Attacks on the poor.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

historical/global perspective:

poor people in the US have it a lot better than about 90% of everyone else on this planet.

now kill me.

So toss away all your money, leave your parents, and live in the fucking gutter.

You'll be a king among men.

Dumbass.

FTR, my parents are 1300 miles away and they're lucky if i speak to them once every two months.

also, as usual, i stated my point like a fucking moron.

what i meant to illustrate was my frustration with the american bubble syndrome. yes, there are plenty of people inside these borders that get the shit end of the stick, and i don't envy their plight.  but part of what defines 'poor' in america is the inability to partake of the american 'dream' -- the two-car garage, the big-screen tv, the $400 haircuts.  if you can't afford that shit in america, you're poor.  nevermind that you can afford to eat. and if you can't, there are resources available to you. welfare, soup kitchens -- yes, they're shit. but they're there. they might violate the Almighty American Ego, but they're available.  lots of places, if your luck runs out, that's it and you're fucking done for, unless you're smart enough to fix it yourself. in america, you don't even have to be resourceful to survive in poverty.

i'm not on one of those America Is The Greatest EVAR trips, but i think in large part the thing that makes america the most fucked up is that the pendulum of wealth swings the other way.  in the US, you're so well-fed and entertained that you forget to live your life.

[Cain]

Don't a lot of Americans live in actual poverty, however?  As in, literally cannot afford to live on their earnings?  I know thats the case in the UK, and its increasing steadily.

[Deepthroat Chopra]

In 1994, I cooked in a Mexican Restaurant (Boulder, Colorado) for $5 an hour, which was actually above the minimum wage at the time (The kitchenhand got $4.25 or $4.50). This was a legit. job, even though I forged my Social Security number. I got a raise to $5.50/hr after 6 weeks.

There were guys doing the same job, same pay, who had families. I can safely state that unemployed people in Australia and much of Europe are better off.

What's the min. wage there now?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Don't a lot of Americans live in actual poverty, however?  As in, literally cannot afford to live on their earnings?  I know thats the case in the UK, and its increasing steadily.

Yep.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Don't a lot of Americans live in actual poverty, however?  As in, literally cannot afford to live on their earnings?  I know thats the case in the UK, and its increasing steadily.

by federal standards, a living wage for a single person is $10/hr., which varies here and there depending on the local economy. if you make less than that, you are considered to be living under the 'poverty line.'  the minimum wage is currently $5.25/hr. don't ask me how that adds up.

but this is one point where i break with the prevailing 'liberal' views held by most people i associate with.  most of them, and maybe most of the people on this board, seem to think that it is the government's job to regulate the shit out of everything and force poverty to go away, whether it's through assistance programs or forcing businesses to pay a higher minimum wage or whatever it is. bottom line is they think the government is responsible for the living standards of the citizens.  personally, i think that is not only bullshit, but dangerous thinking.  a population that views the government as Provider/Protector is a doomed population. they will come to depend on the government for so much that it becomes a god to them and they lose the last remaining urge to make their lives their own.  i don't have a problem with sheeple per se, but i do when it means they do so little for themselves that the government has to do basic things for them, just to keep society afloat.  because that means more rules that apply to me. and that is where the fail lives.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

but this is one point where i break with the prevailing 'liberal' views held by most people i associate with.  most of them, and maybe most of the people on this board, seem to think that it is the government's job to regulate the shit out of everything and force poverty to go away, whether it's through assistance programs or forcing businesses to pay a higher minimum wage or whatever it is. bottom line is they think the government is responsible for the living standards of the citizens.  personally, i think that is not only bullshit, but dangerous thinking.

A "government" exists for one of two reasons.  These reasons also dictate whether the "government" is beneficial or malignent.

Those two reasons are:

1.  To make life easier for primates, or

2.  To maximize the bottom line.

Choose.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

A "government" exists for one of two reasons.  These reasons also dictate whether the "government" is beneficial or malignent.

Those two reasons are:

1.  To make life easier for primates, or

2.  To maximize the bottom line.

Choose.

1. (Stripped of euphamisms) To create a permanent underclass of uneducated, codependent goons, incapable of self-support or innovation; and a permanent upper class of uneducated, cold-blooded goons whose power is rooted in the addiction of the underclass to bullshit.

2. (Equally fatal.)

there's always

3. To be brought down and kept there.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

A "government" exists for one of two reasons.  These reasons also dictate whether the "government" is beneficial or malignent.

Those two reasons are:

1.  To make life easier for primates, or

2.  To maximize the bottom line.

Choose.

1. (Stripped of euphamisms) To create a permanent underclass of uneducated, codependent goons, incapable of self-support or innovation; and a permanent upper class of uneducated, cold-blooded goons whose power is rooted in the addiction of the underclass to bullshit.

2. (Equally fatal.)

there's always

3. To be brought down and kept there.

So, prevention of starvation prevents social mobility?

That's BRILLIANT!

If we let all the poor people starve, everyone will be RICH!  Jumping Jehosephat!  WHY DIDN'T  ANYONE THINK OF THIS BEFORE?

[tyrannosaurus vex]

humans didn't get to the top of the food chain by government decree, is all i'm saying.

i also didn't mean we should do away with all social programs.  i just get sick of hearing americans fucking bitch about how deprived they are, when to them deprivation means they had to work so late one night they missed American Idol. which, according to the dictionary, isn't deprivation, it's inconvenience.

[Lies]

A "government" exists for one of two reasons.  These reasons also dictate whether the "government" is beneficial or malignent.

Those two reasons are:

1.  To make life easier for primates, or

2.  To maximize the bottom line.

Choose.

1. (Stripped of euphamisms) To create a permanent underclass of uneducated, codependent goons, incapable of self-support or innovation; and a permanent upper class of uneducated, cold-blooded goons whose power is rooted in the addiction of the underclass to bullshit.

2. (Equally fatal.)

there's always

3. To be brought down and kept there.

So, prevention of starvation prevents social mobility?

That's BRILLIANT!

If we let all the poor people starve, everyone will be RICH!  Jumping Jehosephat!  WHY DIDN'T  ANYONE THINK OF THIS BEFORE?

I always figured the best way to solve the problem of the poor starving people would be to let them duke it out in battle royalle style for some cash and a home.
That way the corporations would be able to make money off them by turning it into a hit reality t.v series, there would be less poor people starving and we give them a chance to make it big, no effort required besides battling it out to the death with their fellow bum.

Everybody wins.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

humans didn't get to the top of the food chain by government decree, is all i'm saying.

When's the last time you had to kill a buffalo with a sharp rock?

i also didn't mean we should do away with all social programs.  i just get sick of hearing americans fucking bitch about how deprived they are, when to them deprivation means they had to work so late one night they missed American Idol. which, according to the dictionary, isn't deprivation, it's inconvenience.

Maybe near you.  Here, deprivation means no home.  Must be nice to live somewhere where everyone has a house and a teevee.

Have you been listening to Hannity or Limbaugh?  Because this shit is starting to sound REALLY familiar.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I always figured the best way to solve the problem of the poor starving people would be to let them duke it out in battle royalle style for some cash and a home.
That way the corporations would be able to make money off them by turning it into a hit reality t.v series, there would be less poor people starving and we give them a chance to make it big, no effort required besides battling it out to the death with their fellow bum.

Everybody wins.

I had an idea, too.  Maybe all of us cops take the day off and just defend our homes.

Then the homeless people have the same shot you do.  Har har!

Nobody wins, but it would amuse me more.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

When's the last time you had to kill a buffalo with a sharp rock?

that's kinda my point.

Maybe near you.  Here, deprivation means no home.  Must be nice to live somewhere where everyone has a house and a teevee.

like i said. lots of people get the shit end of the stick. but even if they have shitty options, they have options. there is a problem with homelessness, but it isn't the same problem they have in places where everyone's house is made of straw and butthash.

Have you been listening to Hannity or Limbaugh?  Because this shit is starting to sound REALLY familiar.

apparently their mind control rays are stronger than yours this time of year.

[Payne]

[The Good Reverend Roger]

that's kinda my point.

What?  You want to ban technology, now?  OR are you suggesting that no part of modern life got us to the top, so your point was irrelevant?

like i said. lots of people get the shit end of the stick. but even if they have shitty options, they have options. there is a problem with homelessness, but it isn't the same problem they have in places where everyone's house is made of straw and butthash.

Here their houses are made of air for walls, and sand for a floor.  If they're lucky each day, they wake up without being killed by a flash flood, or just by being shanked for their meager possessions by their fellows.

apparently their mind control rays are stronger than yours this time of year.

Apparently so...because you, sir, are totally out of touch.  You come out here, and try scooping one of these bastards into a bag once or twice a month, then tell me how rosy it all is.