Thank god for taxes

[globaleconomicollaps]

http://www.salon.com/2012/07/13/thank_god_for_taxes/

I’m a politically minded person who writes about economics, and in the days that have followed the fire I have been unable to resist the impulse to put every tendril of flame into larger context. Consider today’s crappy Weber grills, where every new model seems to degrade into obsolescence faster than the previous one, a victim of the cost pressures midwifed by Wal-Mart-style globalization. Or how about the lifesaving value of insurance, a point brought home to me as never before on the very same day that John Roberts astoundingly upheld the constitutionality of healthcare reform. (Note to mandate-haters: If my mortgage lender hadn’t required that I have home insurance, would I have plunked down that check to Farmers every one of the last 16 years?) Also of interest: prior to the fire, I had no conception of how big an economic event a disaster like mine is for other people. The hubbub of job-creating activity related to my home in the past few weeks has injected instant cash into the local economy — from Santa Rosa down to Watsonville. I am my own Keynesian-stimulus. Want to get the U.S. economy really moving? Burn everything down.

Anybody care to critique that thought?

[DSpencer]

Re: Thank god for taxes

Somebody quite bright already did...a hundred and sixty-two years ago. Apparently it hasn't helped much.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable..._broken_window

[gwynedd1]

Re: Thank god for taxes

Never confuse correlation with causation. The common thread is the equalization of rent. Destroying all rents equalizes them for sure, but equalization of rent on any level has the same effect.

[Raz]

Re: Thank god for taxes

http://www.salon.com/2012/07/13/thank_god_for_taxes/

(Note to mandate-haters: If my mortgage lender hadn’t required that I have home insurance, would I have plunked down that check to Farmers every one of the last 16 years?)

Anybody care to critique that thought?

Perhaps Mr. Leonard isn't aware that California is a Title Theory state and that he only holds an equitable interest in his home while the mortgage company holds the actual title - until said mortgage is paid in full. Having title to the house certainly provides "insurable interest" to the bank and they'd be insane to allow the property to remain uninsured.

Berkeley is a great place for "thinkers" such as Mr. Leonard. He would do well to learn one of Bastait's most famous sayings:

"The State is the great fiction through which everyone endeavours to live at the expense of everyone else."

[lektrode]

Re: Thank god for taxes

Never confuse correlation with causation. The common thread is the equalization of rent. Destroying all rents equalizes them for sure, but equalization of rent on any level has the same effect.

ok - i need some help with this one - is that meant to say "the broken window fallacy or glazier's fallacy, demonstrates how opportunity costs, as well as the law of unintended consequences, affect economic activity in ways that are "unseen" or ignored."

= false?

[lektrode]

Re: Thank god for taxes

....Berkeley is a great place for "thinkers" such as Mr. Leonard. He would do well to learn one of Bastait's most famous sayings:

"The State is the great fiction through which everyone endeavours to live at the expense of everyone else."

+2

http://www.salon.com/2012/07/13/thank_god_for_taxes/

(Note to mandate-haters: If my mortgage lender hadn’t required that I have home insurance, would I have plunked down that check to Farmers every one of the last 16 years?)

Anybody care to critique that thought?

dont ya just love how some can twist their own failures and lack of common sense into gov mandates for The Rest of US? (the seat belt law being enforced in places with 10mph bumper to bumper traffic jams just the tip of that iceburg)

or how they can use such stories to argue the 'merits' of their own ideological POV? (and some are still wondering what the backlash at the lamestream/liberal-dominated media is all about or why foxnews is the number one tv news outlet? = HILARIOUS! but i digress...)

would he have paid for homeowners/fire ins if he wasnt forced to by his mortgage holder?
sounds to me like he'd have considered that option, if he wasnt in swimming in mortgage debt - and would then want to sue walmart for his house burning?:

...My best guess, I tell my daughter, is that after her brother and I had grilled burgers earlier that evening, a charcoal ember had slipped through the decrepit ash-catcher underneath the grill and smoldered for hours in the wooden deck before exploding into flame.

so - because he was stupid enuf to use a rusty ole smokey-joe, ON HIS WOOD DECK, no less - its somehow NOT his fault 100% that this occured? ahhh the liberal mindset - buy something because its cheap at walmart, allow it to corrode out in the weather, build a hot fire in it, then walk away with it still glowing red hot?

and this, while unfortunate for him, is a good reason to have more .gov mandates?
while he questions whether or not he would pay for fire ins?

or that his:
"...renewed appreciation for the value of my taxpayer-supported public services. ..." (which sounds like he's also advocating even HIGHER taxes for even more public services - bet he also voted for and benefits from prop13)

or that this rationalization:
"...In Berkeley, we are addicted to high taxes — in the 25 years I’ve lived here, I can’t even count how many times I and my fellow citizens have said a resounding yes to yet another tax hike or bond measure. Two weeks ago, I got my money’s worth."

allows him to think he somehow got MORE than he would have, considering what the BFD staff likely makes per year (and fuhgetabout the fringes), not that the BFD firefighters themselves arent worth every dime they get paid - but that he somehow feels like he got more than if his local fire dept was, say for instance, ALL VOLUNTEER?

this is a typical big city/liberal/dem POV, where we should all be thankful that the gov/big bro is 'looking out for us' and we should be grateful that we have to fork out 50% and more of our incomes to be so 'cared for'

[Slimprofits]

Re: Thank god for taxes

(and some are still wondering what the backlash at the lamestream/liberal-dominated media is all about or why foxnews is the number one tv news outlet? = HILARIOUS! but i digress...)

Indeed, many aging baby boomers love to passively sit, watch and have their hypocritical viewpoints about Social Security vs. the rest of Government reinforced by professionally done corporate propaganda. Isn't it amazing?

[lektrode]

Re: Thank god for taxes

Indeed, many aging baby boomers love to passively sit, watch and have their hypocritical viewpoints about Social Security vs. the rest of Government reinforced by professionally done corporate propaganda. Isn't it amazing?

surely, mr slim, you arent referring to me - are ya?
i dont even watch foxnews, am a PBS kinda guy mostly, with some 60mins and a bit of the big3 (nat'l, local) thrown in for the 'big picture' (even tho its mostly propaganda)