General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHim: It's the poor who benefit from government. Me: Bullshit.
One way to help get our tax codes revised is to educate the People about just who benefits from government. In my humble opinion, the wealthy benefit far more from government (and society) than the poor. Wingers, and many others, don't understand this fact.
Here's some evidence; please add to the list...
We spend 22% of our federal budget on defense. We're spending that money largely to defend the assets of the wealthy.
We spend vast amounts of money on local law enforcement, again, largely protecting the assets and lives of the rich.
The wealthy use our public road and bridges, ports and airports, to ship their goods.
Please add your thoughts. Thanks.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)They also control the creation of laws, mega bailouts, and largely write the rules that govern the rest of us.
The poor get to fight for the crumbs that fall off the table.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)Try this for a start...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002237125
tabasco
(22,974 posts)Not a lot of rich kids in the ranks, though.
Tennessee Gal
(6,160 posts)The printing of our currency, public roads, rural electrification, government subsidized telephone wiring, satellite communications, police protection, military protection, the criminal justice system, fire and paramedic protection, an educated and immunized workforce, protection against plagues, public-funded loans, protection from business fraud and unfair business practices, the protection of patents and copyrights, research and development, collection and analysis of data, preventative economic policies by the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Energy Management Agency, public libraries, agricultural and biological services, the National Weather Service, and public job training.
Do the rich benefit more? It would be logical to think they do since they are usually business OWNERS OR TOP LEVEL MANAGEMENT, while the poor and the middle class are usually only employees.
gulliver
(13,197 posts)Who would tax us all for the money we need to fight two simultaneous ground wars?
I mean, for all the bad things government does, like Social Security, Medicare, National Park Lands, schools, unemployment insurance, oversight of Wall Street, etc., the government does some good things.
What about subsidizing oil companies with cheap "royalties" on public land? Did your friend forget about that? What about invading Iraq? Bush could not have done that if the government didn't have all that tax money. We would still be living in deathly fear of the mighty Saddam Hussein right now if there were no government.