Comments on: Jon Stewart on Fox's response to Warren Buffett's "socialism"

By: Donald Petersen

Donald Petersen — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:07:00 +0000

Don’t wanna. I like paying taxes.

By: Donald Petersen

Donald Petersen — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:02:00 +0000

Has anyone at Boing Boing (contributor or commenter) ever sent an extra cent to the US government?

Yeah, FWIW, I have. And I declined to cash my Bush tax refund checks, too.

By: Mark Wurden

Mark Wurden — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 22:14:00 +0000

“Ship your stuff out of the country. Get a couple of connecting flights and get your ass out. Stroll down the jetway in Aden Adde… uh, that is, K50 airport. Renounce your American citizenship.”

Likewise.

By: Mark Wurden

Mark Wurden — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 22:11:00 +0000

There is another way to look at this, which puts the degree to which our government spends in perspective. If Stewart is correct with his figure that $1.4 Trillion represents the value of everything the bottom 50% owns, then our government has a annual deficit about equal to 1/2 the networth of 1/2 of its citizens. Or, maybe more to the point, it redistributes, each year, about as much as these people own. That seems pretty high, doesn’t it?

By: Gyrofrog

Gyrofrog — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:07:00 +0000

Actually, I do too. However, I don’t think this equates to everyone using these programs not genuinely needing the assistance.

I also do not believe that reducing or eliminating these programs would affect anyone’s income taxes by one cent. (At the same time, I’m not sure that reducing or eliminating DoD, DoJ, or DHS would reduce anyone’s taxes, either.)

By: Gyrofrog

Gyrofrog — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000

“It has been said that a libertarian is just a Republican who does drugs.” – Mike Gunderloy, Factsheet 5, Aug. 1991

By: Modusoperandi

Modusoperandi — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:12:00 +0000

Ethan “One thing I’ll hand conservatives, they rarely make threats/pronouncements about abandoning their country because of a possible election outcome.”Obviously. Instead, they:
1. Form a “grassroots” group threatening to “take out country back” (and empty stores of ammunition while enroute to protest with “This time it’s not loaded” signs)
2. They threaten to (or, in one case, do) secede.

By: TNGMug

TNGMug — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 21:39:00 +0000

Really enjoyed the comparison of “so-called” libartarian anarchy to fuedalism, that is really exactly where that path leads, and it’s a place we struggled for centuries to get out of, and when we finally did, most people’s lives got a whole lot better.

Honestly I see the whole point of view as spoiled upper-middle class brat thinking. Those who live a life of privilege to the extent that they can succeed without such things as public schools. Those who it condemns to a life of surfdom, well they must have been able to do something for themselves, so not my problem. We wouldn’t want to let a historical context or real world consequences interfere with a great idiolology and catchy buzz-phrases like “taxation is theft”.

Basically, it’s anti-democracy. Democracy by it’s nature is a somewhat social construct. Everybody gets a say, we’re taking that economic power and spreading it out socially. The Tsarists would have hated that idea, it’s taking the power *away* from them. So when Libertarians talk about property rights, they mean it in a way this is very anti-democratic, it’s the rights of the elite to remain in control.

By: digi_owl

digi_owl — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:50:00 +0000

sometimes i wonder if the term X over Y period is specifically designed to confuse. This because it can both be understood to be a total and a per year sum. And with there being a 4 year voting cycle, it is unlikely that anything will last for 10 years when politics is involved.

By: selfsimilar

selfsimilar — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 16:06:00 +0000

But he’s not saying tax at 50%, he’s saying take half of their total net-worth, which would be the equivalent of taxing at over 100%. What he says is ridiculous and is meant to be, but you’re right it’s not quite an apples to apples comparison over the the timespans mentioned.

By: DirkSJ

DirkSJ — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 23:42:00 +0000

Flat tax. Not income bracket dependent. No loopholes or dodging or reductions. Set the %
rate at whatever rate it needs to be to cover our spending AFTER we cut
spending all over the place. Done.

By: CP-S

CP-S — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 14:16:00 +0000

Well, I sent several thousand dollars of my money to the US gov’t last year in…taxes. Because I like to back up the programs my principles support with my money.

By: Farley Smith

Farley Smith — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 11:43:00 +0000

Who is getting ‘socialist’ subsidies the most around here anyway. How bout the FACT that the primary and overiding value that government provides is first and foremost SECURITY. Maintaining police and military so that no one dare steal any fat cats property. The more property/assets one has, the more value they derive from this arrangement, yet these people expect to get this service for free, while the rest of us pay the tab for them. Talk about class warfare. Making little people pay for the security of the assets of the rich sounds like socialism many times over to me.

By: light_saber

light_saber — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 07:06:00 +0000

So 43% of children in America — the number of kids growing up in poverty since the policy changes of the Bush years — will now grow up to become “generations of utterly irresponsible animals.”

Quelle surprise! Who would have imagined that favoring the desires of the rich over the needs of the poor would have negative consequences?

By: David Fisk

David Fisk — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 05:42:00 +0000

R A, it’s not socialism. Getting like minded people to live in one geographic area has nothing to do with socialism.

By: Gulliver

Gulliver — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 05:42:00 +0000

“That’s libertarians for you — anarchists who want police protection from their slaves.” … Kim Stanley Robinson

You and KSM evidently know as much about libertarianism as Fox News knows about socialism. Of course KSM is a rock-sockin’ writer and, by all accounts, a swell fellow, so don’t take that as a personal retort.

By: J B

J B — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 04:45:00 +0000

Has anyone at Boing Boing (contributor or commenter) ever sent an extra cent to the US government?

I ask because at least a few people seem to espouse that they are highly in favor of many of the things the US government does.

If they are so in favor, why don’t they back up their principles with their money?

They believe in their cause so little that they will only use other people’s money for it.

By: Hollando

Hollando — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 04:39:00 +0000

“That’s libertarians for you — anarchists who want police protection from their slaves.” … Kim Stanley Robinson

By: Hollando

Hollando — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 04:32:00 +0000

It’s a *good* comment thread!!!” (tugs collar nervously, sweating)

By: Hollando

Hollando — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 04:31:00 +0000

Props for “weal”

By: Hollando

Hollando — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 04:29:00 +0000

Beautiful.

By: Hollando

Hollando — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 04:20:00 +0000

“If I want something, I’ll pay for it voluntarily. ”

Is this some meta-joke?
If serious, I am sure you mean well, but please explain how you will put a value on the myriad of benefits you derive on a daily basis from things that the social contract created and is paying for.

Are you so out to lunch that you think a modern society, especially one of 350 million, could function on a pay-to-play basis?
If nothing else, can you say “transaction costs”?

So, to paraphrase Holmes, how are *you* planning on paying for your civilization?

By: Ethan

Ethan — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:25:00 +0000

I agree… I also dislike it when my (liberal) friends say something like, “If [insert name of conservative] gets elected, I’m moving to [insert name of country].” The thing is, they never do. And if they did, they’ll find plenty to dislike about the politics of whatever country they imagine is a utopia. One thing I’ll hand conservatives, they rarely make threats/pronouncements about abandoning their country because of a possible election outcome.

By: bigorangemachine

bigorangemachine — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:11:00 +0000

http://dailyshow.thecomedynetwork.ca/

August 18, 2011
I’d post the time, but Comedynetwork sux at streaming and I’ve seen the same commercials (unskipable) 6 times.

Finally
0:46-11:44

By: Gyrofrog

Gyrofrog — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:10:00 +0000

“A closer analogy would be something like a co-op board, with taxes something like maintenance fees.” Pow. Actually, I’d agree that taxes are involuntary, but I’m not naive enough to think that some other kind of shake-down wouldn’t simply replace it.

By: Gyrofrog

Gyrofrog — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:58:00 +0000

Well, if they didn't do it before, I wouldn't expect them to do so now.

By: Gyrofrog

Gyrofrog — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:56:00 +0000

I am assuming you meant Somalia. The Ethiopian government does plenty of interfering with people's daily lives. Speaking of Somalia, anyone else remember SomaliAnarchy.com, "Defending and Celebrating Somalis' Freedom and Prosperity?"

By: SHeadius

SHeadius — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:55:00 +0000

So true. Couch-ridden progressives. Agree 100%

By: William George

William George — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:51:00 +0000

Successful Troll was successful.

By: Robert Sanders

Robert Sanders — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:49:00 +0000

You must be an anarchist. I understand your sentiment, but security and many of the luxuries you take for granted are provided through your taxes. To expect that everyone will freely give towards necessities without being made to is giving far too much credit to the human race. Governments are put in place to ensure we don’t acquiesce in doing our part to maintain as high a standard of living as we can. Yes, governments can fall prey to corruption, but with the alternative of hunting my own meals and fending off grizzly attacks in the woods, I’ll take my chances here for a while.