onward you did not try to push the world towards democracy and away from oppression and corruption. Sure, you participated in flare-ups in several trouble spots around the world, but they weren't part of a concerted effort. This is nothing less than tragic. After the fall of the Communisr Bloc, you had the power to create a world according to your own ideals (and believe me when I say that most of us out here think you do have that power) but did not act on it. That is why we do not trust you now. Those of us who hated you during the Cold War still hate you today, but they are a tiny minority. The rest of us - the ones who cheered along with you when the Berlin Wall came down - have been feeling cheated for quite some time now. The good news is, you still have a way out. Your government says it wants to create a democracy in Iraq, which may serve as an example for the rest of the Middle East. That is exactly the kind of project we've been waiting to see all along. We wish you the best of luck with it, because it is not only your national safety which is at stake there, but also your credibility. If, in your arrogance, you consider us - and our trust in you - irrelevant, if you believe you can achieve safety for yourselves solely through force and intimidation, you will face increasing opposition every step of the way. Your power, without wisdom, will fall of its own weight. If, on the other hand, you have the courage to live up to your ideals and make an honest attempt to spread them to the rest of the world, we will stand behind you and help you sweep away everything that threatens you - terrorism, drugs, international crime - because they are also a threat to us. America, seize this opportunity now while you still have it, and take the place you deserve in History. |
Re: [OT] Another heated discussion about the Iraq siutation, war and politics.
The speach, Read it !!!
Quote:
Flinging unsupported accusations only works so many times. |
Re: [OT] Another heated discussion about the Iraq siutation, war and politics.
Quote:
Our trade deficits is huge. Our goverment and personnal debt load is huge. Our industrial base has been immitated, undercut, and exported. The "brain" positions and the service economy is also following. We have many people who do not give hoot about American Ideals. Many immigrants came here for the almighty buck. Many natives do not understand how worse life can be elsewhere. The only thing our mixed population can seem to agree on is taht "we all want a litte more". I know career military men in the National Guard reserves. They complain about the lack of good clean men (er, persons) that can pass the drug tests. Many Guard positions go unfilled because of this. Many young men (er, persons)are discharge because of drugs and because they failed to complete counseling requirements. Can we sell Justice and hold charades like the O.J. Simpson trial and Rodney King trial? Can we sell democracy and flaunt election fraud? The Bush election was not our first case of fraud. How about LBJ, and Tammay Hall, etc...? We are in no position to kick the worlds butt. We are certainly in no position to grab the moral high ground. We certainly are not evangilists of democracy and human rights. We can not help the world alone. Maybe France can lead you. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif |
Re: [OT] Another heated discussion about the Iraq siutation, war and politics.
Quote:
|
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:19 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©1999 - 2025, Shrapnel Games, Inc. - All Rights Reserved.