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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SilentZ who wrote (766262)	1/27/2014 8:34:32 PM
From: joseffy	1 Recommendation Recommended By FJB Respond to of 1576376

California's 'wall of debt' is only a slice of its liability problem Santa Cruz Sentinel ^ \| 01/26/2014 \| Jessica Calefati SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Jerry Brown's image as a responsible, penny-pinching steward of California's finances has been cemented in recent weeks because of his renewed call to pay off California's "wall of debt. That's a term Brown coined when he took office to describe the tens of billions of dollars California owed to public schools and special funds whose coffers were raided to help balance budgets in the past. But look behind that $24.9 billion wall and you'll see a $330 billion skyline of other liabilities threatening the state's financial health. It includes $80 billion needed to cover teachers' pensions and $64 billion to pay for state workers' health care in retirement -- two particularly troublesome liabilities because the state isn't even making the minimum payments on them. (Excerpt) Read more at santacruzsentinel.com ...

To: SilentZ who wrote (766262)	1/27/2014 8:36:04 PM
From: i-node	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1576376

>> BUT NO ONE EVER SAID IT WAS! That does not mean it can't effectively help people by using tax dollars. It is really, really difficult to find instances where government helped people in ways that private enterprise couldn't have done more with the same dollars. The average American taxpayer spent $500 for Hurricane Sandy Relief. Case closed.

To: SilentZ who wrote (766262)	1/29/2014 1:45:48 PM
From: Tenchusatsu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1576376

Z, BUT NO ONE EVER SAID IT WAS! I can't tell you how many times I've been accused of selfishness and avarice just because I believe in smaller government and keeping more of what you work for. This can only come from those who believe bigger government IS philanthropic and altruistic. How does progressive taxation keep someone who isn't at the higher end of the income spectrum from saving? a) It punishes those who depend on unsteady incomes because during the years they are making more than their average, they pay higher tax rates. This especially applies to small business owners. b) It makes sure that the middle class, especially those who have the best chance at becoming "rich," stays in the middle class, effectively killing class mobility. c) It funds bigger government, which then has a vested interest in getting more and more people dependent on government programs like public health care (e.g. ObamaCare). Tenchusatsu