Quote: 1) This is not true. Some items, perhaps. But it is clear that each and every item is TAXED.
Try to think of something that the government doesn't subsidize in some form. Virtually everything has either a farmed or mined product in it, just two of the industries which are heavily subsized by your tax dollars.
Quote: 2) I might, but I doubt it. I have worked hard for my retirement planning (including heath coverage as I'm skeptical that Social Security & Medicare will be viable), I am able to do several jobs so it is unlikely I will be unemployed very long. I pay for disability insurance, used the GI bill for college and professional school, neither myself nor children used WIC support.
When I said "you", I didn't mean you personally. Of course not everyone is ever going to need any sort of social program. Most people however are going to need something at some point in their lives. That's why those exist. I agree people should not be living nor relying on those programs -- I disagree that they (or most) are wastes.
Quote: 3) Around here..a BUNCH of those "cheap burger" flipping jobs go unfilled because people can make more with government benefits... Yes certain gov programs are important...protecting farmers because they have "unique" importance and challenges, heath care for kids, loans (not gifts) to go to college or start a buisness. But I see it as a narrow view to think that our society would not function without MANY of the wasteful and typically inefficient or ineffective programs we now have.
Agreed. People should not rely nor live on government assistance.
And of course society would still function without programs, but there's no way we'd be as succesful a nation as we are. And note that I'm not talking abotu "Wasteful", or "Inefficient" or "Ineffective" -- I'm not disputing that many of these need to be ran better. I am disputing whether or not they should exist.
Quote: 4) Are you counting your railroad retirement as a tax?????
It is a tax that functions exactly like Social Security, I just pay twice as much for it. It's not a pension plan. That's a seperate thing (We have Railroad Retirement, Pension, and 401K -- all 3 seperate programs. We're very well taken care of here). Railroad Retirement is the only program allowed to function in lieu of Social Security because Railroads had a program to take care of their retired employees before the government did.
Of course I get a LOT ($60K, not counting pension/401K)) more money from it when I retire, unlike Social Security, which is a pittance if our generation will ever see anything at all.
