KaskadskyjKozak

Nice try. Government has a legitimate role, including national defense. Indeed defense is one of the few roles explicitly mentioned in the constitution. Any soldier who defends this country, deserves to be compensated. This is not about "working hard" - its about sacrificing - and being willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice - in defense of the country. Those who make such sacrifices don't deserve to be f**ked over by our bloated bureaucracy. As for "Work hard, retire, and expect to get something in return", well, sir, nobody is stopping people from saving and investing on their own. The problem is that so many want a nanny state to do it for them, whether it be from lack of discipline, lack of self-confidence, fear, or whatever.

Of course I did gloss over your point about our modern volunteer army. Back in WWII, many did volunteer, but many were drafted...

That's funny. A friend of mine said the same thing after he visited there.

I was thinking of things like the GI Bill - education, housing programs for vets, a good VA benefit. Nostalgia? Don't know - seems like everyone agrees on this - at least I have not heard anything to the contrary.

Seems like we treated our veterans much better after WWII, and that would be a worthy standard to meet...

I mean something worth paying $32+ to ski on. damn, damn, damn this weather...

This season is not starting well! Do you think the conditions will be any better at Baker?

You'll get no arguments from me on that one. I think a Dem could have made more headway against Bush if he proposed fiscal responsibility - all Kerry could promise was more spending above and beyond Bush's already exorbitant levels.

Lowest, true, but still a huge burden. And the socialist European nations are not to be emulated.

Stevens is opening CONDITIONS PERMITTING. Just called Snoqualmie to sign my kid up for a day of skiing, and THEY decided not to open after all. I hope Stevens will not be changing their mind....

The SS program already is a multi-trillion dollar liability for our children. It is already an irresponsible, unfair burden on taxpayers, and on our children. As for "tweaking" the program, one suggested proposal going around is to RAISE the payroll deduction. Great. The government once again f***s up and the taxpayer gets reamed. A tax increase is an effective salary cut. Another proposal is to raise the age at which people are eligible to receive benefits. Yet another is to lower the benefits. So, we have to work more and get less. Wonderful. In a past thread I characterized the SS program as "you get back what you put in with interest". I forget the fact that you have to live to be pretty damn old for that to be true. Benefits are parcelled out each year beginning with the first year of eligibility. Many taxpayers will NOT get all the money back that they put in, yet alone with interest. By contrast, if you invest in a 401(k) or IRA, you can take out as much as you want, whenever you want, and if you die, your money goes to your designated beneficiaries. SS is a bad deal all around.

It describes the plan using carefully-selected, highly-connated verbiage which conveys an obvious bias. As such I do disagree with the statement as it stands. We've already discussed SS on the list. Personally I just want to opt out of the program. If that means I need to sign a waiver saying that in exchange for not having to contribute anything to the program I am wholly responsible for my own retirement and will be 100% irrevocably ineligible for benefits then so be it. I think the whole program is unsalvageable and its costs far outweigh its benefits.

There are some people worth listening to, and debating. There are some who are not. Life is too short to waste on the latter.

Anyone to the left of you is a radical extremist Well, I wouldn't call YOU a radical extremist and you are to the left of me on fiscal matters. Krugman OTOH is about as extreme as they come. I've heard him talk on the various cable shows, and seen his articles before. He is in the same mold as Robert Reich - far far left on the economic side. If his ideas ever took hold, it would mean economic disaster, and *I* would start talking about moving to another country. :-) For the record, I question all the clearly slanted right-wing arguments about SS.

The biggest problem with the article is that it is written by a left-wing radical extremist.

ditto - would have been better to use the word "sailors" instead of "seamen" up until the punch line...

Great song to play on an acoustic guitar... funky tuning though...

Second that Yep.

delectable would be a better description

Powell is the de facto Secretary of State until Rice is confirmed. The facts speak for themselves - pressure IS being applied. You'll need to find a new theory to justify your Bush hatred. I will also note that those who speak the loudest about the race of this or that person - or the supposed racism of this or that person - are usually the racists themselves. Put that it in your pipe and smoke it.

Yep. That's why they refused to hold a recount - they knew 3-4 million votes were falsfied in the eastern regions and they would lose the recount. So, they will hold a "new" election runoff instead, and in the meantime try these shenanigans...

ACTUALLY the US has turned up the heat on Putin, and he is livid. Powell just appeared in the UN and administered a verbal beating. The European nations and Canada are doing their part as well... Meanwhile Putin just got a victory at home - regional Russian Governers will no longer be elected but *appointed*.

He'll probably sue the city, the cop, and the people who trained the dog and get a couple million... As for the injuries, too bad both testicles weren't severed - that would be evolution in action!

Yushchenko's doctors in Vienna have not been able to identify the poison, but have cited "a chemical agent that does not occur naturally in food". One hypothesis that is consistent with the symptoms is Dioxin poisoning.