oh go ahead...

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I could say something, but I think it would just result in a flame fest so I'll just say don't judge someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes.

I hope that's in response to the last few posts and not in response to my asking where you were (as I have stated that some of your posts were the inspiration for this thread).
Phud: as a former mod, you should not be encouraging someone to say something that could lead to a flame fest. Please contribute directly to my thread or take a break.

i did, i said stimulus money was probably misused...
by corporations and some individuals...
thats agreeing with you, right?

i'm not encouraging a flame fest...

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The stimulus money for "shovel ready projects" went largely to the States so that they could keep from laying off their State employees. The fact that these employees are mostly Union workers whose dues go to support mostly Democratic Candidates (read Obama) is seen by some on the right as keeping a lock on those who vote democratic along with those who are the entitlement recipients. Hell, I am on Socialist Security and I vote Republican.

As for entitlement. I am not entitled to anything that I or my immediate ancestors didn't earn other than the right to pursue what is guaranteed by the Constitution ;or in equal measure that I paid into.

The stimulus money for "shovel ready projects" went largely to the States so that they could keep from laying off their State employees. The fact that these employees are mostly Union workers whose dues go to support mostly Democratic Candidates (read Obama) is seen by some on the right as keeping a lock on those who vote democratic along with those who are the entitlement recipients. Hell, I am on Socialist Security and I vote Republican.

As for entitlement. I am not entitled to anything that I or my immediate ancestors didn't earn other than the right to pursue what is guaranteed by the Constitution ;or in equal measure that I paid into.

States laid off public employees anyway.
If you paid into it, you deserve a return on it, correct?

So, that would exclude interest, dividends and capital gains, right?

As for entitlement. I am not entitled to anything that I or my immediate ancestors didn't earn other than the right to pursue what is guaranteed by the Constitution ;or in equal measure that I paid into.

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They laid them off when the Stimulus money ran out. Yes, I deserve interest and capital gains since these investments help create capital.

The only way that entitlement is going to work, is if a list is drawn up and everybody agrees to the list. Then you will know what you are entitled to and what you are not by common consensus.

I want a new car. I don't need one, I am not entitled to one, I don't deserve one, it would just be nice to have.

You can't argue against this...!!

we are entitled to the air we breath? then why does the local gas station charge me 50 cents to put my air in my tires. it can't be the 2 cents worth of electricity that I use to do it. Airing tires used to be a perk of going to the gas station much like the blechy window wash they have.

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Well, if we are entitled to the air we breath, then the only way that *tires* are entitled to the air they use is if the Supreme Court declares tires to be people too. With the current Supreme Court, I'd not put that past them, but it hasn't happened yet.

we are entitled to the air we breath? then why does the local gas station charge me 50 cents to put my air in my tires. it can't be the 2 cents worth of electricity that I use to do it. Airing tires used to be a perk of going to the gas station much like the blechy window wash they have.

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much like the ATM fee to get my own money isn't the air I breath, mine. How dare someone repackage it and sell it to me at a lofty price. That goes for water as well

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

As for entitlement. I am not entitled to anything that I or my immediate ancestors didn't earn other than the right to pursue what is guaranteed by the Constitution ;or in equal measure that I paid into.

Inherited wealth is an interesting topic. Seems some of the Founders did not believe there was an automatic entitlement to it, they were concerned that the accrual of vast estates would ossify social structure. Of course tell that to your local Tea Party member and they won't believe you ...

"A power to dispose of estates for ever is manifestly absurd. The earth and the fulness of it belongs to every generation, and the preceding one can have no right to bind it up from posterity. Such extension of property is quite unnatural."

Is Thomas Jefferson, not Karl Marx.

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I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...

To me entitled means a benefit earned but deferred until needed later. Like the social security check I now get every month. I get it because a promise was made that if I contributed a portion of my earnings every year when I reached retirement age or become disabled and unable to work the government will pay me a certain amount. The government cannot and should not be able to deny or reduce that benefit once it has begun. Future entitlement reductions to future retirees should only affect those starting out in the work force.

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Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

The stimulus money for "shovel ready projects" went largely to the States so that they could keep from laying off their State employees. The fact that these employees are mostly Union workers whose dues go to support mostly Democratic Candidates (read Obama) is seen by some on the right as keeping a lock on those who vote democratic along with those who are the entitlement recipients. Hell, I am on Socialist Security and I vote Republican.

As for entitlement. I am not entitled to anything that I or my immediate ancestors didn't earn other than the right to pursue what is guaranteed by the Constitution ;or in equal measure that I paid into.

Yopu aren't from Texas. The shovel ready projects here employ non union labor. If my eyes are correct they're unlikely to be American workers. You see the nice right to work laws in Texas cause a nice dip in wages which makes these very difficult and labor intensive jobs very low paying. The last I checked the average wage for state funded construction work in Texas is around $10/hour. That is pathetic and encourages illegal immigrant labor to come to America. If ICE were to raid any road work site in Texas a majority of the workers would be running or arrested as illegal aliens. Thus bringing the project to an immediate halt.

Here's another fun fact. These road project cost the same mile for mile if its a union job or illegal alien job. Hmmm I wonder who exactly is getting to keep all that money in the Texas jobs. It's certainly not the illegals working on the project.

On that topic
Let's say that these illegals are well qualified for the job. They know their stuff about making roads. Lets also say the boss is, hevean forbid, cutting corners to make more money or that the work is being done improperly. The workers know this. Will they blow the whistle knowing that their boss would get ICE on the site and send their happy buts back across the border? I assume the workers are happy to make money and are definitely not going to say a word. This is one reason the roads in texas feel like your are on the high ocean. Nothing but waves. couldn't make a flat road if they tried

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

another thing about "entitlements"
its a handy catchphrase for something much more insidious..
Racism.

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i'm sorry you misunderstood me...
i think you made the stories up...

I kind of wonder the same....

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Official Abuser of Boinc Buttons...
And no good credit hound!

i'm sorry you misunderstood me...
i think you made the stories up...

Hmmm. People taking advantage of a government handout (handup)? So, Phud, one would not find it much of a stretch of the imagination if you were to claim that "businesses used the stimulus money they were given to pass on huge bonuses to their execs" was a made-up story?
In any case, how does your doubt of Blurf's sincerity contribute to the question I raised?

I mistyped when I said stimulus. I was referring to the bailout money. Bailouts for the banks, specifically.
While I reject the (Supreme Court?) decision that "corporations are people" (and not that they'll care, since it's just my opinion), corporations are made up of people, some of whom are greedy. I do not believe greed knows boundaries based on socioeconomic status and the like. Thus, I do not reject Blurf's story out of hand. However, I thought there are, or were, restrictions on how welfare money could be spent: that it could not be spent on alcoholic or tobacco products. Has this changed?
Last, to the doubters, what are you going to type if and when he or someone else produces a video of such an incident?

i'm sure that there has been some abuse of the EBT/Foodstamp program.
however, the frequency that Mister Blurf regurgitates the same story
brings its truthfulness into question.

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i'm sure that there has been some abuse of the EBT/Foodstamp program.
however, the frequency that Mister Blurf regurgitates the same story
brings its truthfulness into question.

Then deal with your concern in a proper way. Trashing my thread because you have an issue with Blurf's honesty is not acceptable. Since you did not respond to the last three sentences of my my previous post, which you are responding to, indeed indicates to me that is your goal. Further attempts to carry out the sub-discussion ... in my thread ,,, so you can score a few points in an argument with Blurf will be met with my pressing the red-X. I am fully aware you are both former mods, that at the time Blurf was there was a conservative bent from many of those mods (though that does not necessarily apply to Blurf); that while you were a mod, the pendulum had swung mostly to the opposite direction; but, I am an independent.

i'm sorry you misunderstood me...
i think you made the stories up...

Hmmm. People taking advantage of a government handout (handup)? So, Phud, one would not find it much of a stretch of the imagination if you were to claim that "businesses used the stimulus money they were given to pass on huge bonuses to their execs" was a made-up story?
In any case, how does your doubt of Blurf's sincerity contribute to the question I raised?

I mistyped when I said stimulus. I was referring to the bailout money. Bailouts for the banks, specifically.
While I reject the (Supreme Court?) decision that "corporations are people" (and not that they'll care, since it's just my opinion), corporations are made up of people, some of whom are greedy. I do not believe greed knows boundaries based on socioeconomic status and the like. Thus, I do not reject Blurf's story out of hand. However, I thought there are, or were, restrictions on how welfare money could be spent: that it could not be spent on alcoholic or tobacco products. Has this changed?
Last, to the doubters, what are you going to type if and when he or someone else produces a video of such an incident?

"i do not doubt that the stimulus money was misused.

no corporation is too big to fail.
including Bank of America and the car companies."
"i did, i said stimulus money was probably misused...
by corporations and some individuals...
thats agreeing with you, right?"
i believe i have responded about the stimulus and the bank and car company bailouts.
you seem to want to lump into the liberal group.
that would be wrong.
i believe both liberals and conservatives are to blame for this financial mess the USA is in.
Republican and Democratic presidents all ran up huge tabs. The Social Security Trust fund has nothing but IOU's....to blame one party would be stupid....

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