theBlackman on 5/9/2008 at 23:43

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As voluable as he/she/it is don't you think it would be mentioned?

It's nice of you to defend, but they probably could do a better job themselves. Over the years SD has been more than capable of voicing opinions, defenses and playing devils advocate, but the odds are SD does not give hours of time, or thier own money to the "Downtrodden" masses. Excepting the buck or two in small change to the corner beggar.

Most arguements of that type are usually from the same crowd as the NIMBY's of the world.

NOTE: I am not accusing SD, or anyone of being a NIMBY, just mentioning that that type of "altruistic" ranting is usually the mouth of those NIMBYITES we all have around us. True, it's a generic, or Stereotype, if you will, but over the years (and I've had a few), the actions seldom fit the tune.

heretic on 6/9/2008 at 00:44

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Ignoring the fact that European economics differ greatly from ours here in Americaland - (if I'm not mistaken you are Belgian or some such?)

How many employees do you have?
If you have any (employees), what benefits are you required to give them?
What percentage of your overhead covers these expenses, wage/benefits wise?
Exactly how much more of your bottom line could you afford to lose?

theBlackman on 6/9/2008 at 01:39

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Regarding the insurance and associated discussion. I too had a "small" business. Without any real warning the government made a change that, along with a tax raise, created havoc in mine and associated businesses.

I had a underwater search and salvage business. The base for "Insurance", Workmans Comp in this case, the Business premiums were raised to 100% of salary.

To say that this effectively put me and many others out of business is a gross understatement.

The change in the law also effected all associated personnel in thousands of waterfront businesses, and included any person hired by said business including janitors, secretaries, and any other.

The key change was that any employee who walked out on a pier or otherwise was "over" water for any reason was included in the Longshoreman and Harbor workers act.

If my secretary walked to a pier to get a number from the hull of a boat, she was considered engaged in a hazardous activity under the LSHWA.

Typical "Committee" decisions from government agencies.

As for tax raises being small increments and predictable is false. One can assume that the local, or federal government is running on empty and that taxes might be raised. But a "small" increment added to an existing tax can be the last straw.

An example is a $1.00 raise on a particular item that is costing $3.00 at the moment. That is not an uncommon situation with certain consumer goods.

Tobacco comes readily to mind. (Don't give me static about health issues. If it was a $1.00 raise on a bottle of beer, you non-smokers would be pissed as much as the smokers and alcoholic drivers kill more people each year than die from tobacco related problems).



As do we all. But, the personal help I give directly to some homeless people I know, and value as human beings actually benefits them a bit more than the two-bit handout they get from "social services" most of the time. They know that another person "cares". The de-humanizing treatment they receive at most government agencies destroys thier idea of selfworth, or so they tell me.

And it's not "Charity" on my part. I've been there myself and pulled myself up and out, but received little from the so-called social works programs. Social services and associated is "Charity", and grudgingly applied due to the red-tape legislation.



She scares me too, but not for the same reasons, I imagine.

theBlackman on 6/9/2008 at 02:11

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Civil service, is a government job. I too was in "Civil Service". That is a generic for Police, Fire, Street sweepers, Dog catchers, etc.

The point is that expecting the government to do what you, as a human, should be doing is another "I don't want to get my hands dirty, but I'll support others doing it as long as my personal cost is low"

I have a number of friends who are engaged in humanitarian efforts here and abroad, many of them in life-threatening theatres of activity. They are sacrificing thier own comfort to assist those less fortunate, and don't say, "Hey let the government do it."

As the saying goes, they "put thier money where thier mouth is."

I did until I got too old, but then we all get old. :)

Fafhrd on 6/9/2008 at 02:55

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Bullshit. I, as a human, should not be personally ensuring the standard of living for everyone. Ensuring the standard of living of the people is literally what the role of the Government, not the individual, is. It was created to serve the will of the people, protect the people, and ensure that whole "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" thing that was so important in that one document those guys wrote all those years ago.

You may have friends working for NGOs in humanitarian efforts around the world, but they wouldn't (and shouldn't) have had to do so had those foreign governments stepped up themselves to make life better for their people. Admittedly a lot of countries can't do that because they're manipulated economically by the US and Europe, but then that's why we have to make efforts at reforming our own governments, which is where being an active part of the political process (even if only by voting), is so fucking important.