nice quote, no logical statement can defend against this. simply put, we have to abolish private banks, in America, and all throughout the world. We need to bring the Gold Standard back, and actually have transparency in the FED and when i say FED i mean an actual government run Federal Reserve which prints and issues OUR currency! Stop paying so much damn interest on money which isn't even actual money, its paper backed by nothing, yet we kill our brothers and sisters over it! children of poverty love capitalism along with myself, i don't love our government or the taxation brackets which keep the poor in poverty and anyone middle class taxed enough to living with those on poverty pay check to paycheck just so they can sustain a nice lifestyle and finally enjoy the fruits of there labor with there families. we need to follow the actual constitution and impeach our presidents, senators, congressmen. We need to vote as a community, not red vs blue, keep our citizens informed through something other than propaganda selling, agenda pushing, media stations which cause more harm than good. that's when we will see real change, not when our politicians are bought by huge corporations to payback favors with huge pork bills/bailouts. I'm all for capitalism, but i say let the big banks fail, let the greedy scumbags who steal our money finally be extinguished once and for all, not throw millions worth of petroleum on them! this is not a true democracy, republic, or capitalism, this is what we've let it become.
then why the hell did the governments put so much money into the space race anyway? it didn't help anyone out that much in the end, did it? the space race was a very emotionally driven competition. it was a matter of national pride. the scientists who worked on those projects were passionate about what they were trying to accomplish, but who they hell has benefited from some guy being in space? that money could have been put to way better use. not all scientific accomplishments need to have some sort of benefit to society. and not all brilliant inventions are the result of a capitalist society. it was great minds in pursuit of truth and knowledge who discovered all those things.
my logic is different. i believe in the collective right of humanity to self-preservation. if there is anything you have a right to, it is the right to your own life. because your life is really all you have. once you have your health, then you have no excuse to not live up to your full potential.
because it was competition, not because it benefited anyone of their taxpayers. i'd rather the scientific advancements better society, and most advancements are upgrades of previous inventions, and that is driven out of bettering your own self-interest. wether it be because you get a warm feeling helping brian down the street, even though he never repays you in anyway, shape or form, or upgrading your 1 bedroom apartment so you can have a better lifestyle. I personally think it is the majority of the time, out of money, especially if you AREN'T born with any, like myself. This is why i think America/'Capitalism' thrives, unlike socialism.
i support this. but isn't this an infringement on the free market? i always say i'm not an economist, i don't know enough about the issues, but from what i know, private banks are responsible for debt and inflation. am i wrong?
Yes. People do have a right to their own life, that is where natural rights all come from, the right to your own life. Of course what is meant by the right to your own life, is the right to sustain that life. That's where the right to property comes from. You have the right to EARN property in order to help fulfill your right to sustain your own life. How can you justify the right to someone's else's property though? We do have a right to health care in this country. Nobody is stopping us from purchasing health care, because we have to a right to it. All rights are rights to actions, not rights to objects. As I said, we have a right to property, but the government does not provide us with property. We have a right to bear arms, but the government does not provide us with weapons. We have a right to free speech, but the government does not provide us with a printing company.
Congress granted the federal reserve, nothing government about it, the right to coin money. This is a constructed knit of everyday citizens to loan money to private banks, which are again everyday citizens the right to loan money and charge interest on that money without having the gold in the bank to back it. So really, all they are doing is pumping more money into the economy inflating the dollar, by taking no risk on that money since it isn't backed by gold and they can just print more. If the Loanee never pays it back, they lost no money, the dollar is just lowered in exchange. I have to go drive my mom somewhere, i'll finish when i get back.
so all these bed-ridden invalids who can't afford to be seen by a doctor need to get out of bed and get to work, so that they can earn their medication. it just seems like too much of a fundamental thing. your health is key to your very being. you can argue for private charities, but what's the bloody difference where the money comes from. people need their health in order for anything to get done.
This is incorrect. Whatever inflation exists is there because of the Federal Reserve. Dollars are a commodity, just like steel or coal or BMW automobiles. When there are too many of them the value declines, and when there are too few the value increases. The Federal Reserve regulates how many dollars are in the economy through a process called "Open Market Operations". If the Fed puts too many dollars into circulation we see this as inflation. If the Fed puts too few dollars into circulation, this causes deflation. Now you may disagree with the lack of transparency at the Fed, but I do not. The reality is that the Fed is far more transparent than almost any other branch of Government. They regularly publish their opinions in the Beige Book, and they make the minutes of their meetings available online. When was the last time you got to read a collection of opinions/schedule of minutes of the meeting of ANY congressional committee? Furthermore, it is PRECISELY because the Fed is responsible for inflation that the Gold Standard is a terrible idea. You may not like how the Fed is run, but the way it is run can be changed, and indeed has. The current debate over Bernanke is taking place in part because he and Greenspan had one idea, while Greenspan's predecessor, Volcker, had a different idea over what should happen. But the point is, how the Fed is run can be changed via political appointments. Under the gold standard, new gold discoveries, or the drying up of gold mines, can have HUGE currency shocks. Gold discoveries are completely unpredictable, totally random events, and so unlike the Fed could NEVER be managed properly. The greatest example of this is VERY well documented - in 1896 huge gold reserves were discovered in South Africa, when the entire western world was still on the gold standard. The result was an immediate 4% jump in global inflation. For reference, usually inflation above 3% is "painful" for consumers. Personally, I do not think Greenspan did the best job, but he had an identifiable strategy that was well documented. The same cannot be said for random gold discoveries.
It makes a huge difference where the money comes from. Private charity if voluntary where as the welfare state is forced by threat of violence. Look at it this way. You believe in welfare state, that's your opinion. You have the right to hold that opinion, and I respect that right. I do not believe in the welfare state, and I would hope that you would give me the same accord and respect my right to believe what I do. You would not want me threatened with physical force and thrown in jail for disagreeing with you, would you? That's what the government does though. If I don't pay taxes, they threaten me with physical force. It would be like having the right to free press, but not the right to actually publish what you so chose.
i have every respect for your beliefs. in fact, i do my best to see eye to eye, but it always seems to boil down to a personal decision and what one believes is the greater good. i feel like taxes are such a small dent in a person's pocket. think about how much wealth people in america still have left over after paying their taxes. maybe it is forced charity, but how much would it REALLY affect your happiness and quality of life? just cause the government does a bit of redistribution of wealth, it doesn't mean i can't live life to the fullest. but again we're all different so... what can we do.
my parents make a lil more than 300k a year, with 4 children, they pay $90,000 every year in income taxes. Thats nearly 1 million every 10 years, they live paycheck to paycheck because they have 4 children, stressful jobs, and no time to cook or even have a remotely normal family life. My mother is constantly in different cities while my dad is a health freak and is always at the gym or doing physical improvement. Why should they have to pay even more money for smokers, those with poor eating habits (obese), aid treatments, drunk drivers, addicts, and everyone else for that matter? how much do you contribute to society and what does society or even the government for the matter contribute back? more taxes, new laws, less freedoms.
Just because it's unfair, doesn't make it untrue. I never said that non-religious people are automatically controlled by the almighty dollar. I just said that religious people tend to more generous when it comes to financial matters than non-religious people. Which makes sense considering most religions practice a form of tithing to the church. Again, I wasn't arguing religion as a factor for choosing which system of government is better quipped to run a country. On the contrary, I was commenting to a specific post which suggested otherwise. I agree. Which is why I don't believe that Capitalism is the BEST form of government. I believe it is the best form of government for the U.S.A. specifically. Your right. And Organized religion is a whole other rat's nest of complications.
i can't say i support you arguing that taxes are the cause of your parents living paycheck to paycheck. i don't know your parents or their financial situation, but i'd say that $300k before taxes is plenty to live off of. admittedly, i have no idea what it's like, since i'm still in school. but i know people who make much less than that who live very comfortable, happy lives.
so those who live above your definition of comfortably should be fined more than those who live comfortably and should contribute to everyone who doesn't live comfortably all subject to your standards? what happens when everyone just wants a free handout? poverty in america is 5 star poverty across the world and all third world countries. i don't want to work, i do want food stamps, healthcare, and welfare checks every month, thanks for going to college to support me champ. i don't see how this is just, fair, or freedom in any sense of the word. i have the freedom to be babied for by the state, in return you're purchasing my vote, i'm dependent on you to survive, therefore i won't vote for anything else. go red team!!!
No disrespect intended here but $300K should be more than enough for a family with 4 kids to live comfortably.. Maybe your family need to stop living beyond their means..
we came from poverty, there families before them came from poverty, first to even go to college, now they are very successful but are taxed 1/3 of there income. maybe if they weren't taxed the same percent as million to billionaires and we the people didn't support a system of keeping those in poverty dependent on the state, we wouldn't be living beyond our means, because honestly, until your a vp and in the business world, you have no idea how much the simplest of things cost. They don't go to work in a $100 suite while representing a company, the have to go out and buy nice things, not just for themselves, but for the image which business and the job entails. try feeding a family of four every night when you travel across north america once a week for 2-3 days and you're working until 6 pm every night all while balancing sports, extra curricular activities, while you stay in shape yourself.
i never said anything about food stamps or welfare checks. i support universal healthcare. i think dealing with poverty is best left to charities.
i disagree, there should be work programs, and community services which you can put them to work in exchange for money. don't give a free handout, benefit your community, infrastructure, roads, education programs, anything which gives people hope and encouragement to get back in the job market, and at the time giving back to the tax payers and community. I don't see how anyone else is responsible for your health, other than yourself. If you don't care about going to school getting an education, buying insurance, then don't expect others to pay for yourself. My friend just went to college, works at Lowes hardware for $11 an hour, he buys health insurance and is paying off college loans! health insurance needs to be fixed, prices can go down, less regulation and more competition through capitalism can help make it more affordable, that still doesn't mean people will purchase health insurance. some people would rather go without it so they can live comfortably and purchase a nice LCD tv and xbox live membership rather then insurance. I don't see it being yours or my place forcing people into such a situation where they are working to pay for another man, that is slavery.
I guess the lesson here then is money does not buy you happiness... Maybe they would be happier in lower paid jobs that would allow them to spend more time with their families..