Replies

This is all a lost cause in the United States, IMHO.

Democracies have a 200 year shelf life. They always collapse once the lower economic classes realize they can vote en masse to confiscate wealth from the upper classes.

This last election 45% of the electorate paid NOTHING in federal taxes or received a net gain from their tax filings. Once 50% is reached, turn out the lights--it's over. The "Porkulus" package more or less guarantees it.

Class warfare rhetoric + a majority with no skin in the game = socialist tyranny

We'd all be better off to move to Alaska, get liberty-loving leaders elected to the State legislature, and secede from the Union. Start over.

Yes, it's cold, but with all those natural resources, combined with the implementation of private and secure banking, extremely low corporate tax rates, a VAT system rather than income tax, and severe limits on union activity (only collective bargaining operations--no lobbying or pension management permitted), we could turn the entire State into a free market economic powerhouse.

That's my solution.

We'd all be better off to move to Alaska, get liberty-loving leaders elected to the State legislature, and secede from the Union. Start over.

Or organize tax revolt on a massive scale. All it would take is one or two tax cycles; when the government wakes up on April 15th to find it has lost 50-80% of its tax revenue, the house of cards would crumble. How many IRS agents are going to show up to raid businesses and homes when there is no paycheck in their mailbox?

This is all a lost cause in the United States, IMHO.

Democracies have a 200 year shelf life. They always collapse once the lower economic classes realize they can vote en masse to confiscate wealth from the upper classes.

There is an interesting observation that empires, well in a sense we are one, we control a lot of land, we have a lot of military might, large economy (for now) and influence in the world (for now), last around 200 years, give or take for some wiggle room.

You had the Spanish Empire from 1492 until 1713 when Spain lost it's European possessions and started downhill although it took them a while, but when you start losing territories and/or influence, that is when you "jump the shark" as an empire. That was a little over 200 years.

From the conclusion of the French and Indian War (we here in Pittsburgh and the U.S. call it that, for the rest of the world, Seven Years War) in 1763, Britain knocked France down and she began her reign as the world's greatest superpower of the time. Yes, she lost colonies in the American Revolution but she gained others all over the world so I cannot say that Britain jumped the shark in 1776. If you go forward 200 years, you get 1963. In 1963, it was a time of rapid decolonization for the British Empire so you hit the 200 year mark in that case.

United States, well, I say our power was secured, at least we were a power to be reckoned with was the War of 1812. Many historian see it as a draw, perhaps so, but it showed that our nations, as young as it was, was able to fend off invaders. This was the beginning of our "empire." Go forward 200 year's you get 2012, we are at that point now or almost so.

Right now, we have two views in this country. You might have subdivisions thereof, but most of those can fit into one side or another. One side is us, the tradition America where we believe in God or a higher power and if you leave people alone for the most part, they will learn to take care of themselves and excellence is rewarded. The other side want's the government to care for everyone, from the womb to the tomb, that is unless you are aborted, but that's for another time. You have a nanny state that spreads the wealth and everyone is poor and if you are "medium," you're lucky. The two sides are diametrically opposed to each other, they will fight each other like two rabid rotweillers. You have a set of irreconcilable differences. We keep beating each other over the head like two cavemen. We are in an ideological cold war right now. There will be some point that some nimrod, doesn't matter which side, will do something and we will have a hot war. God forbid, if it happens like that, I just hope God will give me the courage, wisdom and strength to see it through and fight for the right side and survive to make it to the other side, whatever that might be.

My opinions are my own and not Free Republic's. I sometimes wonder if we should take the Red States and other places we can save, practice triage if you will. Cut the rest loose and the libs can have it. However, if they cannot make it on their own and want readmitted by us, then we call the shots and condition.

This last election 45% of the electorate paid NOTHING in federal taxes or received a net gain from their tax filings. Once 50% is reached, turn out the lights--it's over. The "Porkulus" package more or less guarantees it.

Class warfare rhetoric + a majority with no skin in the game = socialist tyranny

Well, there is a saying that "when people can vote themselves money from others, it is over". I know some wise man said it a long time ago, one of the Founding Fathers IIRC, but that's the gist of it. If you are out there working trying to get by at least, you got skin in the game. I work as a delivery driver of auto parts, my other duties, if not on the road, is stocking shelfs and unloading what comes in on the truck. I had to stock brake rotors and drums today, I'm tired and sore. Middle age is creeping up on me. Still, I bust my butt and hustle to get by, we all do as it should be.

We'd all be better off to move to Alaska, get liberty-loving leaders elected to the State legislature, and secede from the Union. Start over.

Yes, it's cold, but with all those natural resources, combined with the implementation of private and secure banking, extremely low corporate tax rates, a VAT system rather than income tax, and severe limits on union activity (only collective bargaining operations--no lobbying or pension management permitted), we could turn the entire State into a free market economic powerhouse.

That's my solution.

Well, I used to be in IT and one of my customers was as well. We see it this way, we are like a computer with a bloated operating system and we are running slow and like we have a lobotomy. The solution is to reformat the hard drive and reinstall the operation system at its minimal level and reboot.

Democracies have a 200 year shelf life.

The original 13 states may have passed their 200-year "best before" dates, but that leaves a lot more that are still feeling pretty good about being in a constitutional republic.