Form of government

[sandman_1]

9 said:

My life has just begun, so no, I haven't "risen among the social classes" yet. My family is what you would probably consider to be rich, so there is not a lot of rising to do.

Your situation may be a case of bad luck. But, I believe the majority of that 40% you claim is poor are quite simply lazy or unwilling to take the risks necessary to reap the rewards of the capitalist system. If my ancestors had played it safe and just stayed in Austria, I would probably be a poor kid in Austria right now. It was a risky but profitable adventure for them to come here from Austria.

Sounds like something someone from a privileged background would say. Most of the time, most people can't invest and live pay check to pay check. If you ever started out poor, you would know this. Ever hear of the old saying, "It takes money to make money"?. That is the truth and if you have no spare income, then how are you going to invest or try something "risky" as you put it? You assume too much. Calling people lazy when you haven't walked in their shoes is just dumb. You have no idea of what they have been through.

Put this in perspective, in 2009, there were 7.8 millionaires in the USA(Source:Business Week). Compared to the total population, 307,006,550(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division), that is only %0.03 of the total population. Affluent people with $500,000+, was 12.7 million, only %0.04 of the total population. Starting to get the picture that only a SMALL percentage of people hold the all the wealth? The American Dream, yea right...

Also there is a huge disparage between average CEO vs average worker employee pay. In 2007 it was 344 to 1!! In 2008, despite economic problems we all know about, it declined slightly, 319 to 1. The people making the CEO and the business money, get the table scrapings pretty much.

Capitalism to me is the exploitation of the population for the benefit of the few. They keep the peasants civility in check with lies and spin like, "If you work hard, you too can be rich!!". Until people wake up out of their dream world, this exploitation will continue.

Just one of the several reasons why I pirate and don't feel one bit bad about it.

[clocker]

You dispute this claim based on a few vacations you took?
By almost any metric you choose the US trails other developed countries...health, quality of life, education...you pick it, we lose.
We do seem to be the most obese, so there's that.
USA, Fuck Yeah!

And you backstop your own views with U.N studies.

This would be the same U.N. whose Human Rights Council (you know -China, Cuba, Libya and Saudi Arabia?) is about to hear testimony from dis-status-fied Americans about how horrible things are here?

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/11...ights-council/

How much American blood, sweat or money do you figure we'd have to give away to move up on your favored U.N. rankings?

You play the sheep to the U.N.'s beneficent 'shepherd'.

I'm sorry, is Glen Beck telling you that the US has the best health care, education and quality of life?
I can see where his (and by extension, Fox News) views are confusing you.

A follower of Fox really has no room to call anyone else a "sheep" by the way.

[megabyteme]

Citing Fox as credible source...

[j2k4]

Citing Fox as credible source...

Hmm.

You mean to say it isn't really happening?

You mean to say the Packers didn't beat the Cowboys?

The republicans didn't take the House?

[j2k4]

And you backstop your own views with U.N studies.

This would be the same U.N. whose Human Rights Council (you know -China, Cuba, Libya and Saudi Arabia?) is about to hear testimony from dis-status-fied Americans about how horrible things are here?

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/11...ights-council/

How much American blood, sweat or money do you figure we'd have to give away to move up on your favored U.N. rankings?

You play the sheep to the U.N.'s beneficent 'shepherd'.

I'm sorry, is Glen Beck telling you that the US has the best health care, education and quality of life?
I can see where his (and by extension, Fox News) views are confusing you.

A follower of Fox really has no room to call anyone else a "sheep" by the way.

I stand by my post, mon frere.

[megabyteme]

Citing Fox as credible source...

Hmm.

You mean to say it isn't really happening?

You mean to say the Packers didn't beat the Cowboys?

The republicans didn't take the House?

I will at least give that article credit for being an editorial that was presented as such, not an editorial disguised as ''unbiased news".

Admit it, the monkey doing a facepalm was kinda cool.

[clocker]

I'm sorry, is Glen Beck telling you that the US has the best health care, education and quality of life?
I can see where his (and by extension, Fox News) views are confusing you.

A follower of Fox really has no room to call anyone else a "sheep" by the way.

I stand by my post, mon frere.

Of course you do...facts be damned.
Care to share any sources that backstop your delusions?

[999969999]

And you backstop your own views with U.N studies.

This would be the same U.N. whose Human Rights Council (you know -China, Cuba, Libya and Saudi Arabia?) is about to hear testimony from dis-status-fied Americans about how horrible things are here?

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/11...ights-council/

How much American blood, sweat or money do you figure we'd have to give away to move up on your favored U.N. rankings?

You play the sheep to the U.N.'s beneficent 'shepherd'.

I'm sorry, is Glen Beck telling you that the US has the best health care, education and quality of life?
I can see where his (and by extension, Fox News) views are confusing you.

A follower of Fox really has no room to call anyone else a "sheep" by the way.

Fox is the only station that comes even half-way close to being balanced.

But, oh that's right, liberals don't want to see or hear anything from the other point of view.

[j2k4]

I'm sorry, is Glen Beck telling you that the US has the best health care?

No, this:


A recent "Investor's Business Daily" article provided very
interesting statistics from a survey by the United Nations
International Health Organization.

Percentage of men and women who survived a cancer five years after
diagnosis:

U.S. 65% England 46% Canada 42%

Percentage of patients diagnosed with diabetes who received treatment
within six months:

U.S. 93% England 15% Canada 43%

Percentage of seniors needing hip replacement who received it within six months:

U.S. 90% England 15% Canada 43%

Percentage referred to a medical specialist who see one within one month:

U.S. 77% England 40% Canada 43%

Number of MRI scanners (a prime diagnostic tool) per million people:

U.S. 71 England 14 Canada 18

Percentage of seniors (65+), with low income, who say they are in
"excellent health":

U.S. 12% England 2% Canada 6%

[j2k4]

Hmm.

You mean to say it isn't really happening?

You mean to say the Packers didn't beat the Cowboys?

The republicans didn't take the House?

I will at least give that article credit for being an editorial that was presented as such, not an editorial disguised as ''unbiased news".

Well, which is it?

You can't have it both ways.