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And you described the real crux of the problem—crony capitalism. The rich financial sector gets bailed out because they are politically connected. The public

by poof131 11y ago

And you described the real crux of the problem—crony capitalism. The rich financial sector gets bailed out because they are politically connected. The public unions get bailed out with fabulous pensions because they are politically connected. And everyone without a political connection gets the shaft. Politicians take on more debt and kick the can down the road because the kids can’t vote. The battle isn’t between pensions and the financial sector. That is infighting. The real battle is between the people paying into government and those getting money from the government.

RockyMcNuts 11y ago
actually the battle is between idiots who don't want to pay taxes and promote crappy weak governments, and everyone who benefits from having decent government and is willing to pay the price for living in a civilized society. if you're not willing to pay that price then you're the free rider.
- poof131 11y ago
  I imagine very few people believe there should be no taxes. The question is more where those taxes go: wall street bailouts, wars in foreign countries, unaffordable pension systems, and how much is available, which clearly isn’t enough based upon the ever increasing national debt. It doesn’t seem to be ‘idiots’ vs. everyone, but more likely generation vs. generation. And having spent over a decade in the military with multiple deployments I can relate to idea of ‘free riders’ not ‘paying the price’, but again regarding taxes, I think most people are likely willing to contribute their share when it’s a fair amount and used responsibly. Determining what’s fair and how to use it is the challenge.
  - RockyMcNuts 11y ago
    fair enough. the benefits of having a strong democratic government are so ridiculous that even if a massive chunk of it goes to waste you're still better off living in the country with a strong government than living in Somalia. and a shockingly large percentage of people in the US act as if the government is the enemy and cause of everything that's messed up. and a lot of time it's the same folks who think the government should be doing more surveillance, cops aren't using their authority enough, US should be world's policeman and invade/bomb more countries. go figure. everybody thinks the government should keep the other guy in line, tax the other guy, and give them the benefits and the services.

by poof131 11y ago

RockyMcNuts 11y ago

actually the battle is between idiots who don't want to pay taxes and promote crappy weak governments, and everyone who benefits from having decent government and is willing to pay the price for living in a civilized society. if you're not willing to pay that price then you're the free rider.

poof131 11y ago
I imagine very few people believe there should be no taxes. The question is more where those taxes go: wall street bailouts, wars in foreign countries, unaffordable pension systems, and how much is available, which clearly isn’t enough based upon the ever increasing national debt. It doesn’t seem to be ‘idiots’ vs. everyone, but more likely generation vs. generation. And having spent over a decade in the military with multiple deployments I can relate to idea of ‘free riders’ not ‘paying the price’, but again regarding taxes, I think most people are likely willing to contribute their share when it’s a fair amount and used responsibly. Determining what’s fair and how to use it is the challenge.
- RockyMcNuts 11y ago
  fair enough. the benefits of having a strong democratic government are so ridiculous that even if a massive chunk of it goes to waste you're still better off living in the country with a strong government than living in Somalia. and a shockingly large percentage of people in the US act as if the government is the enemy and cause of everything that's messed up. and a lot of time it's the same folks who think the government should be doing more surveillance, cops aren't using their authority enough, US should be world's policeman and invade/bomb more countries. go figure. everybody thinks the government should keep the other guy in line, tax the other guy, and give them the benefits and the services.