How much of your success was because of Government? ....

[FactFinder]

Discuss government policies and candidates...

Let's see now. This is a bit difficult cause self pride and ego could hinder an honest appraisal. It would be nice to say I am a self made man, but who the hell is? First of all, what the hell did I have ot do with being here in the 1st place? Now, as a child I don't remember having a whole lot of power over my circumstances. Ok, then I became an adolescent in the 60's/70's and God knows where the hell I was. Then I joined the Army during Viet Nam. Saw too much and saw nothing. Took a few years to shake that all off and did some studying trying out a few girlfriends and generally listing her to there. At one point about 30 I began to think this life thing could get serious maybe I should pay attention. So I tried some honest effort and did some more studying. Went through a series of jobs doing well but less than satisfied with the paltry oppressive results. Did some more studying, went into computer sciences, lived though the dotcom boom farcical financial bullcrap. Hit the streets and leveraged my learned skills to survive till I could find more rewarding work. Yep, in that synopsis I could claim to be a "self made" man. Whatever that gives you. But there were plenty of transition periods where the government either gave me unemployment or further training that helped me to the next spot. So, IMO the gov't has its place. Wall Street and some company sure ain't gonna help you get to that next spot. Nope. once they use you up and suck every thing they think they can get out of you, it is all over with them.

 

[Care4all]

ya know what, go live somewhere else if you think your Nation is crap....leave, please......go see if the grass is really greener on the other side of the fence....i'll be here when you come crawling back.....

 

[L.K.Eder]

ya know what, go live somewhere else if you think your Nation is crap....leave, please......go see if the grass is really greener on the other side of the fence....i'll be here when you come crawling back.....

mogadishu, mogadishu

if you can make it there you can make it anywhere.

 

[Harry Dresden]

My successes have been in working for government. Does that count?

And your inflated government salary TAKES from those who don't work for the government and hinders their ability to spend or invest which fucks this economy.

I don't know what is it you do (I'm sure nothing) but I'm certain a person with your job title in the private sector works 99% harder, is 99% more efficient (due to competition) but makes about 60% of what you make...

Then you have the fucking audacity to have a 99% avatar and talk about how the middle class is dying??

The same assholes that bailed out your labor union bailed out the banks and stuck the private sector with the bill...

Your taxes pay your own salary - hence you don't pay any taxes if you work for the government..

I see these useless government worker "fucks" every morning taking the commuter train to DC in the morning. They sleep/snore all the way up, arrive at their desks - do absolutely JACK SHIT for the economy all day except create red tape - log off, ride home, and call it a day.

Unproductive fucks.

you know what warrior this is the 2nd time you have said this,before i let it go,not this time..... ....i have carried mail for 30 fucking years and have a bad knee and lower back because of it.....when its fucking pouring like hell in a 40 degree wind i dont think im so fucking unproductive.....when its fucking Christmas time i dont think im unproductive......when Election mail comes out,i dont feel so unproductive....some govt workers work just as hard as any private enterprise guy.....every industry has "useless fucks" including whatever it is that you do for a living.....you just might be considered one by your fellow workers for all we know......dont judge every goddamned Govt worker on some people you see every fucking day on the train......thats something that the not to bright do here alot......i know your not one of them.....at least i think that......am i wrong?....

 

[Care4all]

gvt, created our military, our police, our firemen, our roads and highways and train tracks....well, many of them, and our electric grid with huge subsidies, even building gas stations across our country was subsidized and our phone lines, our schools, our universities our libraries, the library of congress for goodness sake!

you are completely viewing this through tunnel vision driveby, if you think our country's government contributed only 15% to your success....a tad self centered too, imho!

most of the success is due to being pushed out of the womb on or above US territory.

We have a GREAT country...and not just because I was born here...even my mother, who is foreign born but moved here after she married dad overseas, became a citizen when she was 19 or 20, would whip my butt if she heard me whining and pissing and moaning about this country and what "little" it has given to me, or given to me via opportunity, in the manner they are doing....shoot, it could be the GI belt even, from my Dad!

We still are and have always been, "the land of opportunity"! and our Nation, with its governments and with its Constitution/Bill of Rights, is a major player in the game of success here!

and I am not saying this country is perfect, because it isn't! But most of us here, including the poor, have it better than most, in the rest of the world! That's just reality in my book!

 

[driveby]

you are completely viewing this through tunnel vision driveby, if you think our country's government contributed only 15% to your success....a tad self centered too, imho!

My self centeredness pales in comparison to Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren my dear........

 

[bripat9643]

gvt, created our military, our police, our firemen, our roads and highways and train tracks....well, many of them, and our electric grid with huge subsidies, even building gas stations across our country was subsidized and our phone lines, our schools, our universities our libraries, the library of congress for goodness sake, our sewer systems, water resources !

you are completely viewing this through tunnel vision driveby, if you think our country's government contributed only 15% to your success....a tad self centered too, imho!

Total bullshit. Fire Departments were all volunteer in the beginning. Many still are volunteer operations, and many are private. The do the job a lot cheaper than those lazy overpaid oafs in the govenrment run fire departments. Railroads are almost entirely private. The government subsidized railroads all went bankrupt. The electric grid is privately built. What "subsidies" do you imagine it received? Gas stations were subsidized? Since when? Phone lines were privately built. Schools, universities and libraries were all privately funded long before government got into the act.

Government simply isn't needed for most of the things you imagine it's needed for. It just takes over services after private firms or volunteer operations have been providing them for decades and the muscles them out of the way.

 

[bripat9643]

ya know what, go live somewhere else if you think your Nation is crap....leave, please......go see if the grass is really greener on the other side of the fence....i'll be here when you come crawling back.....

We aren't discussing the nation, we are discussing our government, which is a kleptocracy. It's crap, but less crappy than some other government, and then only to the extent that it limits its activities.

 

[bripat9643]

ya know what, go live somewhere else if you think your Nation is crap....leave, please......go see if the grass is really greener on the other side of the fence....i'll be here when you come crawling back.....

mogadishu, mogadishu

if you can make it there you can make it anywhere.

You think Mogadishu doesn't have government? It certainly does, the kind run by a bunch of savages like you.

 

[bripat9643]

really? you never went to school? rode on a bus? a train? a road? drank clean water because of government regulations preventing pollution?

government makes buses and trains? Who knew?

how old are you again? 10?

Do stupid turds like you ever tire of accusing those who disagree with you of being immature?

 

[bripat9643]

maybe he is just really success-empty.

And obviously you are skull empty.

 

[bripat9643]

How about enforcement of contracts?

How many of you would have a pot to piss in if somebody wasn't enforcing contracts?

Cost of enforcing contracts? about 0.001% of the federal budget.

 

[AVG-JOE]

gvt, created our military, our police, our firemen, our roads and highways and train tracks....well, many of them, and our electric grid with huge subsidies, even building gas stations across our country was subsidized and our phone lines, our schools, our universities our libraries, the library of congress for goodness sake!

you are completely viewing this through tunnel vision driveby, if you think our country's government contributed only 15% to your success....a tad self centered too, imho!

most of the success is due to being pushed out of the womb on or above US territory.

EVERYONE. ALL. The population in its ENTIRETY.

Everyone born in the US at this time in history is luckier than 90% of the humans who walked the earth prior to 1930.

Welcome to the top 10%, y'all.

 

[AVG-JOE]

How about enforcement of contracts?

How many of you would have a pot to piss in if somebody wasn't enforcing contracts?

Cost of enforcing contracts? about 0.001% of the federal budget.

And your point is...........?

 

[rightwinger]

How about enforcement of contracts?

How many of you would have a pot to piss in if somebody wasn't enforcing contracts?

Cost of enforcing contracts? about 0.001% of the federal budget.

Cost of Government contracts to private industry? About 40% of the federal budget

 

[grunt11b]

It looks like the President is now using the same rhetoric that the fully clothed Marxist Elizabeth Warren is using, "no one made it on their own, including Steve Jobs". I'm just curious to know on a percentage basis, how much did Government have to do with your success?


I'll be generous and say maybe 15% for me, what say you?

It was nice of him to throw Steve out there now that steve is no longer alive to tell him he is wrong about that.

 

[grunt11b]

Well now lets see.

I grew up healthy thanks to Government's intervention in food and water and preventing companies from poisoning me (accidentally of course). I attended and graduated a public school (thanks taxpayers!) which allowed me to get into a University. I was able to pay that tuition through working and Pell Grants and guaranteed loans (thanks again taxpayers!). I then moved across the country (nice highways) and was able to start working in an industry I love.

Since then, it's been all me. But I think it's fair to say I would not be where I am today without our government.

Makes you wonder how people survived in the early 1900's on up with all the water poisonings and having to pay for their own college.

 

[Harry Dresden]

The do the job a lot cheaper than those lazy overpaid oafs in the govenrment run fire departments.

yea those 5 firefighters who where in the building that collapsed on them getting some people out last month were lazy overpaid oafs......you know what Bri.....maybe you have a problem with how much these guys get paid,fine,but to call Firefighters overpaid lazy oafs,JUST BECAUSE,they work for the City or County instead of a private firm isnt to fucking smart on your part is it?....be pissed at what they might be getting paid,that's fine.....but to get pissed at a guy who took a job because he needed work and it just happened to be a govt job.....doesn't show much in the way of character....

 

[rightwinger]

Well now lets see.

I grew up healthy thanks to Government's intervention in food and water and preventing companies from poisoning me (accidentally of course). I attended and graduated a public school (thanks taxpayers!) which allowed me to get into a University. I was able to pay that tuition through working and Pell Grants and guaranteed loans (thanks again taxpayers!). I then moved across the country (nice highways) and was able to start working in an industry I love.

Since then, it's been all me. But I think it's fair to say I would not be where I am today without our government.

Makes you wonder how people survived in the early 1900's on up with all the water poisonings and having to pay for their own college.

Most people lived up to their late forties, half your children didn't make it to adulthood. College was an option for only the richest Americans

Most of what changed can be attributed to the Government

 

[AVG-JOE]

you are completely viewing this through tunnel vision driveby, if you think our country's government contributed only 15% to your success....a tad self centered too, imho!

My self centeredness pales in comparison to Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren my dear........

While that is absolutely true, (I can say 'absolutely' because I'm simply reaffirming YOUR stated opinion of two politicians.) should your opinion of politicians in particular or in general really have that much affect on your overall view of the concept of 'government'?

I think you're tossing the proverbial baby out with the bath-water by railing against the concept of government in general. Government has a role and it involves spending money collected in forced taxes on common infrastructure, common defense and education of The People. The trick is to collect taxes fairly and spend it responsibly.

Instead of attacking 'government', what say we focus our attack on 'corruption'?