Quote:I think regional secession is warranted and needed. What we need or do up here in the Northwest is not beneficial to the south. Actually, a lot of us up here resent the south for holding us back because they take more money and need more support from the Feds. If you take the Feds away, there'd be about 15 states or regions, and all would be self sufficient in their own way.


As far as DC, it is technically an enemy country/city/state. The USA is under control by DC. That is the only way taxation is legal.


If there was a legit moderate politician, they'd win every election until they said no more.

Florida would be the 19th largest economy in the world, on Par with Belgium and others. I'm all for it.

 

Quote:I didn't say your experience didn't exist or that it's a problem. All welfare is a drain on society because it's a selective choice to support the unproductive. That isn't a bad thing, but we cannot, as they say, let the safety net become a hammock. And in our ridiculously complicated welfare system it's much too easy to defraud and to abuse.

 

I don't have the perfect answer, if I did I'd run for God, but I do know that our system is broken and most of the ideas currently offered to fix it will only make it worse (some intentionally, some just foolish). I do like the idea of a flat rate of assistance per family rather than per dependent. I also think fixed timelines for the able (like the W2W program) would be an excellent idea.

 

It bothers me that, as you insinuate, many people take my good nature and personal religious values and use them as a weapon against me to force the continued support of the unproductive. There's instruction in there for folks like me that also says if you don't work then you don't eat and I have no obligation to support those who can but won't; but we rarely have that trotted out to make a point. Speaking as me the individual, not me the society, I fulfill my obligation to the poor every 2 weeks when my pay comes in and a portion of it goes to local charities. Speaking as me the society, the burden should not be on the government collective to provide charity; that isn't it's function or intent. 

I like the fixed assistance plan. It'll never pass though. The FEDERAL government should not be in charge of any welfare systems. That's what churches and local communities are for. But, in this far over-reaching top down government that we have it's what we get...

 

I get that people are disabled, and likely on public assistance..that's not an issue. If you are disabled and cannot work, that's one thing. Able bodied people just sucking off the Fed teet really chaps my hind parts though.

 

Quote:Well, say what you want about Clinton/Gingrich, but things still got done back then.  Sure, we had a government shutdown when the Speaker of the House was put on the back of the plane, but they eventually got together, hammered things out, and had the US on track continuing through 8 years of peace and prosperity.  Perhaps when you're having an affair while accusing the president of the same, you build a kinship.

 

As for our founding fathers, I've read up on some of the things they used to say about each other while trying to get elected, and it's easily on par with the ridiculous things their progeny accuses each other of these days. All the while building a unique Republic and molding it on the fly.

 

The dude on the 20 dollar bill once completely ignored a Supreme court decision - try doing that these days.

 

I think Eric's onto something with things changing after 9/11.  But it might not be the event that did it, just the point in time when social media created an environment where we could all get into our own echo chambers and convince ourselves that everyone else was so, very, very, wrong.  They must be, since I have an entire network of people who think EXACTLY like me. 

 

Or, should I say, that I think exactly like them - there is a difference.

9/11 was the end of our personal privacy. With the Patriot act, NDAA, and the advent of social media we either give all the information away, or they take it.

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