Originally Posted By Dabob2 ... get the economy as a whole back on track. That includes not drowning in red ink, and that includes sensible taxation rates. There's only one trouble with the "cutting taxes is always good" mantra - it's not true.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Don't you think you should stop asking questions that are so ridiculously simplistic?
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << But don't you think you deserve to keep the money you worked hard to earn? >> How hard I work is really irrelevant to the amount of money I earn. I do expect to contribute to the overrall good of society, which is generally the purpose of taxation.
Originally Posted By dshyates Puck Society! And it better keeps its grubby hands off MY money. Its MINE! If society wants manoey tell it to go get a job like everyone else!
Originally Posted By dshyates Then PLEASE stop driving on MY roads. They took my money and built stupid roads with it.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>But don't you think you deserve to keep the money you worked hard to earn?<< Enjoy your hard-earned money (yes, I'm sure Bob Iger worked so hard for his 30 million - deserves every last penny) when the government is bankrupt and inflation is through the roof. It's an overly-simplistic bit of silliness right there. It just doesn't work that way.
Originally Posted By ecdc And again, I'll ask the same question I always ask, when the tax rate for the rich in the 1950s under Eisenhower was in the 80%s, were we a socialist country? Were we robbing the rich? Were we "less American?" It's an easy question, and one that never seems to get an answer, just a change of tact.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo The cost of services are always cheaper when block purchased on an economy of scale. Public taxation costs people less in the main that private options. It also can achieve fantastic results (IVF was developed in socialist countries for example, as was open heart surgery) and stimulate the economy. I would rather pay more in taxes and see society have lower crime, better quality of life, education, and life expentancies, beautiful gardens, good public transport, and ethical commerce than live in the hell holes that are most American cities.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>I would rather pay more in taxes and see society have lower crime, better quality of life, education, and life expentancies, beautiful gardens, good public transport, and ethical commerce than live in the hell holes that are most American cities.<< Well said, Dave. Your post captures the silliness of the arguments. You're paying the money *somewhere*. It's not like you really do get to "keep your hard-earned dollars." That's a total myth. Lower taxes means higher costs in the private industry. Government's got its problems, for sure. I personally would like to see a balance between government and business. Right now, though, business is bleeding us dry. Their blatant willingness to take every last penny from already drowning Americans is truly astounding. People are down to their last few cents, barely clinging on, and these vampires just take it. Missed a credit card payment to feed your kids cause you just got laid off? Enjoy your 30% interest rate. I'm not kidding. Yet the uber-paranoid would take that over government regulation. They've been duped into thinking that big bad government is incompetent and out to rob you of your hard-earned cash, while those poor businesses are just innocent bystanders, trying to employ Americans and earn an honest dollar, while the gov'mint hounds them into oblivion. But here in reality, the rest of us know differently.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I know, it is bonkers really. I am not saying the government option is perfect. But a couple of years ago, I worked on a programme where we introduced the notion of social value into our commissioning and contracting processes for the National Health Service. It meant that when choosing how to spend tax payer money on services, it was not just about the cheapest commodity or best quality items. It was about the best value by companies that did more, whether that was environmental carbon neutrality or hiring back to work mom's, people with disabilities, care leavers; or companies that promised not to off shore. The public option means that sometimes we can make the world a little better with our purchasing power, than always going for the Walmart model that really does hurt the planet and it's people.
Originally Posted By EdisYoda <<<Right now, though, business is bleeding us dry. Their blatant willingness to take every last penny from already drowning Americans is truly astounding. People are down to their last few cents, barely clinging on, and these vampires just take it.>>> Right on. The retailer I work for is just like that. We are told to take every last penny from our customer's wallets. For example: A customer comes in to buy a $1000 television. We are "encouraged" to sell them a $300 stand or mount, $130 HDMI cable, $200 Blue Ray Player, $100 Surge Protector, $20 Screen Cleaner, $300 Service Plan, and other items I'm forgetting right now. So that $1000 television now is about $2000. Oh, and if we don't do this enough, we get written up and with enough write ups, we get fired! Why? Because if we don't the managers don't get their bonuses.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Oh, and if we don't do this enough, we get written up and with enough write ups, we get fired! Why? Because if we don't the managers don't get their bonuses. >>> I can't be alone in doing everything I can avoid to shop at stores like that. And it's not because I'm standing up for the front-line employees - I just really do not like the inevitable confrontation that this creates between the customer and the salesperson. I know that it may be that person's next bonus, raise, or even their job on the line, but why would I want to pay $130 for an HDMI cable that I can get for under $10 (shipping included) online? Having that conversation then just gets into the next level of nonsense on how the one the store sells is somehow better at transmitting 1's and 0's from one end to the other intact. The thing is, it's really easy for them to measure what percentage of customers that buy a TV buy the extras, but it's much harder for them to measure the customers that no longer walk though the door at all because of the sales tactics.
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<Sat 12/5/2009 11:24a just saying... if it's jobs you want>> And yet during the Bush tax cuts we saw offshoring accelerate to unheard of levels.
