SPOILER ALERT

you college kids are going to grow out of the whole liberal thing in the next.... ohh... 6-10 years. i don't know if it's the getting older, or if it's working and being taxed to death. hell, maybe both. i may tell you guys my dark secret if anyone is on and talking.

i reserve the right to bump this in the future with more of my awesome political wisdom.

11/24/2010 1:46:39 AM

You're turning into the man?

11/24/2010 1:50:14 AM

This thread has the potential to break my heart into a million little pieces.

11/24/2010 1:51:08 AM

i may take the picture, just to show you what i've become

11/24/2010 1:53:48 AM

Quote :

"you college kids are going to grow out of the whole liberal thing in the next.... ohh... 6-10 years. i don't know if it's the getting older, or if it's working and being taxed to death. hell, maybe both. i may tell you guys my dark secret if anyone is on and talking."

yeah i became less liberal in the sense that i moved into the actual left

11/24/2010 1:55:07 AM

you're so wise and knowledgeable. Please to enlighten us all.

11/24/2010 1:55:45 AM

Quote :

"i may take the picture"

I'm curious but scared.

11/24/2010 1:56:27 AM

jackleg been around hte block once or twice and he knows thangs

he's right too, people around here "grow up" and sell out

11/24/2010 1:56:34 AM

bmel don't know about jackleg.

11/24/2010 1:57:24 AM

I wasn't trolling.

11/24/2010 1:58:57 AM

Quote :

"If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain."

-Jesus

11/24/2010 1:59:18 AM

11/24/2010 2:01:09 AM

I'm not racist enough to be conservative.

11/24/2010 2:01:13 AM

So the validity in what Glenn Beck says actually depends on how old i am?
cool

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

11/24/2010 2:03:45 AM

BEFORE:



AFTER:

11/24/2010 2:06:26 AM

11/24/2010 2:06:48 AM

Son of a bitch.

11/24/2010 2:07:27 AM

Its not the getting older its the years of not managing your money properly

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

11/24/2010 2:07:50 AM

So he likes his news fair and balanced. Who gives a fuck?

11/24/2010 2:08:22 AM

I'm 32 and I think paying taxes is fun.

11/24/2010 2:08:29 AM

itt we learn that Jackleg makes more money than walkmanfades

11/24/2010 2:10:50 AM

I actually became more liberal after I left college

11/24/2010 2:11:21 AM

That's probably true bmel. I haven't had a raise in a while.

11/24/2010 2:12:59 AM

look i got the hat for free from the CIA after my last contract hax

11/24/2010 2:15:50 AM

Quote :

"I'm not racist enough to be conservative, but I am liberal enough to be an intolerant bigot"

11/24/2010 2:16:02 AM

bmel and Samwise both get salty instantly the last few days. I'm going with synchronized periods.

11/24/2010 2:19:39 AM

o.O wat

11/24/2010 2:22:15 AM

BigHitSunday Likes this thread.

11/24/2010 2:23:07 AM

bmel likes BigHitSunday

11/24/2010 2:24:23 AM

that whole "you're a racist if you're anywhere near the right" is the main reason that i enjoy wearing this fox news hat so much. i don't even get my news from the television, and i don't use foxnews.com.

i've seen people of all colors that put dogs to shame when it comes to popping out babies!!!1

also, to that one post, about me being 32 and loving to pay taxes. i don't like paying taxes, and i am very against the current system

however, i will think of something that i don't like and get back to you shortly. please hold.

11/24/2010 2:25:35 AM

LOL! "Taxed to death." That gets thrown around so much, it doesn't even mean anything.

Let me put it this way:

Conservatives: I HATE TAXES.
Reasonable person: So what do you want done about it?
Conservatives: LOWER THEM, DURRR.
Reasonable person: Well, what spending do you want to cut to lower taxes?
Conservatives: EXCESS SPENDING!
Reasonable person: Which is?
Conservatives: STUFF WE DON'T NEED, IDIOT!
Reasonable person: What don't we need?
Conservatives: ...
Reasonable person: Military? That accounts for 25% of our spending.
Conservatives: NO, WE NEED TO PROTECT AMURRICA FROM MUSLEMS!
Reasonable person: Ok, Medicare?
Conservatives: NO, OLD PEOPLE NEED HEALTH CARE BECAUSE THEY ARE RETIRED.
Reasonable person: Ok, Medicaid?
Conservatives: YEAH, GET RID OF IT!
Reasonable person: So what will happen when poor people need treatment?
Conservatives: THEY GO TO THE HOSPITAL, THEY CAN'T BE DENIED LIFE SAVING TREATMENT.
Reasonable person: True, but who pays for it if the person can't pay for it?
Conservatives: THE HOSPITAL DOES, DURRR! OH, AND THE POOR PERSON DOES TOO!
Reasonable person: Well, the poor person will just default on the payments, hurting their financial situation further and driving them further into debt and causing them to default on other payments, which hurts their creditors as they may end up liquidating their assets at a loss. And if the hospital pays, they get the money from YOU. Your premiums will just increase to cover the additional costs that the hospital assess to insured people to cover the uninsured. So maybe your taxes will decrease but your premiums will shoot up or you will get less coverage. This especially will affect those who are purchasing individually and not as a group through a corporation.
Conservative: POOR PEOPLE NEED TO BUY HEALTH INSURANCE THEN!
Reasonable person: They're poor. Where will they get the money? Not to mention, if they're employed by a small business, they have money, but their premiums are far more expensive than what you pay a year. Even if you tell them to drop their cell phone (saves about 720 bucks a year at 60 bucks a month), their cable, (720 bucks a year at 60 bucks a month), their Internet (assuming they have a computer of course, it would be 540 bucks a month), which means that they would save up 1980 per year for health insurance, which from my research, doesn't really even come close to purchasing insurance for a year for a family of 4, and that's assuming they have a top cell phone plan with a top cable plan with a top Internet plan. And that's assuming they have some of those services to begin with...
Conservatives: ...
Reasonable Person: Welfare, how about that?
Conservatives: YEAH, GET RID OF THAT SHIT. MAKE THEM WORK FOR THE MONEY.
Reasonable person: Quite a few people on welfare also have jobs. They are part of what's called the "working" poor. Unfortunately there's only 24 hours in a day, and people do need breaks or else they will suffer other mental problems that can lead to more expenses. And yes, people DO abuse the system. It is unfortunate. But cutting off your nose to spite your face isn't the way to go around it. Denying help to all because of a few delinquents doesn't really solve the root cause of people working the system. Not to mention, if they go broke, then they risk losing a place to live, their car (which depending on where they live, the car could be a necessity to get to work), which could cause them to become unemployed or hurt their opportunity to even get unemployment.
Conservatives: WE HAVE CHARITIES TO HELP THEM OUT.
Reasonable person: Charities have enough problem as it is. Not to mention that in economic troubles, when charities are needed the most, that is the time when people are able to give the least, so it's really a double edged sword. And in order to be a NPO, they can't make money. And you can't really argue that you would donate, or donate at all, if you were taxed less, as you're not bitching about taxes because it causes you to not be able to donate, but rather you're bitching because you have to settle for a Camry instead of a BMW. Not to mention you can still donate money and just write your donations off on your taxes and lower your taxable income, thus limiting what the government gets from you. Hell, you could even lower yourself into a lower tax bracket, so donating could save you money.
Conservatives: WE NEED LOWER TAXES!
Reasonable person: Lower taxes is always desirable. But you really look like a greedy mother fucker when you want to lower taxes so you can buy a Porsche or upgrade your 2-story house to a 3-story. If you use a scalpel to cut costs, you're not going to save much. If you use a knife, you'll end up having some repercussions that would only damage all of us and cause other problems. While I will agree that high taxes is detrimental, high poverty rates is also detrimental, and not just to poor people, but to everyone.

11/24/2010 2:26:59 AM

how 'bout you think of something you do like.

11/24/2010 2:29:18 AM

I have the urge to go fishing

11/24/2010 2:29:46 AM

If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.

If you're not for receiving low interest student loans/grants and saving the environment that you're going to have to live in for a long time at twenty you aren't self interested enough, if you're not against student grants & for ruining the environment to boost the economy when you're old then you're not selfish enough.

Same goes for sex related policies, if you're twenty & not pro-sexual liberty you aren't self interested enough, if you're really old then abstinence only for everyone else/having the government in everyone's bedroom is no problem.

[Edited on November 24, 2010 at 2:49 AM. Reason : .]

11/24/2010 2:43:40 AM

as a conservative, i must say the last thing I want is the government regulating what goes on in my or any citizens home

you guys have this whole thing really confused

while i fundamentally might be opposed to homosexuality in general, it has no business being regulated by the government...as an example

if they have been bound by marriage in one state, it should be honored in all states.

im not some intolerant fag hatin redneck, i dont believe in so much regulation of the public...all the while i believe in private property rights so TSA should be allowed to search all they want just like a bar has the right to not allow me to carry my weapon onto their property

[Edited on November 24, 2010 at 2:51 AM. Reason : ds]

11/24/2010 2:49:35 AM

In NC we have a GOP chambers unanimously sponsoring anti-gay constitutional amendments, and unanimously opposing comprehensive sex ed. Likewise we have a GOP US Senator who supports the same anti-marriage for gay couples constitution amendment in the US constitution. Its hard not to get the impression that conservatives stand for that when their elected officials universally support that.

11/24/2010 3:01:35 AM

no its really not hard

11/24/2010 3:04:16 AM

That was cute what you tried to do there, merbig. You tried to intimate that:

1) Conservatives aren't reasonable people and,
2) Conservatives don't want any taxes.

Okay I lied (I know, right?!).

That wasn't cute. It was a type of argument called The Straw Man. And it never works (similar to the way the President uses "There are those who say...").

11/24/2010 3:08:41 AM

^^If 100% of the self-described conservatives in the state legislators take the same position, you can at least see how that might lead someone to believe that is a conservative position?

[Edited on November 24, 2010 at 3:11 AM. Reason : .]

11/24/2010 3:11:41 AM

Oh, you guys don't even know what taxed to death even means, try moving to a country besides the US
..

11/24/2010 3:17:59 AM

oh snap, i got trolled... and i gotta leave for work in about 2 hours... so prepare to get typed at!

Quote :

"While I will agree that high taxes is detrimental, high poverty rates is also detrimental, and not just to poor people, but to everyone."

I refuse to be lumped into your category of uneducated and unreasonable people. I can think of plenty of ways the government can cut spending and waste, and I'd be happy to list a group out after I find the database I wanted to show you guys.

I'm no heartless asshole (depending on who you ask!)... but, seriously, I spend about 15 hours per week outside of work trying to help people on a one-on-one level.

I joined a mentor program at the school I work at and spend a period or so after school with kids every day, trying to help them get interests. I've put in 10 hours a week every week for 4.5 years as a volunteer counselor at a local drug rehab facility.

I also sponsor one person per month at the rehab center, someone who really wants the help but can not afford the 175 bucks for the intake tests and the face time with the real shrinks. I started doing that about 3 years ago. On 7 occasions that I can think of, the person I sponsored came to me after getting cleaned up and offered to pay me back.

Between working free for 15 hours a week and writing monthly checks for near-strangers, I'd say it's very evident that financial gain is not what I am after here. My thing is that I can not (and will not) tolerate people who think that the government is supposed to step in and take responsibility for their obligations and their mistakes. I think that it is disgusting, and I think that those folks are the scum of the earth.

On the main point you had, I totally agree. Poverty sucks. No honest, hard-working person should have to live their life like that. I just don't think you have any right to say that I'm some sort of heartless dick because I'd rather take care of myself and the people I care about than be forced to take care of parents who don't even pretend to try to put some effort into making their situation better. I'm happy with my car, I don't want to buy a Porsche... but I don't want part of every paycheck going to some lady who breeds for a living.

Quote :

"But you really look like a greedy mother fucker when you want to lower taxes so you can buy a Porsche or upgrade your 2-story house to a 3-story"

I know I'm being trolled, but I started it and I'm bored - so screw it. I don't mind paying to help with a war effort, or to keep kids healthy. I do, however take issue with mommy letting her power bill go into 'FINAL NOTICE' status so she can run up to DSS and pick up a 300 dollar check - and then spend that little bit of cash she had at the nail salon, instead of on her 6 poverty-stricken kids.

These payments are a big source of the leak. It doesn't seem like a lot 300 bucks at a time, but when it happens 75 times a day in every DSS office in the country, it's adding up!

11/24/2010 3:22:50 AM

ha ha i think its awesome i made a soap box thread in my beloved chit chat. i'm gonna go find that database, and i'll be back. it's funny.

11/24/2010 3:23:58 AM

1	United States	663,255,000,000	4.3%
2	China		98,800,000,000	2.0%
3	United Kingdom	69,271,000,000	2.5%
4	France		67,316,000,000	2.3%
5	Russia		61,000,000,000	3.5%
6	Germany		48,022,000,000	1.3%
7	Japan		46,859,000,000	0.9%
8	Saudi Arabia	39,257,000,000	8.2%
9	Italy		37,427,000,000	1.7%
10	India		36,600,000,000	2.6%
11	South Korea	27,130,000,000	2.8%
12	Brazil		27,124,000,000	1.5%
13	Canada		20,564,000,000	1.3%
14	Australia	20,109,000,000	1.8%

11/24/2010 3:40:24 AM

Yeah I think we could make cuts to military spending too, and to domestic programs as well. But I oppose conservatives who advocate for massive cuts to all gov spending w/o regard to their impact. Externalities matter. Maybe having a drug rehab program and jobs training center on the gov dime is cheaper than locking up drug users & paying unemployment. Cost-benefit analyses are important, and sometimes cuts make sense, and sometimes they don't.

But that's not what will happen on the state level. We'll get deep cuts, and a lot of across the board cuts without regard to performance. As I mentioned in TSB the other day:

Quote :

"I saw an old budgeting professor yesterday who I haven't seen in about a year, and he was talking about the election results. He's a pretty conservative guy, but he still seemed a little bummed about the results b/c he felt the GOP wont give the university system special consideration when doing the cuts, they'll be as vulnerable as everyone else."

Luckily I'm graduating from grad school this spring, so I'll be done before those cuts to NCSU go into effect/before NC makes education less of a priority.

[Edited on November 24, 2010 at 4:24 AM. Reason : .]

11/24/2010 3:58:32 AM

Quote :

"Reasonable person: Military? That accounts for 25% of our spending."

Quote :

"1 United States 663,255,000,000 4.3% 2 China 98,800,000,000 2.0% 3 United Kingdom 69,271,000,000 2.5% 4 France 67,316,000,000 2.3% 5 Russia 61,000,000,000 3.5% 6 Germany 48,022,000,000 1.3% 7 Japan 46,859,000,000 0.9% 8 Saudi Arabia 39,257,000,000 8.2% 9 Italy 37,427,000,000 1.7% 10 India 36,600,000,000 2.6% 11 South Korea 27,130,000,000 2.8% 12 Brazil 27,124,000,000 1.5% 13 Canada 20,564,000,000 1.3% 14 Australia 20,109,000,000 1.8% http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures, with percentage of GDP."

4.5%=/=25%

11/24/2010 4:43:33 AM

GDP =/= Federal budget

then again, considering that the Feds spent $3,517.7 billion in 2009 (the year in which that chart was made), the military actually made up less than a fifth of Federal spending

[Edited on November 24, 2010 at 4:56 AM. Reason : http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/year2009_0.html

11/24/2010 4:54:28 AM

Nice to see you join reality, Jacklag. Most folks (other then schoolteachers) grow out of being a liberal/socialist by the time they hit 24 (a few years later for the women folk).

11/24/2010 7:25:24 AM

:yawn:

11/24/2010 7:30:08 AM

Quote :

"but I don't want part of every paycheck going to some lady who breeds for a living."

This is always going to happen, one way or another. Either through the cost of goods/services, or through taxes.

11/24/2010 9:31:38 AM

set em up

11/24/2010 9:32:59 AM