Yes, I agree with this. There is no reason an unskilled factory worker should make more than 20 an hour. Once you get your skill set built up, I don't see a problem with more. Keep in mind 20 an hour is common for most entry level skilled tech support jobs.
2.50 for a movie?.50 an episode? 0.02 a song? Do you have any idea how many songs you would have to sell to make a living as a musician at that rate especially with people gouging your music sales? Assuming you make all the profits from your songs, you would need to sell :
40,000 dollars per year / 0.02 dollars per song = 2,000,000 songs / year
That seems ridiculous to me. A dollar a song is plenty cheap, and albums usually are packaged cheaper. I can see maybe.50 for an episode since most TV shows have a large audience, but even then maybe up to about 2.50 for an episode. Then, movies should be priced at some fraction of a movie ticket up to 1:1.
Yes, enough scraps from the masters table trickles down so that the musicians and artists don't starve, but the successes of their labors are severely gouged by the elite. This system is fucked and the only way to fix it is to eliminate the incentive for big-business to steal peoples works and send them scraps. One way to do this is to limit copyright length and only let extensions to copyright apply to the person who actually made the art/music to begin with within their own lifetime. Inheritance of copyrights should be totally eliminated. This way, you could build a portfolio of works and become an asset yourself rather than be an expendable employee where your record label gets to keep everything you create and axe you whenever they feel like it, meanwhile continuing to profit off of your hard work for over a century. Many wealthy stay wealthy by being parasites on other peoples labor, just like feudal Europe. They gouge the profits from the labor off of enough people and pocket the profits from it. Its feudalism cleverly masked as free market, plain and simple. I have written 50+ songs over the years, and it is a massive time investment. It usually took 10-20 hours per song just to "get it right", then even more time to record it, master it, etc. Do I think I deserve money for it or am entitled to profits? Nope, only if people like it and want to buy it, but I'll be damned if someone is going to "own" my songs when I was the one that created them (many with my friend who I consider 50/50 co-owner). My children have no right to "own" my songs either, because they can go create their own if they want. Once I die, I expect all of my works to enter the public domain, as it should be. I would even support that happening after 20 years. After all, many songs from the 60's are sufficienty wide spread they should be considered public domain, as they have integrated into our culture.
The issue is that the artists, particularly in movies, and music, are getting severely ripped off by the record and movie companies. Understandably its partially their fault for signing usurious contracts, but you have a constant push by the record industry to legally steal all of artistic works so that even the artist has no right to perform it or profit from it.
Steve Jobs is just a big narcissistic, hypocrite asshole. After having stolen everyone else's ideas to make his iPhone, he actually had the nerve to complain that people stole his ideas (if they even were his ideas, he probably believed they were)? Im sorry, but the more I learn about this guy the more I think he was just a user and a twat, and doesn't deserve his fame.
Which is why patents and copyrights make sense in moderation, i.e. allow someone enough time to recoup investment and make a profit. It wouldn't stifle software/technology innovation nor media creation if you limited patents/copyrights to 10 years. After 10 years, most tech is outdated anyway so having patents last longer than that basically only serves to build up patent portfolios and waste the court's time suing real innovators. Also, after 10 years music/book sales usually die off unless its a big-hit, and even then record companies make so much god damn money off of bands like that it makes no sense to allow them 90 more years of a monopoly on it.
You are a moron. Steve Jobs shamelessly ripped off other companies ideas all the time. The iPhone/iPad ripped off predecessors from different companies, and science fiction films. There isn't any technology in existence that isn't copied and then expanded from something else.
Jobs was an egotistical asshole, and a deluded one as well. Only a fucking idiot wouldn't realize the iPhone was designed by "stealing" ideas from its predecessors and science fiction movies, then polishing it. Apparently Jobs was a fucking idiot.
Likely you would fall to the same vices, corruption or self-delusions as anyone else. It's easier to say you could make things better, then through your own ignorance fuck things up even worse. I sincerely doubt you are capable of understanding : economics, finance, engineering, mathematics, science, sociology, psychology, religion, law, and medicine all at once to a sufficient level that would make you a capable ruler. You need a severe reality check.. brother.
The Chinese are keeping us from going bankrupt, and meanwhile going bankrupt themselves. Not once did I say anything that your response even made sense for other than the "lying" part, and I do acknowledge politicians lie. Its just that the Chinese have absolutely no ability to make it seem like truth, then they threaten without weight and act like they are somehow superior to everyone else which is basically the same way a fucking egotistical moron with no higher brain function acts. Im not advocating change for another nation since I don't give a damn, nor did I even say anything related. Its not my responsibility to man-up and get killed so that a group of people won't even bother to fight for themselves. You have to start caring more about your own neighborhood when the shit hits the fan since there is no way to help others when your resources are being spread so thin that everyone will starve. In my post, I am advocating that if you come here you are expected to behave a certain way if you expect the same privileges as everyone else. You had the choice to come here, you could have stayed where you came from and dealt with the issues you face day to day however you see fit. I never once said that the US should get involved in other nation's business, however your examples I believe you are mentioning are quite poor. In order to maintain the standard of living self-entitled Americans who bitch, moan and "vote" are accustomed to in the US, we must secure "energy". This energy is oil and there is a whole hell of a lot of it located overseas in the areas we choose to intervene with. Communism, i.e. USSR, threatened our "energy" supply during the cold war because they were a major consumer of it, just like us. This is the motivation for crushing out communism and interfering. If you would like to live in a cottage with your grandparents, parents, siblings, and children, while your family and the majority of the US population starves then by all means, lets just forget oil even exists and is the easiest energy source to get and stop meddling in other oil producing nation's business. I suggest you read articles from this blog to gain some perspective before you spout drivel. http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/
Its not better at all. Once you let things slide its only a matter of time before one remorseless truck driver just does whatever the hell he wants, and starts sleeping whenever he feels like it, running over prostitutes since he keeps getting easy treatment and after all, "They are just prostitutes". Sociopaths will always win if you let them since they don't empathize nor understand what harm their actions can cause.
The Chinese are notoriously obvious liars when it comes to their government statements. They also put tend to be uncompromising in issues between themselves and another nation that would yield easy and beneficial compromises to both nations. Then they make threats they will never live up to. I don't know if its a cultural thing, but I have noticed Chinese students also cheat their asses off in classes to get ahead rather than honestly go to the professor and ask for help. I've met some decent and honest Chinese people through working in the University system as an RA, and I am not racist in the slightest even though I can see that most people will assume that from my response, but I have also seen them totally ignore their university peers that aren't Chinese and collaborate together to cheat on tests and copy homework on more than one occasion, and the groups of people were not the same. I am probably slightly bigoted in that I don't like the ways certain cultures handle things, but as far as I am concerned we are all the same species and have similar mental and physical capabilities across the board +/- evolutionary advantages each race has based on the environment their ancestors came from.
Ron Paul is on record for saying that the other 49 states shouldnt have had to pay a dime for the damages in Texas. I was there when it all happened, and they had plenty of warning to get out. The people that didn't leave Galveston were simply idiots and should have listened to the official recommendation. Even on foot you could have traveled to a safe place since you could have walked to Houston faster than driving at the time. The evacuation through Houston at the time was absolutely mind-blowing. They shut down a 6-8 lane freeway (depends on where you are at on it) to south-bound traffic and still had people bumper to bumper in all lanes heading north for a couple days before the hurricane hit. When the Hurricane finally hit the streets flooded in Houston, trees fell down everywhere, roofs were ripped up, power went out most places, and there was a ton of other property damage. You also couldn't get gasoline because the supply of it was limited. I had to basically rely on word of mouth as to where the next tanker was heading so I could fuel up. Galveston was basically wiped out. Ron Pauls argument was that people in Galveston know full well the risks of living there, hell, you can't even get flood insurance usually in Houston/Galveston, so why should the other 49 states pay to fix damages or provide for you when the inevitable happens if you are dumb enough to live there? If you own property, find an insurance company to pay for your damages who is willing to risk it, save up supplies and money for a situation like that, and get a plan for relocation for when a hurricane hits. I got the hell out of there, but I lived there through the whole thing and I can tell you it didn't happen the way you think it did. I would suggest before believing in lies or just simply making shit up, you try to get an idea what you are even talking about first.
My apologies about calling you a troll. What you said lacked context for me and it seemed that way at first glance. I am also an indebted student. I think I'm at 80k now but I'm working on a PhD and have my MS in applied mathematics. I can't find a job that will pay me worth a shit, and Universities tend to take advantage of students by paying them shit wages. I used to make 1000 a month as a supported grad student, which was barely enough to pay rent unless I wanted to spend an equal amount on transportation costs, i.e. it was shitty either way. I work full time now, but I still can't get above 30k a year because employers don't want to work with my schedule or they assume I will be off to greener pastures in a few years. These greener pastures don't exist, as I spent a period of time applying to 100+ jobs without anyone interested in spite of having research experience for real world problems, intermediate programming experience and good grades. What boggles my mind about this is that everyone I have ever worked for that makes twice to 3 times as much as I has difficulty with even the simplest math or logical processes. Apparently business doesn't run on those things. I also have a wife who has an even harder time finding employment since she doesn't have a degree so I am supporting 2, and 30k is not easy for 2 people even in a modest apartment (prerequisite of "safe" area of town and lack of bed-bugs/roaches) who also have the burden of student debts to pay off and medical issues. My wife has bad teeth through no fault of her own (she brushes/flosses), and also really bad allergies, and I have some expensive medication I need to take all with no health insurance we can afford. I had to take my wife to the hospital on 2 occasions, once for appendicitis, and once for a severe abscess which cost about 5k to get fixed and we still are paying it off. I recently had a good friend die from sepsis because of their tooth, so preventative measures for teeth not being covered under insurance is fucking asinine. We are otherwise healthy people, without high blood pressure, tobacco use, we eat healthy, and we aren't obese. Though I have a bit extra around the midsection, I do exercise regularly. I did some calculations and even if I moved to the suburbs where rent is cheaper I would end up spending an equal amount for transport even using public transport (which I use anyway where I am at). I sympathize with the anti-violence approach but there are people in this world that will take advantage of weakness. This is evident by every dictator that ever existed. It is also basically what the corrupt career politicians and Wallstreet assholes did to get us into this mess. The weakness I speak of is a combination unique to each average person of apathy, zealotry and stupidity. I also sympathize with the whole Wallstreet movement, but demands like a 20 dollar minimum wage and guaranteed living wage regardless of employment are unrealistic since there is no way for the so-called "top 1%" to finance it all, and our economy simply doesn't generate enough money that stays in the country for Utopian dreams like that. Not to mention in the current system, you would just end up inflating prices for everything through even higher labor costs and the fact people can spend more and will do so. This is mathematical fact. If you want something like that it would require a different economic system where everyone lives more modestly sharing homes with families and travelling less, or limitless energy and robots doing everything for us./rant over
Uhh, they did have a hurricane warning. You should have seen the evacuation. Furthermore, Ron Paul mainly is talking about the fact that other states shouldn't have the financial responsibility of cleaning up Galveston when idiots that live there are fully aware there are hurricanes. Its their risk. I lived in Houston at the time all this shit went down so why don't you stop talking about things you know nothing about.
Apparently you haven't looked at California's budget lately. They are so bogged down by pensions and other deficit spending they are pretty much screwed. You can work as a prison guard for 5 years and get a pension there. That just is an example of how bad they are with entitlements. Theres also the problem of people wanting too many government services and not having a plan to pay for them.
Actually Ron Paul has mentioned on a few occasions that the States should have no obligation to pay for peoples damages or to bail them out if they live in the Gulf near the ocean, as its expected there will be hurricanes. Nice try though. Hes also on record for saying he wants both wars to end, and he wants to slash a bunch of government agencies out of the picture. Frankly, this is a good idea. What pisses me off is his choice of agencies, as if it will make even a dent in the problem. I don't see anything wrong with the Fed's monitoring weather and earthquakes if not simply just to warn people about it. Earthquakes and weather go across state borders and affect multiple states. However, I do find it ridiculous that the Feds get involved in State matters like whether or not drugs are legal, what the drinking age is, and forcing people to wear seat belts. Why the hell wouldn't you slash the ATF? Theres no more gangsters and alcohol prohibition, and firearms are fucking legal in the US. What about the DEA? Isn't their responsibility better left to the local police and the States? We don't need them. Why do we need the DHS, TSA, FBI, and CIA all doing the same shit? Cut them and make it a different agency responsible for all 4 jobs. Why do we need 4 branches of Military, being the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Army and the Airforce? Marines are technically Navy (oh boy the marines are gonna get pissed!). Why not just make it all the same group? Lets cut out redundancy.
Then why the hell doesn't Ron Paul suggest cuttng out the DEA, ATF, DHS, FBI, CIA and TSA and replace them with something else. There is no reason the ATF should still exist. The DEA shouldn't either. The FBI, CIA, DHS, and TSA may as well be one institution. If there is any duplication of effort, thats where it is.
Actually, that 600 dollar apartment was shared with a room mate so I paid 300 + utilities. We each had our own room. We also had a kitchen, a bathroom that we don't share with 100 people (i.e. just the two of us), and access to common areas with grills and trees, etc.
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Yes, I agree with this. There is no reason an unskilled factory worker should make more than 20 an hour. Once you get your skill set built up, I don't see a problem with more. Keep in mind 20 an hour is common for most entry level skilled tech support jobs.
2.50 for a movie? .50 an episode? 0.02 a song? Do you have any idea how many songs you would have to sell to make a living as a musician at that rate especially with people gouging your music sales? Assuming you make all the profits from your songs, you would need to sell :
40,000 dollars per year / 0.02 dollars per song = 2,000,000 songs / year
That seems ridiculous to me. A dollar a song is plenty cheap, and albums usually are packaged cheaper. I can see maybe .50 for an episode since most TV shows have a large audience, but even then maybe up to about 2.50 for an episode. Then, movies should be priced at some fraction of a movie ticket up to 1:1.
Yes, enough scraps from the masters table trickles down so that the musicians and artists don't starve, but the successes of their labors are severely gouged by the elite. This system is fucked and the only way to fix it is to eliminate the incentive for big-business to steal peoples works and send them scraps. One way to do this is to limit copyright length and only let extensions to copyright apply to the person who actually made the art/music to begin with within their own lifetime. Inheritance of copyrights should be totally eliminated. This way, you could build a portfolio of works and become an asset yourself rather than be an expendable employee where your record label gets to keep everything you create and axe you whenever they feel like it, meanwhile continuing to profit off of your hard work for over a century. Many wealthy stay wealthy by being parasites on other peoples labor, just like feudal Europe. They gouge the profits from the labor off of enough people and pocket the profits from it. Its feudalism cleverly masked as free market, plain and simple. I have written 50+ songs over the years, and it is a massive time investment. It usually took 10-20 hours per song just to "get it right", then even more time to record it, master it, etc. Do I think I deserve money for it or am entitled to profits? Nope, only if people like it and want to buy it, but I'll be damned if someone is going to "own" my songs when I was the one that created them (many with my friend who I consider 50/50 co-owner). My children have no right to "own" my songs either, because they can go create their own if they want. Once I die, I expect all of my works to enter the public domain, as it should be. I would even support that happening after 20 years. After all, many songs from the 60's are sufficienty wide spread they should be considered public domain, as they have integrated into our culture.
The issue is that the artists, particularly in movies, and music, are getting severely ripped off by the record and movie companies. Understandably its partially their fault for signing usurious contracts, but you have a constant push by the record industry to legally steal all of artistic works so that even the artist has no right to perform it or profit from it.
Haha. Yes, past tense.
I hope you realize no one is going to listen to your suggestion.
Steve Jobs is just a big narcissistic, hypocrite asshole. After having stolen everyone else's ideas to make his iPhone, he actually had the nerve to complain that people stole his ideas (if they even were his ideas, he probably believed they were)? Im sorry, but the more I learn about this guy the more I think he was just a user and a twat, and doesn't deserve his fame.
Which is why patents and copyrights make sense in moderation, i.e. allow someone enough time to recoup investment and make a profit. It wouldn't stifle software/technology innovation nor media creation if you limited patents/copyrights to 10 years. After 10 years, most tech is outdated anyway so having patents last longer than that basically only serves to build up patent portfolios and waste the court's time suing real innovators. Also, after 10 years music/book sales usually die off unless its a big-hit, and even then record companies make so much god damn money off of bands like that it makes no sense to allow them 90 more years of a monopoly on it.
You are a moron. Steve Jobs shamelessly ripped off other companies ideas all the time. The iPhone/iPad ripped off predecessors from different companies, and science fiction films. There isn't any technology in existence that isn't copied and then expanded from something else.
Jobs was an asshole, and didn't deserve shit.
If he actually did those things, he's not as smart as I thought he was.
Jobs was an egotistical asshole, and a deluded one as well. Only a fucking idiot wouldn't realize the iPhone was designed by "stealing" ideas from its predecessors and science fiction movies, then polishing it. Apparently Jobs was a fucking idiot.
You are a nimrod. Nowhere did I equate one with the other.
Likely you would fall to the same vices, corruption or self-delusions as anyone else. It's easier to say you could make things better, then through your own ignorance fuck things up even worse. I sincerely doubt you are capable of understanding : economics, finance, engineering, mathematics, science, sociology, psychology, religion, law, and medicine all at once to a sufficient level that would make you a capable ruler. You need a severe reality check.. brother.
The Chinese are keeping us from going bankrupt, and meanwhile going bankrupt themselves. Not once did I say anything that your response even made sense for other than the "lying" part, and I do acknowledge politicians lie. Its just that the Chinese have absolutely no ability to make it seem like truth, then they threaten without weight and act like they are somehow superior to everyone else which is basically the same way a fucking egotistical moron with no higher brain function acts. Im not advocating change for another nation since I don't give a damn, nor did I even say anything related. Its not my responsibility to man-up and get killed so that a group of people won't even bother to fight for themselves. You have to start caring more about your own neighborhood when the shit hits the fan since there is no way to help others when your resources are being spread so thin that everyone will starve. In my post, I am advocating that if you come here you are expected to behave a certain way if you expect the same privileges as everyone else. You had the choice to come here, you could have stayed where you came from and dealt with the issues you face day to day however you see fit. I never once said that the US should get involved in other nation's business, however your examples I believe you are mentioning are quite poor. In order to maintain the standard of living self-entitled Americans who bitch, moan and "vote" are accustomed to in the US, we must secure "energy". This energy is oil and there is a whole hell of a lot of it located overseas in the areas we choose to intervene with. Communism, i.e. USSR, threatened our "energy" supply during the cold war because they were a major consumer of it, just like us. This is the motivation for crushing out communism and interfering. If you would like to live in a cottage with your grandparents, parents, siblings, and children, while your family and the majority of the US population starves then by all means, lets just forget oil even exists and is the easiest energy source to get and stop meddling in other oil producing nation's business. I suggest you read articles from this blog to gain some perspective before you spout drivel. http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/
Its not better at all. Once you let things slide its only a matter of time before one remorseless truck driver just does whatever the hell he wants, and starts sleeping whenever he feels like it, running over prostitutes since he keeps getting easy treatment and after all, "They are just prostitutes". Sociopaths will always win if you let them since they don't empathize nor understand what harm their actions can cause.
Ok, so because some country is more totalitarian than others it make it okay when one is only "slightly" totalitarian?
The Chinese are notoriously obvious liars when it comes to their government statements. They also put tend to be uncompromising in issues between themselves and another nation that would yield easy and beneficial compromises to both nations. Then they make threats they will never live up to. I don't know if its a cultural thing, but I have noticed Chinese students also cheat their asses off in classes to get ahead rather than honestly go to the professor and ask for help. I've met some decent and honest Chinese people through working in the University system as an RA, and I am not racist in the slightest even though I can see that most people will assume that from my response, but I have also seen them totally ignore their university peers that aren't Chinese and collaborate together to cheat on tests and copy homework on more than one occasion, and the groups of people were not the same. I am probably slightly bigoted in that I don't like the ways certain cultures handle things, but as far as I am concerned we are all the same species and have similar mental and physical capabilities across the board +/- evolutionary advantages each race has based on the environment their ancestors came from.
Ron Paul is on record for saying that the other 49 states shouldnt have had to pay a dime for the damages in Texas. I was there when it all happened, and they had plenty of warning to get out. The people that didn't leave Galveston were simply idiots and should have listened to the official recommendation. Even on foot you could have traveled to a safe place since you could have walked to Houston faster than driving at the time. The evacuation through Houston at the time was absolutely mind-blowing. They shut down a 6-8 lane freeway (depends on where you are at on it) to south-bound traffic and still had people bumper to bumper in all lanes heading north for a couple days before the hurricane hit. When the Hurricane finally hit the streets flooded in Houston, trees fell down everywhere, roofs were ripped up, power went out most places, and there was a ton of other property damage. You also couldn't get gasoline because the supply of it was limited. I had to basically rely on word of mouth as to where the next tanker was heading so I could fuel up. Galveston was basically wiped out. Ron Pauls argument was that people in Galveston know full well the risks of living there, hell, you can't even get flood insurance usually in Houston/Galveston, so why should the other 49 states pay to fix damages or provide for you when the inevitable happens if you are dumb enough to live there? If you own property, find an insurance company to pay for your damages who is willing to risk it, save up supplies and money for a situation like that, and get a plan for relocation for when a hurricane hits. I got the hell out of there, but I lived there through the whole thing and I can tell you it didn't happen the way you think it did. I would suggest before believing in lies or just simply making shit up, you try to get an idea what you are even talking about first.
My apologies about calling you a troll. What you said lacked context for me and it seemed that way at first glance. I am also an indebted student. I think I'm at 80k now but I'm working on a PhD and have my MS in applied mathematics. I can't find a job that will pay me worth a shit, and Universities tend to take advantage of students by paying them shit wages. I used to make 1000 a month as a supported grad student, which was barely enough to pay rent unless I wanted to spend an equal amount on transportation costs, i.e. it was shitty either way. I work full time now, but I still can't get above 30k a year because employers don't want to work with my schedule or they assume I will be off to greener pastures in a few years. These greener pastures don't exist, as I spent a period of time applying to 100+ jobs without anyone interested in spite of having research experience for real world problems, intermediate programming experience and good grades. What boggles my mind about this is that everyone I have ever worked for that makes twice to 3 times as much as I has difficulty with even the simplest math or logical processes. Apparently business doesn't run on those things. I also have a wife who has an even harder time finding employment since she doesn't have a degree so I am supporting 2, and 30k is not easy for 2 people even in a modest apartment (prerequisite of "safe" area of town and lack of bed-bugs/roaches) who also have the burden of student debts to pay off and medical issues. My wife has bad teeth through no fault of her own (she brushes/flosses), and also really bad allergies, and I have some expensive medication I need to take all with no health insurance we can afford. I had to take my wife to the hospital on 2 occasions, once for appendicitis, and once for a severe abscess which cost about 5k to get fixed and we still are paying it off. I recently had a good friend die from sepsis because of their tooth, so preventative measures for teeth not being covered under insurance is fucking asinine. We are otherwise healthy people, without high blood pressure, tobacco use, we eat healthy, and we aren't obese. Though I have a bit extra around the midsection, I do exercise regularly. I did some calculations and even if I moved to the suburbs where rent is cheaper I would end up spending an equal amount for transport even using public transport (which I use anyway where I am at). I sympathize with the anti-violence approach but there are people in this world that will take advantage of weakness. This is evident by every dictator that ever existed. It is also basically what the corrupt career politicians and Wallstreet assholes did to get us into this mess. The weakness I speak of is a combination unique to each average person of apathy, zealotry and stupidity. I also sympathize with the whole Wallstreet movement, but demands like a 20 dollar minimum wage and guaranteed living wage regardless of employment are unrealistic since there is no way for the so-called "top 1%" to finance it all, and our economy simply doesn't generate enough money that stays in the country for Utopian dreams like that. Not to mention in the current system, you would just end up inflating prices for everything through even higher labor costs and the fact people can spend more and will do so. This is mathematical fact. If you want something like that it would require a different economic system where everyone lives more modestly sharing homes with families and travelling less, or limitless energy and robots doing everything for us. /rant over
Uhh, they did have a hurricane warning. You should have seen the evacuation. Furthermore, Ron Paul mainly is talking about the fact that other states shouldn't have the financial responsibility of cleaning up Galveston when idiots that live there are fully aware there are hurricanes. Its their risk. I lived in Houston at the time all this shit went down so why don't you stop talking about things you know nothing about.
Apparently you haven't looked at California's budget lately. They are so bogged down by pensions and other deficit spending they are pretty much screwed. You can work as a prison guard for 5 years and get a pension there. That just is an example of how bad they are with entitlements. Theres also the problem of people wanting too many government services and not having a plan to pay for them.
Actually Ron Paul has mentioned on a few occasions that the States should have no obligation to pay for peoples damages or to bail them out if they live in the Gulf near the ocean, as its expected there will be hurricanes. Nice try though. Hes also on record for saying he wants both wars to end, and he wants to slash a bunch of government agencies out of the picture. Frankly, this is a good idea. What pisses me off is his choice of agencies, as if it will make even a dent in the problem. I don't see anything wrong with the Fed's monitoring weather and earthquakes if not simply just to warn people about it. Earthquakes and weather go across state borders and affect multiple states. However, I do find it ridiculous that the Feds get involved in State matters like whether or not drugs are legal, what the drinking age is, and forcing people to wear seat belts. Why the hell wouldn't you slash the ATF? Theres no more gangsters and alcohol prohibition, and firearms are fucking legal in the US. What about the DEA? Isn't their responsibility better left to the local police and the States? We don't need them. Why do we need the DHS, TSA, FBI, and CIA all doing the same shit? Cut them and make it a different agency responsible for all 4 jobs. Why do we need 4 branches of Military, being the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Army and the Airforce? Marines are technically Navy (oh boy the marines are gonna get pissed!). Why not just make it all the same group? Lets cut out redundancy.
Then why the hell doesn't Ron Paul suggest cuttng out the DEA, ATF, DHS, FBI, CIA and TSA and replace them with something else. There is no reason the ATF should still exist. The DEA shouldn't either. The FBI, CIA, DHS, and TSA may as well be one institution. If there is any duplication of effort, thats where it is.
Actually, that 600 dollar apartment was shared with a room mate so I paid 300 + utilities. We each had our own room. We also had a kitchen, a bathroom that we don't share with 100 people (i.e. just the two of us), and access to common areas with grills and trees, etc.