Like, ahem, the approximately one trillion $ the US spend on defense per year (including the military spending outside of the defense budget, such as the nukes)?
Why do I only rarely see those who oppose central planning for public transport (one of the services where central planning actually makes sense) never support cutting all that bloat from the defense budget?
Well, you're talking about two entirely different things and different pots of money.
Defense, is a Federally mandated (by the constitiution) responsibility.
The public transportation is something that is the business of the individual states as to how they best want to function.
Two different things, so kinda of a strawman to argue this really.
With the possible exception of interstate travel, it really isn't a good argument to make here, and what we're talking about is intra city/state transportation.
Why don't we in the US, drop a little 'demonstration' ourselves....maybe have about 4 or 5 'empty' of payload polaris missles drop near the shores of NK, just to show them WE CAN already do this..?
I only use UVerse for TV....but it is still up and working (so far) in the south of LA (New Orleans area).
I use cable for my business internet account....but picked UVerse awhile back in that compared to cable and both satellite packages with full house DVR, they were the cheapest and had by far the most HD channels for the buck.
That was a couple years ago, I guess I should shop around again to see what's out there, but so far, service and uptime has been quite good!! Even after hurricane Issac, when I get home from evac, it was up and running just fine.
Taxes DO manipulate behavior, it is the major side effect (often unintended). Might as well embrace this fact and use it for the betterment of society.
I don't see it that way....who decides? The self serving government who collects and benefits from the taxes? The politicians in charge?
If you do away with all deductions and loopholes....then, you eliminate the means for the govt to try to manipulate you.
If we did this now..we would then help to keep the Feds from blackmailing the states with tax fund withholding, etc...and get some semblance of states rights back.
And naturally if economic conditions change such that you can no longer afford the kids you had during better days you should sell them to the glue factory.
Seriously, you don't from whence I came. I'm not rich now, I certainly didn't grow up rich (although I knew lots of people that were growing up, and I knew I wanted to make good money when I could).
Regardless of my upbringing, and my current situation in life, what I said was true.
At some point, you run out of people working and being taxed to pay the ones who aren't working.
Hell, look at our Social Security system to see that problem in full action. We have fewer and fewer people working to subsidize each retiree on the program, and it is running out of money.
If the consumers vote GMOs out..then the companies can move to something else more profitable.
We label seafood for country of origin, and I use that because I want to buy only US fish (and some salmon from Europe). I should be able to buy GMO or non-GMO if I please, just let me know which is which in the store.
Hell, we list ingredients...GMO is kind of like an added ingredient to basic foods, so, should be labeled as such.
Taxing things we should be promoting, is counter productive, as it moves people from the things we ought to be promoting, to things that we should be avoiding. Taxing Income looks good on paper, but leads to income avoidance, or worse, reporting avoidance (grey and black markets).
We shouldn't BE using taxation as a method to manipulate behavior!!
Why not just tax for the basic purpose of funding government in its constitutionally (in the US) mandated functions. Simple taxes, no loopholes, no deductions for anything..easy to calculate, easy to pay...everyone pays fair share.
The bit you left out of your cherry-picked view is that the reason these programs are necessary is that the jobs that are available aren't able to support the people. 29,000 a year is not a lot for living on, even when you are in one of the cheaper cost of living places (ie not in any major city), and that is with a spouse but no children. With two children, the costs to raise them in a healthy way would cost more than the 57,000 you mentioned (no citations cause I don't have time to look it up, but I think most people with kids would agree).
If you can't afford kids...maybe you shouldn't have kids?
And you can have a family in the cheaper parts of the US on less than $50K a year. You won't have the latest iphone, you won't have the newest clothes, car(s)..etc. But you can get along. After all, those things I mentioned and more, are not necessities.
If you choose that path, be prepared to sacrifice.
I have no problems with GMO's if they will do a couple things in the US.
One, grow it, but you have to guaranteed it won't spread to traditional crops. And don't persecute the farmer that wants to use traditional crops and save his own seeds...if someone the GMO does spread and 'infects' his crops.
Second....mandate labeling of foods if they are GMO or not. How bad could that be? I mean, we require labellings for nutrition, we require labellings of seafood for country of origin, what could possibly be wrong with requiring GMO labeling, and let the consumer make his own purchasing and consumption decisions?
My problem is...why not mandate labelling GMO foods, and let the people vote themselves with their wallets which way they want to go?
Why is this such a problem to the purveyors of GMO's?
I mean, choices is the ideal way, right? If there is a GMO squash and one that is not in the same store, why not let me get traditional one and you can be free to get the modified one?
Actual measurement shows people living longer, healthier, and better lives.
Seriously? Maybe you aren't in the US and seeing the rampant obesity, the rise of type II diabetes, even in children, and recent reports coming out predicting that our children today are projected to have lower life expectancy than their parents, this mostly due to our 'modern food system' we now have in place.
Also, it seems that all this industrialized food system we have, and all the GMO's are not helping world wide hunger as projected.
It also looks like it might come back to bite us in the ass since the over use of GMO's like with soybeans that are Monsanto herbicide resistant, are selected for Monsanto Roundup resistant weeds (Johnson grass being one of the main culprits they're trying to eradicate).
The too..there is the potential danger of having such a mono culture of the food system....without having diversity in the plants and animals we raise, we're in danger of them being affected by some type disease and we don't have other variations of the foods/animals out there to help balance out if we lose one of them to disease.
Oh well, if that happens...that WILL help cure the obesity problem we have quickly, but...it won't be pretty.
Regardless of how you feel about the possible problems of GMO's....what problem do people have with laws that in the US would require foods to be labeled as containing GMO products in them?
That way...everyone has a choice, and let the market speak for what they want?
As I said, there is substantial prejudice in the European Union against all genetically modified crops.
I wish the same could be said for America, but alas, the huge Agro-Business lobby and money squashes anything even close to dissent. Hell, states now have laws that make it a felony, I believe, if you merely talk about about the food industry in print, radio or tv. Look how Oprah was attacked by the beef industry.
...but it shows that the entire attitude to food consumption and agricultural regulation in the EU is substantially different from that in the US.
There is a push in the US, locally by people to try to change this attitude. I personally think it is killing us as a society, the obesity in children and oncoming storm of diabetes coming on is sign of that to me.
The trouble is...the US Federal Govt is in cahoots with big Agro-Business. We have a very small and dispappearing local farmer population, the govt funds and promotes largely the wrong kind of foods to be made cheap to the masses (why not subsidize vegetables rather than just feed corn?)..and those in charge of the Fed policies on farming and food are comprised of a revolving door for people from Agro-Business into the FDA and USDA and then back to those same industries.
I for one, am a bit scared about the mono culture they're developing for our food system. We saw a bit of the problem in the past year or so, with droughts in some regions, and ALL food prices spiked quickly. We are in danger due, IMHO, due to now having enough diversity in our food system, different strains of crops, animals...etc.
There is a movement, but it is slow going and against heavy opponents that have a lot of $$ and total influence over the government at all levels.
Most people (on this world) don't get enough to eat. But I guess they are not real people to you. And the fact that you are consuming their part of the world to support your unconscionable waste doesn't bother you? I've got news for you. It isn't your freedoms they hate you for.
Not sure what that has to do with this thread....but...
As far as those people in the world, it isn't my fault nor my responsibility that they can't get their shit together as a country, learn to farm land and have order of society like my country has.
I refuse to feel guilty for some reason because we have succeeded and they continue to fuck up.
Why should I give a fuck about people too stupid or lazy to get their act together like other countries have done?
I am not even interested in watching HD, why do they think I'll care about this? Most people I know are pretty happy streaming onto their laptop something that looks pretty low res. I see plenty of details on zombies already.
Hmm.
I guess we run with different crowds. Most of the people I know are long out of college, have real jobs...and can easily afford a nice large flatscreen LCD/Plasma television for the main living room (and usually a few more in the bedrooms/office) and watch streaming, cable, uverse, bluray on those.
If you're a grown adult and can't afford anything more than a laptop (we all have those) to watch your movies or whatever on, you need to close the laptop, and start working a bit harder to get a real job.
HD tv is common now...it isn't like the old days when only a few people had colour television and everyone else could only afford black and white.
Hell, I've driven by the projects and see large flatscreens through the open doors...
I can't believe someone on slashdot would watch the show that tries and makes fun of our person type, badly I may add. Not trolling, it's just a horrible, unfunny, and poorly written/researched show.
Actually, I think it is one of the best written and funniest comedies on TV. Aside from Family Guy, it is about the only network television show I bother to watch.
And geez man, if you can't laugh at yourself....well, download some materials and read up on having a sense of humor. It helps when interacting with other humans, especially if you can laugh at yourself a bit.
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Well, you're talking about two entirely different things and different pots of money.
Defense, is a Federally mandated (by the constitiution) responsibility.
The public transportation is something that is the business of the individual states as to how they best want to function.
Two different things, so kinda of a strawman to argue this really.
With the possible exception of interstate travel, it really isn't a good argument to make here, and what we're talking about is intra city/state transportation.
If they wanted to be like the US, they should ease up on all the gun restrictions in Oz then.....?
gunk-ho?? WTF does that mean? I'm guessing you aren't from around these parts, are you?
Why don't we in the US, drop a little 'demonstration' ourselves....maybe have about 4 or 5 'empty' of payload polaris missles drop near the shores of NK, just to show them WE CAN already do this..?
I figure if even "I" can get a job and keep it....anyone can....
I use cable for my business internet account....but picked UVerse awhile back in that compared to cable and both satellite packages with full house DVR, they were the cheapest and had by far the most HD channels for the buck.
That was a couple years ago, I guess I should shop around again to see what's out there, but so far, service and uptime has been quite good!! Even after hurricane Issac, when I get home from evac, it was up and running just fine.
I don't see it that way....who decides? The self serving government who collects and benefits from the taxes? The politicians in charge?
If you do away with all deductions and loopholes....then, you eliminate the means for the govt to try to manipulate you.
If we did this now..we would then help to keep the Feds from blackmailing the states with tax fund withholding, etc...and get some semblance of states rights back.
Of course not...you sell them for medical experiments!!
Seriously, you don't from whence I came. I'm not rich now, I certainly didn't grow up rich (although I knew lots of people that were growing up, and I knew I wanted to make good money when I could).
Regardless of my upbringing, and my current situation in life, what I said was true.
At some point, you run out of people working and being taxed to pay the ones who aren't working.
Hell, look at our Social Security system to see that problem in full action. We have fewer and fewer people working to subsidize each retiree on the program, and it is running out of money.
If the consumers vote GMOs out..then the companies can move to something else more profitable.
We label seafood for country of origin, and I use that because I want to buy only US fish (and some salmon from Europe). I should be able to buy GMO or non-GMO if I please, just let me know which is which in the store.
Hell, we list ingredients...GMO is kind of like an added ingredient to basic foods, so, should be labeled as such.
We shouldn't BE using taxation as a method to manipulate behavior!!
Why not just tax for the basic purpose of funding government in its constitutionally (in the US) mandated functions. Simple taxes, no loopholes, no deductions for anything..easy to calculate, easy to pay...everyone pays fair share.
If you can't afford kids...maybe you shouldn't have kids?
And you can have a family in the cheaper parts of the US on less than $50K a year. You won't have the latest iphone, you won't have the newest clothes, car(s)..etc. But you can get along. After all, those things I mentioned and more, are not necessities.
If you choose that path, be prepared to sacrifice.
Yes, but at some point, you run out of enough people working to pay for those that are not.
I take it as the norm, and would likely have a show without one really stand out as "something being weird"...
Interesting. What part of the world are you in with sitcoms and no laugh tracks?
One, grow it, but you have to guaranteed it won't spread to traditional crops. And don't persecute the farmer that wants to use traditional crops and save his own seeds...if someone the GMO does spread and 'infects' his crops.
Second....mandate labeling of foods if they are GMO or not. How bad could that be? I mean, we require labellings for nutrition, we require labellings of seafood for country of origin, what could possibly be wrong with requiring GMO labeling, and let the consumer make his own purchasing and consumption decisions?
Freedom of choice is good, no?
My problem is...why not mandate labelling GMO foods, and let the people vote themselves with their wallets which way they want to go?
Why is this such a problem to the purveyors of GMO's?
I mean, choices is the ideal way, right? If there is a GMO squash and one that is not in the same store, why not let me get traditional one and you can be free to get the modified one?
Seriously? Maybe you aren't in the US and seeing the rampant obesity, the rise of type II diabetes, even in children, and recent reports coming out predicting that our children today are projected to have lower life expectancy than their parents, this mostly due to our 'modern food system' we now have in place.
Also, it seems that all this industrialized food system we have, and all the GMO's are not helping world wide hunger as projected.
It also looks like it might come back to bite us in the ass since the over use of GMO's like with soybeans that are Monsanto herbicide resistant, are selected for Monsanto Roundup resistant weeds (Johnson grass being one of the main culprits they're trying to eradicate).
The too..there is the potential danger of having such a mono culture of the food system....without having diversity in the plants and animals we raise, we're in danger of them being affected by some type disease and we don't have other variations of the foods/animals out there to help balance out if we lose one of them to disease.
Oh well, if that happens...that WILL help cure the obesity problem we have quickly, but...it won't be pretty.
That way...everyone has a choice, and let the market speak for what they want?
I wish the same could be said for America, but alas, the huge Agro-Business lobby and money squashes anything even close to dissent. Hell, states now have laws that make it a felony, I believe, if you merely talk about about the food industry in print, radio or tv. Look how Oprah was attacked by the beef industry.
There is a push in the US, locally by people to try to change this attitude. I personally think it is killing us as a society, the obesity in children and oncoming storm of diabetes coming on is sign of that to me.
The trouble is...the US Federal Govt is in cahoots with big Agro-Business. We have a very small and dispappearing local farmer population, the govt funds and promotes largely the wrong kind of foods to be made cheap to the masses (why not subsidize vegetables rather than just feed corn?)..and those in charge of the Fed policies on farming and food are comprised of a revolving door for people from Agro-Business into the FDA and USDA and then back to those same industries.
I for one, am a bit scared about the mono culture they're developing for our food system. We saw a bit of the problem in the past year or so, with droughts in some regions, and ALL food prices spiked quickly. We are in danger due, IMHO, due to now having enough diversity in our food system, different strains of crops, animals...etc.
There is a movement, but it is slow going and against heavy opponents that have a lot of $$ and total influence over the government at all levels.
Hmm....that's one of those Big Kahuna burgers, isn't it?
Not sure what that has to do with this thread....but...
As far as those people in the world, it isn't my fault nor my responsibility that they can't get their shit together as a country, learn to farm land and have order of society like my country has.
I refuse to feel guilty for some reason because we have succeeded and they continue to fuck up.
Why should I give a fuck about people too stupid or lazy to get their act together like other countries have done?
Most shows on tv have a laugh track..what's the big deal?
Hmm.
I guess we run with different crowds. Most of the people I know are long out of college, have real jobs...and can easily afford a nice large flatscreen LCD/Plasma television for the main living room (and usually a few more in the bedrooms/office) and watch streaming, cable, uverse, bluray on those.
If you're a grown adult and can't afford anything more than a laptop (we all have those) to watch your movies or whatever on, you need to close the laptop, and start working a bit harder to get a real job.
HD tv is common now...it isn't like the old days when only a few people had colour television and everyone else could only afford black and white.
Hell, I've driven by the projects and see large flatscreens through the open doors...
Actually, I think it is one of the best written and funniest comedies on TV. Aside from Family Guy, it is about the only network television show I bother to watch.
And geez man, if you can't laugh at yourself....well, download some materials and read up on having a sense of humor. It helps when interacting with other humans, especially if you can laugh at yourself a bit.
But this guy in the article was talking about watching a 2 hour movie in bed....definitely TV fodder there.
Even so...if you can't read blogs or anything on a 59" plasma, you might need to check back soon with your eye Dr. I can see that stuff just fine.