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WHO WILL THEY VOTE FOR?

By Honest Abe   Follow   Thu, 9 Feb 2012, 11:55am   10,310 views   130 comments
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It is reported that 20% of Americans rely 100% (One Hundred Percent) on Government assistance. Who do you think they will vote for?

Who will union members vote for? Who will millions of other government dependents vote for? Who will the nearly 50% of Americans who pay no Federal Income tax vote for?

Who will the predatory lawyers vote for? Who will the tree huggers vote for? Who will the class warfare crowd vote for? Who will the Utopianists vote for? Who will all the government employees vote for?

Who will the libs vote for? Who will the socialists among us vote for? Who will the communists among us vote for? Who will the Marxists among us vote for? Who will the community organizers vote for? Who will the New Black Panthers vote for?

Its pretty obvious why our once great country is in serious trouble, isn't it?

Most Liked Comments

1. Patrick Follow Befriend (54) 5,188 threads 6,157 comments 46 male Menlo Park, CA

   1   5:42pm Wed 15 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (4)   Dislike   I don't think I changed. I did say that the government likes fiat currency for several reasons: 1. can threaten devaluation to foreigners who hold US Treasuries 2. can confiscate money from citizens by printing more instead of raising taxes 3. can punish savers and force them to spend or lose to "stimulate" the economy I never liked any of those. I am convinced that the primary purpose of all central banks is to protect big bankers from responsibility for their own decisions. The central bank can always bail them out by issuing them credit. So they are guaranteed to never lose, no matter what they do. But note that a hard currency based on gold or silver does not actually stop people from promising to pay each other. So we could still have massive credit bubbles even with gold or silver.

2. Patrick Follow Befriend (54) 5,188 threads 6,157 comments 46 male Menlo Park, CA

   2   4:14pm Mon 13 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (3)   Dislike   It's definitely true that Republican states are way bigger consumers of the social welfare programs that they so bitterly complain about. Pretty ironic! Lately I think the solution to the whole tax issue is simply to tax unearned income (capital gains, dividends, interest, land rents) highly, and make all earned income (income from your own work) completely untaxed. No conservative would have any right to complain about social welfare programs, since they would not take a dime from income anyone actually worked for. BTW, thanks for keeping this dicussion relatively civil.

3. Nomograph Follow Befriend (1) 104 threads 2,851 comments

   3   7:03am Tue 14 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (4)   Dislike (1)   Honest Abe says More damage has been done to this country in the last three years than the Nazi's and Japanese did in all of WW2. 1.1 Million Americans were killed or wounded in WWII, and over 60 million were killed worldwide. Please don't be such a complete ass as to trivialize this type of mass casualty by comparing it to some minor economic policy with which you disagree.

4. freak80 Follow Befriend (4) 52 threads 4,416 comments Corning, NY Premium

   4   12:16pm Tue 14 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (3)   Dislike   Protected   I've also learned that much of the book publishing industry is a racket. Publishers hawk so many books that tell only one "side" of an issue...telling their target audience what they want to hear. "What gunpowder did for war, the printing press has done for the mind." I'd say the same is true for the internet.

5. freak80 Follow Befriend (4) 52 threads 4,416 comments Corning, NY Premium

   5   6:52am Thu 16 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (3)   Dislike   Protected   Patrick says the government likes fiat currency for several reasons: 1. can threaten devaluation to foreigners who hold US Treasuries 2. can confiscate money from citizens by printing more instead of raising taxes 3. can punish savers and force them to spend or lose to "stimulate" the economy I never liked any of those. Amen to that. Nothing like the need to go "yield chasing" with risky assets just to preserve your wealth.

6. Patrick Follow Befriend (54) 5,188 threads 6,157 comments 46 male Menlo Park, CA

   6   8:41am Wed 22 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (3)   Dislike   Honest Abe says The ability to keep the fruits of our own labor How about the ability to keep the fruits of other people's labor, via rents on completely non-productive parasitical ownership of land and other capital? That OK with you? Would you have any limits at all on the power of the new hereditary aristocracy to continue to accumulate an ever-larger percentage of assets without work or significant taxation, or would you simply worship them? The Republican party line is to simply worship them.

7. Nomograph Follow Befriend (1) 104 threads 2,851 comments

   7   8:03am Sun 12 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (3)   Dislike (1)   Honest Abe says It is reported that 20% of Americans rely 100% (One Hundred Percent) on Government assistance. Who do you think they will vote for? In general, welfare recipients don't vote. Those that do vote overwhelmingly Conservative, which is why massive welfare states like Kentucky, Montana, Alaska, Arizona, Kansas, and so on are all RED states. The productive states that support these Conservative welfare states, such as California, New York, New Jersey, and so on are BLUE states. Honest Abe says union members . . . government dependents . . . predatory lawyers . . . tree huggers . . . class warfare crowd . . . Utopianists . . . government employees . . . libs . . . socialists . . . communists . . . Marxists . . . community organizers . . . Black Panthers . . . AM talk radio owns you. Communists? Black Panthers? Utopianists? This entire list is nothing more than imaginary enemies invented so you can blame your problems on other people, and AM talk radio provides an outlet for you to nurture your victim mentality. NEWSFLASH: Your problems are of your own making. Your life is the result of choices YOU made. YOU chose not to go to school, and as a result you now have a low-paying blue collar job. Rather than accept responsibility for the result of your choices or do the work to better yourself, YOU choose to blame your problems on other people. Imagine if you got everything you think you want: return to the gold standard, elimination of all social safety nets, elimination of social security, and so on. You would STILL be a low-income worker without chance of advancement because of YOUR life choices. Your life wouldn't magically change for the better, and you would simply find new people, places, and things to blame for your problems. Honest Abe says our once great country Losers have been whining about the downfall of America since it's inception. It's not the naysayers, doomsday prophets, and other nattering nabobs of negativity who drive America; they are just background noise are rightfully ignored. It's the visionaries, optimists, and can-do folks who move us forward, build new businesses and industries, and reap the rewards of our bounty.

8. uomo_senza_nome Follow Befriend (13) 787 threads 1,542 comments

   8   10:57am Mon 13 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Honest Abe says Unfortunately the ones "sucking federal dollars" are not the ones contributing the money Honest Abe seems to be honestly evading questions.

9. Kevin Follow Befriend 40 threads 2,652 comments

   9   9:10pm Mon 13 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Honest Abe says Kevin, your problem is that you have a disease known as "liberalism". Its a debilitating though non-contageous disease. One glaring symptom is that common sense is completly compromised and entirely eliminated. So sorry for your loss. http://www.statemaster.com/graph/eco_wel_cas_tot_rec-economy-welfare-caseloads-total-recipients Ron Paul or bust. When are you going to present some data showing that people who are dependent on government assistance are going to vote for Obama?

10. Nomograph Follow Befriend (1) 104 threads 2,851 comments

    10   7:13am Tue 14 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Honest Abe says Honest Abe Lincoln said this country would never be defeated by a foreign enemy, but by the enemy within. And there you have it, kiddies, or should I say "comrades". Lincoln never said that, but the American traitor Joseph McCarthy did. He died a angry, disgraced, and discredited alcoholic; Honest Abe is heading down the exact same road. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6456

11. Patrick Follow Befriend (54) 5,188 threads 6,157 comments 46 male Menlo Park, CA

    11   8:56am Tue 14 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Nomograph says Please don't be such a complete ass Please don't insult the other users! Point out the problems in the argument instead. I have a jail and I plan to use it.

12. freak80 Follow Befriend (4) 52 threads 4,416 comments Corning, NY Premium

    12   9:16am Tue 14 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Protected   I like the idea of Georgism, in theory. Would it be possible to objectively differentiate between earned and unearned income? After all, when I invest, I get "unearned" income as a return on that investment. It's the reward for putting off instant gratification. Isn't the value of all investments from earned income? Maybe there could be a progressive tax on unearned investment income?

13. freak80 Follow Befriend (4) 52 threads 4,416 comments Corning, NY Premium

    13   9:17am Tue 14 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Protected   Patrick says The idle rich would violently oppose it. And the goal of most Americans is not actually to live from their own income and savings, but instead to live from the work of other people. Though they generally won't admit that, maybe not even to themselves. Definitely true...not just in America.

14. uomo_senza_nome Follow Befriend (13) 787 threads 1,542 comments

    14   10:19am Tue 14 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Honest Abe says Obama played the fiddle while America burned. More damage has been done to this country in the last three years than the Nazi's and Japanese did in all of WW2. Still evading and an outright blind assertion. I'm not sure if you're even interested in hearing other points of view. "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle.

15. Patrick Follow Befriend (54) 5,188 threads 6,157 comments 46 male Menlo Park, CA

    15   10:50am Tue 14 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   wthrfrk80 says I like the idea of Georgism, in theory. Would it be possible to objectively differentiate between earned and unearned income? After all, when I invest, I get "unearned" income as a return on that investment. It's the reward for putting off instant gratification. Isn't the value of all investments from earned income? Maybe there could be a progressive tax on unearned investment income? Income that accrues to you from mere ownership is unearned income. But I admit that there are border cases that are confusing. If you invest your savings, you actually do do some useful work in evaluating risk. So I'd say the tax rate on unearned income should be high, maybe 50%, but not 100% It definitely should not be 15% like we have now with capital gains. That's simply the most influential in DC getting the most reward (and taking it from everyone else!), rather than the most productive people. Another thing we'd need is very sold non-fiat currency, so that you are not forced to invest in risky things just merely to preserve your savings. I like silver more than gold. What if we all just started pricing things in ounces of silver and said screw the Fed?

16. freak80 Follow Befriend (4) 52 threads 4,416 comments Corning, NY Premium

    16   12:07pm Tue 14 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Protected   Patrick says Another thing we'd need is very sold non-fiat currency, so that you are not forced to invest in risky things just merely to preserve your savings. Tell me about it. The thing is, gold and silver have been "financialized" like everything else. During the crash of 2008, gold and silver crashed with everything else. I certainly don't consider gold and silver to be "safe." Seems like cash is the worst asset class right now, except for all the others...

17. Kevin Follow Befriend 40 threads 2,652 comments

    17   1:08am Thu 16 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Honest Abe says Fiat currency also allows for military aggression, empire building and war. What? At the risk of being redundant, do you have any evidence that fiat currency increases the amount of military aggression, empire building, or war? Over the last 2000 years of reasonably well-recorded history, it's been a trend towards less war, less aggression, and certainly less empire -- but also a trend towards fiat currencies. Personally I suspect this correlation is simply the result of technical progress and economic integration, but given that you're claiming exactly the opposite of reality I'd like to know why. Honest Abe says Fiat money is also dishonest in that it can't be defined. I have learned that there is no provision in the law, no government regulation, no statute, nothing that defines what a dollar even is. Some on this site have responded with a lame response " A dollar is ten dimes". Woah selective memory! We've been around this before, either with you or another poster, well over a year ago, and a few times since. A dollar is quite clearly defined in the US legal code. It's a lie to say that there is "noo provision in the law, no government regulation, no statute, nothing that defines what a dollar even is" You simply don't like how it's defined. Honest Abe says Imagine if each gas station had a different definition, or idea of how much a gallon was. Imagine what would happen if a sky scraper was built but all the different tradesmen had their own definition of what a "foot" was. Obviously chaos and catastrophy would result...which is what IS happening to our financial situation. Even a gold or silver standard won't prevent bubbles as long as government meddling of interest rates through The Fed continues. Our current financial situation has exactly nothing to do with people having "different definitions" of what a dollar is. Things are crappy for several well-known reasons, none of which are trivial to fix, all of which would still be true even if we had hard currency, and all of which have occurred in the past. Acting like current indebtedness and recession is historical is fun and all, but history just doesn't bear it out. We've had much worse recessions, much worse public debts, higher unemployment, lower productivity, you name it.

18. freak80 Follow Befriend (4) 52 threads 4,416 comments Corning, NY Premium

    18   7:22am Thu 16 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Protected   Honest Abe says PLEASE post the CURRENT definition of "a dollar" Here you go: http://www.x-rates.com/

19. Patrick Follow Befriend (54) 5,188 threads 6,157 comments 46 male Menlo Park, CA

    19   8:58am Fri 17 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Yes, call me a conspiracy theorist, but it seems pretty clear to me that any organization like the Federal Reserve, which was founded by the biggest banks, was probably created primarily to benefit the biggest banks. It may have some useful secondary functions, but the primary function is to bail out big banks when they get into trouble, at the expense of everyone else. The only reason we need a "lender of last resort" is that the banks promise two contractory things: A. You can have your money at any time. B. We will lend out your money and pay you interest. In reality, you can have A or B but not both. If your money is lent out, then it's not available. If it's available, then it's not lent out. CD's are at least honest: your money is tied up for this fixed term. It's demand deposits that are the problem.

20. Nomograph Follow Befriend (1) 104 threads 2,851 comments

    20   6:13pm Sat 18 Feb 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   Honest Abe says How would you feel about that Kevin? Would you feel good about it? Would you think that was "fair"? Free markets don't really give a damn about your feelings, Abe.