'Scooter' Libby is GONE! aka: One down...
- Thread starter Cali Scott
- Start date
I can certainly see where you are coming from with regard to things you don't want gov to get involved with.luckydog71 said:
Medicare/aid - people should simply take care of themselves. One should not have to pay for another's poor health. But without a national compensatory or pooling system, it leaves health care affordability in the hands of private insurers. This means someone is making a profit from the health of American citizens. And as you know, there is absolutely no guarantee that profits are reinvested into the American economy - there is too much temptation to put investment offshore. If people understood that someone was profiting from providing them with the ability to afford healthcare, surely they would find it unethical. The only alternative is a government managed system that removes the profit motive.
Social security - typically this means things such as pensions, but also is in the realm of unemployment premiums. On the latter, people should put enough in to their savings to overcome times that they may find themselves unemployed. No one should have to pay for another's misfortune or for those who are inept or lazy. But economists recognize such things as business cycles which affect the rate of unemployment, and that the rate of unemployment will never be zero because of the structure of the economy. This means that a fair fraction of hard working Americans with every intention to earn their keep will still fall prey to unemployment. Unemployment compensations help to smooth over rough edges of the economy and keep spending up, thereby contributing to a less bumpy business cycle and therefore less unemployed. Since regulating the economy is the role of government, so should regulating or even managing unemployment premiums/compensation. As for the former, pensions, a life's work should produce the fruit of a comfortable retirement. Here is where we are probably in the most agreement, for no matter how much assistance one has received from the Fed over one's working lifetime, in the end it is ultimately the individual's responsibility. Thus in the end, at retirement, Americans need to look after their own keep.
Dept of Education - I don't think gov should really be involved in social engineering, but there are times when it is necessary, such as the promotion of civil rights for blacks, or equality of education standards for all Americans regardless of class or creed. Without a government managed system of education, education standards and egalitarian ideals would fall prey to corporate funders - where sufficient standards and ideals would never be met.
Too bad all this shit costs money, and too bad one must stare at the deductions out of each of our paychecks. But civil society in a first-class country is costly. If you want no taxes taken off, then look towards a more backward country like China where there is rampant poverty and no social structure to prevent chaos except totalitarianism.
I don't believe in democracy anyway... the majority of the population is stupid and don't deserve to vote because they vote stupidly.Cali Scott said:
As for democracy and those in power saying they are in charge, a democracy isn't supposed to work that way. They are elected to do our bidding (I mean the bidding of the majority). But in the United States, "democracy" functions the way you describe.
A Constitutional Republic is closer to what I would like to see. What I would like to see is a Meritocracy - where a class of ruling professionals run the country. These professionals would be self-regulating, like a Bar Association or society of Accountants. They would have their own elections. They would have a senate of peers to oversee continuity and provide wisdom. They would address Congress. Forget about giving people the vote as in a democracy. Instead, let the professionals run the country.
I am not advocating survival of the fittest……although it sure works well in nature….georgebushmoron said:
But I do not advocate suffocating the successful either…..
I advocate personal responsibility. If you fail to be responsible for yourself…..then too bad.
There are a small number far less than 10% of our population that is not capable of taking care of themselves and I fully support government intervention on their behalf.
There is another layer in our society. A pure guess is it would be 15% to 20%. They are too f…ing lazy to get off their ass and get a job. There are hundreds of thousands of jobs in this country that could be filled by Americans. But they will not take them. They might get their hands dirty….or heaven forbid they might have to break a sweat. There are estimated to be 10 million illegals in the US That is 1/4 the population of Canada. By far the majority of them are here to do work Americans will not. The reason gov’t can not deport the illegals is because it would cripple our economy.
The US is fast moving toward the Canadian model of social programs. We can not sustain that level in a country that is 10 times the size and a trade deficit that goes through the roof.
My plan is send the lazy bastards to Canada with a one way ticket and a revoked citizenship so they can not return. For every lazy bastard we deport, we should allow one hardworking illegal immigrant to obtain legal status.
Everyone would be a winner. Canada would have an additional 10 million immigrants to participate in the social programs. The US would have 10 million legals who want to work.
I think that our best and most brilliant minds have gone to the corporate or academic world thereby leaving a void to be filled by criminals and power seekers in the public service body. Too bad that we can't have compulsory public service.georgebushmoron said:
Constitutional Republic is a Rule by Law rather than a Rule by Majority. IOW, 51% of the populus cannot mandate anything that will violate my liberty and that sounds great to me. Every Democracy in history has become corrupt and fallen - This is impossible for a Republic.
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This idea that government was beholden to the people, that it had no other source of power is still the newest, most unique idea in all the long history of man's relation to man. This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves."
- Ronald Reagan's Speech at the 1964 National Convention: A Time for Choosing
"Did I say "republic?" By God, yes, I said "republic!" Long live the glorious republic of the United States of America. Damn democracy. It is a fraudulent term used, often by ignorant persons but no less often by intellectual fakers, to describe an infamous mixture of socialism, miscegenation, graft, confiscation of property and denial of personal rights to individuals whose virtuous principles make them offensive."
- Westbrook Pegler: New York Journal American, January 25th and 26th, 1951, under the titles- Upholds Republic of U.S. Against Phony Democracy, Democracy in the U.S. Branded Meaningless
http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/repvdem.htm
http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/AmericanIdeal/aspects/demrep.html
http://www.serendipity.li/jsmill/baska01.htm
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P.S. LOL, talk about the ignorant, I just found this: "The best place for the facts to be done is by somebody who's spending time investigating it." --George W. Bush
Well at least there's a 100% probability that the next president will have at minimum, a basic comand of the english language. His staff has gotta just cringe everytime he opens his mouth.
Mike / Scott - we all agree. Wow......watch out career politicians of all stripes. I think this is a growing sentiment in the US.Mike Hawk said:
The politicians have claimed for themselves the right to govern.
I even figured out who is to blame for this theft. Every morning when the average American gets up and looks in the mirror he or she is staring right at the person responsible.
Hmmm.... I like your way of thinking, innovative, and to the point! America needs to get rid of its stupid and lazy citizens, that's for sure. It's a drag on the system that is already overburdened. Canada would do well with more lazy people as it creates the kind of counterculture that is becoming the mainstream part of the Canadian identity, ie: Trailer Park Boys.luckydog71 said:
