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Originally Posted by doctor who
Where do you people come from? I too am happy that I get to keep more of what I make.

Offspirng13:
I am just tired of the people who bitch and moan about taxes constantly. Taxes are a necessity for running our country. They don't seem to realize that if the didn't pay any taxes, our country would collapse and then they wouldn't be making that money any more. Some of us "moan constantly" because taxes are getting to ridiculous levels. Almost 5 months of the average persons wages go to paying taxes. You may not consider that excessive, I do. The government needs taxes to provide for defense and public safety and promote personal income growth, not punish it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by doctor who
So under President Bush, we now have a lower percentage of the population without healthcare than under Clinton. Hmmmm.

Offspring13:
By a very small margin. Some of those people probably died from lack of care is why the numbers went down, lol. Small margin or not, less people, not more, are unisured. We are hearing the complete opposite of the facts from big media and the hundreds of Democrats running for President. They are making this into a crisis that does not exist to the extent they obviously have you believing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by usmc7011
They choose not to take advantage of getting a education and becoming competitive and being able to afford good healthcare.

Offspring13:
If everyone 'moved up the ladder' as i think you are implying, there would be nobody at the bottom to support the upper tiers. Its simply idealism on your part. Many can't afford a good education to make the transition you state. Even if someone is successful and even runs their own company, a severe illness can rise and cause them to go into bankruptcy on health care costs. I know someone in real life that has gone thru this with health care costs going over 1 million dollars. I see where you might be confused on a couple of your points. The "bottom of the ladder" as you call them, is constantly being replenished. It's called young people entering the work force. If they desire (not all do) they move up as they age and are replaced by the next generation. Everyone has access to higher education. You just might have to take out a student loan to make it happen. That's called investing in your own future. I did and my spouse did. Still paying them too. It is not my job or the government's to pay for anyones higher eductaion. If your young and your parents can't afford it, the loans are there for you. As far as the occasional person going into bankruptcy because of healthcare costs, we can't save everyone and you thinking somehow that we can is idealism.


Quote:
Originally Posted by usmc7011
Sounds to me that your a regular robin hood, steal from the rich and give to the poor. However nice that may seem, it is still stealing.

Offspring13:
If you look at it that way....or you could say that because the lower workers aren't being paid their share of the company profits the CEO's are stealing from them. The average CEO makes over 500 times more per year than their lower workers. Thats just insane. Here in lies the fundemental difference between our philosphies. (Mine and USMC7011 and yours) You are under the assumption that the worker is somehow deserving of the profits a company makes. If I go with that line of thinking then the employees of Ford need to return some of the income they made last year because the company lost money. Here's the thing. The stockholders/partners/individual who put their money at risk by starting/investing in a company are the only ones that deserve any of the profits. Just as they are the only ones who bear the burden of a loss. The job that is offered to any worker, belongs to the company. If it belonged to the worker then it could never be taken away, no? The company, based on the market, determines what that job is worth, offers it to the employee and pays the them as agreed. The expectation is that the worker will perform his job fully and the company will make money. The worker is being compensated for the tasks they perform and the investors get compensated through profits for the risk they take. It is really that simple. I do agree that CEO compensation is out of line and promotes short sightedness but that is only my business if I am a shareholder in the company. The only ones losing because of high CEO compensation are the shareholders. The job offered to an employee is still worth what it is regardless of how much the CEO makes.