"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 09 Nov 2004 20:44:47 -0500, DSK wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Where you and I differ is that I believe that there could very well be
a substantial reduction in government spending

Oh, we don't differ at all on that. I'd love to see the federal gov't
cut it's budget by 1/2. To start with, I'd cut the Presidents &
Congresses salary & benefits dramatically.

... or at the very least,
a redistribution of current spending priorities which would make the
amount of spending more palatable.

Palatable to whom?

Frankly, I disagree with handing bazillions of dollars to Halliburton
(and JimH insists that rich people don't get "gov't benefits" to equal
welfare!) for gods & services that they often don't deliver, and are of
no use to the American citizenry when they do. I also disagree with
handing millions of dollars in tax money to churches... let the Faith
Based Initiative close up shop and give all the money back to the
taxpayers, let *them* decide what to do with it!




Personally, I object to the flat tax on moral grounds. It is a de facto
penalty on the poor, and trivializes tax expense to the super-rich....
who BTW gain the most from gov't services, so shouldn't they pay more?


I make, in the course of a year, with retirement income and such, a
goodly amount - some would call it "super-duper-rich". What is it
exactly that I gain in direct government services that someone with a
low income gets? Do I get home heating assistance? No.

You could if you wanted to stand in line and fill out a lot of paperwork.

No I could not - it's income based.

... Do I get food stamps? No.

You probably couldn't get those... do you want them?

No, but the point is that it's a direct benefit that I don't and can't
obtain.

... Do I get Husky Healthcare for my kids? No.

But OTOH you do get medical care that is supervised by the gov't,
provided by doctors & nurses that have been trained in accordance with
carefully regulated programs... in short the gov't has provided all the
background services & infrastructure for your medical care... and you
can afford the best, lucky you.

That's part of the general common wealth - not direct assistance.

... Do I get rent assistance? No.

Do you want it?

Would I qualify if I did? No.

So, just out curiosity, what direct government assistance do I receive
that allows the government to take what it does, which is not
insubstantial I might add, that adds up to more than I contribute?

Ah, now you want to muddy the water... it has to be "direct gov't
assistance" now, in the form of cash handed to you by the gov't?

No - you ain't getting away with that one. You said, right from the
git go, that I was benefitting more than those who have less income
that I have. That means direct government assistance - not that which
promotes the general welfare. I'm sure you understand the difference.

Let me put it this way... at the most basic level, the gov't prevents
some low-life from smacking you over the head and taking away all your
expensive toys.

Really? How so? It takes an officer approximately a half hour to get
here from the local barracks - that's if there is one available at the
local barracks immediately. It can take an hour if the officer is on
the other side of the patrol area. That's more than enough time for
somebody to do the deed.

It's also why I carry.

A person with no expensive toys doesn't get this service, do they?

They get better police protection I do. In fact, because most of the
lower income folks live in centralized locations, they are better
served because there are more officers patrolling less square milage
than that in which I live. - they are much better off. The average
response time to an emergency police call in my area is 27 minutes.
The average for Willimantic is 3 minutes. The average response time
to a emergency medical/fire call with an ambulance/apparatus is 35
minutes. The average in Willimantic is 6 minutes. It's about the
same for Norwich, Glastonbury and other towns similar to Willimantic.

So, in fact, they are better served that I am.

Would you like to hire a couple of rent-a-cops to watch all of your
property, and one to follow you around all day every day? That alone
would probably be pretty expensive, far more than your heating
assistance and rent assistance and day care assistance and free lunches
etc etc etc.

Oh please. Make a rational argument for crying out loud.

Think.

I have. I might suggest the same for you.

All the best,

Tom
--------------

"What the hell's the deal with this newsgroup...
is there a computer terminal in the day room of
some looney bin somewhere?"

Bilgeman - circa 2004


And the property taxes us so called wealthy pay is a lot greater
proportionately to the services we receive than the poor people. And there
will still be property taxes even with a flat income tax. What extra
services do I get for my $135 / year property tax on my boat, than the $12 /
year property tax boat guy? Say we both own 21' boats, mine is just more
expensive.