Has there been a degeneration in race relations?
All we hear about in MSM is how the cops are at odds against the blacks, the blacks are at odds with the cops, the whites are inherently racist against the blacks and hispanics, if you call illegal aliens illegals you are a racist, if you don't believe in sanctuary cities you're a racist, et cetera. So either the media is at fault for crying wolf, or we race relations have deteriorated since the turn of the century. To me, it's both.
It's not just autism. It's auto-immune disorders, obesity, etc. $#@!ing peanut allergies have swallowed up school systems.
So why are people quick to blame immunizations for all of that while there are people denying humans have anything to do with the climate? It all comes down to an emotional and illogical reaction. A lot of people don't like shots. And a lot of people have hyper-Big-Brother freak outs about mandating them, even if for the right reasons.
Sure, we do have a history of Tuskegee experiments. But people aren't objecting to immunizations because of the science and the data. They are just seeking anecdotal confirmations and confirmation bias to justify their emotional responses.
But even so, a lot of the anecdotal evidence points to an issue. So we can either have them continue to be unsolved mysteries, or these cases can be studied to determine if vaccines had any impact in causing some of these autoimmune responses.
It's also a little humorous how so many folks hate Wall Street and the military industrial complex, yet never ask questions about big pharma. All are special interest groups, so having government studies conducted by big pharma graduates is akin to having Jamie Dimon audit Goldman Sachs. Can't have it both ways.
I'll a take polemic 08/15 argument from a guy that probably didn't even watch the video for 2,15€ please.
Seriously though, that is really not what this guy, or any socialist/communist bar a few teenagers I've ever seen believes, it's just the typical strawman argument.
But what they fail to understand is simple macroeconomics and mathematics. In this country, not once have I witnessed a socialist develop, with evidence, a proposal for spending more on social programs while reducing the budget deficit. The fact of the matter is, you can't spend more than you generate from tax revenue ad infinitum. New social programs and freebies for all are always pushed by the left, but they have no idea how to pay for them, so they are nothing more than carnival barkers and financial terrorists.
A question for Americans:
You guys already pay a significant amount of income tax, what does your country provide to show for it? I mean correct me if I'm wrong here but in canada they pay comparable income tax rates and they have universal health care and subsidized education.
I mean most of you know I'm probably as right leaning as they get in this forum, but the way i see it, if I'm paying that much in taxes I'd like to see something to show for it.
That being said, if i were an American Ron Paul was probably the best candidate in the past few decades. I'd strongly be with someone that will push for reduced government spending, especially in areas like military spending where a bulk of the federal budget goes towards.
Hear hear!
So, here's what our tax dollars are spent on.
Healthcare -- ~28% -- Mostly medicaid and medicare benefits for a society already in poor health. Healthcare costs continue to increase and that won't change.
National defense -- ~24% -- Keeping us safe by providing arms to various militia groups that may eventually become hostile towards us. Great tactic.
Job and family security -- ~18% -- Sure, some of these benefits do help the jobless and poor, but the odds are stacked against these folks to begin with because of the economic policies supported by the federal government.
Interest payments -- ~10% -- This is what we pay to our creditors for borrowing beyond our means.
Speaking for myself, none of these programs directly benefit me in any way, unless we are invaded tomorrow. I also have a difficult time believing some of these programs will be available to my generation in the future, especially social security. This government will be tanked by then.
Oh we're taxed so much here, 40-50%. You'd think we'd get a better health care system/service with such high taxes.
Ah well.
But but but, it's FREE, it should be great!
TBH, nobody likes taxes. American taxes are among the lowest of civilized Western nations. But we complain about them being too high because, well, they're taxes. Which isn't to say they could be better managed or better optimized. Hellz yeah. But US taxes aren't that bad on a relative scale. One exception being that the US taxes citizens regardless of residence, unlike most other countries that will only tax income earned in-country.
What we get for it is another story. Mostly bureaucracy, like most taxes. A lot of debt payments/interest. Military and subsidies for the less fortunate, the ill, the poor, and the retired. Slap on some underfunded infrastructure, foreign aid, and that's about it.
As for health care, it's a mess. Our health care system is designed as a private payer denier system -- i.e., a huge number of people are employed with the sole purpose of refusing responsibility for a health care payment from one system to hoist it on some other institution. It's like going to a doctor's appointment, and you, the doctor, the nurse, the receptionist, etc., each have lawyers, and we pay these lawyers to argue over who covers what part of the bill. That's one of the major reasons the US health care system is dysfunctional, but there are others (another big one being no incentives to do things more cheaply).
We also have hidden taxes that we don't realize either -- through inflation. Much of this is due to Fed actions to keep the government funded.
The top quality education facilites are, but they're impossible to ever reach for the 98% of the population that isn't among the one most intelligent percent or the one most wealthy percent. For everyone else it's a broken system that leaves them indebted for large parts of their lives.
Similary, the US health care system works great for billionaires.
It's not about the elite, but the general population.
Have you ever considered that some folks aren't meant to go to college, but do so anyway? How about the relatively cheap student loans that folks use but don't have any aspirations to even graduate?
Do you guys have progressive tax system or what? So 40-50% for everybody or just those who earn more?
Buy on AliExpress.com
That crap should have went out with the 80s.