You are quite free to present even ONE claim I've made that you have refuted; with sources of course. Not just your say so. Cheers!
You said this... That is 100% inaccurate. SS treasuries can be rolled over which they always are, and that $2.5 trillion doesn't "have" to be paid out to recipients in the next 20 years, and the money comes from issuing actual debt, and those "assets" are really assets for the US government also. That one statement you made contained 4 inaccuracies. That's pretty bad!
You almost got the point, but missed it. Pretty much your entire concept of "greed" is actually what we English speakers call "fraud". If really were only condemning wealth gained deceitfully, you would find yourself in agreement with probably 99% of people in the world (no pun intended). Blaming economic woes on "greed" is a logical fallacy. Change cannot be blamed on a constant. Literally, everyone possesses greed in some form or another, it's a human instinct that goes straight to Darwin: gamblers who can't quit, overweight people who frequent buffets, those who overdose on drugs, and of course bankers who end up so rich we can't see what anyone could do with so much. Given the same desires, skill sets and opportunity, everyone would end up the same, whether that means rich or poor. Some succeed, some fail, and some are "stimulated" by the government. In the end though, greed cannot deprive one for another's gain unless coercive means are implemented (theft, taxation, etc.). With the protection (but without the meddling) of the state, a greedy businessman can only achieve his goal by satisfying his customers, which is what capitalism and a booming economy actually mean.
What taxes are conservatives wanting to raise on teachers? Buffet is more than welcome to pay as much tax as he wants.
Actually, our economic woes can be blamed on... http://american.com/archive/2011/de...losing-the-argument-over-the-financial-crisis
You know, greed is the only of the deadly sins to which the left here objects. It's also the one they commit most fervently. Just food for thought.
Speaking as an expert witness for the defense, no doubt. The only God republicans respect is green, and comes in $10,000 packs with bands around them. They conspire with Satan to get richer, and enjoy every minute of their strip mining of society. Right wingers will have us in WW3 very soon, so it's all moot anyway. Profit to be made by dropping bombs on everyone.
Fantastic observation. I hadn't thought about that. Let's go down the list here and see what they defend: Sloth - check Lust - check Gluttony - check Pride - check Envy - I suppose they don't openly promote it as a virtue, but they sure practice a hell of a lot of it Wrath - same as above
Of course the irony here is that the right profess to be the most "christian", and are actually the most greedy.
Sloth - Inability of your loved corporations to adopt new regulations Lust - Lusting after power and wealth Gluttony - Accumulating as much wealth as possible Pride - How you could have any with these morals is beyond me Envy - I must have that latest sports car, mansion, breast impant, boat Wrath - If we can't get it illegally, we'll bomb the (*)(*)(*)(*)e out of you Yeah, these deadly sins are something eh?
Let's go back to feudalism or better, the cave. This capitalistic crap is too barbarian and sinful. Imagine, the audacity of these evil bastards and their greedy corporations, forcing us to play into their greed by dangling before our eyes those evil goods and services behind things like indoor plumbing, refrigeration and food preservation, and electric lighting.
Dude, that's pathetic. Is that the best you can do? Sloth - Why work when other people can pay my bills, my rent, my student loans, etc. etc. etc. All hail the welfare state. Lust - Free love! Orgies! Swinging! Homosexuality! Porno! SEX SEX SEX!!!!! Gluttony - Let's all get wasted! Pride - We are the liberal elite. We know what's best for you, so you will answer to us. We are "progressive" and superior to traditional values, logic, reason, and common sense. If we say 2+2 can equal whatever we want, then you must accept that because our beliefs supercede reality. Envy - Class warfare. We are the "have nots." You have stuff. We want it. GIMME GIMME GIMME!!!!! Wrath - Socialism! If you won't give us your money voluntarily, we will take it from you. If you won't obey political correctness, we will deny you your freedom of speech. If you don't vote the way we want you to, we will overturn it through the courts. And that's just the deadly sins. Do we even need to go into the Ten Commandments?
But without that kind of Greed, we'd be living in a cave hunting wildebeasts. Wanting more than what you need for bare survival is what made us develop civilization. Our greed for spices lead to the founding of America, and our greed for such things as land lead us to settle her. The Roman greed for European land lead directly to the Latin alphabet which has made communication easier for nations around the world. Our greedy international trade lead us to use the Arabic numeral system that made accounting easier, and those greedy Italians invented accounting methods so that they could prove that they got paid. Without all of that, we'd be having this coversation in pictographs on a cave wall somewhere.
Not that I support communism, but a good amount of tech development and R&D came out of the USSR. I believe they were the first into space for example. So your whiny rhetoric is rather empty.
You need to look a little inwardly here buddy. I dunno, I have a proessional job, always have had and have never taken any social welfare. Neither have any of my friends, who are all lefties. So you seem to be stereotyping, it's probably easier to think about things this way. Easier on the brain. So conservatives aren't into gay sex, orgies, swinging, porno and sex? Wow, you live a very closed life and don't read any news about your own politicians. Conservatives don't get drunk? Get a grip! Again, it is conservatives invading other countries and forcing democracy on them. Anne Coulter stated they should be converted to christianity. That Fox guy calls anyone who's not a conservative a "pinhead". Again, a stereotype. Where you get it from is beyond me. I can only assume your ability to understand data and information is poor, maybe you're more of an artistic type? People want fair tax regimes, which is what Reagan wanted also. And they want an end to casino share trading. Oh shut up now! You simply sound stupid. 5 of which relate to a mystical man in the sky. Yeah, go to these. Lets talk about divorce and you can show me that conservatives don't do it - ever! You can show me that conservatives don't steal, or commit murder. Do it! I double dare you! But you won't, because by now the reality of your post will be setting in. The anger with which you smashed your keyboard will have subsided a little and you might see things a little more clearly. Go to the 10 commandments and show me that conservatives follow them - but please, ignore the god ones, as most self professing right wing "christians" are not christians. They are plasitc christians, who love a good war and support the death penalty.
So, overall, I'd estimate that the breakdown of the two parties is (by wealth class): Top 1%: 90% Rep, 10% Dem Top 5%: 40% Rep, 60% Dem Top 25%: 30% Rep, 70% Dem Middle 50%: 50% Rep, 50% Dem Bottom 25%: 70% Rep, 30% Dem As you see there are more wealthy dems than there are wealthy Republicans. 70% of the top 25% are dems and 70% of the bottom 25% are Republicans. Most of the top 25% that are dems are brain washed professional liberal fools who can be as rich as they want with no shame because the Republicans are the ones that are the evil rich. "All Republicans are rich - except for 70% of the bottom 25% and they much be stupid or just hard working people that aren't as greedy as the liberals are. Now, most federal employees are in that top 25% because they make three times as much as the average private sector worker who is producing the wealth that the government is sucking up and giving to their liberal base..
So what you're saying is the difference between reps and dems is a sense of empathy. I can agree with that.
Money for votes/power is hardly empathy on the dem side. Republicans dominating the lower 25% means that Republicans know what it is to struggle to survive and I expect that they have more empathy of their fellow man than does the welfare leaches who live in public housing and drive a new Chrysler 300.
Whiny rhetoric? lol And you have to criticize me by putting forth a silly example of a system you don't really support??? OK.... whatever... Oh yes - wait! I see your point. There really was SOoooo much innovation coming out of from behind the iron curtain! I almost forgot all the "Progress" coming from the Soviets. Typical of the Left though, they had to steal most of their developmental capabilities from the capitalist West or captured German scientists. Yeah - great point Leffe. Oh, here - another great point I almost overlooked. The Left's Utopian vision as manifested in Marxism Gone Wild circa 20th century were unsurpassed in mass murder. How could I forget that great contribution? Leffe - if I were you, I'd examine the implications of adopting the name "Leffe". It doesn't speak well for one's ability to actually contribute to the betterment of humanity - unless you consider starving tens of millions of people a benefit. [And some Leftists do just that - you know - the "population bomb", and all that...]
Like it or not, the USSR (and most "communist" states) were actually quite fascist in nature, at least in the sense individual subserviance to the state, massive state power, and the obsession with military and grandiose developmental investments. The difference boils down to emphasis. Capitalist tendency is to develop technology that consumers need or desire (iPhone), whereas the Soviet (and US for that matter) tendency was to invest in national pride and military power. The space race (for both nations) was mostly a derivation of these two things, and yes we benefited from things like Velcro... but it's hardly a justification for the system---there's no reason to believe that Velcro would not have been invented if all of Nasa's genius and funding was [instead of being collected as tax] privately employed pursuing consumer product!
Stopped reading here, as your second sentence is a lie. Greed has nothing to do, necessarily, with deceit.
I guess I had to keep reading, just for the humor... What about when the Government tells a bank that it MUST lend to those who do not deserve a quality loan? What about when the Government GUARANTEES these bad investments with taxpayer dollars? Why wouldn't you make these loans?
They just redefine it so as to insure their most egregious excesses, like lusting for the wealth of others, are excluded.
I tend to agree. To be fair though, what you describe is simply the desire for more without necessarily the characterization of 'selfish.' You're describing ambition and the original poster is describing selfish ambition -- greed. That's a thin line though and one that is rather subjective as it depends on someones evaluation as to whether the person in question has concern for others. You can certainly have concern for others but still make a choice in your own favor, so the difference between greed and ambition is really a personal judgement usually made by someone who dislikes the subjects choice. I agree with your central point though. Whether we call it greed or ambition, the desire for more (even a selfish one) is what drives progress. Remove the opportunity for folks to act on greed and a society stagnates.
