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Post by Kimby on Apr 22, 2021 19:25:34 GMT
I believe bixa likes these long posts done as spoilers. I’d like it translated into English. But well done, K2!
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 22, 2021 19:45:54 GMT
Admirable K2.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 23, 2021 6:27:58 GMT
That looks very comprehensive. The figures are the money you are getting back from the micro-loan? If so, on average how much would you be loaning? I understand from previously it is 20, 40, 50 Euros types of figures. I don't mind being wrong with that. Would it be so terrible to take away 20%, 30%, 50% of their money and use it to develop the poor countries and banish disease? Would you say the amounts you donate, well in fact you don't donate it's more that you lend it and get it back which is a better idea I suppose because in the long term you lose nothing, in theory anyway, but would it exceed what your thoughts on what the wealthy should contribute? I showed you mine. Now you show me yours. It's not me who has the opinion above so I don't have to in order to justify practicing what I preach. I'm not particularly altruistic - especially where large charity organisations are concerned and after witnessing them in a number of developing countries and their actions 'on the ground', the wastage and corruption, bribe giving, creaming off the top, selling on of equipment, the holier than thou attitudes, the sweeping in and doing something which only lasts for a short while and the lack of follow up - I donate to the RNLI (The Royal National Lifeboat Institution), in fact have a standing order to do so, and give reasonably freely to those I see day to day (except and old woman down the road who is a real manipulative pain in the arse) and always support any local animal organisations in the country I'm living - e.g. apart from other help I've given to them over time I said goodbye to an animal welfare organisation in Zambia and gave them tools, recovery equipment, jerry cans of fuel and so on I had accumulated whilst there - so practical stuff rather than just chucking money at relatively faceless charities with little over-sight. But do I contribute any large percentage of my "wealth"? No, far from it, but then again, it's not me who has that principle.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 23, 2021 6:51:28 GMT
would it exceed what your thoughts on what the wealthy should contribute? Because you think I am wealthy?
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 23, 2021 7:56:26 GMT
Wealth is relative. Your pension and savings far, far exceeds I'd estimate a great percentage of the world, yet in European terms may be quite normal. Same as mine more or less and I suspect mine is quite less due to my less work history. A great many in Africa, Asia and South America would see you as wealthy - and these are the people who would benefit from your idea. So to them, you are wealthy, yes. So they may have a case for saying you ought to pass on to them your quoted percentage, unless....
If it is thought that the wealthy should contribute 20%....etc... where do you draw the line and who do you compare the wealth to, to draw the line. Only those earning above half a million a year and/or with savings over a million..... or go by what those who would benefit would consider to be wealthy? It certainly complicates a simple message of the rich should spend their money on the poor. To many/most, we are rich so to anyone who wants to uphold that principle should, and I'm saying 'one should' rather than a personal 'you should' determine who should decide who is rich and who not, us wealthy Europeans or the people who would receive the charity, and if it falls where one is 'rich' and the principle is held by the person, then they should have no qualms about handing over up to half their money/earnings.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 23, 2021 9:30:08 GMT
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Post by mossie on Apr 23, 2021 11:33:01 GMT
I agree with Mark.
But Kerouacs article puts me in the top 10%, absolutely staggering. But I look round my 3 bed detached estate house and say "I own every brick", and have done since I bought it nearly30 years ago. I have the old age pension and a work pension which pays nearly as much and a little savings. But what amazes and annoys me is that I have a substantial bank balance, which I cannot spend because I have all the necessary stuff. Bringing up 3 children with the help of a wife who I was happy to see stay at home to rear them properly made life at work always a worry. If I loose my job I am right in the sticky stuff, I kept a budget and kept strictly within it, credit cards were paid off to the penny when due. I remember once splashing out on the family at Christmas to the tune of £90 and worrying my guts out until it was cleared. I have only got into the clear because I smashed the car about a year ago and decided that was the end of my driving, and the insurance paid out reasonably.
I contribute a little to odd charities and occasionally give a bit to beggars on the street, but am not very charitable, having had to work for almost 50 years and scrimp for many of those. My time in Egypt made me realise that people at the bottom, really are.
Now I am too old and infirm to enjoy it and kick myself for not splurging on myself and my family when I should. And I sit here chanting the refrain from an old service song "Roll on that fucking boat" being the troopship that would carry one home from whatever godforsaken dump the service had posted you to. Nowadays I am referring to Charon's little rowboat.
Big rant over.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 23, 2021 11:47:55 GMT
The Biden administration wants bigger taxes on everybody earning more than a million dollars a year. I guess those people who were saying he is a communist were right.
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Post by fumobici on Apr 23, 2021 14:14:04 GMT
Former Costa Rican president Luis Guillermo Solis briefly explains the political dynamics underlying the northerly migrations of Central Americans fleeing insufferable conditions brought on by corrupt, authoritarian, right-wing malgovernence in the countries fueling the migration. The US' hands are by no means clean, we having supported many of these criminals in our decades of tragically misguided extreme right-wing, exploitative foreign policy in Central America. theconversation.com/money-alone-cant-fix-central-america-or-stop-migration-to-us-157953
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Post by fumobici on Apr 23, 2021 14:22:06 GMT
This. It's almost unimaginable how much of the world's wealth is held by a few hundred families. This is morally untenable and can be fairly corrected with measures that will only cost a few thousands or tens of thousands of people worldwide. Talk about low-hanging fruit, this must be done, then we can get to work on the harder issues of global wealth inequality. Much of global opposition to more equitable wealth distribution is of course funded and organized by these wealth-hoarding billionaire families with the most to lose from a sensible rearrangement of the world's economic order. Take away their toys and the next steps will become massively easier.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 23, 2021 15:00:49 GMT
What is incredible is that so many people with a "reasonable" nest egg think that they would be affected by measures to redistribute wealth. This implies that they know that they have much more money than the poor and are afraid of it being taken away. I also have much more money than the poor since I am a total pennypincher, but I would be willing to contribute more if I found more ways to do so such as my microcredit site. You always feel much better when you know where the money is going.
Nevertheless (and everybody thinks I am crazy), when I received a substantial payout for leaving my employer after more than 30 years, the tax office made a mistake and did not tax me for the amount, even though I knew that they should. This is because I was the union delegate for my company and also the employee representative for all negotiations with management. So I had pretty much memorised every element of the law, including taxation of the amounts paid out. It took me two visits to the tax office to convince them that they had made a mistake on my taxes, but I finally received a bill for 13,000 euros which I was totally willing to pay. I don't know if many of you here would have done the same.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 23, 2021 16:39:39 GMT
Htmb, thank you for being more broad minded than I, since I probably would have skipped reading that OpEd because of its author. But since you linked it, I read it and was impressed by its straightforward treatment of the subject. I was also impressed by the way that Bush respectfully and subtly addressed any unacknowledged prejudice in his readership in his gentle championship of immigrants and immigration. I have great empathy for the situation these economic migrants find themselves in and think they should always be dealt with in a compassionate and respectful manner. But that compassion and respect need not equate to completely abandoning the orderly immigration process that all potential immigrants are legally required to follow. Every one of these migrants has passed through thousands of miles of Mexico, and in so doing not only escaped the immediate perils that putatively initially prompted their migration but by necessity also passed through innumerable opportunities to build new lives as productive and valuable participants in the vibrant Mexican culture and economy— an economy far wealthier and richer in opportunity than those of the countries from which they fled. The US has no legal responsibility for migrants Mexico has allowed to transit north to the US border. I would welcome and implore Mexico to embrace and accept these migrants with whom they share so much culture as brother and sister latinx in the exact same manner they expect the US to do with undocumented migrants from their own country. Fumobici, everything you say is completely logical. But the part about the vibrant Mexican culture & economy doesn't hold up in reality. I don't know what the deal is with Mexico and Central Americans, but there has always been a ongoing and punitive effort here to round up C.A. migrants. As it happens, I have met a couple of Guatemalan men who are here illegally, but who wound up with Oaxacan wives and they live below the radar. This is the exception, though. When that first big wave of walking migrants passed through Mexico, there was a certain amount of support for them, including mass community meals. But there was also a certain amount of vociferous xenophobia. Part of that xenophobia sounds like that of the US -- "they'll take our jobs" -- but is much more based in reality. There are not enough jobs and opportunities in this country and I'd would say that for most of the population work means long hours for little pay. Yes, you can work and get ahead here, but with far too much work for not enough advancement. "Job creation" where I live, which is the state capital, consists of boondoggle projects in the tourist district, performed by men with pickaxes and shovels. Setting aside the polished and manipulative amount of corruption in the US for the moment, let's look at the amount of corruption in Mexico. It is vast and pervades everything, resulting in a lack of infrastructure for things such as social welfare. If you don't have a job with a pension & certain benefits, you just have to scrabble along to keep from going under. If you are blind or crippled, you may have to claim a spot on the sidewalk for daily begging. As an illustration, I include this article which covers a part of the border that I know well. A quick scan will convince you that any migrant would rather be on the US side. In another post I mentioned the naiveté of certain would-be immigrants. In the time I've lived in Mexico, that perception of the US as an automatic land of plenty has mostly been eroded by reality. When I first came here, a common question was "Is it true that in the US you can make five dollars an hour?" Yes, it is and was true, but as we know, even 23 years ago that wasn't nearly enough to live on in the US. I don't know how much supposedly well-paying jobs are a draw for C.A. migrants. From what I've read, it seems as though safety is an overriding reason to leave their own countries. Believe me, I get your point about the orderly immigration process, but the fact remains that for the present the process is undermined by sheer numbers and by the organizational mess left behind by the previous administration. I think the issue right now is is balancing humane treatment of those wishing to enter with efficient sorting and moving of those individuals.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 23, 2021 16:47:01 GMT
I am just happy that Bixa has finally disembarked from her broomstick. (**runs away at top speed**)
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 24, 2021 18:17:25 GMT
The Biden administration finally recognised the genocide in Armenia. That is a good thing, in my opinion.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 27, 2021 10:05:37 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 27, 2021 15:45:47 GMT
Berlin and Paris have expressed their support for an international minimum profit tax of 21% on the GAFAM companies (and plenty of others) proposed by the Biden administration. France had only hoped for 12.5% in the past, but the winds of change are blowing at last. Perhaps some of the attitudes here about the rich paying more will also change.
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Post by fumobici on Apr 29, 2021 3:02:10 GMT
Watching Joe Biden address Congress. We're only 100 days into his term, but so far I think he's probably the best President of my adult life. I wasn't a fan of his, I didn't even vote for him, but I'm turning into a fan. May it continue.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 29, 2021 3:03:40 GMT
Definitely starting to feel warmly towards him. I didn't think he would be so bold. Still want to see universal health care addressed.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 29, 2021 4:31:21 GMT
'bout time!
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Post by Kimby on Apr 29, 2021 13:29:49 GMT
Yes, I am sleeping so well since Biden was inaugurated, and my stress level has dropped below notice. I am a tad concerned about the election assault happening in Arizona ATM. The company that was given the audit authority by the Arizona GOP is a GOP-supporting Florida firm that has never done an election audit before. If they come back with a reversed result, it could be the beginning of a multistate attack on Biden’s wins, and I’m sure they are hoping for the whole election to be overturned. www.politico.com/news/2021/04/26/republicans-arizona-vote-audit-florida-484737
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Post by lagatta on Apr 29, 2021 15:26:18 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 29, 2021 15:48:26 GMT
Europe is quite happy with Biden so far (and 95% of the countries did not support the previous president in any case), but of course since just about every country is more "socialist" that the United States, even the conservative countries of Europe, it is not easy to understand why things like health care and universal free education are not automatic in rich countries like the United States.
But just about everybody is rooting for Biden's success after the last four years.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 30, 2021 21:33:13 GMT
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Post by spaceneedle on May 3, 2021 7:02:54 GMT
Watching Joe Biden address Congress. We're only 100 days into his term, but so far I think he's probably the best President of my adult life. I wasn't a fan of his, I didn't even vote for him, but I'm turning into a fan. May it continue. I agree.... told ya so
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Post by kerouac2 on May 10, 2021 15:36:29 GMT
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Post by mickthecactus on May 10, 2021 15:45:24 GMT
I love what the criminology “experts” say. Everything other than the total lack of gun control. Remove the guns- problem solved.
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Post by bjd on May 10, 2021 15:51:59 GMT
Nothing will happen. Biden is president, not a magician.
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Post by Kimby on May 10, 2021 16:32:25 GMT
How do you “remove the guns” from people who HAVE GUNS? Their whole thing is to be able to rise up against a tyrannical government.
I’m afraid that horse has left the barn.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 10, 2021 16:46:06 GMT
Several countries paid people to turn in their guns, and it worked. Of course there are so many guns in the United States that it would be another one of those trillion dollar projects. (Naturally, the gun fanatics would never turn in their guns, but all of the urban people with Saturday night specials are generally more interested in instant money than shooting at random.)
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Post by bixaorellana on May 10, 2021 19:36:39 GMT
Remove the guns- problem solved. agree agree agree agree agree Several countries paid people to turn in their guns, and it worked. Gun ownership is huge in the US, but control has to start somewhere & paying people to turn in their guns seems a good start. That, and making it illegal to own the damned things. My grandmother had a gold piece, I don't remember if it was a $5 or $10 dollar coin, but I know as a kid I was intrigued to hear about people turning in their gold & that my grandmother's coin was a legal no-no. On April 20 [1933], FDR ordered Americans to turn in their gold in exchange for dollars source
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