Patrice, Your friend Ren's comments regarding taxes and government in the US are actually dead on. Perhaps he should have translated it in Dutch for you.
Yes, our total taxes (federal income, state income, medicare, unemployment insurance, property taxes, sales taxes, capital gains taxes) easily all add up to 40-60% of one's gross income. And, I'm not including things like social security - something we pay for, but which is expected to be bankrupt but the time I retire. In the US we do get pretty crappy govt. services for the amount of money we pay. Perhaps some of this is because the US spends some of its wealth ensuring that you not be forced to speak in German or Russian :-) Regarding welfare, you seem to have a vision of a socialized utopia like they do in parts of europe, where they even provide needles for drug addicts. But coming from India, I know what real poverty and suffering is. In a land of opportunities like the US, the poverty is of the mind, not the body and I believe the welfare state only serves to exacerbate this problem of unwarranted dependency. Perhaps we should send these people to Holland. We can ship your new socialist friend Mario along with them too :-) Your comrade, Marlon --- On Wed, 3/25/09, Patrice Riemens <[email protected]> wrote: From: Patrice Riemens <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Goanet] American (USA) 'socialism'... To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2009, 1:29 AM -----Inline Attachment Follows----- What I Like about Goanet is than you can read the most bizarre lunatic rightist fringe stuff I know exists, but I would never come across otherwise. I send Mrlon (or Marion's) outlandish nonsense about 'socialist' USA with its 'socialist' medicine (Medicare) and its outrageous taxation (40-60%, c'mon gimme a break! The US has one of the LOWEST I.T. of the 'developed' countries, esp for the super-rich! More like 20% -). I also very much like the idea to do away with welfare altogether - why not with the welfare recipients too, while we are at it? useles bummers,good for the Gharib Hatao treatment of Sanjay Gandhi, huh? Anyway I send the stuff to a Dutch list (Kredietkrisis info) and we had a good laugh! My friend Rens from Beijing/ Jeddah had also something to say,which I'll fwd separately Cheers, patrizio & Diiiinooos!
