| Aielyn said: America needs to stop being so damn egocentric, and have a look at other countries, and how they handle tax. We in Australia pay more tax than Americans do. We also only have something like 10% of our GDP in public debt, compared with over 100% in America. What does that mean? It means that Australia could conceivably pay off its entire public debt in one year, whereas America doesn't even have enough economic strength to do that if it were able to magically take every single dollar from the economy for a year (without screwing up the economy along the way) and give it all to those who own America's public debt. Other countries have even higher tax rates than Australia, and are also strong economies that, per capita, easily outshine America. The Scandinavian countries are a good example of this. One of the big problems with America is this absurd irrational fear of socialism. Now, I agree with most people that actual socialism is a bad idea - proven by China, Russia, and a number of other countries (all of which have corruption and repression issues far beyond that of western nations), but what Americans think of socialism is also known as "good governance". For instance, the public option for healthcare. Here in Australia, we have a strong public health system... supplemented with a private health system. The public health system is restricted in what it can provide, leaving plenty of room for the private system to make plenty of profits - but the public system acts as a buffer on the private system, to ensure that prices don't get unsustainably high. Now, there ARE issues with our health system, but it still easily outshines America's health system. America should be looking to find the best systems throughout the world and implement them all. Instead, Americans bemoan the idea of "becoming like ". Whether that country is France, Germany, Greece, or Norway, it always seems to be that this absurd notion that America is the "greatest country in the world" is getting in the way of America becoming a better country. And until Americans are brought to understand the truth about the situation, politicians will continue simply kicking the can down the road while increasing your debt and getting better deals for multimillionaires at the expense of the rest of the country. This "Fiscal Cliff" is really nothing more than smoke and mirrors. |
I like this different perspective and think it's a unique approach. Thank you.
I agree with you about the Fiscal Cliff being akin to smoke and mirrors, at least for now. I can't find myself taking the situation too seriously. I guess because our media and news outlets now have taken to blowing everything so out of proportion just simply to create fodder for whatever outrageous or otherwise politically panderous discussions are out there. I'm not apathetic just yet. I still vote and give a damn. I don't give enough of a damn to care what other people say I should give a damn about... mainly because nothing is getting done.
Where politicians say an issue is developing, I see pandering to get votes and more TV time. Where people say there is a fiscal cliff, I see a countdown on CNBC, as if we're all marching towards a firing squad, getting ready to be taken out one by one... and the news covers this all as if it nothing more than a plot twist in a political soap opera. Yes, we have serious problems. It's hard to solve them with all the political distractions and pandering. The media doesn't help either, they boost their own ratings by keeping politics controversial and encouraging people to get upset about everything. I don't care who is to blame, I just think things are stagnant as they are. Both parties are trying to win the war on appearances only, not really by focusing and finding solutions to the actual issues.
