How's that? Finland has the highest suicide rate among non-ex-East block nations. Maybe they're just self-delusional.
Actually, they are punishing the breaking of a law based on a flat-taxesque percentage system in an attempt to deter future law breaking.
That's the exact question the interviewer asked. He was shocked, and asked how with the high suicide rate that could be true. The man answered that they despite having the highest rate of happiness they also lead in depression, and that while there wasn't a huge disperity in rich and poor, there was one in happiness and depression. I'm paraphrasing, of course.
bama's perspective, as well as the other conservative-types, is based on the faulty and idealistic view that everyone can achieve wealth if they work hard, and that everyone who already has wealth is benefitting from their own hard work. There is also, implied in this erroneous but steadfast conservative belief, the idea that those who have wealth are somehow smarter/stronger/more talented than those who don't have wealth. Any practical and realistic and objective view of the United States today shows that this is not true. It is possible to work well over fulltime and still not make enough to pay modest bills. And it is also possible to become financially comfortable by doing the bare minimum of work and/or doing no work at all - both of these qualifications are related to the economic bracket one is born into (a circumstance that, hopefully, even the staunchest conservative will concede is beyond the control of the person being born). As long as you base all your conclusions on this flawed and incorrect premise (which is only correct when you use data from 20 or more years ago), then it follows that your conclusions will be false. But, then again, the conservative viewpoint is rarely based on practical and objective considerations. Of course, the fact that I just wrote this is not going to change anyone's mind, because the people who cling tenaciously to this faulty belief do not cling to it because it's true, they cling to it because it is a rationalization used to justify their desires. ...and I just wasted 5 minutes of my time typing this.
The vast majority of excess income ( income above living expense) is taken out of circulation, and it's value to society atrophies. Just a thought.
Again, I emphasize that I'm not in favor of this idea. It's forward-thinking and probably effective, but it would never fly in America. That's fine. It's a fun concept to explore and debate. To me, the responses so far are more interesting than the concept. People equate fairness in very different ways. Some think the final "result" should be fair and others think the "system" should be fair. And that's awesome.
How many of you people have actually BEEN to Finland? I for one would gladly endure what the average American would consider Finland's rapacious taxes in exchange for the average urban Finn's quality of life. I realize that one important thing that allows their re-distribution to be reasonably effective is the size of their governmental infrastructure, but still. The chicks rock, too.
That is simply not true. Hard work= success. I can't help that you are a defeatist coward who throws this instant excuse up every time you are confronted with adversity. Frankly, I find your lack of confidence distressing. If you don't make enough money to pay your bills, duh!!!!!! Go get some more training. Go back to school. Do something rather than sitting on your butt whining about how the wealth is only in the hands of the wealthy. If you had half a brain, you'd realize that fact. When a rich man buys one of the brand new Ford GT's, with his half-million dollars (I don't have the exact cost of the car), he is paying the salaries of countless workers by providing a DEMAND for the product they produce. There are the assembly workers, the workers in the plants manufacturing the parts for the car, the people selling the car, the people cleaning the cars are all employed because there are the evil rich you are so jealous of that can buy that car. But this shows what is real root of the classic liberal argument. Screw the rich, you say. Distribute their wealth amongst the poor in the classic Marxist bit of horse puckey: They do not need all of that "unneccessary wealth." The problem with that view is where does wealth become superfluous to the needs of any man and who determines this. If the liberals had their way, it would be their favorite agent, the govt. Also, the liberals don't believe that people should be made accountable for questionable choices. There should always be a safety net of some sort, usually made from the threads of my labors, taken from my pocket like any petty thief. The conservative position on wealth is simple: take some ownership of your life and choices and work hard. The rest works out by itself. Poverty is a mental disease. Period. Either get off your ass, work hard, make sacrifices and enjoy success, as I have done......or you quit whining about your pathetic state, get your damned hands out of mine and other achievement-oriented folks' pockets and take some responsibility for your present condition.
Do you believe in Santa Claus too? Hard work + good luck can = material success. However, if you're starting off on the bottom, and let's say you're a single mother of 4 living in a rough neigbourhood. Do you know how hard you have to work, just to keep from drowning? And if anything goes wrong...ay a medical problem, a kid with special needs, being robbed, etc. Then that's it. You can't even afford to dream about 'success'. You're just trying to stay above water. But at the end of the day, this is the same argument men have been having with each other going back to the beginning of time. Some men feel a social responsibility for each other, others simply look out for themselves and maybe their close ones. Nothing either party ever says is going to persuade others to stop/start caring about others in a general sense. I personally like how the ancient Athenians resolved the issue.
This is awesome. I appreciate being reminded that there are still plenty of hardcore bigots out there so as not to remain complacent. BS, I have to say, my life would be a lot simpler and most likely happier in that ignorance is bliss sort of way if I could adopt your simian, monochromatic approach to life. Any advice? Join a gun club? Burn a book? Just looking for a little help here to get started. Thanks!
By the way, when you die, you can't take your money. You will spend the rest of your life trying to hold on to your money. You wont understand this until you are on your deathbed. By the way, I make a good living too. I worked hard to get here. But I also acknowledge the importance of a societal safety-net for those that didn't have the same opportunity as I. Not all do. Pure socialism is dangerous. But so is pure capitalism! At least acknowledge the poor's existence. I'd say you'd favor indifference.
Just because I believe that a little bit of elbow grease and some skill at something will make you successful (note I did not say material wealth, pure happiness is not derived from money) and I'm labeled a bigot for my troubles. Damned right I'm intolerant of socialism. The biggest lesson of socialism was in the my fourth grade reading class. We once had an advanced reading class that you could work at your own pace. Since I loved to read (taught by my mother when I was 4), I was reading at a seventh grade level. But then the school thought that having levels made the other students feel inferior, so they got rid of the advanced class and held us back amongst the slower folks. The lesson is that nothing is fair. Not wealth, not talent, not anything. You have to make your own luck in this world. I did and if I did, anyone can. How is working hard ape-like? How is my post Nazi-like? Fill me in with your unbelievable intellect. Guess work or thinking is not something you are used to, since you have no problem with leeches like yourself continuing to milk me for all I'm worth thanks to the safety hammock I spoke of. When I read posts like this, you people wonder why I'm so quick to insult the left. You wonder why I'm mad and it's posts by this classic, addle-brained, fool named NYROCKET that draw my ire and make me realize what fools liberals are. How their very philosophy is based on defeatism, envy and lack of any moral compass. When called to the carpet with rationality, you call me a Nazi and an ape. So typical....... And lastly, anyone who defends individual property rights is greedy. Anyone who wants to make any sort of money is selfish. How the liberals have taken over the language is beyond me.
