Are they "greedy" "leeches" if they only pay it back 10 times over instead of 12? How much is enough?
And who says "universal" so-called "free education" is ideal anyway? If parents had to try to get their kids an education, they would value it more. If parents had to try, they'd find a way to get their kids to behave. And then all the other kids could learn too.
And what if the kids parents are failures and the kid doesn't get to have proper good education - what is reasonable in that? Oh, but there is an angry god who will punish peoples sins down to children of 7th generation, or something like that;)
Lower "overall tax revenue" is hardly a tragedy. In fact, it's a triumph for everyone who works and produces anything rather than living off the work and production of others. As more governments compete in this way, there will be more opportunity to get a productive job and less opportunity to sell your vote for a cut of the loot taxed from the producers.
It's only a tragedy for those who want power over their neighbors and the ability to spend money they didn't earn.
You mean those freeloading bastards that we in Finland are biggest contributors to save? Yes, I'm talking about Ireland.
Because they now have the education, skills and health, instead of being not so successful, ie. not alive.
I've written longer rants about this and how people who see things so one-sided, so simple and so very arrogant and selfish way that I'm not going to repeat it here. Besides you're probably too full of bitter hate seeing what you would call a extreme communist country having best (and free) education, health care, and welfare and yet also we are not exactly last in the line for successful global business started from our country.
Social support can be thought at throwing unearned money to people or it could be thought as investment. Even then you may consider various reasons, no matter what you're take on those two options on of would it be wiser to give or not to give that money. Also our social security system is a lot more than giving welfare checks to unemployed.
You US Americans would not have a clue what it's about - you never had it and you never wanted to learn about it. You close your ears and sing (shout) la-la-la-can't-hear-you for the fact that education is free in most other 1st world countries than USA, which barely is one anymore anyway.
benefit by being situated in a country where (I presume is like the average European country) where good education and healthcare is quite accessible.
I don't know about healthcare in particular (although this being a Nordic Economic Model country, it's most likely good) but Finland's education is the best, even beating Fellow Nordics.[1]
It's level[2] is frequently top three, if not the first. And that's a country with NO private schools, and with system that does *not* urge absolute competition between students.
Got to admit, despite their other possible faults, Finns got this education shit covered.
Well, I think our public health care is quite excellent, though there are flaws (nothing is perfect). The link above, 1st you listed, is something everyone should read and watch the videos, especially those opposing public tax funded free education - hey, it works, but if you're one of the greedy bastards who can basically say with clear conscience that his money should not be used for others education and poor peoples children education is their parents problem (boo-hoo if they can't get proper education) then it's probably pointeless anyway - but the fact is our system works and is one in the best education systems in world!
Usually wealthy get elected more often than poor in USA it seems to me (foreigner) - I doubt there have been many actually poor anyway, but the most important issue is your have is wealthy or not to get elected you need to have wealth - from your party, corporate "sponsors", etc. - I think this is one of the many big flaws in USA political system.
Here we have "you should work, but if you don't you will be supported" - of course it's meant mostly for those lost or unable to have gotten job yet... Those living on welfare without any intent to ever get a job are very much frowned upon, except for certain special groups (I'll come to it), but they are also minority - while USA and some other countries fear that good welfare support will create large number of slackers who don't care for work, the fact is not many want to live with that money - it's enough so people can live and even have hobbies that cost, but it's not luxury: a small payment job is much better financially - and most people, surprisingly, get bored living on everlasting vacation anyway.
There are special groups like artists - a good artist (not musicians, except some really contemporary ones whose work are more like sound scape and presented in galleries) can get a grant, which is much better than welfare, but until one gets that, if one ever does and after it's possibly discontinued an artist an welfare money is considered more like a working person with poor salary. The government grant for artists is kinda a form of salary provided by the government (a system I imagine US Americans would call communism:D ).
Then students. Here we don't believe that a persons possibility for good education should depend on their parents income and will. Wethever you're from poor or rich family, you can apply to same schools - and also your rich parents can't push you to choose their loved college/university or what you should study. Even at university level that is up to you (although in university, while education is free, you will need quite a bit money for the books). Also students get "student support" money, as well as "rent support" (as do unemployed), which size depends on your city (different cities have different rent prizes).
Public health care then. Well, the visit to public health center does cost a little, but for unemployed and students the social services pay those bills - as well as any medication presciribed for you by public health care (thank god, I would never had graduated if I had to pay 99€/month for my ADHD medication). Of course there is also private sector - those do not mean "one or another".
I left a good bit away, including some special groups and special supports, like elderly, certain handicapped, etc. etc.
Finally I don't understand how some (not only US Americans) can say that a poor families childrens education should not come from their pockets - it's the worst, society is a community and should support it's weakest - damning a group of people to never get good education for reasons not their fault is - well, it's barbaric and should not belong to society.
...mention, that nobody really is (that is here in Real World) forcing you to do anything. How about you concentrate on that part of my previous message in relation to yours before that - You'll be less annoyed (or not, depends on which world you live in;) ).
Giving deals to your cronies is a form of political corruption punishable by law, at least in theory.
Giving deals to corporations who then turn around and give you campaign contributions is enshrined in law as a form of free speech by the Citizens United decision
We need publicly funded elections and we need to amend the Constitution to make it so.
In Capitalist USA corporations control governwent.
Actually not that terrible an idea. Tax the owner instead.
I don't know about the parent, but generally there seems to be a belief that companies should be taxed. Why? A company is not a person. It's a proxy. A legal mechanism. Companies do not "enjoy" profits, their owners do. Companies do not "enjoy" anything.
Tax is not based on some natural law. Don't tax companies, the country will either come a lot poorer, or people will get taxed much more heavily.
Study the tax system - you might understand why companies are taxed. Taxes are not punishment for individual, taxes are and should be taken wherever/whatever is making money - that is very simple and short version. A slightly better (still for from complete) is that those who benefit from taxes are taxes. Non-profit good will organizations are sometimes kept free from taxes.
You can't stop lobbying all together, but there can be laws to control it - a policitican caught receiving large "support" from private corporations would be in deep shit here in Finland indeed.
You don't have to discuss problems with corporation lobbying politics like there could be nothing possible to actually change that.
"The advantage of OSS is you can modify it to suit your own requirements"
That's all very well for the small number of elite programmers who have the free-time, skills and learning ability to just knock out a complete recompile of GNOME (say), or Open Office. For everyone else it makes no difference whether some of the major packages they use are open / closed / free / restricted or written in a foreign language. The number of people who HAVE decided to make customisations to anything is small (n.b. If you're thinking or replying "I have and do so on a regular basis", you're a Slashdot reader, so you're implicitly excluded from the ranks of "ordinary people")
I rarely, almost never, do that, yet I believe I'm reaping the benefits of people doing just that every day I use my system - I believe I'm seeing many many people missing how this works for the benefit of those who don't do that.
then the user is most welcome to write his own s/w.
Funny, that is exactly what open source is all about. I think you just made the opposite argument of what you intended:D
It is indeed amusing how often people do just this, not realizing what they are saying at all...:) I wonder if they are trying to say "fine, do write open source, but shut up about it":p
I've had quite nice experience, especially after moving to Debian (I didn't have much major problems with Fedora during last decade - yes, started with Red Hat - either).
Hear hear - While I have myself accused people for being "paid M$ fanbois" it generally takes quite a bit to get me do that... I really hate it when people accuse anyone daring to say something is wrong with linux (or windows, mac, anything...) automatically for OtherOS fanboi-ism, it makes it so easy to not take us clear minded linux zealots seriously.
If RMS is as bad in his personal security as he is in his computer security, it's not surprising that he left his bag somewhere and had it stolen. Assuming that everyone in real life is honest is as bad as assuming that everyone on the computer is honest.
If RMS thought people were really honest, he would not have needed to create GPL in the first place
Chrome used way more than 512MB on my Debian system with barely ~20 tabs open simultaneously. Oh well, with your specs I can see why you have no problems - in fact I never had problems with Chrome when I had only 1 or two tabs open:p
Yes it damn well is Chrome - I've experienced all the same problems on my Debian GNU/Linux, besides if other browsers don't have these problems, that too should make it pretty clear where the fault is.
"Roman Catholic dioceses, schools and other groups sued the Obama administration Monday in eight states and the District of Columbia over a federal mandate that most employers provide workers free birth control as part of their health insurance."
WTF?!
Only in USA... OMG, they seriously mumble stuff about religious freedom - this has nothing to do with freedom and everything with religious nutjobs controlling others.
You are mostly correct, but you do belittle keyboards usefullness. Sure, in games, in image manipulation programs, *sometimes* in GUI's the mouse can give huge advantages - however, one of the reasons I use FireFox as browser, for example, is because it has the best extensions for configuring it to work 100% without having to move my hand from KB and pick up a mouse.
Why? Well, I'm not interested in using keyboard instead of mouse when it offers no advantage - for most tasks it's faster, that is after you learn it.
Slashdot Mirror
Are they "greedy" "leeches" if they only pay it back 10 times over instead of 12? How much is enough?
And who says "universal" so-called "free education" is ideal anyway? If parents had to try to get their kids an education, they would value it more. If parents had to try, they'd find a way to get their kids to behave. And then all the other kids could learn too.
And what if the kids parents are failures and the kid doesn't get to have proper good education - what is reasonable in that? ;)
Oh, but there is an angry god who will punish peoples sins down to children of 7th generation, or something like that
Lower "overall tax revenue" is hardly a tragedy. In fact, it's a triumph for everyone who works and produces anything rather than living off the work and production of others. As more governments compete in this way, there will be more opportunity to get a productive job and less opportunity to sell your vote for a cut of the loot taxed from the producers.
It's only a tragedy for those who want power over their neighbors and the ability to spend money they didn't earn.
You mean those freeloading bastards that we in Finland are biggest contributors to save? Yes, I'm talking about Ireland.
Welcome to reality, Joe.
Because they now have the education, skills and health, instead of being not so successful, ie. not alive.
I've written longer rants about this and how people who see things so one-sided, so simple and so very arrogant and selfish way that I'm not going to repeat it here. Besides you're probably too full of bitter hate seeing what you would call a extreme communist country having best (and free) education, health care, and welfare and yet also we are not exactly last in the line for successful global business started from our country.
Social support can be thought at throwing unearned money to people or it could be thought as investment. Even then you may consider various reasons, no matter what you're take on those two options on of would it be wiser to give or not to give that money. Also our social security system is a lot more than giving welfare checks to unemployed.
You US Americans would not have a clue what it's about - you never had it and you never wanted to learn about it. You close your ears and sing (shout) la-la-la-can't-hear-you for the fact that education is free in most other 1st world countries than USA, which barely is one anymore anyway.
benefit by being situated in a country where (I presume is like the average European country) where good education and healthcare is quite accessible.
I don't know about healthcare in particular (although this being a Nordic Economic Model country, it's most likely good) but Finland's education is the best, even beating Fellow Nordics.[1]
It's level[2] is frequently top three, if not the first. And that's a country with NO private schools, and with system that does *not* urge absolute competition between students.
Got to admit, despite their other possible faults, Finns got this education shit covered.
Links:
[1]: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8601207.stm
Well, I think our public health care is quite excellent, though there are flaws (nothing is perfect). The link above, 1st you listed, is something everyone should read and watch the videos, especially those opposing public tax funded free education - hey, it works, but if you're one of the greedy bastards who can basically say with clear conscience that his money should not be used for others education and poor peoples children education is their parents problem (boo-hoo if they can't get proper education) then it's probably pointeless anyway - but the fact is our system works and is one in the best education systems in world!
Usually wealthy get elected more often than poor in USA it seems to me (foreigner) - I doubt there have been many actually poor anyway, but the most important issue is your have is wealthy or not to get elected you need to have wealth - from your party, corporate "sponsors", etc. - I think this is one of the many big flaws in USA political system.
Here we have "you should work, but if you don't you will be supported" - of course it's meant mostly for those lost or unable to have gotten job yet... Those living on welfare without any intent to ever get a job are very much frowned upon, except for certain special groups (I'll come to it), but they are also minority - while USA and some other countries fear that good welfare support will create large number of slackers who don't care for work, the fact is not many want to live with that money - it's enough so people can live and even have hobbies that cost, but it's not luxury: a small payment job is much better financially - and most people, surprisingly, get bored living on everlasting vacation anyway.
There are special groups like artists - a good artist (not musicians, except some really contemporary ones whose work are more like sound scape and presented in galleries) can get a grant, which is much better than welfare, but until one gets that, if one ever does and after it's possibly discontinued an artist an welfare money is considered more like a working person with poor salary. The government grant for artists is kinda a form of salary provided by the government (a system I imagine US Americans would call communism :D ).
Then students. Here we don't believe that a persons possibility for good education should depend on their parents income and will. Wethever you're from poor or rich family, you can apply to same schools - and also your rich parents can't push you to choose their loved college/university or what you should study. Even at university level that is up to you (although in university, while education is free, you will need quite a bit money for the books).
Also students get "student support" money, as well as "rent support" (as do unemployed), which size depends on your city (different cities have different rent prizes).
Public health care then. Well, the visit to public health center does cost a little, but for unemployed and students the social services pay those bills - as well as any medication presciribed for you by public health care (thank god, I would never had graduated if I had to pay 99€/month for my ADHD medication). Of course there is also private sector - those do not mean "one or another".
I left a good bit away, including some special groups and special supports, like elderly, certain handicapped, etc. etc.
Finally I don't understand how some (not only US Americans) can say that a poor families childrens education should not come from their pockets - it's the worst, society is a community and should support it's weakest - damning a group of people to never get good education for reasons not their fault is - well, it's barbaric and should not belong to society.
...mention, that nobody really is (that is here in Real World) forcing you to do anything. How about you concentrate on that part of my previous message in relation to yours before that - You'll be less annoyed (or not, depends on which world you live in ;) ).
Hah, I was even more amused when writing that than I'm writing this :) I'd say you're the annoyed :P
Giving deals to your cronies is a form of political corruption punishable by law, at least in theory.
Giving deals to corporations who then turn around and give you campaign contributions is enshrined in law as a form of free speech by the Citizens United decision
We need publicly funded elections and we need to amend the Constitution to make it so.
In Capitalist USA corporations control governwent.
Corporations are going to end up tax-exempt
Actually not that terrible an idea. Tax the owner instead.
I don't know about the parent, but generally there seems to be a belief that companies should be taxed. Why? A company is not a person. It's a proxy. A legal mechanism. Companies do not "enjoy" profits, their owners do. Companies do not "enjoy" anything.
Tax is not based on some natural law. Don't tax companies, the country will either come a lot poorer, or people will get taxed much more heavily.
Study the tax system - you might understand why companies are taxed. Taxes are not punishment for individual, taxes are and should be taken wherever/whatever is making money - that is very simple and short version. A slightly better (still for from complete) is that those who benefit from taxes are taxes.
Non-profit good will organizations are sometimes kept free from taxes.
You can't stop lobbying all together, but there can be laws to control it - a policitican caught receiving large "support" from private corporations would be in deep shit here in Finland indeed.
You don't have to discuss problems with corporation lobbying politics like there could be nothing possible to actually change that.
"The advantage of OSS is you can modify it to suit your own requirements"
That's all very well for the small number of elite programmers who have the free-time, skills and learning ability to just knock out a complete recompile of GNOME (say), or Open Office. For everyone else it makes no difference whether some of the major packages they use are open / closed / free / restricted or written in a foreign language. The number of people who HAVE decided to make customisations to anything is small (n.b. If you're thinking or replying "I have and do so on a regular basis", you're a Slashdot reader, so you're implicitly excluded from the ranks of "ordinary people")
I rarely, almost never, do that, yet I believe I'm reaping the benefits of people doing just that every day I use my system - I believe I'm seeing many many people missing how this works for the benefit of those who don't do that.
Nobody is forcing you to do anything, so fuck you you fucking fuck (see, I can use the F word too).
Funny, that is exactly what open source is all about. I think you just made the opposite argument of what you intended :D
It is indeed amusing how often people do just this, not realizing what they are saying at all... :) I wonder if they are trying to say "fine, do write open source, but shut up about it" :p
I've had quite nice experience, especially after moving to Debian (I didn't have much major problems with Fedora during last decade - yes, started with Red Hat - either).
Hear hear - While I have myself accused people for being "paid M$ fanbois" it generally takes quite a bit to get me do that... I really hate it when people accuse anyone daring to say something is wrong with linux (or windows, mac, anything...) automatically for OtherOS fanboi-ism, it makes it so easy to not take us clear minded linux zealots seriously.
That is hardly true, although I do understand how you could come up with that.
By mocking you? Interesting.
If RMS is as bad in his personal security as he is in his computer security, it's not surprising that he left his bag somewhere and had it stolen. Assuming that everyone in real life is honest is as bad as assuming that everyone on the computer is honest.
If RMS thought people were really honest, he would not have needed to create GPL in the first place
I'm always amused of the fact that Tubgirls pussy is censored :D
Chrome used way more than 512MB on my Debian system with barely ~20 tabs open simultaneously. Oh well, with your specs I can see why you have no problems - in fact I never had problems with Chrome when I had only 1 or two tabs open :p
Well, it does not on my Linux.
Yes it damn well is Chrome - I've experienced all the same problems on my Debian GNU/Linux, besides if other browsers don't have these problems, that too should make it pretty clear where the fault is.
And right after I had posted that, I realize, no wanking either:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/notre-dame-obama-administration-birth-control-mandate_n_1533147.html
"Roman Catholic dioceses, schools and other groups sued the Obama administration Monday in eight states and the District of Columbia over a federal mandate that most employers provide workers free birth control as part of their health insurance."
WTF?!
Only in USA... OMG, they seriously mumble stuff about religious freedom - this has nothing to do with freedom and everything with religious nutjobs controlling others.
You are mostly correct, but you do belittle keyboards usefullness. Sure, in games, in image manipulation programs, *sometimes* in GUI's the mouse can give huge advantages - however, one of the reasons I use FireFox as browser, for example, is because it has the best extensions for configuring it to work 100% without having to move my hand from KB and pick up a mouse.
Why? Well, I'm not interested in using keyboard instead of mouse when it offers no advantage - for most tasks it's faster, that is after you learn it.