fuck this job.com

H2H,

That was very well said, and from the persepctive of that argument, I am exactly on board with you. It is bullshit that the S. Ct. can make law based off an ambiguous document that was written 230 years ago by a bunch of glorifed farmers. The fact that a 1/4 of my check goes to welfare recipients who are too good to get out of bed, but yet lay on their backs too often is repulsive. It is also a crock of shit that our jobs are being sent overseas by the thousands and the government encourages it! The price of gas has tripled in 7 years, wages have not increased while house prices have doubled. The entire time, our health insurance is getting so nobody can afford it and the food we eat is killing us. Mr. Bush has run amuck with our military and his spending (I'm Republican by the way), and Social Security is really in the dump. Right on, right on!!!

I can agree that America is not the land of opportunity it used to be, but we live in a different WORLD than what our fathers did. If you think England is a great place, read Kakrott's blogs. He's probably one of the more miserable individuals I've ever corresponded with and he lives in England. England is well reknown for its immigration and tax problems as well.

While America may have it's problems, everyone eats dinner before bed. Our healthcare, if you can afford it, is excellent. We don't have warlord, tribal gangs controlling American territory. We don't have landmines. Everyone has five bucks in their pocket. You can buy a gallon of gas on every corner. Flip the light switch, it works every time or nearly everytime (excluding California). You can take a ride out in the country, nearly everyone can afford property.

I know America has its problems, but think about how little some of those problems (excluding the fucked up healthcare system and completely stagnant wages) affects your life. America is still a good place, but if you can find someplace better ad cheaper to live, let me know my family and I will move there with ya.

Tear

I really hate to be saying this, but George Bush and the US Congress are doing exactly what the USA wants them to do. George Bush and Congress reflect exactly what the American people's desires are. DC pretty much always has. In reality, Bush and Congress aren't the source of the problems in America, it's our culture. I hear a lot of people online and on the TV whining about how Bush is a tyrant and he's sending jobs to China/Iraq and sending our troops over with them, how gasoline is $3 per gallon (if they hadn't bought that SUV then maybe the gas bill wouldn't be so high), how health insurance is a $1 million a year, my mom's fat, the neighbor painted his house green, and so on. The level of incivility is unreal in this country now. In 2000 I would never have thought that we'd be fighting each other like this and even back then I knew we were in for some hard times. I think a lot of our dumbass politics from generations ago are coming back to haunt both us and future generations. The problem with Americans is that they want something for nothing, they want money for nothing, they want a super strong and all encompassing Homeland Security but they don't want them looking at themselves in bed, Americans want the rest of the world to pay for a glutton lifestyle while the rest of the planet suffers, Americans want high paying jobs that quite honestly don't exist in viable quantities anymore, they want freedom but they take it away from everyone else in the name of "tolerance" or "morality" or "security". Here's a reality check to America: you get what you deserve. Here's my take on some of the issues we are facing now:

Energy - Yes, gasoline is very expensive. I don't think we'll be able to get it back below $1.50/gallon again. We need to consider some form of either coal liquification to keep the cars running (we have maybe 50 - 70 years of coal supplies we can liquify) to buy us some time until we can find some other source of energy to run things on. We have to rebuild our nuclear plants to replace the other energy sources we've been using for a while, if necessary we may have to scrap most of the nuclear weapons for fissile material.

Health Care - Get the Feds out of health care. The DOH does not adequately address the health needs of people and is corrupted like the other institutions in DC. I do believe that we need to focus more on HEALTH CARE vs health insurance. Medical fraud is rampant and I would allow the state and federal governments to prosecute clinics and hospitals that charge excessive or fraudulent bills. Medicare and the like will be still honored but not on frivolous expenses and these will be phased out quickly.

Social Security - I would make this voluntary for people. The younger crowd in this country had no say in SS when it was first created, and they do NOT owe it to the older crowd. I would immediately work to dismantle it when it has met the obligations it has promised to victims of the SS tax.

Income Tax - I would disband the IRS and its component agencies immediately. The IRS is an organization that has terrorized the people of AMerica for too long. I would replace the taxes lost with a sales tax against gasoline and restore sales taxes against corporate activity within the USA.

Military - I would disband Homeland Security, FBI, CIA, DOJ, NSA, NORAD, SSS, and 95% of the military spending in Washington. It is not the US Government's job to police the globe or to use military spending to hold up the economy. The Posse Comitatus Act will be restored.

National Debt/Federal Reserve - I would move to make US dollars exchangeable for gold as they were over thirty years ago. We may have to default on the US DOllar as we will never pay back all of the debt we have racked up. Congress will not run deficits for their pet programs nor will they vote for themselves exorbant pay packages or benefits at the expense of the people. I would disband Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and all GSEs and semi-privatized entities at the federal and state levels as they are a threat to the legitamacy of the US Government. We should allow the derivatives market to disintegrate to nothing (because that is basically all it is, nothing). While a few ultra wealthy would be hurt, the majority of Americans wouldn't feel a thing.

Civil Rights - No more will any government in the USA pass martial law for any reason nor will there be any form of racial profiling, civilian surveilance, nor will the airlines be forced to subject their passengers to intrusive and mostly useless interrogations and searches, often of an unconstitutional and impractical nature. We will end the War on Terror NOW, and we will not allow fear to run the USA anymore. The US Government will not dictate what marriage shall be, nor shall it dictate matters on abortion, age-based laws, or any other area pertaining to people's personal matters for any reason.

Government Pork - The US Government is not responsable for politician's pet projects. I would disband the DOL, DOT, HUD, DOE, and 95% of the other pork programs as they are not practical for running a country the size of the USA. The US Government will not dictate spending to the state governments nor will it shuffle money from one state and give it to another (the Blue States are paying high taxes so the Red ones don't).

International Relations - We should work to make the USA a beacon of true freedom and benevolence to the world. I would take the USA out of entangling alliances with other nations and remain a neutral player in the world. Other nations are welcome to have friendly relations with us, but no more shall the US expand it's dominion over the earth. We will not use tax dollars to prop up regimes overseas nor will we subject the states to a foreign power like the UN.

States Rights - The United States is not a sovereign country and never was. The states retain their sovereignty ultimately. I would advocate for continued free travel through each state so long as they are part of the USA, but all states have the right to self-determination. No state or group of states or the US Government will hinder or use force against any state that wishes to leave the USA. In the event that a state leaves, we will treat it as we do with our friends in Canada and Mexico, simply a good neighbor.

The days of empire are done. Do not worry, circumstances will force us to change whether we like it or not. I think Americans have to reevaluate their goals now as we never really have followed the US Constitution like we should have. The reality is, we are in a different world than in the 1790s and we are going to have to give people more freedom in their lives whether we like it or not. The environment of the 21st century will do that for us if we decide to sit on our butt.

Tearful, you are sounding like the typical yank moron who has never even been to England. Shut the hell up about things you know nothing about. I'd rather live in the UK than the US any day of the week. In fact, most people I know would rather live ANYWHERE than the sick, dog-eat-dog, down-on-your-luck-great-we'll-kick-your-ass-to-the-curb-unless-your-last-name-is-Bush hole that is the USA. Before you slag off someone else's (superior) country, take a look at your own.

England really does feel like the heart of western civilization. People in general are helpful, polite, and courteous. You feel like you're in civilization. Unlike Amerika which feels like an undeclared war zone. Anyway, I just had the opportunity to tour the British Parliament and learn something about their government. It was very interesting. A few years ago i would have spouted our pro-capitalist, pure democracy rubbish, but after seeing their system, i think it's better in a lot of ways. They have the house of commons which are elected officials, the house of lords which is a mixture of noble birth and appointed experts such as priests, economists, bioligists, etc, and the monarchy which is virtually powerless but serves as a check in some respects. Anyway, what you seem to get is a gov that takes a long time to pass laws and isn't as intensily lobbied by weirdo extremist groups like gay and lesbians, naacp, etc like in the US. anyway, a gov that is takes a long time to pass laws and is in gridlock is a good one in my book.

I'm english and to say working life is better over here is ultimately a matter of context. We have working unions and good health and safety measures (when they are enforced which my employer doesn't do) but ultimately if you are working in an office and you still have a gob shite sitting next to you or an arse hole boss things are the same.

I understand the comment about the royal family, that they are essentially glorified welfare recipients and I agree with it; in fact I've never understood why this country has throughout the ages stayed obedient to one hierachy. The only way I compensate for that mentally is that they also bring money back in through tourism.