I dunno what the deal is with people and this crap.

You do it to yourself.

Yes, I have a cell phone, but when I'm off work and not scheduled to work again for awhile, I do NOT answer any calls that I do not recognize for one thing. And those I do recognize, if it is anything but personal related, it goes straight to voice mail. I will check that at my leisure.

I don't do work on MY time. The only reason I do work in the first place, is to earn enough money to live the lifestyle I want, and I do that on my free time. It wouldn't make sense to work all days....or I'd not be able to enjoy my 'toys' and other things money enables me to get.

If you answer the phone for work or are a slave to work...then it is YOUR fault.

You *do* know that most modern phones have voicemail don't you? USE IT.

And picking up trash? Are you volunteering to pay them for that?

Why pay more? If they're getting govt. handouts from OUR tax dollars, let's get a little work out of them, eh?

Do you live in a very mixed area of a well distributed mix of races? Do you or have you lived in areas that minority numbers are actually the prevalent numbers in that community?

I have and I do....live in my shoes for as long as I have, and you don't have to make assumptions, you know what your talking about when you speak as I do.

How many different races live on your street you live on? What percentage of each?

I have a strong suspicion that you don't actually know any of the information above and are simply stereotyping, falling into the same type of ignorance, bigotry, and hatred that continues to keep "them" from having the same opportunities you've had. I also suspect that you've never had to live on welfare, never had to make the types of choices people in the projects make, never had to go through the failing education system of the inner-city and so you cannot fathom how "they" live, how "they" make the choices they make.

Err, where do you get bigotry...I never once mentioned race of myself of those I've observed and, YES, have known, met and have a great deal of first hand knowledge of...I'm quite familiar with inner city life, hence I speak from what I know first hand.

I'm not saying everyone has had opportunities I"ve had, it doesn't matter. If you are an adult, and able to get up and about, and process oxygen, then you are definitely able to get your ass out of the govt provided apt, and work doing something. Our streets are dirty, pick trash up. There are always jobs to be done, might not be the glorious ones, but earn your keep if we the tax payers are gonna pay you money.

No one should be able to be paid to sit at home all day on the front porch.

And, I think if they are going to accept tax payer money, then we have a say on what "choices" they do get to make for themselves.

If they do not like that, then, they do not have to be on the welfare roles, and can pick another means to earn money, and it had better be legal.

I'm interested in this "welfare" you speak of. Although I guess I wouldn't qualify since I'm not able bodied. Love it when people blame budget problems on the sick and elderly.

Seriously, that terminology isn't clear to you?

The infirmed/disabled, and elderly are not generally thought of when the term "able bodied" is used.

I'm talking about anyone outside of that category, and is an adult.

I drive by the projects and can see a number of great examples there....people sitting around outside during work day hours, looking in doors open at times you see flatscreen tvs playing, etc. I see them at the grocery stores, ladies using food stamps to feed a bunch of kids, many of which are from different fathers, because that helps with more welfare coming in.

Please, it is easy to spot out there...don't be so obtuse.

1) East coast folks usually don't acknowledge anything farther west, so when the weather reaches them, only then does it become news.

Ahh....why don't I have points to share today? Definitely Insightful.

Aww. $500 million. Just imagine how many satellites could have been built from a fraction of the military budget.

Or, even by cutting off welfare for people that ARE able bodied and can work. Or by cutting the waste from Medicare and SS, which are about the other 2/3 of the main budget chunks along with military.

You know, if we shrunk the Federal Govt back down to more resemble what it is Constitutionally mandated to do, we could easily afford a lot more stuff.

Hell, why don't we quit sending so much fucking money out for Foreign Aid, and spend it on satellites? Who objects to that one?

Except when it doesn't and goes west off Africa and comes in from the southeast and slams across Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, South/North Carolina, Virgina, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, etc.. Or when it comes in from the North Atlantic from the northeast....

Hello? Louisiana.....

Did we just suddenly fall off the fuckin' hurricane map?!? WhooHoo...I certainly hope so!!! That way, I can get rid of that damned flood insurance, and not have to leave town a couple times each summer...

:)

WOW...this is amazing!! I cannot believe such a world changing thing has become available to the public!!!!

By the way, what is snapchat?

Have any of you guys heard of solar panels? Wind mill maybe?

Sure I've heard of them...but those things tend to get damaged or completely blown away when a hurricane comes inland.

If you feel so strongly about people being responsible for the circumstances of their own birth, why do you grant people a right to survival?

I really have no idea really what you're trying to say here...?

Responsible for own birth? Not sure how that's possible...you parents fuck and you appear, seems THEY are responsible for your birth....?

I'd say you have a right to try to survive, I dunno if survival itself is a natural right of nature, but the struggle to try to survive is I suppose.

I see no real need to sweat it out or get used to the heat. I'm a wimp when it comes to the heat and humidity. I was lucky that my power really only went out at my place for a few hours it appears...nothing in my freezer was melted, not even the ice maker ice. I still stayed out a bit longer than I needed, but for other reasons at the time.

I figure if anything happens to my stuff (theft or damage) well, that's what insurance is for, I don't have to rough it to be there to protect my stuff or anything....I'll sit in nice AC till things are normal back home.

"what you need to live" is a surprisingly subjective term. After all, do people really *need* to live? What quality of life justifies such a need? Basic sustenance may not provide such a quality of life.

It is quite simple.

1. What do people need to live? - Food and shelter are the basics to allow someone to live and be a part of society. Some may argue freely provided medical tx, I'm not on that bandwagon, but that is an arguable point of contention.

2. What quality of life juistifies such a need? - What does quality of life have to do with it? That is up the the INDIVIDUAL to take care of that. If things like nice cars, tennis shoes, large flat screen TVs make someone's quality of life better, when those are luxuries, and they go above and beyond necessities of life.

Your quality of life is not guaranteed, nor is it a 'right' that others are required to pay for and bestow upon you if you can't figure how to earn it yourself.

The best we can do (and should do) in the US, is provide the opportunity out there to work, hustle and succeed. The opportunities are out there.

Does everyone start at the same starting blocks? Does everyone have equal genes? Is everyone lucky?

No.

Everyone has to start with the cards they are dealt in life, you are not guaranteed happiness....but you are guaranteed the pursuit of happiness. Aside from that, you are owned NOTHING by the world at all. It is up to YOU, to do things like appreciate and fight for (if needed) a good education, the stamina and determination to find a job you do well, and do your best to excel and make a good living.

The world owes no one "quality of life", you are given a quantity of it, use it to its full extent and the individual is responsible for their own quality of life.

Any specific level of quality of life is not a right you have...not at the expense of others.

So, anything luxury, is up for taxation. You get a break for things allowing you to maintain biological life (food, water), and a place to sleep at night out of the elements.

Some degree of redistribution is required. Some people are simply not capable of looking after themselves. If you don't basically hand money to them you'll have to hand more to the police (to catch them when they turn to crime) and more to the prison for when they get caught.

To the truly infirmed/disabled or elderly, sure I'm good for a safety net.

I don't call that redistribution of wealth, caring for the disabled or elderly.

But anyone else that is able-bodied, if they don't want to work and, instead, commit crimes, then fuck'em....that's what prisons are for.

I love how you translate: "country needs government and therefore taxes to operate" to "these people believe that the government can do much better with your money than you can".

Please read my ENTIRE post, I didn't say that.

I was posting this section of it, more in part to threads yesterday and other times how people were saying it was somehow MORAL to pay as much tax as you can. Often they were in favor of making people pay more than was needed to operate on a basic level of common services everyone needs.

They also were promoting beyond govt funding needs, to basically redistribution to others that weren't as lucky or talented or hard working as the rest....or that the govt could decide better to give my money to deserving people better than they could themselves by doing charity work themselves or donating directly to people and causes they think are worthy and efficient with their monies.

Read my original post, I didn't say anything about paying NO taxes realistically. There ARE some basic things we need on govt levels...mostly on the local and state levels, which more directly addresses their citizenry's needs, and then to a lessor extent to the federal level which needs to do things (in the US) like national defense and other constitutionally, enumerated responsibilities.