Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-66.87.85.222-20170412181021/@comment-25012056-20170414121644

MrHobit1234 wrote: Gen. Grievous1138 wrote: MrHobit1234 wrote: So somehow democratic socialism makes it so everyone is equally well off? I for one don't get how a system run by humans could ever do this.

Equally? No. More equally? Yes. Democratic socialism is basically capitalism with enough socialism to make it work for everyone. The goal is to raise the economic status of those at the bottom to the degree where they can afford to actually enjoy life at times. By necessity, the extremely rich are made slightly less rich, but the majority of funding can be obtained with simple budget restructuring. Let's use the US for an example. Tax breaks for the rich - who don't need them - cost the treasury a potential $11 million PER HOUR.* That's insane. If the rich and corporations are taxed normally, not even extra, then we can afford to expand welfare, financial aid programs, and perhaps institute tuition-free community college, especially if funds are taken from useless military projects that we don't need as well. It's not at all hard. It's not ruining the free market either. It's allowing people to live their lives. That's what I consider right.

* When I saw this at first, I didn't believe it either. But here are the sources: Source One, Source Two.

Gen. Grievous1138 (LOTR Mod Wiki Admin) comlink 00:49, April 14, 2017 (UTC) So basicly you want more money to be stolen from the rich so everyone can become even more reliant on the government? I don't know about you but that doesn't sound like a good idea.

Taxes are not stealing. But not renouncing your citizenship, you consent to ALL taxes levied by the state and federal government. If everyone paid the same amount of taxes - which the rich can very much afford to do and then some, thank you very much - then we would gain twelve TRILLION dollars more for the next decade than we did the last. That can be used to help people actually live lives. It's a common conservative point that those on welfare or government aid simply mooch off the government, but I'm beginning to suspect that those that tout that point have no idea of the concept. Over 80% of the people on welfare have jobs, and many have multiple. (Oh, and 18% of veterans that have risked their lives for our country fir into this category, thank you very much.) The problem is, it's not enough. For anyone to get a job that pays a decent living wage, one needs a college education. Tuition-free community college - to which we could allocate part of the budget from military projects and be able to afford three times over - would allow people class mobility, which, for those at the bottom, is nonexistent. It's not dependence on the government: it's a right to start, and it allows people to get to a place where they don't need to depend on the government. It's the same with welfare.

Gen. Grievous1138 (LOTR Mod Wiki Admin) comlink 12:16, April 14, 2017 (UTC)