And, yeah, I believe in a strong military, public schools, libraries, publicly funded police departments, fire departments, etc.
Send one of your kids to Somalia in the middle of nowhere, and when he pulls himself up by his bootsraps you can tell me how anyone can do it without help. No, you didn't do it without help. You did it by living in a country that affords you a lifestyle unlike many other countries. You think you could have "pulled yourself up by your bootstraps in any number of third world countries - regardless of their political bent? No, you wouldn't have. Oh, maybe you'd have a couple of cows compared to your neighbor who only has a goat, but you wouldn't have the lifestyle you have here.
A progressive tax rate makes perfect sense to my Christian mind. You don't ask people who are making twenty thousand dollars to pay the same amount as those making two hundred thousand dollars. I don't see anything godly about making life harder for people who are barely getting by, anyway. And, by the way, I believe that he who doesn't work, shouldn't eat, with the exception of severely disabled people. Yeah, I do believe in safety nets when family isn't there for the least of society's poor. Peace.
In short you're a statist by philosophy.
You did it by living in a country that affords you a lifestyle unlike many other countries
Please explain to me specifically just how the government "affords me a lifestyle". It is your assertion that I couldn't have done what I did anywhere else. (this arrogant assumption is made without knowing ANYTHING about me) So, tell me what specifically the government did to help me. I'll give you a hand. My parents did not send me to public skool so you can't claim that I was given an education at the expense of someone else. Oh and one other thing, that military that you claim I don't know anything about, would that be the same one that gave me an all expense paid tropical vacation 41 years ago?
Also You should know that logic is NOT on your side with this truly startling assertion that I would only have a couple of cows somewhere else. IF THIS WERE TRUE, then there would be NO wealthy people anywhere else other than the USA, but oddly enough (at least oddly enough according to your statist theory that the government made this possible) there are people who manage to rise up everywhere. Further there are governments everwhere that practice the wealth redistribution that is inherent in your view. Some of the more notable ones are the economic powerhouses of North Korea and Cuba - both of which practice it to a greater degree than other countries. They should have the most wealth and the most wealthy people, but funny, the exact opposite is true. < sarcasm> I wonder why.< /sarcasm>
and I find particularly henious your support of a progressive tax and also find it somewhat annoying the hypocrisy of your sanctimonious comment about your "Christian" mind in that regard to a progressive tax.
A progressive tax rate makes perfect sense to my Christian mind.You don't ask people who are making twenty thousand dollars to pay the same amount as those making two hundred thousand dollars
First a non-progressive tax eg. a "flat" tax would not ask them to pay the same amount but rather the same rate. a 20% flat tax would take $4000 from the first and $40,000 from the second. look at your progressive tax structure under the current USA tax structure the first family would GET money probably about $2500 and the second would pay about $47,000. So in essence the hard work of the second is subsidizing the lifestyle of the first. How does your "christian mind" view this forced transfer. Do you consider one person being forced at gunpoint to pay for someone else WITHOUT ANY CONTROL OVER THAT PERSON"S ACTIONS "godly?" Second,
I don't see anything godly about making life harder for people who are barely getting by
But apparently you have no qualms about making life harder for those who are already working harder. A frequently ignored fact is that family income in the USA is statistically tied to hours worked per week in the family. Typically families in the "poverty" level work 20 or fewer hours per week. Families that hit the low end of middle class work 20 - 40 hours a week, famililes that hit the high end work 40-80 hours a week and wealth families hit 80 or more hours per week. Take a look at doctors. They make a lot of money and are a frequent target of envy by people with your progressive tax view. They live a hard life. Typically they work anywhere from 60 - 100 hours a week doing things that you are unable to do, risking disease and death by infectious disease by treating HIV and hep C positive patients. Now you think that their hard work should be penalized so that some welfare queen can spend her days drunk high and pregnant (gets a bigger check with more dependents) Hours per week correlation to wealth is not a hard and fast rule, but indicative.
Worldwide those countries with the most government typically have the least wealth and highest poverty. Look at the difference between China today and China 30 years ago. Whats different? LESS GOVERNMENT CONTROL AND LOWER TAXES _ LESS WEALTH TRANSFER NOW THAN BEFORE
Yeah, I do believe in safety nets when family isn't there for the least of society's poor
Ever heard of private charity? If I keep this up I'll get carpal tunnel syndrome bye.