popeye1250
Posts: 18104
Joined: 1/27/2006 From: New Hampshire Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: AnimusRex quote:
ORIGINAL: DarkSteven 3. A decided welfare mentality. After a lot of flight of professionals, a large group remains behind, on welfare. Very good post, and while I am pondering the other issues, just wanted to touch on this one for starters- No one ever notices or criticizes the "welfare mentality" of successful thriving communities- its only once the gravy train stops and the place becomes a ghost town that we begin moralizing on the helpless welrfare teat-suckers. For instance- the vast majority of farms in America are large agri-business concerns, heavily subsidized by taxpayers; Without generous subsidies, most would be bankrupt in a year. I don't see a lot of articles on why those folks in Texas or Nebraska are such helpless parasites. Cities like San Diego, Norfolk, and others are heavily dependent on the military spending from bases; other cities are dependent on military procurement. If they were forced to stand on their own and produce goods for sale to the consumer market, they would revert to hardscrabble towns. I don't see a lot of articles wringing our hands over how weak and pathological the people of Virginia or California are. If the Federal gov't actually turned off the enormous spigot of money that gets dished out each year to the military- industrial and agribusiness complex, I am betting that we would see a lot more Detroits, all over America. Rex, but all those farms are feeding half the world. If the govt stopped using our money to subsidise them countries like Somalia would have to go back to eating dung beatles. As for Navy ships they have to be on the coast although I don't think Norfolk, Va is the best place for them with an hour and a half long sea detail to get into or out of the place. I think it's about 20 miles to get out into open water! Plus, it's just not a good idea to keep so many Naval ships in one place. Portland Maine has a deep water harbor. So does Newport, R.I. And don't even mention ending "foreign aid", we'll be barraged with "starving children commercials" paid for by the lobbyists and lawyers on K street in Washigton! (Ultimately paid for with Taxpayer Dollars!) And the three "do nothing depts," Energy, Education and State could be ended as well saving us who knows how many tens of billions!
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"But Your Honor, this is not a Jury of my Peers, these people are all decent, honest, law-abiding citizens!"
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