Hey, Let's have an open thought provoking discussion here where partisan political ideology takes a backseat to each individual poster's core values.

The goal of this thread is simply to give posters an opportunity to reflect, identify, and express their core beliefs on fiscal responsibility so they can have an identifiable stance on fiscal issues without being pigeon holed to one political party based on their abortion stance.

Please be honest with your answers to the following questions and elaborate as you feel necessary:

1)Would you be willing to accept cutbacks in your immediate/future lifestyle if you knew the benefits would directly affect future generations?

If so, how far would you go?

A) Would you be willing to die at age 85 in a nursing home instead of dragging it out to 92 if it meant it would save millions of taxpayer dollars in healthcare bills?

B) Would you be willing to pay an extra $100/month out of pocket for non-generic drugs that improve your daily life dramatically if it meant pharmaceutical companies would have extra r&d incentive to develop cures/prevention for diseases that end thousands of lives prematurely?

C) Would you be willing to pay full price (after the manufacturer and dealer discount) for a new vehicle or consumer good that you were already contemplating purchasing if:

i) The direct result was a reduction of future government liabilities and their implied subsequent marginal tax rate increases?

ii) The indirect result was corporations moving forward with expansion plans that are temporarily on hold until a political landscape emerges where businesses can more accurately estimate their cost of production and evaluate the likelihood of profitability in such ventures?


2) If asked would you be willing to accept a 12 month contract from the government that you are allowed to terminate at any time? The pay is 70% of your current salary (up to a max ceiling) and your only job requirement is to actively seek other employment. If interested career transition training/education is available as well as job placement assistance. You will have the personal satisfaction of knowing you sacrificed a familiar and comfortable personal lifestyle for the sake of eliminating a job that was producing a net loss to society. The unknown will present a crossroads which potentially may result in a less desirable or lucrative career, although statistically most of these people will ultimately wind up in a higher paying/more desirable position by parlaying their personal experience and unique skillset into new careers that require more specialization within the workforce.


3) Would you be willing to take an 8-10% paycut if it meant we'd FINALLY be able to cover the non-disabled, 18-65 year old demographic with free full healthcare services that they currently can't afford because their net societal contributions don't produce enough marginal revenue to allow them to pay for health insurance without dropping necessities like unlimited text message plans, leased vehicles, nailcare services, and fresh Nike's?

8/19/2009 3:43:44 AM

So what you're asking is "Would you go ideologically conservative for the next generation?"

8/19/2009 7:36:22 AM

absolutely not. I am entitled to everything on your list.

8/19/2009 7:43:17 AM

[Edited on August 19, 2009 at 8:10 AM. Reason : oh, a joke thread]

8/19/2009 8:04:56 AM

I would be willing to let them keep all the money ive sent in for SS if they will just let me out of it.

does that count?

8/19/2009 8:18:11 AM

I am already making sacrifices for the last generation.

8/19/2009 8:53:22 AM

Quote :

"Would you kindly make sacrifices for the next generation?"

8/19/2009 11:55:48 PM

I follow it as blindly as the next guy, but on an intellectual level I've never understood this obsession with the future. We give our kids good lives so that they can give their kids good lives so that they can give their kids good lives and so on and so forth until the universe implodes.

---

But, in answer to your questions:

1) A) Yes, but it helps that I have a pathological fear of getting so old.

B) I would do it but I would bitch about it (bitching =/= protesting)

C) I'm not sure I understand either of these. I'm normally willing to pay full price for things I already intend to buy.

2) Possibly. This one depends on a large number of factors.

3) This one is a load of horsehit on par with HUR's usual rantings. "OMG all these poor people spend all their money on text messages and fingernails." GTFO with that shit. Now I feel dirty for responding at all.

8/20/2009 12:04:25 AM

8/20/2009 12:07:08 AM

i don't recycle

8/20/2009 12:54:28 AM

Quote :

"So what you're asking is "Would you go ideologically conservative for the next generation?""

Quote :

"eyedrb All American 3806 Posts user info edit post I would be willing to let them keep all the money ive sent in for SS if they will just let me out of it. does that count? 8/19/2009 8:18:11 AM markgoal All American 13306 Posts user info edit post I am already making sacrifices for the last generation. 8/19/2009 8:53:22 AM"

posts i most like



for me its no, no, and no. this was easy

[Edited on August 20, 2009 at 1:23 AM. Reason : .]

8/20/2009 1:22:46 AM

Quote :

"Would you be willing to accept cutbacks in your immediate/future lifestyle if you knew the benefits would directly affect future generations? If so, how far would you go?"

Yes, cutting back feels good.

How far? I dunno. I mean, I need a toilet. But I don't need cable or Doritos. I'll give up my cable/Doritos for the future.

Quote :

"Would you be willing to die at age 85 in a nursing home instead of dragging it out to 92 if it meant it would save millions of taxpayer dollars in healthcare bills?"

Yes. But I intend to be in peak condition at 92 and having a lot of sex. Would biannual STD checks be too much in healthcare bills?

Quote :

"Would you be willing to pay an extra $100/month out of pocket for non-generic drugs that improve your daily life dramatically if it meant pharmaceutical companies would have extra r&d incentive to develop cures/prevention for diseases that end thousands of lives prematurely?"

$50. Come on, I've already parted with my Doritos.

For real though, my mother worked in pharmaceuticals. I've already done my part by hating her for working so hard. You got herpes? Enjoy your Valtrex. I was the resentful brat that made that happen.

Quote :

"Would you be willing to pay full price (after the manufacturer and dealer discount) for a new vehicle or consumer good that you were already contemplating purchasing if: i) The direct result was a reduction of future government liabilities and their implied subsequent marginal tax rate increases? ii) The indirect result was corporations moving forward with expansion plans that are temporarily on hold until a political landscape emerges where businesses can more accurately estimate their cost of production and evaluate the likelihood of profitability in such ventures? "

This question confuses me. I guess...I will continue to shop at Wal-Mart and avoid wordy texts.

Quote :

"If asked would you be willing to accept a 12 month contract from the government that you are allowed to terminate at any time? The pay is 70% of your current salary (up to a max ceiling) and your only job requirement is to actively seek other employment. If interested career transition training/education is available as well as job placement assistance. You will have the personal satisfaction of knowing you sacrificed a familiar and comfortable personal lifestyle for the sake of eliminating a job that was producing a net loss to society. The unknown will present a crossroads which potentially may result in a less desirable or lucrative career, although statistically most of these people will ultimately wind up in a higher paying/more desirable position by parlaying their personal experience and unique skillset into new careers that require more specialization within the workforce."

Money for nothing? Yes, please!

Quote :

"Would you be willing to take an 8-10% paycut if it meant we'd FINALLY be able to cover the non-disabled, 18-65 year old demographic with free full healthcare services that they currently can't afford because their net societal contributions don't produce enough marginal revenue to allow them to pay for health insurance without dropping necessities like unlimited text message plans, leased vehicles, nailcare services, and fresh Nike's?"

Are those freshly clad, hypertexting car renters also going to be eating my Doritos?

Those sons of bitches!

I want my America back! And my cool ranches!

8/20/2009 1:34:45 AM

^ Yes, it's money for nothing. The stimulus package cost a couple hundred thousand for every job it "saves". Why not just pay them 70% of their salary and let them sit at home.

For every job we "save" in the sugar industry it cost nearly half a million dollars a year. How many sugar workers do you know who belong to the briar creek country club?

[Edited on August 20, 2009 at 9:20 PM. Reason : a]

8/20/2009 9:20:00 PM

Quote :

"I would be willing to let them keep all the money ive sent in for SS if they will just let me out of it. does that count?"

Quote :

"I am already making sacrifices for the last generation."

8/20/2009 11:17:05 PM

I was thinking about this just this week. My current answer is "No." But then again I don't really care if anyone younger than me lives or dies. If that changes at any point, so might my answer. If you'll excuse me I have some motor oil that I need to pour out on the ground.

A+++ non partisan thread by the way.

Too bad those spend crazy democrats are going to bankrupt the whole gawddamn country.

[Edited on August 20, 2009 at 11:58 PM. Reason : .]

8/20/2009 11:57:11 PM

Yeah this thread was only put here to make liberals sleep uneasy at nights.


The liberal scum already know there is no after-life but they still choose to burn theirs on people who will never care about their own either.

8/24/2009 1:58:22 AM

idk about yall but this is the "me" generation. i'm all about me

8/24/2009 3:01:21 AM

I think my willingness to make a sacrifice greatly depends on the actual value created as a result. I'm not really convinced most of the examples would produce much of a benefit, and most would probably produce a net loss to society. I suppose having someone end their life 7 years early might save a little money but I think I'll abstain.

In the case of number 2, a useless job should eventually be eliminated with or without your cooperation, and millions already seek training for a career switch with no government welfare to back them up.

8/24/2009 8:26:21 AM

The next generation is already screwed. Why would I make sacrifices for a lost cause?

8/24/2009 11:16:10 AM

right now, the next generation is going to have to sacrifice for the current government spending, and it will probably go beyond that generation.

8/24/2009 3:29:13 PM

In an unsustainable industrial bonanza, it makes sense to be altruistic to the future generations on the upswing. Right now, time is up - we're on the tip top peak. The time for foresight for the sake of the future world has already drawn to a close. I'm sure that somewhere between landing on the moon and the tech boom a possibility of actually transitioning to sustainability existed. However, as the current generation is handed a crumbling infrastructure, you think we're going to plan for the next generation? Nope, you got the time wrong. Those who grasp the true issues of consuming by stealing from future generations realize that the time has come to be the stolen from, not the thief. The formula at this stage results in "duck and cover". One who can not save him/her self has little means to think about the next generation.

Quote :

"A) Would you be willing to die at age 85 in a nursing home instead of dragging it out to 92 if it meant it would save millions of taxpayer dollars in healthcare bills?"

If I live to 85, I'll be running from the liberal death squads waving my cane yelling "you gotta catch me first!" It will be fun to live an illegal existence

8/24/2009 4:09:04 PM

Quote :

"thought provoking"

LOL

Quote :

"Would you be willing to die at age 85 in a nursing home instead of dragging it out to 92 "

you're a retard. see above for details.


i expect this kind of stupidity from rallydurham. he's the DNL of TSB.

but the rest of you, answering this stuff seriously? now that's kind of surprising.

8/24/2009 4:26:06 PM

This is a dumb fucking thread.

8/24/2009 6:07:45 PM

I would gladly tell them they can keep everything they've already taken if I can opt out of SS. In fact, I would tell them they could keep on taking it out until I stop working if it means that the next generation doesn't have to get crippled by it.

8/24/2009 7:07:43 PM

I would DEFINITELY make animal sacrifices for the next generation!

8/24/2009 8:04:59 PM

Quote :

"i expect this kind of stupidity from rallydurham. he's the DNL of TSB."

Fuck you, you liberal scum piece of shit.

The only people who hide behind your faggot ass indefensible positions like "oh my god why can't we just have a rational argument about butt plugs" are you commie eating shaft-gargling idiots.

Fuck you for even having the gumption to act like I'm the unreasonable one. You liberal idiot democrats and republicans should be required to live in Russia for the rest of your lives you socialist pieces of shit.

Keep hiding behind your computer and eating fat-free cream cheese bagels you assclowns I would rip your face off if you could even form a complete socialist sentence in public without peeing your pants.

8/24/2009 10:24:43 PM

^ the picture of reason and rationality, i see.

Seriously, what did you expect when you compiled your list of disingenuous, leading questions?

[Edited on August 24, 2009 at 10:33 PM. Reason : ]

8/24/2009 10:31:57 PM

What happens when man no longer needs to work? When machines are available that do all the work, create all the material objects we need and grow our food?

Seriously, how far are we from Logan's Run.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run_%281976_film%29

8/24/2009 10:36:41 PM

^ according to LoneSnark (and I don't necessarily disagree...) our economy could never stabilize at the point where no one works, and machines do everything.

8/24/2009 10:38:42 PM

This is still a dumb fucking thread.

8/25/2009 1:09:32 AM

^^^^^





[Edited on August 25, 2009 at 1:13 AM. Reason : ]

8/25/2009 1:13:09 AM