barrowaj

Private industry won't step in to provide those services though. Its been seen in the past, ie. before the depression, which is what made social security necessary. Social security is an insurance program, not a tax. It would be able to fund itself if politicians hadn't treated it like an extra source of government revenue.

And interestingly, medicare and medicaid have a lower overhead cost (11%) than private insurance companies (30-35%). My source for those figures was an AMA representative that came to speak to us about their health plan (which, by the way, doesn't involve socialized medicine). Sure, you have to pay for people that don't put as much money in as they receive, like the disabled, but a private system would have the same drawbacks, in addition to having higher overhead.

I'm not totally defending business subsidies and corporate welfare. I think there is a certain good to trying to prop up a business that may have just had a bad year and has a large social good. But providing constant subsidies in the long run will distort the way the market operates.

I do disagree with the way we get taxed though. I can't figure out how it makes sense to tax companies on the money they earn, then tax citizens on the money they earn, and then tax citizens and companies on the products they buy. I would think taxing companies on the resources they use and pollution they generate makes sense, but not just a generalized tax. And for products it would seem that a value added tax would make a lot more sense. That way only the extra value that a business adds to its products is actually taxed, not every single transaction.

barrowaj

If you think so, then get permission to do some volunteer work at a local VA hospital. Sit down with some veterans and ask them what they did in their lives. Ask them where they worked, what they did in the service, and ask them how they get by now. I guarantee you that the answer to the latter is social security 90% of the time.

Praxus

Prove it.

Anon

More importantly, driving is a privelidge, not a right.

Apples and oranges.

Anon

Obesity is no disease. It's a symptom.

Anon

The hell if it aint.

Anon

Have you ever read the declaration of independence?

"All rights are bestowed by the creator".

Dumbass.

My rights are god given. Come try to take them...i dare you.

Anon

And that's THEIR business, not YOUR business, and most definitely NOT the Gov'ts business.

Anon

All of them.

Praxus

My rights are derived from my nature. Come and take them, I dare you.

Praxus

Amen!

Praxus

What do you mean by "Government preceded rights"? Rights are those things which are required by men in a society, so that they may be able to act morally (act in accordance with their life & happiness).

I'm not interested in your skepticism (inconsistent at that), so don't bring it up.


To Barrowaj: Tell us what you are for, and why.

dalem

You had to work pollution in there somewhere, didn't you?

-dale

barrowaj

<sarcasm>
I don't believe you.

Prove it.
</sarcasm>

If you want to see how people actually live Praxus, go out and do some volunteer work on your own. Go to a hospital and see what goes on, see how people get cared for.

barrowaj

Sure, I mean if they are costing everyone by polluting to make a profit for themselves then that should be reconciled, right? I'm no enviro-Nazi, but I think its important to protect our environment for future generations. Hopefully mankind will be able to live on this planet for quite some time, and so we should try to plan accordingly. I mean, look at what happened in China with that benzene spill. I don't want that happening to my drinking water.

Even though we have it better here there are still some problems. I went fishing last month in Galveston bay, and thought I'd check out the parks and wildlife fishing report. The report said flounder was good on mud mullet and shrimp, but it also said that you shouldn't eat more than 8 ounces a month because the fish are polluted with PCBs in the ship channel and upper bay. Children and pregnant women were advised not to eat any of it. I just find that a shame.