[sub]Here is another "bomb shell" of reality from me to everybody:[/sub]

[sub]The combined vote of everybody is dominated by how people vote with their money! This is why the leadership of corporations is more powerful than all governments combined and the world is still getting worse. When will people begin to realize the power of how they "vote" with their money?[/sub]

[sub]In a related issue, a court ruling by the United States Supreme court lifted the limits on campaign contributions a couple years ago, resulting in the record for campaign contributions by corporations exceeding previous records by a wide increase.[/sub]

[sub]How corporations vote with their money in local, state, and national campaign contributions causes politicians to seek the money instead of the will of the people! Added to this tragedy is that individuals undermine their own vote by how they spend their money![/sub]

[sub]Clinton[/sub]

Well, I'm convinced of one thing: Under no circumstances should any member of GameDev be allowed to wield any position of government or economic authority.

LOL



Clinton

Job training and small business investment will minimize the unemployment problem ....

Reducing unemployment to the 4-5% area closes half of the deficits by itself, with no need to change any tax rates.

[sub]So true[/sub]


[sub]Clinton[/sub]

Exactly - as politically incorrect as it is, history shows that people are generally evil

So you think the problem will get better if we consolidate power into fewer hands?

The stock market is a great example of this: It's a race to see who can 'play' the stocks enough to get rich quick at the expense of everyone else playing the stock market. Admittingly without having much experience in it, it seems to me that most the stock-market laws are designed to keep people from 'cheating' at a system that is built entirely around stealing from each other.

Yeah, I remember when a guy called Bill Gates stuck a gun in my face and forced me to buy shares in his worthless company in the 80's. From the looks of that gangster, he probably used my money to buy worthless stuff that had nothing to do with his small business and the company probably folded in a week...

When are people going to stop with this zero-sum game garbage?

*Buffett(The King of Crony Capitalism) really isn't the best person to cite as the gold standard. He's a good example of what happens when you give all the power and money to a few.

[quote name='mdwh' timestamp='1354033394' post='5004552']
@JTippetts: Wait - are you actually comparing Obama/Democrats to communism? That's not at all the same thing. Both US parties are predominantly capitalist, though both with support for some state funded and managed parts of the economy (Republicans still support state managed child education for example, and try arguing against their state funded/managed military...) Democrat are more "left wing", offering better support for things like welfare and state healthcare, but neither are remotely anything to do with communism.

Communism / Socialism ( almost the same thing ) is one of the core "values" of the Democratic Party.[/quote]No, it isn't.

I would suggest actually researching Marxism / Socialism, and stop assuming they have nothing to do with "left wing" politics .[/quote]I never said that. Obviously communism is an extreme form of left wing, but that doesn't mean that any support for "left wing" policies means you're a communist society (or party). As I say, the Republicans support state funded/managed things (like the military) too. And please, let's drop the "I would suggest actually researching" talk as if you're assuming you're right and everyone who disagrees is uneducated.

As others have said, both US parties are broadly economically right wing. Both support some involvement of the state, and neither are remotely anything to do with wanting a socialist or communist society. That's laughable.

Depends how it collapses - owning the means of production for create farming equipment would be pretty important. Plus I'm confused - I thought this stemmed from JTippets advocating pure capitalism, so I'm not sure why the point now being made is that farmers would be better off in some subsistence based society.

[quote name='tstrimple' timestamp='1354072591' post='5004812']
We do need to clamp down on them. Not because they are a significant drain on society (they are just a drop in a very large bucket), but because they give others an excuse to accuse all poor people of being lazy. I do think those who are determined to get out of poverty can get out of poverty.

One of the problems in "clamping down" is that it just makes things much harder for everyone, not just the few exploiting the system. And the evidence to me suggests that clamping down never stops the critics - they are often completely unaware as to what systems are already in place, or how hard it already is, but continue to believe the one overblown story in the Daily Mail about someone exploiting the system, and will continue to support on yet more clamping down, and continue to believe all such people are "lazy".

On a related note, should we also clamp down on multinationals using legal tax loopholes?

One of the problems in "clamping down" is that it just makes things much harder for everyone, not just the few exploiting the system.

I am not a fan of this excuse. If you are unemployed seeking welfare and are not disabled, it should be a little bit hard. Able bodied people should never get something for nothing. As far as able bodied people are concerned, welfare is there to support people who don't have the means to support themselves, not to support people who do not want to work to support themselves. At least it shouldn't be that way imo.

Well, I'm convinced of one thing: Under no circumstances should any member of GameDev be allowed to wield any position of government or economic authority.

Meh, we couldn't really #$%^ it up more than it already has been.

/plays civilisation

On second thoughts, you're probably right

[quote name='mdwh' timestamp='1354110934' post='5004958']
One of the problems in "clamping down" is that it just makes things much harder for everyone, not just the few exploiting the system.

I am not a fan of this excuse. If you are unemployed seeking welfare and are not disabled, it should be a little bit hard. Able bodied people should never get something for nothing. As far as able bodied people are concerned, welfare is there to support people who don't have the means to support themselves, not to support people who do not want to work to support themselves. At least it shouldn't be that way imo.
[/quote]

Everyone on welfare (atleast for new york) works. You don't get the benefits unless you have a job. Again with the concept of "people who do not want to work", that is a terribly ugly assumption anyone who uses that argument makes. Just because someone can't currently be hired for a specialized/techinical field doesnt mean they are lazy and unwilling to work. If you worked a minimum wage job in the U.S you would more then likely be on welfare, you would not be able to provide for yourself. Atleast if they have a little bit of support they can try to make a change in their lives or if not in their kids life.