Anonymous #6 said:

That's not it at all.  Scandinavian countries arn't economically competitive

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Quote:

Global Competitiveness Index, 2011-2012
1. Switzerland 5.74 (—)
2. Singapore 5.63 (+1)
3. Sweden 5.61 (−1)
4. Finland 5.47 (+3)
5. United States 5.43 (−1)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Competitiveness_Index#2011.E2.80.932012_rankings

Hmm, I wonder what kind of model they use in Switzerland?

Anonymous #7 said:

Anonymous #6 said:

That's not it at all.  Scandinavian countries arn't economically competitive.  They are rich because of oil.  Like Kuwait.  They inherited their wealth, they didnt earn it.  Everybody wants to inherent wealth.  Unfortunately that's just not an option for a continent wide nation of 300 million.

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Actually what happened is that Scandinavians carefully voted for elected leaders that would ensure that their country's economic productivity was shared fairly.  Norwegians accept this more readily because of their racial homogeneity.  People are a lot more likely to feel compassion and altruism towards people that are like themselves.

There's PLENTY of wealth to share in America.  The only thing that stopping us is the greedy predatory 1% and the fucking idiots like yourself who support them in spite of their own best interests.

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Anonymous #9 said:

Most wealth is generational as is poverty.  Seems that there are many circumstances beyond an individual's control that contribute to being rich or poor.  Liberalism seeks to level the playing field.  The best trick libertarians and conservatives have played on the middle class is that middle class interests lie with the rich.  They do a great job of that bullshit too because they are so damn well funded and skillfully villainize the poor - as if poor people are the problem.  Hard work?  Trade places with a manual laborer or be a banking executive.  Which one is the hard, honest worker?

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Quote:

"greedy 1%" listen up buddy. no one owes you ANYTHING. they worked for their money, they should be able to keep it. end of story.

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Anonymous #1 said:

Anonymous #9 said:

Most wealth is generational as is poverty.  Seems that there are many circumstances beyond an individual's control that contribute to being rich or poor.  Liberalism seeks to level the playing field.  The best trick libertarians and conservatives have played on the middle class is that middle class interests lie with the rich.  They do a great job of that bullshit too because they are so damn well funded and skillfully villainize the poor - as if poor people are the problem.  Hard work?  Trade places with a manual laborer or be a banking executive.  Which one is the hard, honest worker?

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Not only does being a banking executive make more money but it is also more difficult...manual labor sucks but it doesn't require the knowledge/training that executive banking/ programming / engineering/ etc... does

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Anonymous #9 said:

Quote:

"greedy 1%" listen up buddy. no one owes you ANYTHING. they worked for their money, they should be able to keep it. end of story.

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Kings and queens and nobles and all the Pope's men don't owe the peasants a slice of bread.  They earned it.

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Quote:

Are poor people lazy and deserving of poverty?

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Anonymous #9 said:

Anonymous #1 said:

Anonymous #9 said:

Most wealth is generational as is poverty.  Seems that there are many circumstances beyond an individual's control that contribute to being rich or poor.  Liberalism seeks to level the playing field.  The best trick libertarians and conservatives have played on the middle class is that middle class interests lie with the rich.  They do a great job of that bullshit too because they are so damn well funded and skillfully villainize the poor - as if poor people are the problem.  Hard work?  Trade places with a manual laborer or be a banking executive.  Which one is the hard, honest worker?

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Not only does being a banking executive make more money but it is also more difficult...manual labor sucks but it doesn't require the knowledge/training that executive banking/ programming / engineering/ etc... does

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Are poor people lazy and deserving of poverty?  Are bankers and executives hard-working and deserving of millions?

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Anonymous #15 said:

The funny thing about politics is that life is naturally rather unfair and cruel. It seems like millions and millions of people have forgotten this.

So on one hand you have people who want to eliminate cruelty and natural selection and unfairness and pretty much the way life just naturally is, but they can't seem to figure out how to do this, so instead the governments that forge ahead with this plan just end up playing god themselves, deciding who will get this or that and who will suffer when there's not enough milk and honey to go around.

And on the other hand you have people who would rather let nature take its course and, with the exception of a basic government for basic rights laws and national defense, take on a survival of the fittest approach.

What is funny is that tragedy, unfairness, pain and so on exist in both systems.

Even nations that boast their successful socialist healthcare systems still have to play god on a regular basis. For example, if 20 people in a given area need a heart transplant and there are only 5 hearts available, someone has to decide which 15 people don't get a transplant and die, and which 5 get to live. Life still isn't really 'fair' or painless by any means, just because the budget is kept in line. If a nation requires a small population to support a socialist system, then you can bet your ass the government will be playing god. Just take a look at China for an example of population control. Dead babies R US over in that piece.

So if no matter what pain, unfairness, tragedy and so on are going to be part of life's game, then why not go ahead and put as much personal freedom on your plate while you're at it? This is where libertarianism tends to come into play, once you've realized that both systems are technically pretty failtastic. The heated debates over which is 'better' also start to become pretty funny.

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Anonymous #9 said:

The free market when unleashed on a global scale will put us all in poverty as industry moves to the least regulated countries where they can pollute and pay pennies per day without any pesky labor or safety regulations.  Where does that leave middle class Americans?  It leaves them on a downward path towards poverty.  International capitalism is bad for America.

Rags to riches is bullshit.  Take an Econ 101 and you'll understand that movement between social classes is more stagnant in the USA than many other countries. 

I have a charmed life.  I was born to two parents who valued education and told me I was going to college since I was a toddler.  I chose a field that luckily hasn't yet been outsourced or made technologically obsolete.  I was born with a brain that functions well due to Mom and Dad taking care of my nutritional and biological needs when before I was even born.  I went to good schools in a good neighborhood and learned the ways of the wealthy and successful.  I often ask myself if I deserve anything I have.  I have a lot.  I'm a lazy fuck with a million dollar smile, a quick mind, a golden tongue, and a lot of luck.  I didn't earn any of it, my parents, my brain, my good schools, my smile, my upper class sensibilities. 

I imagine I were born black to a crack addict in a ghetto and went to a violent school where I learned the ways of the powerless.  That black kid who grows up into an angry drug-addicted welfare case didn't earn it either.  How do we break this cycle?  Conservatives would have you believe by cutting services, funding, and welfare.  I can't see how a baby born under these circumstances would be any better off with conservative tough love.

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Joemolly

Anonymous #11 said:

Anonymous #10 said:

I agree, poor people should just fucking die in the streets like Paul said at the debate, and let us real contributors to society do as we please.

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America is a land of vast opportunities.  Poor people are just a bunch of freeloading lazy bastards who expect everything to be handed to them.

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Anonymous #18 said:

America; the land wasting time for the sake of "efficiently".

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akira_akuma?