Subscriber Comments for
Government Class

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 314950	2012-09-01 01:31 PM
Great job, Kelsey. Young people reflect what they learn from their parents - for better or worse. I'm glad you have perspective and thoughtfulness on your side. Keep usung your noggin!
COMMENT 314951	2012-09-01 01:31 PM
Balanced and progressive America? What is your definition of that? The Federal government financially bringing down wealth creators so they can artificially prop up lower classes in hopes that everyone feels financially the same while simultaneously borrowing, printing, and devaluing our currency to the point the Government and the people are both bankrupt? I wish future generations would study Austrian economics. I think it should be mandatory curriculum in our school system. The world would be such a better place.
COMMENT 314952	2012-09-01 01:35 PM
951 for the win
COMMENT 314956	2012-09-01 01:40 PM
I'd sooner live on the Moon than in a world where most major economies were based on Austrian economics.
COMMENT 314970	2012-09-01 02:04 PM
I completely agree with 951. Anyone who needs a ride so they can live on the moon best contact the Chinese government because they're heading your way. "???????!!" (All Aboard!!)
COMMENT 314980P	2012-09-01 02:31 PM
SY for the win.
COMMENT 314951	2012-09-01 02:32 PM
Why Sy?
COMMENT 314987P	2012-09-01 02:45 PM
314951 - wealth creators for whom? Please lets go back to the time in US economic history when 23 million jobs were created in 8 years, and everyone was getting wealthier, not just the top 1%. Also, the deficit was being reduced. 1993-2000. The borrowing from China started with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the after 2001 tax cuts for the wealthy, who then went on to create a miserable 1 million jobs in 8 years, from 2001-2008. This pathetic number of jobs created by the so called job creators, was surpassed in the years 2009-2012, i.e. just 3 years. Look at the facts and figures !
COMMENT 314952	2012-09-01 02:55 PM
let me guess 987p you really just really like Clinton and Obama.
COMMENT 314990	2012-09-01 02:55 PM
Short answer, 951? I don't trust the free market or corporations to do anything except create wealth for themselves in a regulatory vacuum. Also, my belief in a social safety net is pretty incompatible with Austrian economics. Mostly the first part though. Though, I should be clear that I don't think corporations don't have a right to profit. I just don't think that that right to profit trumps the rights of workers to have a safe working environment, for example.
COMMENT 314951	2012-09-01 03:12 PM
Wealth creators for whomever wants to participate in producing marketable product and services? I agree the war's were a WASTE and contribute to the problem. Tax cuts are GOOD, as is a smaller less expensive, less intrusive, and less wasteful Government. People don't want Government to hold their hand through the journey of life. As far as job creation, that's what the private sector does when Uncle Sam's foot isn't on it's neck. Tax's, regulation, and interest rate manipulation.
COMMENT 315001P	2012-09-01 03:25 PM
Politics and religion have one thing in common, they are both divisive subjects with hundreds of conflicting opinions. I have mine and prefer to keep them to myself unless I know exactly to whom I am speaking. No one wins on either topic.
COMMENT 315003P	2012-09-01 03:36 PM
Three things: It is "pro-choice" not "pro-abortion" Thanks for sharing your experience Comment boards won't change anyone's mind so I'll stop here.
COMMENT 315051	2012-09-01 07:30 PM
Oh I so feel for you guys suffering from the shortsighted propagandizing of folks who want to simplify complex issues into black and white, us and them, left and right. The truth is always in the middle and anyone denying that middle is being dishonest with themselves. The problems we face weren't created in the last 4 years in spite of what the propaganda would have you believe and sadly the extreme views have been the loudest drowning out any discourse on how to reasonably proceed. The "our way or the highway" stance is over 10 years old and it's getting very tiresome.
COMMENT 315091P	2012-09-02 12:28 AM
987P - Thanks for a few facts. I'm SO tired of the same old tired lines "let the wealthy create jobs for the little people".....and shame on us for only talking about the economy. What about the over 4000 Americans and 100s of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans who have lost their lives?
LOTUSEATER	2012-09-02 06:54 AM
Good job, Kelsey. I think, for the most part, you observed your fellow classmates objectively. Your observations typically ring true to the older population, as a whole. I think you make a small mistake when you then enter the realm of "analysis" with phrases like "strictly for the reason of wanting to keep their money" or ".....seemed they were able to make a more just decision based on general well-being..." Those are subjective judgements based on your own prejudices and experience base (your parents). Dangerous territory. Without getting into the old and tired arguments of left vs right ideology, I would recommend further research, especially history, and specifically world history. The answers you seek are all there ( French Revolution and aftermath, American Revolution and aftermath, Russian Revolution and aftermath, Chinese revolution...etc) To your teen friends that lean conservative, ask them about the aftermath of the Roman Empire and Austro/Hungarian empires of the 18th Century. To your teen friends that lean liberal, ask them to name a single civilization in history that has adopted those principals and survived more than a few years...without going bankrupt and collapsing from within and without. Challenge yourself by always taking the opposite side of any political argument than the one that is popular amongst your peers. My own father, a Holocaust survivor, was always fond of telling me "never be afraid when everyone disagrees or argues; when everyone agrees on something....run like hell!" :) Good essay, I like your column. :)
COMMENT 315108	2012-09-02 07:25 AM
I'm with you. Lotuseater
COMMENT 315182	2012-09-02 10:13 AM
Decrease the income tax for the 1%. Then they can create jobs by buying or taking over businesses. Then they can move all the jobs to a foreign country, thereby fulfilling the promise to create jobs (elsewhere), and lay off all the US jobs so they can fend for themselves.
SCEPTIC	2012-09-02 10:31 AM
Is the tax rate on the wealthiest that significant when people like Mitt Romney can shelter income in offshore derivatives? If the tax rate were increased with no legislation to prevent use of derivative investments to avoid taxation, what would the increase in tax income be? or the increase in derivative investments?
COMMENT 315201	2012-09-02 10:58 AM
Your observations are very valid and soon you will chose your own life path on one side or the other. Do you want live your life on handouts from someone else's work, or do you want to hold on to what you yourself have earned. There is no such thing as the government's money. It all comes from taxpayers. And we elect people to spend it. And when we are unhappy with how our money is being spent we ask for change. If you choose a career based upon handouts from other people, be aware you owe those people a huge responsibility to use their money wisely and not complain if they think they are not getting their monies worth.
COMMENT 315312	2012-09-02 03:43 PM
Kelsey, I enjoyed reading your article. I like how you made an effort to understand the backgrounds and the motivations of those who held certain opinions/beliefs. It's always a good idea to "put yourself in someone else's shoes" for a moment to see what they may be thinking. You can learn a lot that way. Political analysts and demographers do that a lot, and I think it's a great way to explore issues and make your own conclusions as well. But be careful. Posts like 201's may seem like they're offering you sage advice. But if you read in-between the lines, they are expressing a subtle opinion too, something that others may or may not agree with.
MARTINSHAPIRO	2012-09-02 03:54 PM
Very well written, Kelsey. And it's OK to show your own leanings. Conservatives who talk about "handouts" and complain about those unfortunate enough to have to rely on welfare for a period of time need to be reminded of what Obama said. Even the most successful businessmen rely on the infrastructure of roads, transportation, education and other services that government has provided. Without that great help, no can really say they created their wealth all alone. This, of course, is not the same as saying anyone did not build their own business. It's saying that government provides a lot for all of us and in most countries includes health care for all residents. Marian Shapiro
LOTUSEATER	2012-09-03 06:29 AM
Sigh....good luck to you, Kelsey. Some last thoughts to ponder: Ideologues are people who subscribe to one idea and try to see everything through that one idea. They zeolously attempt to promote their one idea. There are political ideologues, religious ideologues, scientific, environmental, artistic...etc. You can spot ideologue rants a mile away because they state nonsensical, unsubstantiated thoughts, ie: "so and so didnt pay their taxes" or "so and so just wants to make money and hates kids, dogs, and old people..."...etc. They all have something in common in that they belabor under the false assumption that it is possible to pick up a turd by the "clean" end. Einstein once said that the "definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, each time expecting a different result." Like I said earlier in this thread, let history be your teacher. All these ideas have been trotted out many times over the centuries, fought for with blood and treasure, and implemented on entire civilizations. Learn from them. Treat political ideologies the same way you treat food groups...you need healthy doses of all of them to be healthy and survive for any period of time. For instance, you could only go so long if all you ate was fruit, but no vegetables, grains, or protein. All have something very necessary to offer to building a strong body and when solving problems. Remember: "When all you have is a hammer; all problems tend to look a lot like nails" They are not. Good luck to you, Kelsey, and to the ideologues here ( you know who you are :)
COMMENT 316098	2012-09-04 05:05 PM
I spend a great deal of time around young folks and what apeared to me is there are many who eschew reading or serious study of issues and rather tend to make decisions based on image and popularity. Choices for political office take on the characrter of a Justin Beiber fad and a selection or vote for the winner of American Idol. This should not be so surprising as we now have one or two generations that grew up spoon fed in front of the T.V. manipulated by advertising gimicks and images and talking heads, or playing video games and facebooking, texting and twittering each other over the latest gossip. Children who grew up with the idea that as long as you had credit cards and some blank checks you could spend money you didn't have and not to worry, the government will bail you out in the end, after all, you are entitled to that as a form of social justice and re-distribution of the wealth accrued and earned by others!

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