Quote:
What if you had no means of attaining the knowledge you need or had no means to work to advance?
I wouldn't be living in America.
Quote:
What if you had no previous work experience and thus had no way of making more pennies right away? Have you ever lived on minimum wage in the past?
Yep. That's how I arrived at my current situation. How does your first question make any sense? You can't get a job because of no work experience? That's like when this woman told me the other day, "Sorry honey, we don't take checks unless you've written one to us before."
Quote:
You use every single police station, postal office, fire department and road in the country? Could it posibly be that you use less than you actually pay in taxes for? Do you feel that you should pay less tax on these commodities knowing this?
These are funded primarily by local and state taxes. As for the extra I pay to the federal government, I have no problem as I travel very frequently (by road) and use such services in other areas.
Quote:
It's evident as opposed to the popular belief at the time of the invasion, Iraq did not pose any clear or present danger to United States of America...Many articles on after effects of the war claim that war in Iraq did not provide any additional safety to US citizents and could have resulted in more undeground terrorist activity both at home and overseas. In other words, not only did you not recieve the safety you were hoping for, not only thousands more of US lives were sacrificed (If you read the casualty list), but you as a businessman didn't get any return on your investment which could have provided a free universal healthcare to boost hospitals in your country.
How does that make you feel?
I feel fine. Being a soldier is a job here in the U.S., and the job description entails the possibility of getting killed. Maybe I would oppose such if it were a draft or mandated service, but it's not as of now. Our soldiers are compensated for the risk they knowingly take when signing up.
You want to know why I think we invaded, Mish?
That bastard Saddam wouldn't melt down a few of his gold palaces so the country could have free health care.
See? He was a bad guy anyway. Doesn't that make our war altruistic?
Quote:
I can make a difference. Can you?
Yes, but where I want to make a difference, not where a government tells me I have to.
Quote:
I can imagine a privately owned fire department that only responds to its customers and no one else. I can imagine you as customer seeing your neighbours house burn down and nobody appearing until after your own house had started burning. I can see a privately owned fire department cut costs and corners to stay "Competative". I can see a privately owned, unregulated fire department driven by profit not responding to even its own customers if it doesn't for one reason or another suit their financial needs.
Funny, I've witnessed each of these examples with a public fire department.
Quote:
I don't understand your question Sphinx. A responsibility or responsible action can be altruistic and an altruisitc action can be responsbile.
For example, previously mentioned "Medicaid" in US. Health system that provides insurance for the old. Is a socially responsible policy which is also altruistic. Do you believe it's not right that health care of the elderly should be funded by your tax money?
Do you believe that there is a social responsibility? Do you believe for example there is a social responsibility to pay taxes?
I have no say in the life of the person up until he reaches the "elderly" stage, therefore, no.
Altruistic- unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others (opposed to egoistic). Synonyms- charitable, generous, philanthropic; benevolent, unselfish.
How is a responsibility, an expected (forced) payment into this system, being altruistic?
Quote:
You don't agree with me because even though you do altruistic acts and do voluntary work deep down inside hides a dark selfishness.
It must be "dark selfishness" that keeps you from peddling your computer and other worldly possessions, giving the money away, and wandering the streets of the U.S., tending the uninsured poor who desperately need it.
It's selfishness Mish. One that even if simply given a choice to donate your possessions and get up and take to the streets, one would still reject it. One that doesn't care that poor people need the help of your personal free services without any compensation, one that doesn't really care about the plight of poorer people than you (aside from writing about what other people should do), one that puts personal pride on an internet forum ahead of other people as long as you don't have to take the little effort to get out of materialism and hit the streets.
What's that? You can't see helping out in such a way? You already donate money and time? You know, you're right. We should vote this idea in. If all citizens sell out and join you in aiding the poor on the streets, the burden you have will be a lot less. Wait a second...voting on something to ease your burden? My selfishness sense is tingling!
Second paragraph look familiar? It should...
Quote:
One that even if simply given a choice to vote for universal health care would still reject it. One that doesn't care that US hospitals (including your own) get run down because they provide free services without any compensation, one that doesn't care about the plight of poorer people than you (And even resents them for being poor as if they have a choice between being poor or being rich), one that puts personal pride ahead of other people as long as you don't have to pay a little bit extra in taxes.
Allow me to borrow and slightly modify another.
So Mish, if this is not a display of selfishness then what is it? How do you describe this phenomenon? Please help me understand.
~Sphinx