WTF makes people think we need to defend cities? You've forgotten your nomad roots?
Where where you when the US Gov't built all those Levies to 'defend' the city of New Orleans? We've fought very hard to defend the underwater city of New Orleans...
Students are EXPECTED to walk either 1 mile (K-5) or 1.5 miles (6-12) to school - districts that bus students closer to school than that are said to be offering 'Courtesy Busing'.
the school will be given to an outside agency who can turn it into a charter school and restrict student admittance to whomever they want.
I strongly question the ability of a publicly-funded charter school restricting admission to the school based on an arbitrary attribute (magnet schools can select those that attend, based on merit). Every charter school I am familiar with has a lottery or other similar selection process.
In some subjects, the private schools "significantly" outperformed public schools, but overall they're only slightly better.
Imagine every public school could be ranked in one of three ratings:
Better than average
Average
Below average
If your child is 'trapped' in a local school that's rated 'below average' being able to send him/her to a school that is only 'average' would be a dramatic improvement.
The issue isn't whether or private schools are all better than public schools, it's having the ability to opt out of a below average school to a merely 'average' private school.
People that buy electric vehicles today are generally willing to pay a little extra for sustainable power.
Funny, electric vehicles only became fashionable when the gov't made them $7,500 cheaper.
What's the fest thing a hybrid car buyer tells you about their new car? How infrequently they fill the gas tank.
I don't think electric car buyers as as altruistic as you seem to think they are - they are quite happy to have every other taxpayer help pay down their new car purchase.
Doing so means that companies do not need commercial land for warehouses, don't pay taxes on them, and have less goods sitting "idle" in a warehouse waiting for delivery to the storefront.
No, 'just in time' inventory wasn't created to dodge tax payments On warehouse space, it's purpose is to free up capital. The issue isn't property taxes, it's the investment in a warehouse full of unsold inventory that eats away at a company's bottom line.
Why is Barack Obama not white? Is it because he has more than zero drops of native Kenyan blood in him? If that is the case, aren't you in all actuality subscribing to the 'one drop of blood / white is the norm' position? And if you don't - because that would be quite racist - then why is Obama black? He has a 'white' mother after all...
Read his autobiography (I forget which one it's in), he 'choose' to be black.
Just using quick back of napkin calculations, if you enacted a $10k / year basic income for all adults you could get rid of almost all welfare programs.
No, you couldn't - but I suspect you are ignorant of the extent of our current welfare system - would $10,000/year replace:
Welfare payments,
SNAP benefits,
Aid for women with dependent children,
Section 8 housing subsidies, and
Affordable Care Act healthcare coverage?
That last item (Obamacare) itself is nearly $10,000/year per covered adult, and section 8 housing subsidies frequently exceed $10,000/year per adult.
'In Nijmegen we get £88m to give to people on welfare,' Westerveld said, 'but it costs £15m a year for the civil servants running the bureaucracy of the current system. We will save money with a "basic income."'
How many former cival servants will lose their jobs for a more efficient public assistance program? I expect the public assistance roles to increase by an amount roughly equal to any anticipated savings their job losses were going to bring.
Which came first, driver's licenses or paved/municipally-funded roads? You don't need a license to operate a motor vehicle on private property, veer out onto public roads and the people that fund them want to make sure you know the rules of the road.
If there are consequences, I'm pretty sure that's the opposite of voluntary.
No, it's not.
Brushing your teeth is completely voluntary, but failure to do so will likely result in serious dental problems.
Obtaining 'adequate' healthcare coverage in the US is voluntary, for those that choose not to there are financial penalties, but it is still voluntary.
Voluntary doesn't mean 'without penalty'.
Then 1950s, when we lived with cookie cutter conformity?
The economy boomed in the 1950's, and people were genuinely happy by most accounts.
The 1960s, when we thought the Vietnam war was a good idea?
Pretty sure quite a few people opposed the Vietnam War.
The 1970s, when disco was popular?
I seem to recall a large backlash against Disco, culminating in a dramatic anti-disco record burning party.
The 1980s, when we decided that "deficits don't matter"?
I don't recall that being a wildly-popular position in the 80's, but then again, like most Americans I was busy working, paying taxes, etc.
The 1990s, when we invested in pets.com?
That was far from a universal position.
The 00s, when GWB was elected twice?
Bush won in 2000 because Gorecwas seen as an extension of the Clinton scandal-riddled administration, and the electorate RARELY lets one party control the whitehouse for three consecutive terms - Reagan/Reagan/Bush were last to do it on the Republican side, Rosevelt/Rosevelt/Rosevelt/Truman were the last to do it on the Democratic side.
Re-elected? Pretty sure Bush beat Kerry despite Kerry supporters representing nearly, but not more than, half the voters in that campaign. More people voted against Kerry than voted against Bush, but you can't argue 'everyone' thought re-electing Bush was a good idea.
They don't need a battery. Ever.
They don't break when you drop them, even from heights that would turn a Kindle into a bag of shards.
The feel good in your hands.
The TSA won't make you take them out and "turn them on" when you fly with them.
You can share them with your children and instill a love of reading in them.
And they have a tremendous carbon footprint (cutting down trees, moving logs to mill, mill to paper plant, paper plant to printer, printer to warehouse, warehouse to store, store to home)...
They also look great on bookcase. There is a thriving business in selling used books by the linear board foot as a decorative item
The question of "should policy be shaped by public mass opinion" is the important one.
Yes, and the answer is a resounding 'No'.
Do you really want government subject to near-constant churn as the fickle finger of popular opinion spins around landing on everyone's current opinion on a matter?
For example, after a mass-shooting, all guns are banned. Crime goes up (with an unarmed populace of 300 million plus, you think it would go down?), then suddenly everyone owning guns is a great idea... Until the next mass-shooting....
This should have all been sorted out over a decade ago, when Sen. Ed Kennedy was found to be on the terror watch list...
It's very easy to wind up on the terror watch list, it is an ADMINISTRATIVE decision made by nameless, faceless, mid-level managers. And the process for getting your name off the terror watch list is essentially up to the whim of those same nameless, faceless mid-level managers.
US customs processes passengers bound for the US before they depart... Should they, for example, let someone fly from UK to US if it turns out the US has that person on a 'no fly' list?
General Electric pays NO corporate taxes, and they achieve that feat by hiring a floor full of accountants and tax attorneys whose job it is to understand the tax code AS WRITTEN and direct the corporation to operate in ways that minimize/eliminate tax obligations.
It is 100% legal - GE's accountants and tax attorneys understand the tax code better than the people we keep re-electing to write the tax code, like Charlie Rangel - he claimed he had no idea he had to pay income tax on a foreign vacation apartment he rents out at a profit, despite his being on the federal ways and means committee - the one that drafts the tax code!
Time to look at why it is possible for anybody to avoid paying tax.
Tax AVOIDANCE means behaving/acting in a way to avoid tax obligations.
Donating money to a charity, for example, is a common way to avoid paying taxes on income.
Have a home mortgage? You can 'write-off' your interest payments and not pay taxes on them.
The tax most corporations are typically accused of 'avoiding' is the tax they would owe if they brought foreign profits into America. If Starbucks in the UK buys coffee directly from Columbia, imports it into the UK, brews it in the UK, and sells it at a profit in the UK, why does the US government feel entitled to any share of the profits from Starbucks operations in the UK?
You mean in the sense that the school and the police falsely claimed it to be a bomb threat in order to attempt to justify their blatant criminal violation of the kid's civil rights?
So you're saying the police arrested him for making a bomb threat because he didn't make a bomb threat? The only flaw in your imagined scenario is the police and the prosecutor will have to defend their actions in court, without proof, how would they plan on doing that?
Maybe, just maybe, they have evidence to support the charges they filed against the boy. I bet the Dallas prosecutor made DAMN sure they could prove their case before filing charges after Ahmed.
He was 12, talking to another 12 year old, thinking it was a joke between them.
Really? And you know that how? Because that's the one version of the several versions in circulation that you like?
What did the police say?
What did the school say?
What did the prosecutor/DA say?
Nothing - because the case involves a minor. But hey, his mom says he didn't mean anything with his bomb threat joke, so that gets him a 'get out of jail free' card?
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Where where you when the US Gov't built all those Levies to 'defend' the city of New Orleans? We've fought very hard to defend the underwater city of New Orleans...
Students are EXPECTED to walk either 1 mile (K-5) or 1.5 miles (6-12) to school - districts that bus students closer to school than that are said to be offering 'Courtesy Busing'.
+1 In the US until we have a plan that encompasses all 11M+ illegal immigrants we can not make a move to address immigration issues...
I strongly question the ability of a publicly-funded charter school restricting admission to the school based on an arbitrary attribute (magnet schools can select those that attend, based on merit). Every charter school I am familiar with has a lottery or other similar selection process.
Imagine every public school could be ranked in one of three ratings: Better than average Average Below average If your child is 'trapped' in a local school that's rated 'below average' being able to send him/her to a school that is only 'average' would be a dramatic improvement. The issue isn't whether or private schools are all better than public schools, it's having the ability to opt out of a below average school to a merely 'average' private school.
That's why pipelines were invented...
Funny, electric vehicles only became fashionable when the gov't made them $7,500 cheaper. What's the fest thing a hybrid car buyer tells you about their new car? How infrequently they fill the gas tank. I don't think electric car buyers as as altruistic as you seem to think they are - they are quite happy to have every other taxpayer help pay down their new car purchase.
No, 'just in time' inventory wasn't created to dodge tax payments On warehouse space, it's purpose is to free up capital. The issue isn't property taxes, it's the investment in a warehouse full of unsold inventory that eats away at a company's bottom line.
Read his autobiography (I forget which one it's in), he 'choose' to be black.
No, you couldn't - but I suspect you are ignorant of the extent of our current welfare system - would $10,000/year replace: Welfare payments, SNAP benefits, Aid for women with dependent children, Section 8 housing subsidies, and Affordable Care Act healthcare coverage? That last item (Obamacare) itself is nearly $10,000/year per covered adult, and section 8 housing subsidies frequently exceed $10,000/year per adult.
Uhm, the kids are not in daycare on weekends (I assume), making it more like $150/day...
How many former cival servants will lose their jobs for a more efficient public assistance program? I expect the public assistance roles to increase by an amount roughly equal to any anticipated savings their job losses were going to bring.
Which came first, driver's licenses or paved/municipally-funded roads? You don't need a license to operate a motor vehicle on private property, veer out onto public roads and the people that fund them want to make sure you know the rules of the road.
So what? Plate scanners only document where you have been, not where you are going.
No, it's not. Brushing your teeth is completely voluntary, but failure to do so will likely result in serious dental problems. Obtaining 'adequate' healthcare coverage in the US is voluntary, for those that choose not to there are financial penalties, but it is still voluntary. Voluntary doesn't mean 'without penalty'.
The economy boomed in the 1950's, and people were genuinely happy by most accounts.
Pretty sure quite a few people opposed the Vietnam War.
I seem to recall a large backlash against Disco, culminating in a dramatic anti-disco record burning party.
I don't recall that being a wildly-popular position in the 80's, but then again, like most Americans I was busy working, paying taxes, etc.
That was far from a universal position.
Bush won in 2000 because Gorecwas seen as an extension of the Clinton scandal-riddled administration, and the electorate RARELY lets one party control the whitehouse for three consecutive terms - Reagan/Reagan/Bush were last to do it on the Republican side, Rosevelt/Rosevelt/Rosevelt/Truman were the last to do it on the Democratic side. Re-elected? Pretty sure Bush beat Kerry despite Kerry supporters representing nearly, but not more than, half the voters in that campaign. More people voted against Kerry than voted against Bush, but you can't argue 'everyone' thought re-electing Bush was a good idea.
And they have a tremendous carbon footprint (cutting down trees, moving logs to mill, mill to paper plant, paper plant to printer, printer to warehouse, warehouse to store, store to home)... They also look great on bookcase. There is a thriving business in selling used books by the linear board foot as a decorative item
Yes, and the answer is a resounding 'No'. Do you really want government subject to near-constant churn as the fickle finger of popular opinion spins around landing on everyone's current opinion on a matter? For example, after a mass-shooting, all guns are banned. Crime goes up (with an unarmed populace of 300 million plus, you think it would go down?), then suddenly everyone owning guns is a great idea... Until the next mass-shooting....
This should have all been sorted out over a decade ago, when Sen. Ed Kennedy was found to be on the terror watch list... It's very easy to wind up on the terror watch list, it is an ADMINISTRATIVE decision made by nameless, faceless, mid-level managers. And the process for getting your name off the terror watch list is essentially up to the whim of those same nameless, faceless mid-level managers.
US customs processes passengers bound for the US before they depart... Should they, for example, let someone fly from UK to US if it turns out the US has that person on a 'no fly' list?
General Electric pays NO corporate taxes, and they achieve that feat by hiring a floor full of accountants and tax attorneys whose job it is to understand the tax code AS WRITTEN and direct the corporation to operate in ways that minimize/eliminate tax obligations. It is 100% legal - GE's accountants and tax attorneys understand the tax code better than the people we keep re-electing to write the tax code, like Charlie Rangel - he claimed he had no idea he had to pay income tax on a foreign vacation apartment he rents out at a profit, despite his being on the federal ways and means committee - the one that drafts the tax code!
Tax AVOIDANCE means behaving/acting in a way to avoid tax obligations. Donating money to a charity, for example, is a common way to avoid paying taxes on income. Have a home mortgage? You can 'write-off' your interest payments and not pay taxes on them. The tax most corporations are typically accused of 'avoiding' is the tax they would owe if they brought foreign profits into America. If Starbucks in the UK buys coffee directly from Columbia, imports it into the UK, brews it in the UK, and sells it at a profit in the UK, why does the US government feel entitled to any share of the profits from Starbucks operations in the UK?
So you're saying the police arrested him for making a bomb threat because he didn't make a bomb threat? The only flaw in your imagined scenario is the police and the prosecutor will have to defend their actions in court, without proof, how would they plan on doing that? Maybe, just maybe, they have evidence to support the charges they filed against the boy. I bet the Dallas prosecutor made DAMN sure they could prove their case before filing charges after Ahmed.
Wow, your entire argument is based on a scenario you just made up! I totally think you're right... /sarc
Really? And you know that how? Because that's the one version of the several versions in circulation that you like? What did the police say? What did the school say? What did the prosecutor/DA say? Nothing - because the case involves a minor. But hey, his mom says he didn't mean anything with his bomb threat joke, so that gets him a 'get out of jail free' card?