Of couse we have. But not because of social security. I think it would be difficult to attribute to social security technologies (travel, health, production, etc) that have been developed over the millenia. Surely that's not what you are implying? You do know that SS only came about in the 1930's, right?
It should be optional. All the people that think it's such a great idea, can band together in the only legal pyramid scheme in this country and depend on that. (better save too!)
Just leave the rest of us alone. At the end, those of us who opted out should be ignored while sleeping in the ditches. Please. Really, please. I'd like to opt out.
As for old people dieing, its pretty much a requirement. There's nothing we can do about it. Welcome to the human existance.
I didn't say I would like to "live like our ancestors", I was just pointing out that humanity has thrived for *insert controversial timeline of humanity here* years.
Nothing about the world has changed so much, as to require goverment be our caretakers. That's not the role of government. We don't need it. They don't do it well. Financial irresponsibility in government is so rampant, it's a cliche. You think it's a good idea to put the financial welfare of millions of people into the hands of possibly the least efficient and responsible organization known to man?
Further, when you remove responsibility from people, they (surprise!) tend to become less responsible. Why promote that?
Pray tell. How did it do that? Are you suggesting that the social security act brought us out of the great depression? If so, I think you would have a hard time defending that. Are you saying that SS somehow was responsible for the GD? Considering the act wasn't signed until well after the GD is generally considered to have begun, that seems unlikely. Further, it's argued in economist circles that many of the social programs of the time may have actually prolonged the depression.
No society has been able to progress and remain competitive with the shortsighted advice you've proposed here.
You mean besides the entire human race? This may come as a shock to you, but SS (both in this country, and in a larger global sense) is a recent thing. Most people that have lived (read: thrived) throughout history, did it without social security.
It's a wonder huanity ever existed without SS. It's a wonder anyone could ever live past the age of 65 100 years ago.
Sure, a hundred years ago, there was startvation, and a thousand years, and there will be a thousand years from now. But, giving people incentive to be less responsible won't cure any of that.
That's a cop out. How people learn "in society" or "from society" is interesting, and worth discussing/considering. But, the point at which that becomes a justification for an individual's behavior is where it goes to far (and that happens all the time). You are responsible for yourself. If you act irrationally, that falls on you and you alone.
As for the money issue, I think what you have is a circular argument. The big reason that women on average don't make as much as men, is that they frequently take time (years) off work to raise children. If the percentage of men doing that were higher, such that it was basically equal, the pay differences would decrease significantly.
Another problem that comes up with this line of thinking, is that people tend to want to address this at a societal level. The problem is that it's not a choice that society makes, but an individual choice. A single couple makes their decision. The fact that many/most couples choose to make the same dicision is incidental and should be treated as such.
Hmm...I don't think what you spend your time doing defines wether you are an adult either. On the flip side, does something more refined such as "Spending time reading history books" make someone an adult in your mind?
To me, it has more to do with culpability. A 35 y/o who spends his time drinking and partying is as much an adult as the 24 y/o who cures cancer. Being adult is not about "how good a person" you are, but simply a state of "ok, now you are old enough to be fully responsible for your actions, good or bad". I think you reach that somewhere around 14-16.
As for the issue of so many 18-20 y/o's not being very responsible, that has more to do with how they are/were raised. When kids aren't given any responsibility, they never get responsible.
The same could be said for the gallon of milk I bought last week at the supermarket. That doesn't make it any less of an agreement. Yahoo (supermarket) offers something, and establishes the terms, we choose to accept or reject on a case by case basis.
Off topic: but I can't wait to see what the future holds in regard to what is considered a "kid". I'll be 30 in another year, so hopefully I'll still be around to see some more stuff. I wonder if by the time I'm 90, 30 year-olds will be considered kids. The age keeps going up and up...
Same kind of stuff with UO. Seeing a bird and thinking about getting it's feathers, going to the bank...sometimes I would catch myself wondering if there are any reagents on the ground nearby.
At my wife's parent's house (she played at least as much as I did), during a conversation once after something funny was said, she actually SAID OUTLOUD "L-O-L". It just slipped out. We both laughed so hard as soon as she said it...everyone else probably just thought we were nuts.
It may also reveal how insignificant the grand scheme of things is in our individual lives. A large earthquake like this may be common in "the vastness of geologic time", but given that I'm here for such a short period of that, the "vastness of geologic time" doesn't seem to really pertain to me too much. We may have an earthquake like that tomorrow, but it's unlikely. Either way, not much I can do about it.
To me, it seems MOST appropriate to think of events in "human time scales", since that scale is much more applicable to my life than a geologic time scale. Although, it is sometimes interesting to consider things in the other fashion.
How about a national database to track everytime someone's information is tracked. Oh, and we'll need one to track every time someone tracks someone who is tracking someone. I think that should cover it.
If you protest the government, they imprison you, or just gun you down on the spot, free! No more paying for Dr. Kevorkian's euthanasia services. Yeah!
The vast majority of people are not nearly intelligent enough to make important decisions on their own.
Are you referring to important decisions such as who should run the country?
Think about your logic for a minute. A person who is not intelligent enought to make important decisions, should be allowed to decide who *is* intelligent enough to make important decisions.
How can a person be sure that anyone who runs for office is intelligent enough to make important decisions, if that person himself if not intelligent enough to make important decision? Who decides who is intelligent enough to make important decisions? And who picks those people...and so on.
I've had Cingular for 3-4 years now, and been very happy with it.
Before that, years before, I had an Alltel phone.
One thing I'm curious about, in the fairly limited time I've had a cell (about 4-5 years total) I've only really had 1 problem. Sometime this summer, it seems my phone was somehow dropped from the network...semi-permanently. Anyhow, I went to the Cingular store and they fixed it quickly, but what I'm curious about is, how many problems (or other experiences...) have you had over the years that led to any meaningful conclusion about customer service?
I think when most people talk about "how much it rains", they are really discussing "# of rainy days", instead of water supply. So, in terms of the weather (what should I wear today?), it does rain more in Portland (I assume...maybe that's yet another misconception). If you are a water-expert or something, then yes, you might be more interested to know that the *amount* of rain fall in the SE is greater, but that doesn't represent most people.
Slashdot Mirror
Why is this a troll?
Because it doesn't follow the status quo. Duh.
I think it better demonstrates the problem of government funded publications.
Nah, just shred the dog. That's what I do.
Of couse we have. But not because of social security. I think it would be difficult to attribute to social security technologies (travel, health, production, etc) that have been developed over the millenia. Surely that's not what you are implying? You do know that SS only came about in the 1930's, right?
Enron was destroyed within a short time. That is the response to such things in the market. Corrupt governments can easily last for centuries.
Not sure what you mean about SS beating the DOW. Government has been robbing SS coffers for decades. That's not bias, that's a fact.
It should be optional. All the people that think it's such a great idea, can band together in the only legal pyramid scheme in this country and depend on that. (better save too!)
Just leave the rest of us alone. At the end, those of us who opted out should be ignored while sleeping in the ditches. Please. Really, please. I'd like to opt out.
I'm pretty sure the life expectancy of people in, say, the 1920's was well over 35.
As for old people dieing, its pretty much a requirement. There's nothing we can do about it. Welcome to the human existance.
I didn't say I would like to "live like our ancestors", I was just pointing out that humanity has thrived for *insert controversial timeline of humanity here* years.
Nothing about the world has changed so much, as to require goverment be our caretakers. That's not the role of government. We don't need it. They don't do it well. Financial irresponsibility in government is so rampant, it's a cliche. You think it's a good idea to put the financial welfare of millions of people into the hands of possibly the least efficient and responsible organization known to man?
Further, when you remove responsibility from people, they (surprise!) tend to become less responsible. Why promote that?
Only when bad policies such as SS are put in place.
Pray tell. How did it do that? Are you suggesting that the social security act brought us out of the great depression? If so, I think you would have a hard time defending that. Are you saying that SS somehow was responsible for the GD? Considering the act wasn't signed until well after the GD is generally considered to have begun, that seems unlikely. Further, it's argued in economist circles that many of the social programs of the time may have actually prolonged the depression.
No society has been able to progress and remain competitive with the shortsighted advice you've proposed here.
You mean besides the entire human race? This may come as a shock to you, but SS (both in this country, and in a larger global sense) is a recent thing. Most people that have lived (read: thrived) throughout history, did it without social security.
It's a wonder huanity ever existed without SS. It's a wonder anyone could ever live past the age of 65 100 years ago. Sure, a hundred years ago, there was startvation, and a thousand years, and there will be a thousand years from now. But, giving people incentive to be less responsible won't cure any of that.
That's a cop out. How people learn "in society" or "from society" is interesting, and worth discussing/considering. But, the point at which that becomes a justification for an individual's behavior is where it goes to far (and that happens all the time). You are responsible for yourself. If you act irrationally, that falls on you and you alone.
As for the money issue, I think what you have is a circular argument. The big reason that women on average don't make as much as men, is that they frequently take time (years) off work to raise children. If the percentage of men doing that were higher, such that it was basically equal, the pay differences would decrease significantly.
Another problem that comes up with this line of thinking, is that people tend to want to address this at a societal level. The problem is that it's not a choice that society makes, but an individual choice. A single couple makes their decision. The fact that many/most couples choose to make the same dicision is incidental and should be treated as such.
Hmm...I don't think what you spend your time doing defines wether you are an adult either. On the flip side, does something more refined such as "Spending time reading history books" make someone an adult in your mind?
To me, it has more to do with culpability. A 35 y/o who spends his time drinking and partying is as much an adult as the 24 y/o who cures cancer. Being adult is not about "how good a person" you are, but simply a state of "ok, now you are old enough to be fully responsible for your actions, good or bad". I think you reach that somewhere around 14-16.
As for the issue of so many 18-20 y/o's not being very responsible, that has more to do with how they are/were raised. When kids aren't given any responsibility, they never get responsible.
The same could be said for the gallon of milk I bought last week at the supermarket. That doesn't make it any less of an agreement. Yahoo (supermarket) offers something, and establishes the terms, we choose to accept or reject on a case by case basis.
Off topic: but I can't wait to see what the future holds in regard to what is considered a "kid". I'll be 30 in another year, so hopefully I'll still be around to see some more stuff. I wonder if by the time I'm 90, 30 year-olds will be considered kids. The age keeps going up and up...
Same kind of stuff with UO. Seeing a bird and thinking about getting it's feathers, going to the bank...sometimes I would catch myself wondering if there are any reagents on the ground nearby.
At my wife's parent's house (she played at least as much as I did), during a conversation once after something funny was said, she actually SAID OUTLOUD "L-O-L". It just slipped out. We both laughed so hard as soon as she said it...everyone else probably just thought we were nuts.
It may also reveal how insignificant the grand scheme of things is in our individual lives. A large earthquake like this may be common in "the vastness of geologic time", but given that I'm here for such a short period of that, the "vastness of geologic time" doesn't seem to really pertain to me too much. We may have an earthquake like that tomorrow, but it's unlikely. Either way, not much I can do about it.
To me, it seems MOST appropriate to think of events in "human time scales", since that scale is much more applicable to my life than a geologic time scale. Although, it is sometimes interesting to consider things in the other fashion.
Not really. You can drop out at like 16, which is a sophomore. Right? I never looked into it, but it's something like that.
How about a national database to track everytime someone's information is tracked. Oh, and we'll need one to track every time someone tracks someone who is tracking someone. I think that should cover it.
If you protest the government, they imprison you, or just gun you down on the spot, free! No more paying for Dr. Kevorkian's euthanasia services. Yeah!
The vast majority of people are not nearly intelligent enough to make important decisions on their own.
Are you referring to important decisions such as who should run the country?
Think about your logic for a minute. A person who is not intelligent enought to make important decisions, should be allowed to decide who *is* intelligent enough to make important decisions.
How can a person be sure that anyone who runs for office is intelligent enough to make important decisions, if that person himself if not intelligent enough to make important decision? Who decides who is intelligent enough to make important decisions? And who picks those people...and so on.
I've had Cingular for 3-4 years now, and been very happy with it.
Before that, years before, I had an Alltel phone.
One thing I'm curious about, in the fairly limited time I've had a cell (about 4-5 years total) I've only really had 1 problem. Sometime this summer, it seems my phone was somehow dropped from the network...semi-permanently. Anyhow, I went to the Cingular store and they fixed it quickly, but what I'm curious about is, how many problems (or other experiences...) have you had over the years that led to any meaningful conclusion about customer service?
I think when most people talk about "how much it rains", they are really discussing "# of rainy days", instead of water supply. So, in terms of the weather (what should I wear today?), it does rain more in Portland (I assume...maybe that's yet another misconception). If you are a water-expert or something, then yes, you might be more interested to know that the *amount* of rain fall in the SE is greater, but that doesn't represent most people.