Dirt poor?

[Beestie]

Originally posted by Lady Sidhe
OOH! YES! I LOVE banana and mayo sandwiches!!

They go down smooth with Radar flavored Koolaid!


nyuk,nyuk, nyuk

[jaguar]

Any increases in crime would be negligible, private drug certification and testing companies could verify the safety of drugs without holding them up for 10 years and companies would still be liable for damage they cause, private organizations like the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority could keep track of electronic signals, emissions, etc. and companies would buy from the companies that were the most reliable, etc.

Only just noticed this.

Any increases in crime would be negligible? Based on what exactly? Do you have any source whatsoever for that 'fact'? Considering the bodies responsible for basically all large-scale criminal endeavors would be removed.

Would YOU trust a private company to certify a drug? Who's to say they didn't just pay them to pass it though, or skip some of the harder tests. We wouldn't even know for 10 years would we. As for suing them, what if they disappear, wouldn't be hard to set up a fly-by-night operation.

As for emissions, the IANA has little if any legal clout. Someone starts fucking up your mobile network (new business tactic, block your competitors network towers!) what are you gonna do?

You know if there wasn't a fair few nice people living in the states I'd almost like to see you come to power, just to watch America slowly descend into anarchy, the economy colapse and see what happens when the world once again has no superpower.

Originally posted by jaguar



You know if there wasn't a fair few nice people living in the states I'd almost like to see you come to power, just to watch America slowly descend into anarchy, the economy colapse and see what happens when the world once again has no superpower.

Yeah, wouldn't it be nice to see Radar stew in his own juices (or kool-aid, as the case might be)? Do you suppose Switzwerland might grant me political asylum?

[lumberjim]

Originally posted by jaguar



You know if there wasn't a fair few nice people living in the states I'd almost like to see you come to power, just to watch America slowly descend into anarchy, the economy colapse and see what happens when the world once again has no superpower.

Jag, you anti american punk. Come over here and say that. You might as well be french.

[jaguar]

Come over here and say that.

Love to, but since I haven't been charged with anything, I'm not handing over my fingerprints.

Originally posted by lumberjim


Jag, you anti american punk. Come over here and say that. You might as well be french.

Hey, I'm over here and I'll say it. Radar would deserve what he got, and so would the US if a majority of the voters were willing to follow Radar to their doom. Wanna turn me in to Homeland Security? The last I heard, we still had freedom of speech around here.

Besides, why should Jag be French when he can be Swiss instead? Some fun facts about Switzerland: Its a federal republic - the second oldest after the US. The literacy rate in Switzerland is 99%. The GND is $32,000 a year. No one in Switzerland lives below the poverty line. And guess what? They have a national income tax (whoops!).

[lumberjim]

so why don;t you move to switzerland, marichiko? It's like the size of Delaware, right? and moslty mountains? What do they have like 35 people in the whole country? As far as no one living below the poverty line goes, aren;t they a socialist economy?

Jag?

Originally posted by lumberjim
so why don;t you move to switzerland, marichiko? It's like the size of Delaware, right? and moslty mountains? What do they have like 35 people in the whole country? As far as no one living below the poverty line goes, aren;t they a socialist economy?

Jag?

I've seriously considered it. My Mother is native born Swiss and I still have family there. However, I grew up in the US and this is my home. Yes, Switzerland has quite a few mountains, and its absolutely beautiful. However, its economy is industrially based and agriculture plays only a very small role.

The population is 7,262,372 (July 2000 est.). Switzerland is NOT a socialist country. As I stated before, its a federal republic - the second oldest in the world. Switzerland's system of representative government puts even the US to shame. The voters of each canton (that's state to us) get together and decide on policies and laws. Their wishes are then carried out on the federal or national level.

[hot_pastrami]

Radar, I'm no Constitutional scholar, so maybe I'm missing something here... but I can't see how you reason out that Income Tax is theft. The US Constitution explicitly allows for future Amendments in Article 5:

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution...(snip)

And Income Tax was added as an legal Constitutional Amendment in 1913 as Article 16:

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

If you're arguing that income tax is theft based on purely moral and/or philosophical grounds, then of course you are entitled to that opinion, but when you live in a democratic state and your opinion is not that of the majority, the only weapon you have any exercisable right to use is non-violent infuence. If you attempt to incite change, against the will of the people, with the aid of force, then it is you who are violating the natural rights of others, regardless of what you may think.

A large part of the government's purpose is to mediate the people, and when there is a difference in opinions or philosophies, no matter how strongly all of the individuals believe they are correct, the machine of democaracy will decide. By continuing to live within the boundaries of that democracy, every person agrees to abide by it.

Or, to use an argument similar to yours... this country is the property of the people of the United States. The people have democratically elected a goverment, and have entrusted that government to create and uphold laws to promote justice and equality for all. If that government takes any action which is objectionable to the people-- who own this country-- it is the responsibility of the people to rectify that through the democratioc process. But as long as the people still entrust governing power to this government, any person who lives in this country and violates the laws of this country is violating the natural rights of the people of the United States.

I think the government has many, many problems, but it could be much worse, and I still have hope that the democratic process will slowly erode away many of the problems over time. If the goverment itself were to ever attempt to remove the democratic power from the people, I'll be right there next to you fighting to win the peoples' country back. But as it is, you're making threats to people who are living by the very Constitution which you claim to hold so dear.

[lumberjim]

Switzerland, a Prosperious and Stable Market Purchase power stability achieved through traditionally low inflation, low long-term capital costs, a good investment climate, sound public finances and almost no labour strikes guarantee the prosperity and stability of the Swiss economy.
The strength of the Swiss economy is largely due to its international outreach and strong intertwining with the economies of other countries. Switzerland has one of the highest export rates as a percentage of gross domestic product. Highly specialised and flexible small and medium-sized companies characterise the technologically advanced industrial sector.
With a per capita gross national product ranking the second highest worldwide, Switzerland is a prominent player in the world economy.
Key economic data illustrate the prosperous nature of the country:

plus, they have lots of blonde hotties!

Originally posted by lumberjim


plus, they have lots of blonde hotties!

You bet! Even us half Swiss are knock-outs (she said, modestly)!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally posted by Brigliadore

As of a few years ago California alone grew 60% of the produce and grain that America ate.

Whoa nellie! The produce is possible but the grain can't be true. Anyone that's driven through the wheat fields of Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, the Dakotas, etc would have a hard time with that. Besides, isn't California the land of fruits and nuts?

[Griff]

And Income Tax was added as an legal Constitutional Amendment in 1913 as Article 16:


If Radar returns to this thread he'll prolly question whether the 16th was properly ratified. Proper or not they will come take your stuff.

[Brigliadore]

Originally posted by xoxoxoBruce
Whoa nellie! The produce is possible but the grain can't be true. Anyone that's driven through the wheat fields of Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, the Dakotas, etc would have a hard time with that. Besides, isn't California the land of fruits and nuts?

I was lumping fruits, nuts, vegetables and grain into one large clump, so the 60% I quoted includes all the above. California is one of the largest produces of Soy which is considered a grain. Nebraska and the Dakotas do produce a large amount of corn and wheat but you have to remember that just because corn is being grown doesn't mean its going to be eaten by humans. Around 54% of the grain grown in this country goes into animal food (dog food, horse grain, cattle feed, chicken scratch, etc.).
The number I stated were from 2000 but at that time they were accurate. I had to do a report in collage on it for my agricultural science class, so i had to dig up all that data from the USDA.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I ruled out the corn as high as an elephants eye because I realize it's mostly animal chow. But hundreds of miles of wheat, oats, millet and rice are hard to discount.