Funny world (as in strange, not haha).  Today my brother calls the house and gets in another heated argument with my father.  My father triggers this.  My father is worried about losing social security and paying the bills, and is on the Democrat side.  My brother calls.  Being in the military, he has turned anti-Democratic party.  Maybe he isn't pro-Republican or a Republican, but he echos a lot of the Tea Party stuff, and Fox News talks.  He talks about how he was lied to about his taxes not going up and the social security payroll tax reduction stimulus ending.  He rails how much the budget could be balanced if you just kick the welfare queens off the rolls,  and spoke about the person in a limo picking up a welfare check.  It goes on and on and on.   He also admits he is buried in credit card and student loan debt.  But he will fight on he says.  He is taking classes, and he won't come up short.  He will take responsibility for himself, and make it. 

Here is the kicker:  He works for a defense company, I believe as a contractor.  He hates how the military is scapegoated for things and blamed for all the money ills.  He is going to face furloughs and days off without pay, due to the sequester coming down.  In short, he doesn't see himself in any way and form dependent on the government at all.  He is also retired military and I believe also is getting a pension of some sort.  He doesn't see himself dependent at all.  While crying autonomy and not taking care of the welfare losers who are bankrupting the company, he is a contractor on the government dole.  He also railed against the likes of the Department of Energy.

I guess, "Keep the government off my Medicare" is alive and well.

Um I think you're the blind one.

Not really, just wanted to say that :)

Working or being contracted with the government is NOT the same as being on the government dole.

Welfare Recipient =/= Pensioner

Deadbeat welfare scammer =/= Retired Social Security Recipient

Most people only see the world their way.
i.e. Invisible Obama is a villain.

You are dependent on tax dollars.  The sequester is affecting his wallet.  He is doing work for the government and dependent on tax dollars.

If he was't dependent on the government then why would he be affected by the sequester?

come on, defense is the one thing that everyone can agree the government should be doing.

.  Nah, outside of the Earned Income Tax Credit part.  I now am not going to be having any form of government anything.  I am also soon going to be without any medical coverage.  I might pay an arm and a leg for NY state health insurance pool stuff.  That should end up being like 40% of what I bring home post-taxes monthly.

Doesn't mean that one involved in it isn't dependent on the government for work.  Also, one would have to contrast what the U.S pays for military vs the rest of the world to, and wonder if it isn't too much.

A government that gives you everything you need can take everything you have. Everyone needs to get off the government payroll and stop paying taxes unless it's to fund a declared war. The government borrows more money from the federal reserve and china than we can ever pay back. And do you know what it's being spent on? Trust me you don't.

I bolded the one part there for discussion.

I created this game looking into that:

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/128512/the-quitting-game

It is The Quitting Game.  In it, if everyone quits, then you win.  Thing is that everyone doesn't coordinate enough to quit in the game, so they end up losing, particularly when you play with the variant where you lose more the more you stay in.  Even when individuals, based on selfish action, or could coordinate collectively to do anything, would come out best possible, they don't.  Unless you can get a sufficiently large number to do it, you waste time.

What you advocate is a belling of the cat.  You have any ideas on how to bell the cat?

Also, in regards to "the government that can give you everything..." comment, I can reply: "In a universe of absolute freedom, without regard for others, and totally bound by individual's egos, people can run over and be permanently harmed".