eddieb said:
Still, why is taking from the American poor and giving to the African poor inappropriate? We're all human beings.
It's inappropriate because it makes me question your humanity. To me, someone that gives money to complete strangers while people he knows are starving is not much of a human being.
Your comments on Poland I did find interesting, and do raise some questions about whether there might be a better way to ensure aid is properly spent.
Yes, there is - don't give aid except when lives depend on it. It's one thing to give a loaf of bread to someone who hasn't eaten for a week - but when you start giving this guy regular payments, he'll get used to living off your money. You're taking away his incentive to change his life. He should be out there looking for a job, so that he can
earn his living.
Which, incidentally, is why I don't like people who self-righteously demand that western companies stop exploiting cheap labour in third-world countries. What have the people of those countries done to hurt you? Why do you want to deprive them of their livelihood? Or haven't you even given any thought that what you consider exploitation may be what is keeping them alive?
I suppose you think the solution to all the worlds problems are to decrease taxes. And in fact, that's a great idea. [...] So you've convinced me, I agree with your proposal: Let's have an uneducated, sick population, with low taxes whose next goal is to conquer Africa.
Well, I guess now I should congratulate you for your
excellent knowledge of American history.
Truly, America could never have attracted settlers with the promise of greater economic freedom.
It couldn't have become a great power without free education.
It certainly couldn't have been settled without free health care.
Not a chance could America have achieved anything without free immunisation programmes.
But America did promise greater economic freedom. It offered no free education, no health care, no free immunisation programmes - hell, all it offered was endless wilderness populated by grizzly bears, rattlesnakes, alligators, and some pretty fearsome natives. Which, I guess, explains why today poor, indebted, uneducated, disease-ridden America is constantly scared that the great, powerful, socialist Mexico will invade and take over those parts of America that it didn't already take in the war of 1846.
Hmm. No, I suppose I must have gotten something confused.
What you fail to consider is that all this stuff you'd like to see done in the poor, economic ruin called Africa was only done in America
after you decided that you could afford it. You're like a computer salesman, trying to persuade a homeless guy that he needs to spend all his money on a computer, because you can't achieve anything in today's world without the knowledge you gain through the internet! And wow, you're so nice, you're even willing to lend him most of the money, if only he'll spend those twenty dollars he's got on your amazing computer!
Only... he'll still be homeless and unemployed. Free education, free healthcare, whatever - it's all useless when you
still don't have a job to go to. Here in Poland, we have unemployment benefits, assistance for low-income families, et cetera, et cetera. We also happen to have 20% unemployment. Can you even begin to understand that? That wonderful feeling when your government says - we're sorry about you and 20% of the rest of the population not having jobs, but hey, here's some nice handouts instead. Go home now, and write a pretty poem to express feelings of love and bliss about your wonderful, caring government.
Personally, I'd like a government that tells me to go fuck myself when I ask them for money. I'd like a government that tells me they won't spend a cent to keep me alive. I'd like a government that doesn't take 80% of my income, instead letting me or someone else set up a business and create jobs for myself and others. Yeah, I want a safe and secure future. But I don't want the government to be my insurance - as my insurance, I want the knowledge that if I quit my job right now, there will be a thousand other companies where I can work instead.
This knowledge, incidentally, is what raises wages - it's what prevents all this so-called exploitation of cheap labour. Because when your employee can quit any day of the week and find a different job the next day, you're gonna care about him a lot more than you would if you had the knowledge that he's stuck with you. You can't force employers to pay more just by introducing some new minimum-wage law - they'll just hire a few extra accountants to help them get around this law (and the people they employ won't mind - the choice of minimum wages but no job or a job but no minimum wages is a no-brainer). What you have to do instead is create a competitive environment, where new employers keep on appearing, forcing existing ones to fight to keep their employees.
Additionally your behavior, although I'm sure motivated from a good heart, is logically inconsistent.
It wasn't meant to be. I specifically stated that the second part of my argument is addressed at
your belief that free <insert whatever you like here> is good no matter the cost. The reason I don't claim a tax deduction is not because I want to contribute more money to the government for the greater good. It's because a) I'm far too lazy to waste any more time than necessary on my tax statements, and b) I do
not want the government to keep track of who I give money to. My business, not theirs. And finally, c) If everyone claimed their tax deductions, the government would have less money... so they'd raise taxes, lowering my income and raising prices. Now, to you, that might seem like a small price to pay if it means free condoms for some Africans, but me - I kinda fail to understand the part where less money in my pocket and higher prices to deal with are a good thing.
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