quote: Teachers and writers are not parasites. They due work that is necessary, and are compensated for it. They pay taxes, and partake of the same society as the rest of us do
Yes, and those of us that recieve paychecks made available because of your tax dollars..guess what....they pay taxes too. Yes, military members pay taxes. Sometimes a hefty amount of it. I have long since given up thanking my parents for the paycheck. When your own paycheck is taxed, and those same taxes go to your paycheck, it's like paying yourself to do a service for your country.
BTW, my mother thought I would be going underway to help in this. However, my ship is not quite ready to go. Just a little more work to go and a really huge examination coming up is all that is left. Oh, and a few crew certifications.
Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
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You aren't the only one who has said that...kwisni and I call each other kiwi sometimes...
I don't think that there is anything wrong with spending most of your tax dollars fixing problems for your populous.
On the other hand I am glad that our government has sent those ships to the area. I imagine that their fresh-water making ability is worth more to those people right now than any amount of money would be.
I do think that the US had an obligation to do something in these matters, but it is an obligation that we impose on ourselves, and no one else has a right to DEMAND that we contribute any specific amount or percentage of our GNP. Part of the reason our GNP is so much higher than Europe's is that we don't tax the crud out of business and people here. Compare to our past the tax burden, even on the rich, is far less now than in our past. This means that while our GNP is higher, our government gets a proportionately smaller amount of it than in other countries. That equates to a smaller amount available, percentage wise, than in Europe.
I am not saying we shouldn't get involved, I was just tired of hearing from people complaining we haven't done enough. Once it is all said and done I would be surprised if we didn't contribute as a people more than most....if you figure everything in, including troop costs and whatnot.
I will ask for people to donate, I will ask for generosity. I will even tell y'all stories of the suffering over here in the hopes that it promotes your goodwill. And I will thank you for your generosity. That's it.
But to obligate? To demand? To condemn and criticize because it's not enough according to flawed judgement?
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