No, the government should have the ability to enforce laws... however, the picking and choosing of what laws to enforce really chaps my ass (but that's another conversation)...

I don't like the laws and I will continue to vote for folks who I feel will provide the best opportunity to change them...

Income taxes, by definition is theft. You take something that isn't yours, without permission... actually by force... that's the definition of stealing. Laws or no laws.

Stop handing them tax money.

You are right, that isn't what I think. Notice I didn't judge the decisions of either D1 or D2, I only stated that those decisions are directly responsible for large differences in their effective tax rates.

I also don't care about whether "the rich" own homes or not. I was simply trying to point out the futility of judging the tax system through "I paid this much in taxes" anecdotes.

'them' as in rich people? Like we are taxing the rich to give it to... the rich?

I don't see them being handed money... They are more clever in filing their taxes so they can keep more of the money they earned, maybe.

The whole thing boils down to a simple principle for me... does someone have a right to what I've earned, more than me?

I don't mind chipping in some money to run things, but it's completely out of control. There's never a realistic plan for how to pay for a bunch of this shit that we don't need, but we keep spending anyway... At the end of the day, rather than really sitting down and making responsible budgeting decisions, the answer is more debt and more taxes.

Regardless of which side of the fence you are on... it boils down to that simple principle... is it OK for your money to be arbitrarily taken from you, without you having any say in the matter?

In that case, I think I'll come over to your house and raid your fridge, because the guy next door is hungry... and you can't do shit about it other than bicker about how I should have taken it from someone with a bigger fridge.

Cool.

Thrilling Thread. You guys should all be correspondents on Fox news.

Lets face facts, NOTHING you do say or feel will change a goddamn thing this country or any country in the world will operate. If gas goes up to 20 Dollars a gallon, People will still buy it. as an entire population, the vast majority are sheep being herded into there untimely demise. The only thing that can control the price of anything is regulation, and our government would rather worry about Illegal MP3 Files than trying to control the price of gas.

I've given up on society...The world is fucked...and no politician or world leader is going to convince me otherwise.

You really wanna stick it to the man? Buy a brand new pair of Nike's or a Huffy and stop relying on gas as a source of transportation. But as Captain already posted...in some cases thats not entirely possible and thats where the oil tycoons and world leaders know they have us by the balls.

Ride more motorcycles, save gas! Do your part!

LOL...

Honestly, My bike personally isnt THAT great on gas. Its better than my truck but in terms of good fuel economy...I'd be better off on a 250 or 500 that doesnt rev as high.

bc lets face it, when im on my bike it pains me to putter around town and ride it like its a scooter.

Sure, just not as much.

There's no such thing as a product with perfectly inelastic demand.

People just need to man up. You don't NEED to drive to 5 different grocery stores, when 1 will do. You don't NEED to drive alone, when carpooling would work. You don't NEED a big home in the suburbs, when an urban condo would work.

Not every single person has these options. I have no carpooling options to and from work...at all. I dont even have the ability to take public transportation to and from work.

So what do i do to get there? Drive or Ride. sure i could find a new job...but its not as easy as saying it.

we dont NEED 400 dollar smartphones and 800 Dollar Flat screen TV's...but there nice to have...would you sell less gas if it was 20 dollars a gallon? Sure...but the point is people would still buy it.

If theres a gas station on one side of the road and a gas staton on the other side and one had gas for 3 dollars and another had it for 3.25 the guy selling it for 3.25 would still get buisness...Why? bc people who are to lazy to make the left or right into the cheaper gas station bc its not on there side of the road and the 3.25 station is "easier" to get to...Trust me I've seen it many times.