Uni Health Care

[dry land fish]

I don't know about what Adrian thinks about that but I have a problem with it. Those poor people didn't earn that money. What makes them so special? Because they are poor? Just because they are poor doesn't mean we need to take money from people who EARNED it and give it to them. That's basically theft!!!!

You could say that the wealthy stole it from the poor in the first place. That's usually how it works. The wealthy can be earning money they can't use whilst trimming their employees earnings etc to the bone to maximise profits. That's the way business works. The people making the profit for the wealthy are kept as low down as possible. It gets extreme when you talk about the gross exploitation of the 3rd world.

The wealthy steals money from the poor? How is that? The federal government and state government set minimum wage requirements. It's smart business practices to pay people the bare minimum. When you are in busisness you are in it for the money and not to provide jobs, insurance, or other perks to your employees. Those people who are working those low paying jobs should have went to college shouldn't they? Third world countries are none of our concern. If I owned a business that required someone to assemble a large amount of products I'd move to China too. It's SMART for corporations to do that. I guarantee that if it were you that owned that company you would do the same thing.

Why are people complaining about the low end jobs? Is this what people see as their future? Assembly line worker? Fast food worker? Gas station clerk? I mean seriously.....aim higher! If people don't like the way they are treated by a company they can go union. I'm pro union IF one can come in. I understand why corporations do what they do to people but if people want to make a career out of factory work or Wal Mart or Kroger then they had better get themselves a union or they are going to keep getting screwed.

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Adrian, progressive taxation is fair but the rich aren't taxed enough at the moment.
We live in a society and everyone contributes to that society. The rich are privileged ( the very rich even more so ),the poor are under-privileged. It is fair and just that the rate of tax the rich and very rich pay should be greater than the poor. It is not " robbery ". The poor have been " robbed " down the centuries, creating wealth for the very rich.
If I were rich or very rich, I would consider myself very fortunate and paying more tax to make a better society would be money well spent.
You say people won't buy it....well most people aren't filthy rich, so I disagree with you.
I've dealt with your fixed rate idea. I reject it.
I don't hate rich people persay, I might hate some of them. As a socialist though I have more affinity with the ordinary man or woman than I do with the rich. You, on the other hand, do not. You are quick to bash the feckless poor, but defend the interests of the wealthy. Your choice.
As to your reference to strikes, organised labour was stripped of its power by the Thatcher government's anti-union legislation which is still in force and makes taking strike action very hard to do.
Capitalism has always been a battleground between employer and worker, it can't be anything else! The employer wants labour at the lowest cost. The worker wants the best wage his labour can obtain. It is a constant. Whatever gains have been made by the worker have been through struggle and not through the benevolence of the boss class.

dry land fish, you live in a different country so I can't talk with knowledge about the situation there, but here in the UK finding work is DIFFICULT. It is difficult for people with degrees as well as for less-qualified people. Have you heard of the recession?

Looking after the poor is part and parcel of a civilised society. You appear to prefer dog-eat-dog, only the strong survive etc.etc. Well that's your choice...I hope it never comes to that, but it might when the capitalist system ends.

I tell you frankly, if I were unemployed and on benefit, and I was offered work that brought home less than my benefit, I would stay on benefit. Something is wrong, either benefit is too high or the wage too low. You can probably guess which I think is the case. Poor people don't make the system, they have to play by it and even beat it, if that's what it takes to survive.

It is hard for some to find work in the USA right now. You are right. I do prefer a dog eat dog society. We need to stop protecting the weak and let natural selection take over. If you haven't noticed the human race has basically exploded all over the Earth and helping the weak only contributes to the population problem. There will become a time when we have taxed all of our natural resources due to our over population. Certain states in the USA are running out of water. Florida and Nevada are two of those states. When the aquifer is depleted then they will have to find other more expensive ways of treating their water and getting it to customers. I have always wondered why we make laws to protect stupid people and why we just can't let them die. Animals don't protect weak or stupid animals. We ARE no differnt than animals. We have no soul and we aren't special. Natural selection is the way mother nature keeps everything in balance...we have seriously screwed it up.