Honestly, Larry are you one of the top 5% of Americans. More than likely your not; so why are you upset if they get taxed more than the 15% they pay now?

Oh, Man! There's too much there to hash out tonight. I'll try and address your points, one by one, when i have more time. 'Till then.

Larry I.m older than you and didn't blame things on you , but you never addressed what I said so let me put it this way do you believe in fairy tales? Even if our govt, removed every regulation tomorrow places like China would find a way to help their govt. factories cheat,[ like not honoring patents etc] so that we couldn't compete. If we dropped our wages to a dollar a day there are those in Asia and Africa who will work cheaper. You way turns America into a polluted third world country.

Yeh, guess i do believe in fairy tales. Fairy tales where human beings actually learn how to deal with each other humanely. Pretty radical concept, huh.

Larry you've still refused to recognize that because there will always be other govt. [I gave you a good example China],greedy companies, or crooks that would drive us into a third world nation.

Cool. I ridicule corporations for being so short-sighted as to put profit before the benefit of the workers who helped sustain the business; great job selling out the nation which afforded them opportunity for success in the first place.

Over zealous regulators will not be the demise of sociopathic industries; natural consequences of end-stage capitalism will kill current business models eventually, as unfettered capitalism absolutely depends on unlimited natural resources and ever-expanding markets - BOTH impossibilities in a finite world.



Could have fooled me. I thought you were blaming Big Government for impairing your ability to fly like an eagle.



Influence over your neighbors? Try influence over national POLICY! Assuming votes and squeaky wheels still mean anything in this country, the baby boomers have a filibuster-proof majority last I looked.



Okay. So your experience is typical then, eh? Let's pretend everyone who is currently jobless has chosen to be so. Now we all want gainful employment. Enlighten us with your secret to success and help us do the math so that there are suddenly enough jobs to go 'round.



I think you have me there; wait, do you mean PAID WORK?

I've worked in service industries, done physical labor, been a teacher, started a retail business, directed a non-profit, managed a health-care co-op, been a researcher, worked in offices filing, typing and answering phones, done graphic/web design, raised crops, I am a college graduate, I speak three languages.

I've only been working since I was 15 years old, but I do think that's quite a lot of diversified experience with actual expertise in a couple of those areas for my 20 years in the work force, mostly because I typically multi-task and have held down multiple public and private sector positions at once.

I see manufacturing, social/civil/customer service, data management and reporting, administration, entrepreneurship, sustainable agriculture, education, art and tech fields represented in my skill set.

What boxes am I missing, pray tell?



Well, remember - we aren't laying blame here as EVERYTHING is personal responsibility, but I agree. IF welfare is problematic, that includes welfare of the CORPORATE variety! Do you think ANYONE making BILLIONS of dollars NEEDS any help? IF a natural person had such profits, I don't think he'd be getting special government help, but corporate personhood not only mandates sociopathy, it rewards it in spades. This makes absolutely no sense.

But it seems we come at it from different perspectives; in my view our prosperity depends on those at the bottom. The personal poverty in light of concentrated wealth in this country is SICKENING and SHAMEFUL.



We survived in agrarian packs before OWNERSHIP came into play. Have-nots were born alongside the haves. Once allocations of resources were based upon social status, domination began. Not really all that difficult to understand.

There was indeed charity before big brother, that's how the weakest survived. When Noblesse Oblige fell out of fashion, folks at the bottom needed new safety nets. Other than that, it's all "natural" selection.

As a society, we've seemingly agreed it's virtuous to help those in need.

What's so hard to understand there?

If no one's entitled to anything, then let's start now. All the Social Security you've paid into, your medicare, retirements can all be viewed as ENTITLEMENTS. Let's wipe 'em out, NOW - so the baby boomers can bitch about how they all paid into it. Sorry folks, but returns on your investments aren't guarantees, and that's a GOOD thing because guarantees don't serve humanity well.

I also remember when these so-called "entitlement" programs were called, welfare, safety-nets and social programs. All we needed was some nifty spin to conjure images of lazy-ass good for nothings living on the dole. VOILA! - new foe... just pay no attention to the man behind the curtain



Hahahahaha - yep; ol' mom-in-law was really fucking stupid. Taking a living-wage job to support her young kids once their dad died, helping build the company's success, working hard for over 20 years while taking on increased responsibilities. Why did she not see NAFTA coming back in the 70s???
Dumb-bitch and her bad choices

SS as designed was not a ponzi scheme; SS would not be insolvent had there not been borrowing/wagering against it, to my understanding. Now the banks bail-out? That's a horse of a different color. Again, difference in philosophy. Depends on if you wanna prop-up the bottom, or the top.



Can you say Humboldt County? I'm not as stupid as you think, Larry. I know how to do what's necessary to survive; I also know how to bail out when my ship is sinking.

Even cottage industries depend on supply and demand. How's "legitimate" small business creation been going since 2007, I wonder?



Well gee, that's uber insightful.
Could you please elaborate on that point?



Supplemental Nutritional Assistance is a "Sham" program? How so?

IF producing enough food to sustain yourself was done directly, rather than trading labor for tokens to purchase said food, people probably wouldn't starve. That's how it used to work; now we're in an industrial paradigm of global proportions. Quite a shift.



Okay, so we've had years of awful social planning. Social planning starting decades before my birth; social planning that is now under the political control of your generation. Tell me why these consequences outta be MY downfall again?

I sure wish I could shape the world in MY OWN image just in time for ME to kick the bucket and leave the flaming poo-bag on someone ELSE's front porch!



EUREKA! I just need to add cobbling to my skill-set. You think I can take-out some more Government-Subsidized student loans to learn that in-demand trade?



Now you're just making me jealous with your tales of extensive travel to exotic locales

Not sure how you were homeless if you've always had a job. Personal deficiency or bad choices? Did Big Brother Do-Gooder regulate you out of your home? Hard to have a cottage industry, sans cottage - I'll grant you that.

You rate people on how busy living they are, versus their complaint ratio. How busy are you these days? I suppose there's ALWAYS enough leisure time to complain about the Scooby gang and their meddling ways when you've achieved a certain social standing!

In reality, this all started with you saying "I don't have a problem with NAFTA." Later, you indicated NAFTA wasn't really "free trade." Therefore, it was simply rhetoric, complete with bait and switch consequences.

You indicated we shouldn't get all worked up over political rhetoric; I provided a fairly shining example of precisely why we SHOULD.

You do have a way with your words WW....

Yeah, a long-winded way

You think adding "quick wit" and "sharp tongue" to my resume might help a bit?

Thanks for taking it up WW, Larry is too out of touch to speak to some times.

I don't see a problem with an ISOLATIONIST PROTECTIONIST economic strategy, China used it for the last several centuries to the point that they now own our country. How is such a successful strategy GOOD for the chinese, but "bad" for the USA?

That strategy destroyed our manufacturing capabilities with help from elements within our own government and corporate wealth. I've never been without a job, and I've never been homeless.

Doesn't meant I don't desire unending prosperity for our children and our grandchildren.

Boomers sold them out. Thanks. Just like piss testing, if you grown ups in the 80s could have "JUST SAID NO" instead of getting in line, no one would be subject to that type of invasion of privacy.