Ruffled Feathers

Recently, a comment came in from a friend which will remain nameless....oh, let's call him Captain America....on a blog post I had made. The section and comments follows:

"This is a very silly statement:
"Doesn’t anyone see the common sense method of smaller government? Don’t pay for it. I pay my taxes and the salaries of all my friends from my meager funds. We all do. And if we didn’t, government would come to a halt. No more laws, no more rules, no more hand-outs, no more building projects, no more space investigation, no more (dare I say it) wars."

Let me know when you want to debate. As a start, remember how glad you were to have trash pickup. Isn't it nice to have paved roads to ride your mini-mobile machine upon. Have you gotten to a place in your life where it is OK to let the needy suffer?

Just askin' ol pal...

And yes, I make a Very Good Living from your taxes. And I work Very Hard for that Very Good Living. "

When I asked Captain America if I had ruffled some feathers, he responded:

"Some things can be privatised, easily. Tour taxes pay for trash. I pay for trash to a company... get good service too.

roads? a little more complicated... you need to pay for the street roads you ride on and the sidewalks you walk on... Should you also have to pay for the interstate? You don't bike on it... But your food comes on it, and the silver bullets too... I pay three tolls every day to ride on the roads too/from work... I wonder how many toll stops would it take to reduce efficiency?

Everything can not be privatised.

You get Social Security (woo-hoo). I don't know what you get, but likely around 20K. Wait! you say, "I paid that money in - it's mine". Yes you did... Add up ALL your FICA payments... On average you break even before three years. Count interest, within five... Then somebody else is paying for you.

Ruffled feathers? Nah. Not over the substance. I just do not like slogans taken for truth without proofs. As Menchen said:

For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong

So I get ruffled when folks say, for example, taxes are too high -- when taxes, as a percentage of income, have not been this low since 1950. One needs to get the facts before one distorts them."

So I responded:

"The problem with privatizing everything is there are no consistencies One company does shoddy work, another offers fast service but charges more, while another get half the job done and leaves. Regulations help (not solve) to level the playing field.

Yes, your kids will pay for my retirement, but probably not for too long. Like the benies you get, some of these entitlements will end because people just won't want to pay for them.

Raise taxes. Sure. Somebody has to pay for this stuff. When it hits home and the people feel it in their pocketbook, that is when the reactions take place. But the government has good accountants who can make pie charts and bar graphs and shuffle figures around and around so that in the morning the lights will come on and all will be right in the world.

Then again people don't figure how everything they do is nickled and dimed away with a tax associated to it. Like fees, if you can't get your money one way, go a different route. I predict as inflation grows the saving trend created by this fiscal crisis will end. Then you can only buy two guitars a year or only take a vacation in the Hamptons during off seasons.

Getting the fact? Doing research? Like accounting, the facts...that is the REAL reality is what each of us see, hear, feel, and are personality effected everyday. With the daily blast of information (some true, some crap) one can only make reality decisions to accomplish personal goals. Make yourself happy. The rest will go on around you.

Cynical? Perhaps. It's just a way of life. I have no intention to run for public office or join groups of like-minded souls who want to change the world. I appreciate there are not tanks in the street, or gangs of hooligans roaming in my back yard and that if called, I can get help from the myriad of organizations (some I pay for directly, others I pay for through grants and loads) who are set up to assist me for better or worse.

You'll like the next series too. And if ruffled feathers are consequences to my actions, then that is good. We listen or read from others to get a different point-of-view. Some crazies will rant, but every now and then a sliver of thought emerges.

and then it fades away."

Then Captain America responded:

"An excellent and well thought out response. Post it!!!"

So I did.