Subject:
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Re: George McGovern quote
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Tue, 21 Sep 1999 17:51:53 GMT
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Reply-To:
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jsproat@io.STOPSPAMcom
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Viewed:
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239 times
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John Neal wrote:
> Sproaticus wrote:
> > Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> > > "Rich people, healthy people, they don't need much attention from the
> > > government." (just heard on Larry King Live)
> > > So why do they get so much? :-)
> > At a guess -- and this is just a guess, mind you -- they pay for it and they
> > work for it.
> > All at the expense of neglecting the poor and the infirm, who deserve it
> > more.
> I'll bite and expand it a little. Since the rich would not have been able to
> get rich in the first place without the benefit of the system and people on
> whose backs they climbed (the low income schlubs who work for them), they *do*
> owe a debt to society.
But are you referring to a socialist society or a capitalist society?
Surely, in a socialist society, you owe everything to everyone, and in a
capitalist one you owe it all to yourself.
How about we start with a given: we need both. A purely socialist society
cannot work on the scale of the U.S. We need trade just to get the food on
the shelves. (Proof: USSR) However, a purely capitalist society without
government regulation turns into something darker, something ruled by an
elitist class. (Proof: Uncle Scrooge :-) So we need the mix of socialism
and capitalism.
So, I get back to your statement, that those who climb owe something to
those whose backs they climbed upon.
But (goes the counter-argument) everyone has the same opportunity as any
other. If one person can start at the bottom and make it to the top, then
anyone can, so anyone who doesn't do so then deserves what dreary position
they get. Besides, you pay those whose backs you climb upon, in the form of
wages, exchange of goods and services, etc.
So does the upper class owe something to the lower class, or don't they?
How about to the people in the lower class whose backs they *DIDN'T* climb
upon? Arg.
If I make a billion bucks selling detergent-free laundry balls, do I owe
anything to some luckless rookie who ekes out a living delivering
newspapers?
Would you believe me if I told you this keeps me wawke at night? :-,
Cheers,
- jsproat
--
Jeremy H. Sproat <jsproat@io.com> ~~~ http://www.io.com/~jsproat/
Remember -- the enemy's gate is DOWN.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: George McGovern quote
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| (...) I'll bite and expand it a little. Since the rich would not have been able to get rich in the first place without the benefit of the system and people on whose backs they climbed (the low income schlubs who work for them), they *do* owe a debt (...) (25 years ago, 21-Sep-99, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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