Re: Taxing the Rich

On Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:00:31 -0400, Evelyn <evelyn.ruut@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:44:04 -0500, High Miles
<2blues1723@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 4/16/2011 2:05 PM, Emily wrote:
On Sat, 16 Apr 2011 10:39:58 -0700, Islander<nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On 4/13/2011 5:03 PM, Evelyn wrote:
On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:49:49 -0500, High Miles
<2blues1723@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 4/13/2011 5:47 PM, Evelyn wrote:
On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:16:06 -0400, Emily<Emily@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:36:47 -0400, Thumper<jaylsmith@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:15:34 -0400, Emily<Emily@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:31:28 -0400, Thumper<jaylsmith@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:36:59 -0400, Emily<Emily@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 07:52:40 -0700, Islander<nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On 4/13/2011 5:05 AM, Emily wrote:
On Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:01:14 -0400, Evelyn<evelyn.ruut@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Amen! Social programs are not gifts, they are owed to those who made
their contributions for many years.
Aren't you lumping a lot of dissimilar programs together to make that
statement? The majority of Medicare and SS recipients paid into the
system, but how about the myriad social programs for people who never
paid a nickel in taxes?
Your statement is just as sweeping a generalization as Evelyn's. The
conversation might be more constructive if both of you used specific
examples.

For example, the survivors benefit portion of social security pays for
the care of minor children who never paid into the system. Likewise,
the child health improvement program pays for health care for children
who would not otherwise receive that care.

Perhaps you are complaining about the food stamp program. What is the
alternative? I volunteered at a soup kitchen run by a church before I
retired and I can tell you that it didn't come close to meeting the need.
I wasn't complaining, just pointing out that there are social programs
for people who didn't make contributions for many years.

I have no problem with programs that offer support for people who have
worked and done their best to provide for themselves but who've fallen
on hard times through no fault of their own.


I'll bet you think there are huge hoards out there lying around
because they are making so much on those social programs. The truth
is that the majority of poor people get up and go to work everyday.
Their kids so menial jobs and bring home what little money they make
to help the family. Don't look downward in scorn. Look upward. It's
the rich who are stealing from you.
I doubt if there are hordes of them legally living on social programs,
or that any of them are living in the lap of luxury, but I do think
that if you can't afford children, you shouldn't have them for the
rest of us to support.

And I agree with Dorothy about the morbidly obese. If that is an
actual medical condition, we surely missed a great chance to study the
morbidly obese who were released from the concentration camps at the
end of WWII.
LOOK UP! That's where your enemies are. Morbidly obese people are
ill. You may think it's a life style choice but I don't believe it
is.
I understand that the rich and powerful are my enemies, but morbidly
obese people simply make me sick. I do believe it's a life style
choice. More specifically, an American life style choice. It doesn't
matter if we're white, black, or brown, in this country more of us are
going to be fat than in most other countries. Look at footage from
anywhere else in the world and on the streets there will be far fewer
fat butts waddling along than in any American city.
The last great prejudice! Prejudice against fat people..... It
isn't a lifestyle or a choice. Thumper is right, in that it is an
illness of some kind. I think that blaming the morbidly obese is
wrongly directed. SOME body is making their lives easier, feeding
them or helping them to get around and get food. There is usually an
enabler around in most cases I have seen.

Evelyn
Okay
If an enabler is the problem, fine or jail them.
Fat is a result of uncontrolled, personal indulgence and family acceptance.
Whether in an addictive personality, or due to some other disorder, if
they weren't
happy being fat, they'd seek whatever treatment necessary to reverse
their behavior.

Everybody has something.

Some smoke and can't quit even though they get lung cancer.
Some drink even though it rots their liver.
Some eat too much even though it makes them fat and miserable.
Some attack people and criticize (like a mean old harpy we know).
Some are misers, even in the last years of their lives, their bankbook
has more meaning to them than the comforts it could provide.
Some gamble fortunes away dreaming of that big win that never comes.

But the truth of the matter is, everybody has something...... We all
find it easy to criticize people who have the faults we don't have. I
admit morbid obesity is disgusting. But inside there are hurting and
often deeply wounded souls looking for the only comfort they can find
in food. I have a relative who is an absolute whale. I assure you
he is more to be pitied than hated. It is suicide of a kind.....

Sorry I can't pile on, guys. I'd be stomping on my relative who
doesn't deserve it.

Evelyn
Good for you, Ev. Obesity is a disease of the poor. How many wealthy
people do you know who are obese?

Instead of attacking obese people, we should be attacking the causes of
poverty. This is yet another example of how the public, including
liberals who should know better, have been brainwashed into attacking
each other rather than those who are to blame.

It is no coincidence that conservative states have the highest poverty
rate, the worst health care and the highest rates of obesity.

"In four states ? Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia ?
more than 30 percent of adults are obese. Eight of the 10 states with
the highest obesity rates are in the South, and Colorado is the only
state with a rate under 20 percent. Seven of the 10 states with the
highest poverty levels are also among the 10 states with the highest
obesity rates."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/health/11stat.html
I remain unconvinced. I think wealthy people are not obese because
it's simply not accepted in the circles in which they move. You
probably don't see many rich people with tattoos all over them or
studs in their eyebrows and tongues either.

Obesity has always been more accepted among the poorer and less
educated segments of society, and over the last few decades, we've
been brainwashed that it's politically incorrect to even use words
like "fat". You can't even turn down an applicant for a job because
they're too fat, you have to come up with some excuse even if their
obesity is the real reason.

Societal pressure has probably caused more people to quit smoking than
any findings by the medical community and I believe the same is true
of obesity. Currently, there is no societal pressure.

Oh but there is on children.
While adults ignore comments and even deny that it's their own fault,
fat kids take a cruel beating from non fat kids.
We would probably be doing a positive thing as a society if we
confronted fat
people day and night, with humor and forthright mean spirit. Just met them
at every corner with negative statements about their condition.
Not about health problems, but maybe by even total strangers calling out,
"hey you disgusting, fat, pig".
Might be an equal help to attack the enablers.
Obviously, the PC route of ignoring the problem isn't helping eliminate it.
Maybe heavy social pressure could convince some.



When has THAT ever worked? like never.

Evelyn


As an example, NOBODY has been more ostracized than gays. Does
ridicule make them heterosexual? I don't know any who have turned
due to ostracization, do you?

Evelyn
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Taxing the Rich
    ... And I agree with Dorothy about the morbidly obese. ... fat butts waddling along than in any American city. ... Obesity is a disease of the poor. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Taxing the Rich
    ... And I agree with Dorothy about the morbidly obese. ... fat butts waddling along than in any American city. ... Obesity is a disease of the poor. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Taxing the Rich
    ... And I agree with Dorothy about the morbidly obese. ... fat butts waddling along than in any American city. ... Obesity is a disease of the poor. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Taxing the Rich
    ... just pointing out that there are social programs ... And I agree with Dorothy about the morbidly obese. ... fat butts waddling along than in any American city. ... Obesity is a disease of the poor. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Taxing the Rich
    ... just pointing out that there are social programs ... And I agree with Dorothy about the morbidly obese. ... fat butts waddling along than in any American city. ... Obesity is a disease of the poor. ...
    (soc.retirement)