I don’t know The Tim, but I’m guessing he pays some combination of gasoline tax, license/registration fees, tolls, sales tax, income tax, and property tax. Guess what? He is certainly entitled to the use of public roads, IMO.
The kid with the free bologna sandwich is not entitled to anything. If you want to give out free lunches, open a soup kitchen. No need to confiscate other people’s money to do so.
I find it fascinating that the very people who support(ed) spending billions of dollars going to war against Iraq under the guise of needing to free the poor, starving Iraqui citizens, are the very ones who are hatefully unwilling to feed our own poor citizens.
The hypocracy disgusts me.
Well, you confiscated my money for this bullshit war, which I vehemently object to the government spending it on.
But that’s ok, right?
too bad none of them poor kids have oil, other wise they’d get all the lunches they want!
I have not confiscated anyone’s money, and I don’t hate anyone. So I’m not sure what Shayna is talking about.
DAMN straight!
“When I give the poor food, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”
Fuck it.
It’s like I always say-people complain about spending 1 billion to feed others, but cheer about spending 10 billion to blow other people up.
No sir. The Libertarian stops and takes the poor bastard out for lunch and helps set up a job interview, because the Libertarian generally knows that the only way out of economic depression is to have a job, and that it’s ultimately the responsibility of the individual to show compassion.
What right, after all, does the government have to tell me how to spend the fruits of my own labors?
Well I haven’t confiscated anyone’s money to pass out bologna sandwiches, so I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about, either.
By that insane logic, there would be nothing wrong with kicking out the millions of children in public schools. They ain’t paying for it. Thus, they aren’t entitled to it.
No, poor little kids aren’t entitled to boloney sandwiches, just like you aren’t entitled to the air you breath. But poor people pay taxes too. They contribute to society by paying sales tax. And the last time I checked, even minimum-wage workers have a chunk of their checks taken out by the government. So they are entitled to the same things you’re entitled to.
I got this idea from an interesting book I studied (name escapes me), which tries to explain how conservative thinking makes sense to people who follow it. This is the only explanation I’ve heard that allows me to believe that conservatives are not actually evil. Otherwise, that’s the only word I can think of to describe people who think it’s OK to help the rich get richer while the poor starve.
Brutus and Gaijin, what’s you source for the assertion that the NY Times is leftist? Do you actually read the newspaper or do you just rely on Rush Limbaugh for your ideas? This is the newspaper that counts Thomas Friedman and William Safire among its regular columnists.
Brutus’s idea of “fair and balanced” is FOX News.
Obviously, the kids aren’t paying for it, but that’s not the point.
The point is, nobody is entitled to anything. If the taxpayers, through their elected representatives, decide that free public education is a good thing (which it is), then they will provide for it, i.e., spend the taxpayers money so that free public education exists.
If the people, through their representatives, decide otherwise, then it won’t.
There is no entitlement. One is not entitled to education, medical care, food, housing, birthday cake, or anything else.
It’s threads like this one that make me happy to be a Canadian…
I’m leaving now. No need to throw rocks…
Not to mention the fact that the amount of money which goes to “corporate welfare” dwarfs the measly amount spent on feeding the poor of this country.
Honest to God, I have never understood the resentment that some people have for welfare programs. (“There, but for the grace of God, go I.”) Number-wise, it’s, in reality, a relatively small amount of money, especially when compared to defense, subsidies to corporations, and “bail-outs” for the airlines.
In Fiddler on the Roof, Nahum, the beggar, is asking for money in the streets of the Russian village of Anatevka. A man approaches him and says, “Here you are, Reb Nahum - one kopec.”
“One kopec?” says Nahum indignantly. “Last week, you gave me two kopecs!”
“Well,” replies the man apologetically, “I had a bad week.”
“So?” replies Nahum. “Because you had a bad week, I should suffer?”
So why are we giving people tax cuts? If we aren’t entitled to anything, why can’t we tell the rich people to shove their tax cuts up their collective asses? Why does a little kid have to suffer hunger-related fatigue so that Money Bags can plop even more money in the bank? Why does the burden have to rest on LITTLE KIDS?
I’ll tell you one thing: people who agree this is okay can be rest assured it will bite them in the ass sooner or later. Starving children today will be the muggers and crackheads of tomorrow. A boloney sandwich today is much cheaper than 3 three hots and a cot tomorrow.
Bricker, it can’t be all that bad if we’re willing to give up $1.4 trillion on TOP of the hundreds of billions of dollars we’re spending for this war. For a bad week, we sure are being generous.
I see…So, poor people don’t drive on public roads?
And Gingrich fans land a well-aimed kick.