Jonesy

I know my provocative title drew you all in to my web of deceit.

Your dogs are civil. But if they were starving, they would start committing what you might call 'crimes'. It isn't any different with humans. How much crime could be reduced by simply giving poor people money? Would it be cheaper to give poor people money than let them commit crimes, subsequently sending them to jail, which would further increase the overall expense?

Rollerball

How old are you? Seriously, I need to know.

Giving poor people money to not commit crime. Did you just land on this planet a few months ago or what?

What poor people need is what all people need, a way to earn money so they can have self-esteem. It doesn't do anyone any good to have it handed to them for free. The Native Americans had that, free land to live on, a paycheck from the government each month, but no job and no self-respect. It ruined a lot of lives.

Rigged

LoL. There is such a thing as a dumb question...You know the answer. If you have a position just state it.

I think what your saying is that if we give "poor" people money they will stop committing crime? Are you serious? People with money commit crime all the time...if you are going to ask a question at least make it intelligent...

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It is what they want, after all: "a god to punish, not a man of their infirmity."

"When George W. Bush looked into the eyes of Vladimir Putin, he claimed he saw his soul, when John McCain looked into them he saw the letters K-G-B."

- Economist (on John McCain)

cheapseats

It is my understanding that we do, however, give farmers money not to grow crops.

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cheapseats

The truth is, there ARE numbers by which to answer this question. How much is our total welfare bill? How much are the costs of relevant legislation, law enforcement, prosecution and incarceration for crimes that really are, essentially, attributable to poverty of the yeah-yeah-we've-heard-your-theories-about-picking-ourselves-up-by-our-bootstraps-but-the-shit-is-so-lopsided-rigged-and-unjust-that-unless-you're-a-Phenom-you're-basically-fucked-so-what-have-we-got-to-lose-and-besides-we-see-YOU-breaking-laws-with-impunity variety?

We knowingly give...read that, dole out in a controlling manner...hand-to-mouth money. To completely uneducated people. Good idea.

And to free-loader/drifter/under-the-radar types. Even better.

And to a savvy work-the-system crowd that I will contend includes a disproportionate number of illegal immigrants. Brilliant.

Our welfare system is a sham. Either someone's lining their pockets and/or there is a design to keep people impoverished and uneducated and/or it is justification for the salaries and benefit packages of federal employees.

There ARE people to whom we need and want to give money, I hope, or this isn't the kind of country in which I want to live out such years as I have remaining. But there is fraud RUN RAMPANT, and not the slightest Congressional will to eliminate it.

Why do we suppose that is? Why do we suppose we put up with it?

Do I understand correctly that there is at least one country that provides drugs unto clean syringes to addicts? What are the costs and ramifications of that program, compared to the way we're handling it?

Speaking of, incarceration is DEFINITELY beyond the pale and the People need to shut that shit down post haste.

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cheapseats

Your web of deceit, proprietary...as in, you are the weaver? Or your web of deceit, victim...as in, trapped in?


Nope.

And believe you me, if American women en masse felt threatened for the livelihoods of their children owing to unavailability or unaffordability of food, they would overrun the security fences of the Aristocracy, march into those walk-in pantries with library shelving, throw open those Sub Zeros including the extra one in the garage, and take what they fucking need to prevent their children from starving to death.

Unless, of course, our government ordered our military to fire upon our starving citizens. And the military did not stand down. And we watched it happen, then went on about our business.

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Jonesy

I was thinking another way we can lower taxes is by optimizing some of our already-existing programs. Not necessarily such a good thing to always move around from one program to another. In the search for greater happiness, you might lose the happiness you had and never find anything equal or better.

cheapseats

That is why we are cautioned with this mixed metaphor: pick your battles, and don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

The American People would be astonished how much money could be saved. The operations of the American government importantly want dissection by management consultants.

Make every single welfare recipient come in to collect their checks. Spare me the sob story about the relative few who can't get around. We'll deal with the exceptions. Make them come in and sort them out one by one. Illegals and drifters are on their own, while we sort this mess out. Sorry. We're not deporting you, we're not arresting you, we're just not paying you.

Leave Iraq...turn it into a parking lot for all I care, I have NEVER cared about the Iraqi people and neither has anyone else.

We can afford Nationalized Healthcare, even for the illegals and the drifters.

We can't afford everything.

They are spending our money unwisely.

If we can't call a recession a recession, I 'spose calling malfeasance, malfeasance is outta the question.

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Richterscale

Let us not forget the Massive welfare we dole out every year to healthy ultra-profitable Corporations.

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Google Sibel Edmonds

"How many people died from the Kama Sutra as opposed to the Bible? Who wins?" - Frank Zappa

cheapseats

I assure you, it is not I who forgets THAT.

This Congress ought to have instituted windfall taxes on Big Oil QUARTERS AGO.

You know those farm subsidies?

Big Pharmaceuticals are buying up the small farms, and the subsidies with them.

Mean-spirited Liar RK77 takes me to task at every turn for the way I roll on the road...fuck her. I have learned so much about so much bullshit.

I learned an expression in the South..."I'm kickin' ass and takin' names." I love it.

I tell AT&T, with whose service I regularly have difficulty, to be sure and record all my calls. One of those recordings, if recordings they make, will feature me saying, "We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way, but we're doing this."

Large companies are completely the fuck out of control...I mean, NO understanding of how the inefficiency of their practices lies beneath the prices that they simply pass on to a captive audience. Government and Big Business almost can't waste money fast enough.

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