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Originally Posted by Vick
You have a point (not certain what the goverment has to do with my indoor plumbing) but when I see what I pay and what I get in return and how money is just handed to GENERATIONS of welfare recipients I get a little unhappy
Anyone who doesn't have a questions about or challenges with the taxes they are paying can kindly pay a "Vick" tax and I'll do as much for you as any welfare recipient
I think it's great to be an American and am willing to pay my fair share but I just liked the view point this raised
More and more getting the feeling there is a lot of "pork" in a lot of projects too
While I'm not exactly middle america the government skim on my income and how it's doled out is out of hand
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First of all, if you are only now realizing there is a lot of pork in a lot of projects, then I would suggest that you invest in a good pair of Foster Grants. There is a lot more light out here than there was under that rock.
Did the government give you indoor plumbing? No. Did actions by the government help "spread" indoor plumbing - not just in health regulations, but by somewhat leveling the economic playing field? Youbetchabygollywow.
The world is not the same as it was 100 years ago. 100 years ago many Americans lived in third-world conditions, both in urban and rural areas.
Welfare? That's a hard way to live, and getting a lot harder no matter what stereotypes you believe in or which ranting mad dog on the radio you listen to. I'm sure the cheats are getting theirs, just as the Enrons and the Brown & Root are getting theirs. How many fucking welfare frauds do you think it takes to make one cost overrun on a defense contract?.
Welfare is cheap compared to utilizing the National Defense Highway System (that's what Ike first called the Interstate Highways he began) to quarantene the have-nots from the haves. The costs of welfare in this country are minimal compared to what it would take to hire and deploy enough police and prison guards to keep something approximating order. I do realize that some people are far more comfortable with cracking heads than feeding people, but it's ugly and gets bad press.
I am not a big fan of sales taxes, as they are particularly regressive. I could support a flat tax on all income from all sources - maybe with a floor, but definitely without a ceiling - and with business and corporations treated exactly the same as any other entity under the law. You get a deduction per child, and that's it - and since businesses and corporations can't have children, they get none.
To paraphrase Churchill, the American economic system is the worst you can find, except all others. I don't like paying taxes any more than you do, but I damned sure can't think of anyplace I'd rather live. Is there waste and abuse? Of course there is - there is bound to be, just based on the scale.
For the record, the Federal Budget in 1906 was around 500 million dollars. Expressed in 1990 dollars, that works out to $7,251,000,000.00.
The cost of the Iraq war has been estimated at $177,000,000.00 per day.
Basically, the entire 1906 budget would pay for about 40-some days of the Iraq war.