I don't think that making comparisons to Russia or Brazil is necessary for the debate. We know the answer to that. And yes the comparisons are flawed in ever statistical catagorie. Since I am a computer geek I need to make a logical argument with comparison that are one to one. My point is that were making comparisons to Western European countries it's not truly valid because for all the different issues each country has to face when making the comparison. The United States is the leader in almost ever statisic, if we wanted to model ourselves after a country that is not our equal then is that a model we should follow. I am glad we are in agreement with this discussion. It is sad that premiums are going up in certain segments of the population, I know that most teacher can't afford healthcare because of there standard pay is pretty low. But in contrast that is the job or career they choose, how about firemen and police officers, they get payed less than most teachers and there benefits are keep level. I think that it is a mix of tort reform and subsities that are going to control the rising cost of insurance. When lawyers get half of what they sue a insurance company or doctor that is not right, it should go back to the patient. This calculation is a average of taxes payed per person per year. The US tax includes Federal/State/local. Thanks Desert Scar, that really means alot. Most people on this board are so opinionated (including myself) that we forget that we are all here for the same reason and we should all treat each other with respectfully. I have been guilty of this on numerous occations, and I will do my best nicer.
That was not ABC News, but WABC, the radio station. Big difference. Furthermore, the quote from that site was not even an opinion. You're right in one sense... that the bias of media (and degrees thereof) is another topic. However, I did notice that you have changed your indefensible "liberal wacko" charge to the more benign "bias." I like the truth more, and I detest rumor and innuendo being passed as fact. Because we have a difference in political philosophy does not give you license to state something as fact that is not. Neither does it compel me to accept your mutterings without a critical evaluation. Asinine? Well, since that means of or like an ass and I'm a Democrat, I'll take that as a compliment. And it's sure better than your elephantine struggles with grammar and facts. Also, thanks for the stylistic pointer. Coming from you, that means a great deal. I'll work on my trite tendency. You have the advantage here Phi, as I don't know how to deal with people who are proud of their ignorance. This does, however, remind me of a quote: "It is unsporting to engage in a battle of the wits against an unarmed opponent."
What an unadulterated load of ****. Let's see... according to you, Phi-Guy, people trying to respond to your diatribes are "spewing crap", "smoking crack", are "idiots" etc., etc. and so on. But "we are all here for the same reason and we should treat each other respectfully". As you splendidly pointed out... "Well know won is perfekt" You got THAT right. Back to the topic, did you vote for Bush?
Phi, I just really wonder how 37% was calculated in the US. When we consider income tax, payroll tax (which really is like 15% we just don't see the other half most of the time because the employer pays it), other federal taxes (capital gains, corporate), state sales tax (usually around 8%), state income tax (some states the highest bracket is near 10%), property tax (Texas is really high, most states maybe around 2% of the average homeowners income), and other miscealanous taxes (cars, cigs, rentals, hotels)--I would sure think the taxes would be somewhere near 50% or above. I just wonder if the calucation doesn't consider more hidden taxes or those passed on to the consumer though they are officially paid by someone else. Anyone who is a accountant or financial advisor or economists with a lot of international experience that can weigh in on this. I wonder if the most reasonable estimate to theoretically estimate taxation comparisons across these countries is the size of GNP relative to all tax revenues collected, or perhaps the median and mean levels of all personal income relative to all tax revenues collected averaged across persons. In other words some statistic that gets around calling a tax a fee or some other name where it isn’t recognized as such and where taxes may not be seen by a consumer but they are passed on anyway.
