[mikeryan]

Wow that's cold.

It's a bit ugly that you can loop everyone that can't afford healthcare, mental health issues or drug addiction into a single bucket and dispose of them.

Those who can afford to spend 6 years in college playing video games, rarely are the ones who are doing it on the gov't dime. Its the kids that grow up in crappy underprivileged neighborhoods with poor school systems and no guidance are the ones that need help. But hey its their parents fault right?

You sir, compassion less, and cold spirited and are the one I can do without.

[solutionyogi]

Here's the problem with your argument. How are you going to make sure that government helps those poor people (the one you identified in your post) and not others? How are you going to make sure there is no waste/minimal waste? How are you going to make sure that lobbyists/corporations won't lobby the government to get this additional taxpayer's money and use it for their own instead of helping the poor? Where is the accountability? Show me one government program which has achieved its stated goal without wasting huge amount of taxpayer's money.

Let me give you an example. NY State auditors recovered around 270 million dollars in Medicare fraud/waste between Oct 07 to Mar 08 (6 months). This is only one state, think about the amount of fraud/waste happening in other states. In fact, they plan to spend 90 million dollars to prevent this fraud/waste! Why give government money so that they can waste it and then let them spend more money so that they can prevent the waste?

Link: http://www.nysun.com/new-york/state-recovers-269m-in-medicai...

[mikeryan]

And your solution is to what exactly? Pay less in taxes and hope the parents of underprivileged kids in poor neighborhoods spend the money responsibly on healthcare and schooling? That seems naive at best.

I have a general issue with the waste argument. And perhaps this is a bit naive, but as long as the gov't spends money that stays domestic, then the economy is being helped. Even with waste.

I'm sorry I have less faith that "most" Americans would spend money more responsibly than my gov't.

[solutionyogi]

I have no argument if you believe that your government can spend money better than your fellow citizens. Good luck!

[jonallanharper]

And, you sir, live in a false reality.

I bet you'd love to tell us how socialism would work if we "just gave it a chance." Let me guess... it "hasn't been implemented properly" yet right?

[scott_s]

Socialism isn't a scalar. We have government run/funded military, police, fire fighters, grade schools, universities, postal service, space program, welfare, pensions in the form of Social Security and health care for the poor and elderly through Medicaid and Medicare. Many European countries are more on the socialist side of the spectrum than we are.

[mikeryan]

Wow which false reality is that?

I'm well aware of how much I pay in taxes, its significant and getting worse since I started my own business this year.

But I believe that my taxes fill a need society and in fact even have a pragmatic slant (one which Cuban raised) in the Keynsian model more taxes = more spending by gov't and the only real way to stimulate economy.

Win/Win I help people and make more money with a better economy.

[solutionyogi]

Show me one example where government is able to stimulate economy. First, you will have to clarify what 'stimulating an economy' means. Once you have specified what it means, you will have to explain how each dollar spent has somehow stimulated the economy.

I think you fail to comprehend how complicated modern day economy is. Have you heard of 'I, Pencil' story? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6vjrzUplWU The gist is that no single person knows how to make a pencil. Because of co-ordinated efforts of thousands of people, working for their own goals, makes it possible to manufacture pencil and deliver it at your local store where you can buy it for dollar a piece.

Do you really think that few hundred bureaucrats in DC can decide how billions of dollars should be spent so that economy is stimulated?

[earl]

You have heard of, say, the EU, Singapore, Canada, Japan, etc? No?