Posted on 11/10/2009 3:47:45 AM PST by Kaslin
"Make no mistake about it, this generation is a generation of thieves and the people who stole their parents and their children’s money to make their own lives cushier are at it again. This time the target is their grandchildren." -- Evan Sayet
Throughout American history, generations of our countrymen took pride in leaving the country better than the one they grew up in. Their attitude about sacrifice was summed up by this classic quotation from Tom Paine:
"If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."
That is no longer the spirit that animates our leaders or much of our country. Today, it's,
"If there must be trouble, let our children and grandchildren handle it, so that I am not inconvenienced."
History is full of great nations that have fallen from their lofty perches back into the ranks and the United States is likely to be among them unless we change our attitude about the following issues:
1) Takers Vs. Producers: "In 1985, just 16.5% of filers paid no income tax." Today, "roughly 120 million Americans – 40 percent of the U.S. population – are outside of the federal income tax system."
Meanwhile, the top 50% of income earners pay 97% percent of the income taxes. "In 1945, 41.9 workers supported each (Social Security recipient), while today only 3.3 workers support each retiree." That number will continue to shrink.
In other words, we're developing into a two-tiered society. Some people like to think of it as the "haves" and "have nots." However, it would be more apt to describe it as the people who pay the bills and the people who live off of the fruits of their labor.
This is an extraordinarily dangerous development for our country. It makes us overly dependent on workers and entrepreneurs who may flee the country or simply stop working as the burden on them grows. It also leads to class warfare, with the producers becoming increasingly resentful of an ever more demanding class of sows dining at the government troth.
Of course, it's easy to be demanding when you don't have to pay the full value of the services you receive. It's also easy to be resentful when you don't get your money's worth in government services and are treated as selfish for wanting to keep more of the money you earned for yourself. This is not a recipe either for societal stability or for long-term prosperity.
2) A degenerating society: America's success has been because of our people, not because of our government. It is almost impossible to overestimate the value our country has gotten out of having a hard working, honest, charitable, patriotic, culturally homogenous population.
Yet, the cultural elements that have made this a great nation are under attack on every level. The stigma for taking government assistance is fading, government is taking over the role of charity, many liberals mock the idea of patriotism, divorce rates have grown perilously high, support for gay marriage has increased, the percentage of the population that's Christian is dropping, and multi-culturalism and even dislike of America is replacing the idea of the Melting Pot.
The culture of a nation often tends to be more resilient than people realize, but that doesn't mean it can be taken for granted. If the bonds that hold us together disintegrate or the fundamental decency of the American people is no longer a given, our nation will no longer be great. As Samuel Adams said back in 1779:
"A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader."
3) Mounting debt: There's no peril greater to this country's future than our rapidly increasing debt. We have no idea how to pay for our Social Security and Medicare obligations, we seem to be running larger and larger deficits every year, and neither political party has the guts to make significant cuts in spending. Meanwhile, the politicians in DC are so irresponsible that they're obsessed with adding yet another cripplingly expensive entitlement program on top of the others we already have now, despite the objections of the American people.
Could this lead to hyperinflation that dramatically lessens the worth of a dollar? Could it, over the long haul, give nations like China so much economic leverage over us that it would be difficult to refuse them? Could the amount of money we have to pay in interest on the debt become so odious that it could dramatically reduce economic growth? Sadly, all of these scenarios are becoming more plausible by the day.
4) Nuclear proliferation: If we don't have the will to stop a "death to America" chanting terrorist regime run by religious fanatics from getting nuclear weapons, then we don't have the will to stop any nation. That's how it will be read across the Middle-East and across the world as well if Iran gets nukes. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and company wouldn't be alone either. If they get nukes, we should expect at a minimum Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia to also build nuclear weapons. Once that genie is out the bottle, it'll never be put back in and the United States will suffer horribly as a result.
That's not just because of the much greater potential for nuclear war and nuclear blackmail, but because the strongest of all nations will always have a target on its back. Imagine terrorists smuggling nuclear bombs into Los Angeles, DC, Chicago, and Houston and then, after the explosion, not even being able to determine which rogue nation produced the weapons that killed millions of Americans. That's the future we're headed towards unless Iran is stopped and the consequences will be more devastating than most Americans can imagine.
Count me in.
Oath Keepers
Islamic Terrorists could nuke the USA into a Mad Max society and while rummaging through what’s left of American society for scraps of food, the left would STILL consider Islamic followers victims of Western Imperialism while applauding themselves for celebrating diversity and multiculturalism.
You are correct - all the protests, of every sort, all the phone calls, emails, faxes etc. all the demonstrations, attendances at Townhalls, have meant ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. This government WILL NOT LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE ANYMORE. I can only see two scenarios, 1) Take it or 2) The People will need to ACT. I guess it comes down to what the country and your way of life means to the collective. They are NEVER going to listen to you or pay attention to anything you Protest about. CO
1) Takers Vs. Producers
In your list you forgot single mothers by *choice* (divorced or never married). These women almost never pay any taxes and their numbers are huge and cross all racial lines. Any one (man or woman) who has a child whether by choice or
“accident” and chooses to raise that child should be expected to pay the real costs involved. Single mothers (whether on welfare or not) get a shocking array of tax breaks and other entitlements even as women keep insisting on being treated equally with men.
With the draconian gummint child support laws in place in this country nearly all of these women *are* getting child support in addition to their gummint benefits. One example is FREE gummint representation in court regardless of a woman’s economic status when disputing child support issues (Title IV-D of the Social Security program). To get their child support guaranteed to them via gummint CSA’s and also earn viable incomes is tantamount to Double Dipping. When you add in the fact these women pay NO taxes it is Triple Dipping and the number of women who enjoy these perks is enormous.
I think it will come sooner than that, runninglips.
From being on FR for ever so long, and reading many other forums too, I see the anger of us citizens growing to the point of “slow boil”.
There will be a tipping point. The pressures are increasing now, and I would am worried that the pot will boil over by sometime next summer.
I think next summer will be a turning point, but with mid term elections coming up, they will turn on the spigots in an all out attempt to forestall the crash. As soon as the election is over, it will be a dark November/December...I just see it happening sometime in the Sept-February area....just a feeling. It is coming, I don’t know what day, month or year.....It really makes me want to cry. I guess what needs be done is get that out of the way, and be prepared to defend my own, and my country.
I am keeping my eye on the Federal Reserve, the “market”, and the economy.
There could be a “black swan” event that “they” will not be able to control, paper over, or forestall. If one comes along, “Katy, bar the door”.
All Freepers should be preparing, for it is coming, we just do not know how soon, or how hard. There is no escaping the oncoming storm.
The way I figure it - The Leftard plan is to wreck the economy. This will result in mass poverty, hunger and disease. The 1930s redux. Also, anarchy. They think when the USA is reduced this state, they will ride high on the seat of totalitarianism.
First kill the country. Then rule the ruins. Better to rule in hell than serve in heaven.
The ignorance of history may be the single biggest factor in the destruction of America. I know from conversations that most of the college graduates in my area who are under fifty or so (I am unsure exactly where the dividing line is) lack the knowledge of history that my generation gained in grade school before even ENTERING high school. A 1960 public high school graduate knew more about history than the college graduates of today who major in history. Much of what the younger people THINK THEY KNOW about history is wrong.
Those who KNOW NOTHING about the mistakes of history are certainly doomed to repeat them.
I was thinking the exact same thing today -
maybe a couple of days in a row.
NO tv except FOX. NO purchases on the internet. Just stay home.
I think our politicians took Saudi money..that is why they are here.
But if they promote, advise, encourage, preach, listen to, fund, aid or in any way participate with Islamic jihad, they gotta go. Whether their ancestry is Arab, Southeast Asian, European, or African.
Gotta go.
Works for me.
Greek city republics, Roman Republic, Italian and Dutch Republics....
It make a lot of sense from the elites. They do not wanted an educated in the true sense working class. That makes them/us too....unruly.
The want people to have applied skills only. Ditch digger, clerk, engineer but no ability to counter parasitical elite sophistry( BS ).
BTTT
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