ATG
Banned
+5,233|6527|Global Command
Economist wait with baited breath to see what will happen tomorrow, October sixth the year of Our Lord, 2008.


I have been pondering the differences between the two American parties version of socialism and Europes.

While on paper, Americans seem to emjoy a smaller than average overall taxation. imo when you get done factoring property, sales, capital gains and all the assorted thievery, business fees, parking fees, toll roads and what not America is right up there with the highest taxed in terms of cash money.

Taxes are a real problem for our nation in this;

Unlike the " socialist " nationstates of Europe, they actually get a hell of a lot more for their money than we do.

Sadly for the U.K., they seem to have their heads so far up their asses that there is no hope.

I'm not advocating one person or the other, I'm just asking a question;

Which of the two guys running for potus is more like to have policies that will give us a better bang for our tax paying buck? 

I'd rather have my tax dollars going for healthcare for me and college for my kids than for wallstreet bailouts to keep the bubble builders busy and stupid wars.

not again, that I am advocating for a particular guy.
deeznutz1245
Connecticut: our chimps are stealin yo' faces.
+483|6491|Connecticut
I'm to dumb to read all this and ascertain any of it. I'm just here to disagree with Cam.
Malloy must go
SealXo
Member
+309|6534

ATG wrote:

I'd rather have my tax dollars going for healthcare for me and college for my kids
no no no, you've got it all wrong, your money will go to illegal immigrants free instate tuition, but your kids will still get no help.

And stupid "wars" shouldn't be plural, the Iraq war is stupid, but the war in afghanistan is necessary. even BHO knows that

Last edited by SealXo (2008-10-05 17:28:06)

PureFodder
Member
+225|6284
The British system may look harsh towards the poor, but if you have a good look at that link you'll see the reason. The benefits that the poor get from the government as a whole greatly outweight their tax burden. It's far better to be poor in Britain and get free healthcare etc. than to be poor in America and pay zero taxes.
FEOS
Bellicose Yankee Air Pirate
+1,182|6409|'Murka

PureFodder wrote:

The British system may look harsh towards the poor, but if you have a good look at that link you'll see the reason. The benefits that the poor get from the government as a whole greatly outweight their tax burden. It's far better to be poor in Britain and get free healthcare etc. than to be poor in America and pay zero taxes.
Poor people in America get free healthcare as well (something you euros often overlook). It's called MediCare/MedicAid.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
GorillaTicTacs
Member
+231|6371|Kyiv, Ukraine

SealXo wrote:

ATG wrote:

I'd rather have my tax dollars going for healthcare for me and college for my kids
no no no, you've got it all wrong, your money will go to illegal immigrants free instate tuition, but your kids will still get no help.

And stupid "wars" shouldn't be plural, the Iraq war is stupid, but the war in afghanistan is necessary. even BHO knows that
We should let Afghanistan be Russia's problem again, not ours.  That pipeline is looking less and less worth it.

The biggest FU to the terrorists could have been to completely pull out of and abandon the middle east (including welfare for Israel), let them butcher each other, and invest that same cash into alternative energy.  $2 Trillion pumped into our local economy spent on things like windmills, geothermal plants, tidal conversion plants, safter nuclear power/waste disposal.  Hundreds of thousands of high-tech and high-paying jobs to build and maintain this stuff, and make us a world leader and example.

Instead we have 4000+ dead soldiers, fat-ass oil execs and war profiteers (with overseas HQ's) laughing their asses off with each body coming home, and the middle east is still a train wreck.

He's happy.  His oil company profitted in record numbers, now his Wall Street investments are shored up as well.  This is the real face of neo-conservatism.  This is their poster child.  This is Bush's "Some call you the elite, I call you my 'base'." 
https://images.abovetopsecret.com/oil.gif
And what bothers me the most is there are still regular middle-class people in the US that think this is anything near acceptable.  That fat-ass' face should be burned into the eye sockets of everyone that thinks we did the right thing for the last 8 years and we should elect the same group of assholes for another 8.  It should keep you up at night.  Every dead soldier that comes home in a bag, he's laughing.  Every time you pay $80 to fill your gas tank to get to your shitty job, he's laughing.  Every $1 your grandchildren will end up paying to him and his buddies, he's laughing.  Every time Lowing writes a post spreading a far-fetched talking point meant to distract you from what he's doing, he's laughing.  He's laughing at the country club, he's laughing at the high-price whorehouse where some little slut is finding the dick even he hasn't seen in years for $10,000/hour, and he's laughing his way through board meetings and phone calls with Bush Sr.

Am I an angry liberal?  Nope.  Outraged as a human being, an American, and a tax payer...you betchya!
FEOS
Bellicose Yankee Air Pirate
+1,182|6409|'Murka

GorillaTicTacs wrote:

We should let Afghanistan be Russia's problem again, not ours.  That pipeline is looking less and less worth it.
Are you thinking of Georgia?
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
AussieReaper
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
+5,761|6151|what

FEOS wrote:

GorillaTicTacs wrote:

We should let Afghanistan be Russia's problem again, not ours.  That pipeline is looking less and less worth it.
Are you thinking of Georgia?
It still doesn't make sense if he does...

"We should let Georgia be Russia's problem again, not ours."

wtf?
https://i.imgur.com/maVpUMN.png
FEOS
Bellicose Yankee Air Pirate
+1,182|6409|'Murka

TheAussieReaper wrote:

FEOS wrote:

GorillaTicTacs wrote:

We should let Afghanistan be Russia's problem again, not ours.  That pipeline is looking less and less worth it.
Are you thinking of Georgia?
It still doesn't make sense if he does...

"We should let Georgia be Russia's problem again, not ours."

wtf?
1. There are a couple of key oil/gas pipelines just south of S. Ossetia.

2. People have argued that other countries shouldn't involve themselves in the Russia/Georgia mess.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
Mekstizzle
WALKER
+3,611|6619|London, England

GorillaTicTacs wrote:

The biggest FU to the terrorists could have been to completely pull out of and abandon the middle east (including welfare for Israel), let them butcher each other, and invest that same cash into alternative energy.  $2 Trillion pumped into our local economy spent on things like windmills, geothermal plants, tidal conversion plants, safter nuclear power/waste disposal.  Hundreds of thousands of high-tech and high-paying jobs to build and maintain this stuff, and make us a world leader and example.
Yep. Pretty much this.

Why do the Islamic terrorists mainly hate the US? Because it ultimately goes down to screwing their countries over, because of oil related issues. The only reason the U.S gives so much aid to Israel is because they need an ally in the immediate region. The only reason they need a strong ally in the immediate region is, well, oil. The only reason they needed to fuck up Iran and install a dictator in there, was oil. So, for the vast majority of reasons these people hate the US, you can say, is because of the US's need for Middle Eastern oil.

Remove that need. And you no longer need to bother about anything in that region, you can tell them fuck off and let them rot and never step foot in the region or even speak to them again. You no longer need to waste billions on keeping Israel afloat, because you don't even need them anymore.

I can't wait until all the Oil from the Middle East has dried up.

Last edited by Mek-Stizzle (2008-10-06 03:19:38)

FEOS
Bellicose Yankee Air Pirate
+1,182|6409|'Murka

Mek-Stizzle wrote:

Why do the Islamic terrorists mainly hate the US? Because it ultimately goes down to screwing their countries over, because of oil related issues.
They should be pissed at their own governments, not the US.

Mek-Stizzle wrote:

The only reason the U.S gives so much aid to Israel is because they need an ally in the immediate region. The only reason they need a strong ally in the immediate region is, well, oil. The only reason they needed to fuck up Iran and install a dictator in there, was oil. So, for the vast majority of reasons these people hate the US, you can say, is because of the US's need for Middle Eastern oil.

Remove that need. And you no longer need to bother about anything in that region, you can tell them fuck off and let them rot and never step foot in the region or even speak to them again. You no longer need to waste billions on keeping Israel afloat, because you don't even need them anymore.

I can't wait until all the Oil from the Middle East has dried up.
Oil (and other natural resources) are huge drivers of national interests for many countries, not just the US. Would certainly be good all the way around to get off the ME crack, no doubt.

However, even if we never used or needed another drop of ME oil, we would still support Israel. Despite what you euros think, our relationship with Israel has a lot more to do with supporting democracy in the region than with oil.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
Mekstizzle
WALKER
+3,611|6619|London, England
Most Euro's actually think the reason the US is such a stalwart Israel supporter is because of religion. You know, the whole "Jews are holier than thou" thing and the "They need their holy land which God promised to them a while ago"
PureFodder
Member
+225|6284

FEOS wrote:

PureFodder wrote:

The British system may look harsh towards the poor, but if you have a good look at that link you'll see the reason. The benefits that the poor get from the government as a whole greatly outweight their tax burden. It's far better to be poor in Britain and get free healthcare etc. than to be poor in America and pay zero taxes.
Poor people in America get free healthcare as well (something you euros often overlook). It's called MediCare/MedicAid.
Medicaid does cover a lot of the poorest Americans, but there are still plenty of poor people that don't get coverage. The cutoff point can be pretty low in many states.

In NY if you earn over $8,067 per year you have to pay for healthcare yourself, but you're still below the US poverty line of $10,400 per year.
Mekstizzle
WALKER
+3,611|6619|London, England
Roughly how much does Health insurance cost over there in the US anyway? Or, maybe I should be asking, what's the price range? Does it start quite high?
JahManRed
wank
+646|6626|IRELAND

PureFodder wrote:

The British system may look harsh towards the poor, but if you have a good look at that link you'll see the reason. The benefits that the poor get from the government as a whole greatly outweight their tax burden. It's far better to be poor in Britain and get free healthcare etc. than to be poor in America and pay zero taxes.
I'm by no means rich, or poor. I'm somewhere in the middle and I paid 0.5% tax on my income last year. Good accountant and good records of expenditure=win.
lowing
Banned
+1,662|6649|USA

GorillaTicTacs wrote:

SealXo wrote:

ATG wrote:

I'd rather have my tax dollars going for healthcare for me and college for my kids
no no no, you've got it all wrong, your money will go to illegal immigrants free instate tuition, but your kids will still get no help.

And stupid "wars" shouldn't be plural, the Iraq war is stupid, but the war in afghanistan is necessary. even BHO knows that
We should let Afghanistan be Russia's problem again, not ours.  That pipeline is looking less and less worth it.

The biggest FU to the terrorists could have been to completely pull out of and abandon the middle east (including welfare for Israel), let them butcher each other, and invest that same cash into alternative energy.  $2 Trillion pumped into our local economy spent on things like windmills, geothermal plants, tidal conversion plants, safter nuclear power/waste disposal.  Hundreds of thousands of high-tech and high-paying jobs to build and maintain this stuff, and make us a world leader and example.

Instead we have 4000+ dead soldiers, fat-ass oil execs and war profiteers (with overseas HQ's) laughing their asses off with each body coming home, and the middle east is still a train wreck.

He's happy.  His oil company profitted in record numbers, now his Wall Street investments are shored up as well.  This is the real face of neo-conservatism.  This is their poster child.  This is Bush's "Some call you the elite, I call you my 'base'." 
http://images.abovetopsecret.com/oil.gif
And what bothers me the most is there are still regular middle-class people in the US that think this is anything near acceptable.  That fat-ass' face should be burned into the eye sockets of everyone that thinks we did the right thing for the last 8 years and we should elect the same group of assholes for another 8.  It should keep you up at night.  Every dead soldier that comes home in a bag, he's laughing.  Every time you pay $80 to fill your gas tank to get to your shitty job, he's laughing.  Every $1 your grandchildren will end up paying to him and his buddies, he's laughing.  Every time Lowing writes a post spreading a far-fetched talking point meant to distract you from what he's doing, he's laughing.  He's laughing at the country club, he's laughing at the high-price whorehouse where some little slut is finding the dick even he hasn't seen in years for $10,000/hour, and he's laughing his way through board meetings and phone calls with Bush Sr.

Am I an angry liberal?  Nope.  Outraged as a human being, an American, and a tax payer...you betchya!
Actually, I do not remember writting anything about big oil, but if throwing me into your rant as part of your scratching post helps to sell your argument, by all means use me.
GorillaTicTacs
Member
+231|6371|Kyiv, Ukraine

lowing wrote:

Actually, I do not remember writting anything about big oil, but if throwing me into your rant as part of your scratching post helps to sell your argument, by all means use me.
Thats exactly the point, actually.  You've never written about big oil...always just "appeasement" this and "muslims are taking over" and other such nonsense...all of which basically makes people that repeat the crap into willing stooges for guys like these to keep on working against your best interests, and then cynically laughing their fat asses off.
lowing
Banned
+1,662|6649|USA

GorillaTicTacs wrote:

lowing wrote:

Actually, I do not remember writting anything about big oil, but if throwing me into your rant as part of your scratching post helps to sell your argument, by all means use me.
Thats exactly the point, actually.  You've never written about big oil...always just "appeasement" this and "muslims are taking over" and other such nonsense...all of which basically makes people that repeat the crap into willing stooges for guys like these to keep on working against your best interests, and then cynically laughing their fat asses off.
I have never said Muslims are taking over either. What I write about, is the constant infringment on western society by outside forces that do not hold western values and morality at heart. I write about use of our own Constitution against us to strip us of out identity via PC, and the denial that it is happening. This is what most concerns me about our society now. The fact that you have to pay as much for gas now, that the rest of the world has been paying for years is not my priorty
Mason4Assassin444
retired
+552|6660|USA

ATG wrote:

Economist wait with baited breath to see what will happen tomorrow, October sixth the year of Our Lord, 2008.


I have been pondering the differences between the two American parties version of socialism and Europes.

While on paper, Americans seem to emjoy a smaller than average overall taxation. imo when you get done factoring property, sales, capital gains and all the assorted thievery, business fees, parking fees, toll roads and what not America is right up there with the highest taxed in terms of cash money.

Taxes are a real problem for our nation in this;

Unlike the " socialist " nationstates of Europe, they actually get a hell of a lot more for their money than we do.

Sadly for the U.K., they seem to have their heads so far up their asses that there is no hope.

I'm not advocating one person or the other, I'm just asking a question;

Which of the two guys running for potus is more like to have policies that will give us a better bang for our tax paying buck? 

I'd rather have my tax dollars going for healthcare for me and college for my kids than for wallstreet bailouts to keep the bubble builders busy and stupid wars.

not again, that I am advocating for a particular guy.
I hear you completely. No politician can say "I'm going to raise your taxes to pay for the shit we can't afford now". At the same time they won't say "Instead of directly taxing your income higher I'll tax your everyday life all to hell".
FEOS
Bellicose Yankee Air Pirate
+1,182|6409|'Murka

PureFodder wrote:

Medicaid does cover a lot of the poorest Americans, but there are still plenty of poor people that don't get coverage. The cutoff point can be pretty low in many states.

In NY if you earn over $8,067 per year you have to pay for healthcare yourself, but you're still below the US poverty line of $10,400 per year.
Says the guy who doesn't live here.

It's not just the poor, it's the needy. There are many who qualify based on need, rather than income (mental/physical handicap, for example). The poverty line is not the only criteria when it comes to benefits.

Medicare website wrote:

Generally, you are eligible for Medicare if you or your spouse worked for at least 10 years in Medicare-covered employment and you are 65 years or older and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. If you aren’t yet 65, you might also qualify for coverage if you have a disability or with End-Stage Renal disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplant).
Here are some simple guidelines. You can get Part A at age 65 without having to pay premiums if:

    * You already get retirement benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board.

    * You are eligible to get Social Security or Railroad benefits but haven't yet filed for them.

    * You or your spouse had Medicare-covered government employment.

If you are under 65, you can get Part A without having to pay premiums if you have:

    * Received Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board disability benefits for 24 months.

    * End-Stage Renal Disease and meet certain requirements.

Medicaid website wrote:

When Eligibility Starts
Coverage may start retroactive to any or all of the 3 months prior to application, if the individual would have been eligible during the retroactive period. Coverage generally stops at the end of the month in which a person's circumstances change. Most States have additional "State-only" programs to provide medical assistance for specified poor persons who do not qualify for the Medicaid program. No Federal funds are provided for State-only programs.
What is Not Covered
Medicaid does not provide medical assistance for all poor persons. Even under the broadest provisions of the Federal statute (except for emergency services for certain persons), the Medicaid program does not provide health care services, even for very poor persons, unless they are in one of the designated eligibility groups. Low income is only one test for Medicaid eligibility; assets and resources are also tested against established thresholds. As noted earlier, categorically needy persons who are eligible for Medicaid may or may not also receive cash assistance from the TANF program or from the SSI program. Medically needy persons who would be categorically eligible except for income or assets may become eligible for Medicaid solely because of excessive medical expenses.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
MGS3_GrayFox
Member
+50|6165

Mek-Stizzle wrote:

GorillaTicTacs wrote:

The biggest FU to the terrorists could have been to completely pull out of and abandon the middle east (including welfare for Israel), let them butcher each other, and invest that same cash into alternative energy.  $2 Trillion pumped into our local economy spent on things like windmills, geothermal plants, tidal conversion plants, safter nuclear power/waste disposal.  Hundreds of thousands of high-tech and high-paying jobs to build and maintain this stuff, and make us a world leader and example.
Yep. Pretty much this.

Why do the Islamic terrorists mainly hate the US? Because it ultimately goes down to screwing their countries over, because of oil related issues. The only reason the U.S gives so much aid to Israel is because they need an ally in the immediate region. The only reason they need a strong ally in the immediate region is, well, oil. The only reason they needed to fuck up Iran and install a dictator in there, was oil. So, for the vast majority of reasons these people hate the US, you can say, is because of the US's need for Middle Eastern oil.

Remove that need. And you no longer need to bother about anything in that region, you can tell them fuck off and let them rot and never step foot in the region or even speak to them again. You no longer need to waste billions on keeping Israel afloat, because you don't even need them anymore.

I can't wait until all the Oil from the Middle East has dried up.
I agree with you.  The US should take care of itself before thinking about any other country in the world.  Fuck democracy elsewhere, just worry about democracy in your own home.
Spark
liquid fluoride thorium reactor
+874|6673|Canberra, AUS
Total isolationism is, in my view, a bad idea. Whole number of reasons, China not the least - if you go into your shell, so will they.
The paradox is only a conflict between reality and your feeling what reality ought to be.
~ Richard Feynman
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6104|eXtreme to the maX

Gorillatictacs wrote:

The biggest FU to the terrorists could have been to completely pull out of and abandon the middle east (including welfare for Israel), let them butcher each other, and invest that same cash into alternative energy.  $2 Trillion pumped into our local economy spent on things like windmills, geothermal plants, tidal conversion plants, safter nuclear power/waste disposal.  Hundreds of thousands of high-tech and high-paying jobs to build and maintain this stuff, and make us a world leader and example.

Instead we have 4000+ dead soldiers, fat-ass oil execs and war profiteers (with overseas HQ's) laughing their asses off with each body coming home, and the middle east is still a train wreck.

He's happy.  His oil company profitted in record numbers, now his Wall Street investments are shored up as well.  This is the real face of neo-conservatism.  This is their poster child.  This is Bush's "Some call you the elite, I call you my 'base'."
Pretty much. The Iraq war really has been money down the drain, except to Bush's chosen profiteers - imposed on the Iraqis without reference to the UN.

No doubt Duhbya expected to make a net profit out of the Iraq war and I bet he personally has.
I hope he's happy in his lifeboat full of gold watching the USA sink below the waves.

FEOS wrote:

However, even if we never used or needed another drop of ME oil, we would still support Israel. Despite what you euros think, our relationship with Israel has a lot more to do with supporting democracy in the region than with oil.
Do you really think 'Democracy' has anything to do with it?
Israel is certainly not a democracy, nor a positive influence on the region.
Israel isn't an ally either, more of a leech.

Last edited by Dilbert_X (2008-10-07 00:14:47)

Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
PureFodder
Member
+225|6284

FEOS wrote:

PureFodder wrote:

Medicaid does cover a lot of the poorest Americans, but there are still plenty of poor people that don't get coverage. The cutoff point can be pretty low in many states.

In NY if you earn over $8,067 per year you have to pay for healthcare yourself, but you're still below the US poverty line of $10,400 per year.
Says the guy who doesn't live here.

It's not just the poor, it's the needy. There are many who qualify based on need, rather than income (mental/physical handicap, for example). The poverty line is not the only criteria when it comes to benefits.
So you're basically saying that yes I'm actually right, there are plenty of poor Americans that can't pay for their own healthcare and that aren't covered by the government plans.

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