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When it comes to lying, the Republicans are going big and going long. I can only hope they'll also be going home.
Romans:13 is an interesting read for those needing a Biblical basis for government assistance to the poor and paying taxes. Thanks to Soujourner's for this: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+13&version=NIV
These idiots in Tampa are not patriots. They're "hateriots."
I guess mentally the concept of a barter system can be argued on infinitum, in the real world it's been going on forever between all the actual producers of goods and services.
Those that don't return value in kind (wheather in perception or real content) aren't dealt with again. One learns who to deal with and whom not to deal with as well as what ones value is worth to the community at large.
It's simple, and no government or monity system will ever change it.
OR be able to tax it.........
Big Unions can hardly compete with the greedy capitalist monsters who have effectively bought out nearly all politicians. And the greedy, rapacious, corporations have managed to pretty much destroy any decent representation of workers...the Unions...leaving the workers to suffer.
I believe you had said that you live in Alberta, Canada where, although they call your government "conservative" it looks more like a progressive one: Universal healthcare...$16,977 personal tax exemptions (compared to $3700 in the US)...a fairly equal personal vs corporate tax rate of roughtly 20% (the US pushes the tax burden to those who can least afford it while letting many corporations get away with paying no taxes).
Funny how people who seem to support conservative ideas belittle tax evasion and claim that Progressives in the US are doing what the conservatives are masters of, themselves. And coming from someone in Alberta, Canada where their so-called "conservative" government acts more like a progressive one...it just seems very hypocritical for one who receives all of those "progressive" benefits in Alberta to talk down their nose at anything "progressive" in the US.
Albertans have Individual personal tax exemptions of $16977 (compared to $3,700 in the US), personal income taxes roughly equaling corporate income taxes of roughly 20%, and grants from the federal government primarily for infrastructure projects of 9.8%. 30.4% of Alberta's GNP comes from royalties on non-renewable natural resources like the oil sands and natural gas.
And on top of that ..."In accordance with the Canada Health Act, Alberta has a publicly administered and funded health care system that guarantees eligible residents of Alberta receive universal access to medically necessary hospital and health care services."
http://www.health.alberta.ca/health-care-insurance-plan.html
Ya, only big unions should be able to control corrupt politicians and the media with large donations. Next thing you know they will want right wing tv stations and the left will not be able to control the media. Oh to late, Fox News has already started. What next governments will not be able to spend more than they have. My God what would we do.
Criag you live in a free country. You can work as little or as much as you what. Just don't expect to have what I have when I work 70 hours a week.
Time bank is just tax evasion, that will help get them out of there money trouble.
I have a new crazy idea. How about not spending more than you have.
A relevant question might be, will Christie still be around to run? His life style choices apparently are not healthy.
I like GHOUL for GHW Bush whom I think of as The Ghoul of Calgary. Zapata Oil set up operations in Calgary, Canada. I think of Cal-Gary as a marriage of California to Gary, Indiana.
Or in place of, "Nick, you're such a tool," you can say "George, you're such a GHoul."
This you is the sense that is at the rear the right mind of what you find cheap disney on ice worlds of fantasy tickets yourself flowing through and you are so very competent of being this "you" of who "you" are in any second right now and for the rest of perpetuity. It is still only more of the notyou-ness that you are identifying yourself with.
cheap tyler perrys madea gets a job tickets
Clearly, "hours working" are not a viable coin of trade. Organization of those hours, intelligence in making them "profitable", and new ways of doing things (patentable), will have differing values.
A "Bill Gates" or "Steve Jobs" contributes to our society by changing the paradigm, making each and every one of us "richer" as a result. Ok, I have to throw in Nicola Tesla in this thought, just because. He paid his staff by dividing the gold medalion between trusted workers, just to keep the faith, and recognizing their value to his endeavors, AFTER the "money changers" cut him off, because he wanted to make electricity "free". He even ripped up an agreement to charge a dollar for every watt (Kilowatt?) of power delivered by George Westinghouse to his customers, just to see it happen.
And, Loren Bliss, you DO still have things to trade, such as your experience, and ability to see what is coming next, by making plans, and speaking out, to prevent a loss for our communities. History is hard won, within the experience of our lifetimes.
DavidC - 11:41 PM, Wednesday, 29 August 2012
We might start with horse meat but eventually we'll likely be eating Soylent Green. Alas, poor Yorick!
Bitcoins was an interesting currency for a while, although very volatile, until servers were hacked and $90,000 was stolen. Interesting that it was giving the FBI fits because bitcoin users were very difficult to track down. It created a situation where money was easily laundered.
"Although Bitcoins have become increasingly popular because they can be used to purchase goods and services when other currency is not feasible, some skeptics have condemned the system for poor security practices. Only ten weeks before the latest breach, hackers infiltrated the e-wallets of Bitcoin customers hosted on cloud-hosting provider Linode and managed to apprehend over 46,703 BTC (almost $228,845 USD worth)"
http://rt.com/usa/news/internet-stolen-bitcoin-currency-226/
TruthAddict;
Thank you for the first in-line, for examining a growing problem since time immemoriable! Jesus chased out the money lenders, and even though I am no longer considering myself a "good christian", he had something there, a concept that runs deep.
In my opinion, the "Third Party" to any agreement has become the problem.
Shakespere stated it best "Neither a borrower, nor a lender be, do not forget, stay out of debt". Ok, some literary license here, I am quoting an addapted musical play. "First, kill all the Lawyers" was perhaps, more succinct.
A third party to any barter has become the new kingdom of rapacious "entrepeneurs", including taxing authorities, that will interject themselves into a trade between two farmers. For example, one wants to trade a brown horse for his neighbor's grey horse, perhaps just to mix up the genetics.
A third party comes in, demanding their "cut", and a chain saw rips up both horses, cutting them into thirds, leaving all parties with dog meat (or human comsumable meat, if you can stomach eating horse meat, against your objection to turning a working lifetime riding and work partner, into food, for all three partners in the trade, as tempory rations).
Eliminating transactional taxation, on any level, was the founding anathema for the United States' original charter (No state shall make anything other than Bold or Silver Coin a tender in payment of debt). We went further, into NOT directly taxing accumulated wealth (property), but rather taxing "interest, and income" on capital investments.
That has been turned around into "opposite world" lately.
The original legal definition of "Income", was gains aquired as an "employee" of a corporation that one held stock in (and NOT wages!), or interest gained on capital investment, or "loans".
And thus, (through the elimination of material trade in substance as money, replacing it with a promise to pay, some day), that third party has ascended to royal proportions.
Mitt Romney is a clear example of the royalty of the "third party" trading scheme. "Leveraged buy-outs" can place "bets" on the future, that they can control between one farmer, and the farmer's market.
But I digress. SO much to say, but living within a controled forum, my raised hand will only be a flicker of a finger, and my outrage will only be released, once someone clearly states the case of "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"
Those that don't study history, are doomed to repeat it.
David E. Cowlishaw http://www.facebook.com/davide.cowlishaw
That's a good one! How about ConGHOULeeza Rice as in CONservative GHOUL. More brains!!!! More brains!!!
Well, one thing the Democrats need to give up is the anti-gun platform of the party. There are lots of other issues way more critical to most Democrats. Actually think about it: there wouldn't be a civil war, just a take-over, since they have all the guns!
It should be the SAME in each state for requirements for voting.
EQUAL voting rights and requirments for everyone.
In California, we just vote, we have to sign our names. We give our name and address with no proof. Just walk in ---and vote. Always been that way.
Yes, time banks give an entirely new meaning to the phrase "will work for food."
But, based on the few U.S. examples of such arrangements I saw during the 1960s, they are utterly useless to an intellectual like myself because my skills -- the entire journalistic/academic package of writing, editing, research, photography, publication design etc. -- are utterly useless in terms of feeding people, especially now during the uniquely anti-intellectual New Hard Times of today.
Meanwhile the skills I have that could in fact feed people or contribute to their physical well-being in today's apocalyptic world -- fishing, hunting, organic gardening, rough carpentry, engine and boat mechanics (the last the legacy of a long-ago year as the engineer on a 96-foot salmon seiner) -- all these abilities are utterly nullified by the fact old age, spinal injury and arthritis have reduced me to a cripple.
Point being, what happens to those of us who, like myself, have nothing tangible to trade?
The answer is obvious: we are discarded as useless and left to die, exactly as the Ruling Class intends.
Ithaca, NY used to have Ithaca Bucks. You earned them by barter and spent them on local goods and services. I don't know is this is still going on but it worked for decades.
Ha found it in Forbes no less...
http://www.forbes.com/2006/02/11/local-currencies-ithaca_cz_el_money06_0214local.html
Over the last few years there is a growing "hours" community in the central Willamette valley in Oregon. Many people take full hours in pay and some, like me for my clay art and CDs, take 50% in hours. There are many who accept hours for local produce. You can google Hour Trader Corvallis to check us out. I'm not listed in the Summer issue, but I will be in the fall.
The people are tired of the tyranny of the elite banker-class running and ruining the lives of hard working people that refuse to live like slaves or serfs. These time banks are the beginning of a solutions based, peaceful uprising.
With the increased productivity brought about by technology, we could have a 3 or 4-day work week.
There are alternatives to our economy. One is, and it has been successfully done, is worker ownership of the business. I think that would be a wonderful idea. I used to work at a computer company under managers that not only had no education or experience in the sort of thing we did, but really knew nothing and learned nothing during their time as managers. The idea that a manager doesn't have to know what his/her workers are doing is a chimera. Some of us practically begged to help improve the processes. Some of us practically begged to do something about our colleagues who did almost nothing all day long. Or were as ignorant as our managers.
Co-oops and worker-owned companies and barter could go a long way toward changing our culture. But we have to change the focus from making lots of money to supporting all of us well and working on community--and spiritual practices and directions, good citizenship and the like.
I won't live that long.
Doesn't have anything to do with evolution.
Wisconsin showed one thing, but the Jerry Brown vs Meg Whitman and Richard Blumenthal vs Linda McMahon 2010 results show that money does not always win.
I would like to consider this years presidental campaign as a stimulus for the media companies, but that the truth will win out. I guess the question is will the truth make it to the open air, or will it stay burried by the lies that are being put out there.