|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chieftain Twilight Captain
|
 Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:55 am
too many things to reply to. so... HAPPY NEW YEAR!! emotion_awesome
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 9:16 pm
Well, happy New Year, I suppose. neutral I myself couldn't give two shits, but....  (Captain Powers, Activate!) OH MY GODS, DOMO!! :hugs.: *EDIT* Me minus meds equals "What was I about to say again?" *Mind goes blank* *And again* *And again* "I--no...." *And again*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:32 am
11 hours of hitching, there and back in two days. Really tired yesterday but it was worth it. Had a lovely time hanging out with lovely people on new year's. My best friend was there as well as a quite a few others.
I ended up cancelling a date that I had with this girl I'm totally smitten over, buuut I'm not too sad. I still want to go visit her but it didn't need to be then -- that city is absurd on the best of nights.
Hope everyone's had a lovely holiday thus far.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 12:55 pm
Something I found on Facebook (so you know it's true!) and I actually agree with:
An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.
The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A.... (substituting grades for dollars - something closer to home and more readily understood by all).
After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.
The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. It could not be any simpler than that.
Remember, there IS a test coming up. The 2012 elections.
These are possibly the 5 best sentences you'll ever read and all applicable to this experiment:
1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.
2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!
5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
ScarletFrost Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 4:56 pm
The thing that makes me disagree with that statement most adamantly is the fact that the highest-paying jobs are almost all done with very little work, or inordinate and absurd award based on an average amount of work.
I don't think any election can possibly change things because the system is more deeply flawed than that, and the electoral system is based fundamentally within this. Any choice is just a figurehead.
I also think economic growth is a tiny concern paired with the fact that the planet is so rapidly being devastated.
Not to run away on a debate, but I've decided to leave the RST, and soon leave Gaia. Some stuff has come up and I don't have the time or energy I had in the past to devote here. It was really nice knowing you all, and I wish you all the best.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 5:08 pm
So many people leaving Gaia cry
It makes me sad, but if RL is better for it then Godspeed and goodluck! heart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chieftain Twilight Captain
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 5:19 pm
we'll all miss you, Figuren!
anywho, I actually have alot to say against that piece.
1.) president obama is not socialist; he's another capitalist imperialist. I generally dislike him for it.
2.) this does sound an awful lot like what happened in my english class... me and 2 other students were very hard workers, we each ended with As in the class. but the rest of the class slacked for various reasons (they didn't care about the class. some because it wasn't important for their majours and others because they weren't serious about school at all). the teacher had set it up that all the quizzes were going to be put to vote, and they kept getting voted down so that we had a grand total of 4 quizes that semester. this pushed all the work to the end of the semester, which made it that much more difficult on those of us who were actually DOING the work! it pissed us all off, and I had made the argument to my teacher that he should just let the slackers fail for the benefit of the hard workers because they weren't going to be successful after this class anyway.
3.) those arguments are propaganda. the rich in this nation are NOT the harder workers!! the rich are CEOs and wall-street crooks and inheritors of family fortunes gained by the same unfair means. the workers don't control the means of production! if you are making the most money in the U.S., it's because you AREn'T working; you're sitting in a penthouse playing golf in your indoors golf court, paying the checks to the managers who oversee a chain of command who direct the ACTUAL laborers who either break their backs just to put food on the table or endure all kinds of abuse and neglect for less than minimum wage because they are illegal immigrants! stare
so yeh. that's my argument. -.-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:13 pm
At the same time, it isn't the rich that are paying the bill for Obama care... It's the ones who work hardest, the shrinking Middle Class... Obama care will effectively eliminate what's left of it... Pretty much like that class...
You see, there was one demographic that wasn't effectively demonstrated in the example above... The professor, who could be equated with the upperclass of our society today, who dictate the goings on of the classes below them, but are not so affected by what happens to them... When you consider the hard workers of the class would be the hardworking middle class, and then the free riders as the 'welfare class', or lower class individuals who are happy to live off of what they are handed, then the analogy works...
I do agree with the 5 statements though... Mostly because my family is in the class that gets no help from the state, but our money is taken from us given to those who don't work for it... I have less of a grocery budget for my family of 4 than a family of 2 gets for food stamps... and I know, because I have been there before too. I don't want richer people's money, we would be just fine if our own earnings weren't taken from us.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:21 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:21 pm
Chieftain Twilight the rich in this nation are NOT the harder workers!! the rich are CEOs and wall-street crooks and inheritors of family fortunes gained by the same unfair means. the workers don't control the means of production! if you are making the most money in the U.S., it's because you AREn'T working; you're sitting in a penthouse playing golf in your indoors golf court, paying the checks to the managers who oversee a chain of command who direct the ACTUAL laborers who either break their backs just to put food on the table or endure all kinds of abuse and neglect for less than minimum wage because they are illegal immigrants! stare so yeh. that's my argument. -.- Figuren The thing that makes me disagree with that statement most adamantly is the fact that the highest-paying jobs are almost all done with very little work, or inordinate and absurd award based on an average amount of work. I actually know a lot of people who make over 6 figures a year, which I think generally counts as "rich" but they're some of the hardest-working people i know. Doctors, lawyers, accountants, university professors, programmers, etc., even guild plumbers and electricians. Movie directors, editors, and actors put in 12-16 hour days, not including makeup/costuming. I knew one woman with a Nursing degree and Business degree who made nearly a quarter-mil a year, but worked 10 hours 6 days a week and it took her 10 years to get that position, and then she never had time for romance or family or anything. It suited her personality and her expectations in life, but in order to achieve that kind of wealth, she had to give up a lot. Even Bill Gates and the late Steve Jobs are/were hard workers. With the current economy, most of those fantasy CEO's lost their jobs when their companies tanked and have had a hard time getting any employment after years of negligence and poor references. (More evidence that Karma works!) I just copied and pasted the story, and I'm sure it was summarized for easy digestion and intended purpose, but the basic premise--I believe--is still sound. Without a proportional reward incentive for hard work and long-term time/labor investment, human nature is what it is: pleasure-oriented and self-serving. Trying to force evenly distributed wealth, especially with the variation in financial management styles and inadequate financial education, is futile.
|
|
|
|
|
|
ScarletFrost Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ScarletFrost Vice Captain
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:36 pm
Eltanin Sadachbia I do agree with the 5 statements though... Mostly because my family is in the class that gets no help from the state, but our money is taken from us given to those who don't work for it... I have less of a grocery budget for my family of 4 than a family of 2 gets for food stamps... and I know, because I have been there before too. I don't want richer people's money, we would be just fine if our own earnings weren't taken from us. I'm coming from the exact same place. I am actually very proud to say that my family of 3 can survive on less than $800 a month. According to the government, this is impossible. Show's how much they know!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:53 pm
Things would work if taxes were taken by an equal percentage across the board... but richer folks pay a smaller percentage tax per income ratio... and then they get write-offs... Those that fall below the poverty line get larger tax refunds than the money they were taxed... and those of us that fall in the mid-class pay a larger percentage of taxes per income, we do not get write-offs because the minimum write-off amount is more than we make in a year, and we get small returns... IF we are lucky and don't have to pay in.
Income tax is unconstitutional, and if we reverted to the Fair tax system, then the Government would be allot more financially sound, everyone would pay the same percentage according to what they buy, no double taxation, and fewer governmental expenses due to trials and prisons for tax evasion and fraud, not to mention fewer expenses for paperwork and returns ... But those on the Hill who like spending, wouldn't want to actually HAVE to pay taxes with no out to get their money back... rolleyes
I also know people who make 6 figures, and they are ALL VERY hardworking people. They are good people, and I have been helped by them on occasion as well. One day, I would like to make 6 figures myself, and I will continue to work my way towards that, even with the odds stacked against me...
I don't mind helping people who need help, but I don't want to work just to have it taken away to be given to a drug addicted mom who has had 6 kids so she could get the biggest check that the system allows... And I know not everyone who has used the system is like that, but as someone who has HAD to use the system on occasion, I can testify that the majority of people who benefit from the system are those who know how to exploit it... Not those who would use it to get on their feet and then support themselves when they were capable.
AND, you can't tell me that if the ENTIRE system was socialist, there would be fewer people who would exploit the system... I am the sort who tries to think the best of people before I think the worst, but I have seen too much of the preview of humanity to get think otherwise.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chieftain Twilight Captain
|
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:54 am
I ain't socialist, realy... too many flaws. I'm Syndiclist. I believe in Worker's Rights, and in everyone sharing everything; but do your part or get kicked out for being a leech. as such, I completely agree with the sentiment on welfare; that system is ******** and needs to change. xp
also, I can definitely see your point about the healthcare bill, Elta... but honestly, hat we had wasn't any better either. I don't think there IS a good answer to that problem. but if it is a service that EVERYONE benefits from, than it shouldn't be a problem for EVERYONE to contribute their taxes to it. and the reason that the rich don't contribute to that is because they get the Public Option, which helps to keep the hospitals and clinics from getting way too backed up, and speeds up the medical attention process by allowing those who can afford the best to skip ahead of the line and be in and out. it's ******** up in it's own way, and I definitely don't see why these fat cats who didn't earn their money should be able to beat out the destitute and desperate, but on a practical level it's just best.
furthermore, how come everyone talks about the problems that the middle class are facing, but nobody mentions the unfair fate of the lower class? I'll tell you why it is; nobody cares about the lower class. the ones who are struggling, who can't make ends meet, who are in unmanagable debt, who are without work, or who are homeless. these people are not all leeches and mooches and free-riders the way they are portrayed. they are struggling, desperately trying to improve their situation. and yet every election and every congressional session these folks are ******** over again and again by policies that target them as enemies for the benefit of the wealthy. the middle class are convinced to vote against the only means of financial or social advancement that the lower class have because they are told that as middle class citizens they don't need it, so why should they pay for it? and that's not how it should be. we all deserve a chance! what ever happened to America being the land of opportunity? I don't even have a single living relative from a time when it was reasonably possible for someone to make themselves a comfortable living from scratch. all these stories we hear nowadays about people who come to america and live in poverty then start a business and become millionaires... those stories aren't genuine, they're fixed. they leave out the "inheriting daddy's fortune" part near the end.
my family was middle class in the 90s. we still lived pretty minimally, a small house and no cable. no computer. one old pickup truck. mom and dad were both working part time so that they could both be around us kids. I had a happy, comfortable life as a kid. we had plenty of toys, and never had tow orry about bills or food or clothes or anything that made us comfortable. then 9/11 hit and with all the racism and fear and beauracracy... my stepdad lost his job and driver's liscence for 5 years, and we went down to lower class. never realy recovered. we're what I call lower-middle class right now; not impoverished BY FAR! but still, struggling. not enough food, not enough income, bills stacking high, debt piling up... we have nice things, computers, tv, cable, video games, multiple vehicles... but these things have become nessesities for us just to be able to do the things we need to try to earn more money!
my brother is working full time as a martial arts instructor AND full time as a paper carrier AND part time as a chef at a restaurant; he's moved out and paying his own rent and bills.
my sister is paying her way through massage school herself, and also moved out with her boyfriend. working full time as a caterer and schooling fulltime.
I'm a fulltime student, living with my folks and feeling like a huge mooch. I wanna move out and get a job, but I can't seem to do anything about my appearance and that's hurting me in the job market.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 4:45 am
I don't ignore the problems of the lower class... I have been there, and still border line there... But at the moment, the lower class don't pay taxes... I didn't pay taxes when I was lower class... sure I had taxes withheld all year but I got it all back and then some come tax season... Plus I had help from medicaid and foodstamps...
In fact, By the time I got my tax return and help, I had more to spend than I do as a middle class... I kinda feel ********, you know? ... We would make $28K a year between the 2 of us, get $8k back with our tax return, get $400 a month for food stamps, and our medical paid for...
Now, we make $36k a year, have to pay $8000 in taxes and are not eligible for any help... and those are true blue numbers from our household last year...I will be honest and say that there were a couple low points this last year that made me feel like we would be better off as lower class... But I want to do better than middle class, so we haven't given up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chieftain Twilight Captain
|
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:00 am
:nods.: yeh, and it is ******** up... I don't pretend that the middle class isn't waning more and more; in fact, I lost faith that there has been a serious middle class at all years ago. it exists, sure, but not in any substantial form... it's just a distraction from the inequality so that the rich can gain majority support for their feudal policies.
see, the republicans want the economy to be like the dark ages, with an aristocratic gentry standing at the top of a pecking order powered by peasantry who are little more than slaves. it's a disgusting vision, and realy it's what capitalism always is in the end.
the democrats are a "lesser of two evils", but even they don't have it right; they'd rather redistribute the wealth to try to make it "fair and equal" at the expense of ACTUAL fairness -- i.e. the entitlement programs, and social democracy. some of them even still put their faith in a capitalist america, intending to reform it for the needs of the working class, but they only always end up combining the worst aspects of both capitalism and socialism.
the libertarian party at first seems trustworthy; freedom for everyone, yeah! but when you get to the heart of it, they want to privatise everything, shrink taxes as much as possible, and are pro-corporate personhood. their plan is realy just to let the rich have everything at the expense of everyone else. and in the end, that will only cause the economy to implode.
I guess it just feels like there is no winning; all the prominent policies and parties are opprressive and/or destructive, and nobody is willing to support Trade Unions or Confederated Syndicates. nobody wants to share.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
