Wall Street Protests

[Sonreir]

no one is standing in front of a tank in the streets of ny are they? Dont act like walking around with a sign singing kum by ya is on par with tianamen square. have you ever thrown a brick for what you beleave? No no and no. So untill your willing to make a difference your just running you mouth and the "fat cats" will walk around you and do what they do, at best you will be a foot note in someones day

People willing to throw a brick to make a difference, rarely do.  In our culture peaceful protest has had more lasting effect than tossing rocks at soldiers.  The fact you even know what a hippie is a proof of that; your awareness has been raised.  Now tell me, what have Hamas accomplished by launching rockets at Israeli settlements (that question is rhetorical, by the way, the answer is that they've gotten their asses kicked and they're a lot father away from having their own country than they would be if they'd just sit down and have an adult discussion).

If fine that you may be perfectly OK with swallowing your pride and working a minimum wage job to get by.  For others, good enough just isn't.  Just because we want more and we want better doesn't mean we're not willing to work for it.  That's a mistaken assumption I think too many people make.

[GATOR]

For others, good enough just isn't.  Just because we want more and we want better doesn't mean we're not willing to work for it.  That's a mistaken assumption I think too many people make.

Amen

[djelliott]

I like turtles.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk, bitches.

[flatcurve]

c'mon bradj... I try to stay out of political topics, but you can't honestly blame the economic mess squarely on obama. We all know that bush farted before he got off the elevator, and obama was the one left behind to take the blame.

"no really, he's also the one that pushed all the buttons too, I swear!"

[bradj]

Look we dont agree ive gone through and deleted my posts im done with it, sorry if some one thinking different than you makes you mad

[Skuzzrat]

I'm with Teaser for the most part, except stating that deregulation caused it. Its more like over-regulation/deregulation. After all one reason people were buying the bullshit was because there are several federal departments responsible for oversight. 
I guess I'm a cynic but I still think the population is too divided and prejudice against opposite points of view to affect any changes

[DUEX EX]

we are all cogs in the big government wheel,which is owned by huge corporations ,,who in turn own the media, who influince what all of us(well most)think,buy,drink....ect.ect.ect  peace and prosperity just isnt good for business.

[Sonreir]

Pretty much.  The best way to stay in power is to keep the people fighting each other.  Divide and conquer, right?  Liberal and conservative partisanship is maintained by those in power as a distraction.  If people stopped arguing among themselves about dozens of relatively insignificant issues (highlighted and publicized by the media) such as funding for NPR, the pro-birth/pro-choice movement, gay rights, gun control, and other BS then we might actually be able to focus on real issues that directly affect all Americans.

But no, we get idiot hippies chaining themselves to the Dept of Fish and Wildlife because they're going to euthanize two wolves that are killing livestock or we get moron Tea Partiers condemning gays and immigrants for having the gall to want to work for a living or serve their country.

[4eyes]

we are all cogs in the big government wheel,which is owned by huge corporations ,,who in turn own the media, who influince what all of us(well most)think,buy,drink....ect.ect.ect  peace and prosperity just isnt good for business.

^^^^^^^^^^This

Anyone who could do math, knew that there was no way to support all the government programs. Not just the in U.S. but most "1st World" countries. There is no way a country can afford to pay any health fees for all of it's citizens, but people were convinced that "health care is a right" or "food is a right". Do you know what happened 50 years ago if you got sick? If you had the money, you went to the doctor, if you didn't you either got better on your own, or you died.
That's the way the real world works. If your hungry, and you can't grow it or buy it, you stay hungry.
Denying that fact and wanting a kinder gentler world for "the children" is what led to the meltdown we now find ourselves in.
Of course the powers that be will have a very good idea of how to fix the problem they caused, when the clamor for it gets loud enough. But don't expect personal freedom to be a part of it.

[Sonreir]

It's easy to support all of the current government programs and then some, people just don't want to.

Total government spending in 2010 was around 3.5 trillion dollars.
Total government revenue for the same year was 2.107 trillion.

Simply doubling everyone's taxes across the board would pay for everyone's food, everyone's health care, still keep our position as the world's number one spender on defense, and still have plenty of money left to use to pay down the national debt.

The problem stems not from wanting a better world for our children but from not wanting to pay for it.

[4eyes]

Sure, but the money that is paid into your double the taxes, is NOT spent on goods and services, thereby stagnating our economy.
That is what has been going on too long already. Spending too large of a percentage of our GNP in taxes.

[Sonreir]

Sure, but the money that is paid into your double the taxes, is NOT spent on goods and services, thereby stagnating our economy.
That is what has been going on too long already. Spending too large of a percentage of our GNP in taxes.

I'm sorry... I'm not sure I follow... how are taxes not spent on goods and services?

[Catbird]

Step 1. 25% tarriff on imported Chinese goods.
Step 2. Make fucking oil companies pay on the profit margin.
Step 3. Democrats are happy because we've just funded private health care. Republicans are thrilled because we've just eliminated *most* income tax.

Unfortunately, big business has Uncle Sam on a leash, which means that the wonderful and important ideas coming from both wings of conventional politics are sidelined when the extreme-elite take as they please.
 
EDIT:
Also, this.

I'm with Teaser for the most part, except stating that deregulation caused it. Its more like over-regulation/deregulation. After all one reason people were buying the bullshit was because there are several federal departments responsible for oversight. 
I guess I'm a cynic but I still think the population is too divided and prejudice against opposite points of view to affect any changes

I agree 100%. The few numbskull extremists heading either party have made it clear that we're *not* supposed to even associate across the aisles. It's almost Orwellian.
 
Remember guys, bikes need to lean left *and* lean right at the right times to get where they need to go.

[Swagger]

I hate political conversation.....

So are we really saying that we need more taxation? To support a vastly corrupt, inefficient and bloated government system? ANY government? Umm.....no.

We need less.
Less government presence.
Less money for government.
Less tax load.

Take a wild and crazy guess at how much of your tax money really goes to work for you? How much is truly allocated for police, fire, hospitals, roads, schools etc. C'mon....be crazy. Guess low....you'll still be guessing too high. We are supporting the lifestyles of our politicians. Period. If I accomplished as little as ANY of those fuckers I'd be on my butt in the street. If I conducted myself in a similar manner, I'd be a coked out  whore-monger and in jail. 

We don't have Statesmen anymore, we have career politicians. Why you ask? Because it's far too financially attractive. Pay the President $20k a year, I mean what the hell...it's not like he needs a place to live or a car to drive? Or buys his own clothes, food etc.
How about a total 'time in' of say....8 years for any political office or offices. You can only be employed with the government for 8 years whether you do one job or 8. Pay a fair wage with fair benefits and rotate people thru. Have you seen some of the benefit packages for being a lazy fucking overpaid, over fed, out of control politician? It's ludicrous what we are handing these fuckholes for what they "do"(sic).
Make it illegal to adjust your vote due to lobby groups and corporate pressure. Take the big business out of running the country and put it in the hands of a regular guy who works for a living and is taking his turn keeping things running.

See a pattern here?

[Sonreir]

I don't disagree with a lot of what you said, Lee, but I'm not entirely convinced that politicians' benefits and paychecks are where most of our taxes are going.  Likewise, I don't think cutting their payment package will do a lot of good (not that I'm against that, either).  I think a lot of the problem has to do with the type of person that wants that kind of power to begin with.  Even for those in it for the money, I imagine that politicians are bought and sold for a lot more than the price of their yearly salary (we can thank the corporations for that one).

That said, I'd support a system similar to jury duty.  If your number gets called and you're qualified for the job, you're president.  Have a fun four years.