Needs are wants in disguise.

The USSR determined 6 million Ukrainians didn't *need* to eat.

Typically this kind of defense of the USSR includes the "... and the trains always ran on time." While that may be a pleasantry the soviets enjoyed ... trains running on time didn't feed the 6 million Ukrainians who died of starvation.

More broadly, why do you think Stalin pursued the New Economic Policy (NEP)? The premise of it was to allow more free market principles into the system.

Were the Soviets just not Communist enough? Or did they not recognize the amazing leaps forward they had made? Or what exactly?

Because to me the whole thing smells like a spectacular failure.

Question: does "austerity" mean any European nations have reduced their annual spending?

Answer: "No."

So what exactly are you discontent with?

Tiers? Sounds like a net neutrality violation.

Ah, I forgot slashdot was only for people to promote downloading GoT.

Societies don't make decisions.

The Public doesn't make decisions.

If you want a decision ... don't ask a crowd. Make the decision.

Seems like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

And now the internet is full of big brother.

There's a large number of athiests/secular homeschoolers out there.

When public schools try to "make their children realize" anything they should be shut down.

Life is more about choosing your perspective than it is getting spoon fed dogmas from the "elite".

Medicare and social security are supposed to HELP the elderly, but you are using these programs as a justification to KILL them!

Why should someone else get to define what big bucks are?

It's insanity because it encourages jobs to leave the US.

Jobs leave because the companies (being penalized for staying) leave.

Once the companies leave the US, the government still can't collect taxes *and* many jobs are gone.

The same thing with the Berlin Wall: if you punish people for leaving, no one will want to live there!

The US economy did extremely well during the Raegan years.

In the only way that really matters, girls and boys are the same (qualitatively and IMHO).

But that doesn't mean there aren't superficial differences.

Handing out different roles to different demographics doesn't increase or diminsh their value.

Why not put it to paying off the $18 TRILLION debt before investors loose all confidence in our ability to repay our debts?

Languages don't dominate and oppress.

People do that.

If you can't spend the money you earn the way you want (e.g. on your kids) why bother?

If the kids don't have the competence to earn it, they will lose it. The lottery is an excellent example of poverty happening due to lack of self control and NOT access to capital.