Are we really this far apart?

No, you're not missing anything.

There are people in this country stupid enough to believe that the government knows better than you do what's good for you.

One could say they are indeed mentally deficient, they have fallen victim to the insidious concept that Government is the cure to all that ails the country!

This vicious hideous concept sneaks into various and sundry places and distorts the thinking of otherwise sane and logical people. How the simple fact that no matter how it is managed government is and must always be considered a parasite on society, it is not society nor is government the country to wit, but it is a necessary element of society required to control the undesirable elements within society and to protect that society from aggression from outside of it's borders. Therefore the government is necessary to maintain needed police and armed forces. I believe the Constitution of the United States also specifically states "and to mediate disputes between the states" That is it. Period.

However we have fallen victim to the flaw of democracy, that the government can and will do what the politicians believe the "people" who elected and presumably will re-elect them, and that is to "Bring prosperity to MY state/home" this is accomplished through earmarks, government projects which spend money in MY area AND through "Social Programs" since the New Deal where the government simply supports certain people due to some twisted and misguided idea that by giving someone a hand out they are helping that person, well the problem with state welfare is simple - once anyone realizes they can have a pretty good living by popping out fatherless squalling brats and doing nothing else because Uncle Sam will send them a nice check and food card and even pay for most of the rent on their subsidized apartment ... Well it is impossible to get them off of the system!!! They have no reason in the world to practice sexual responsibility or go out and find a job! THE GOVERNMENT HAS NO BUSINESS BEING IN THE WELFARE BUSINESS!

IT IS TIME TO KILL THE SACRED WELFARE COW!

"No democracy can long survive the point when the voting public realizes that they can vote for themselves Cake and Circuses" - Robert A Heinlein

I've come to the conclusion that the majority of people on here are kids who think the government owes them something they shouldn't have to work for. Ambition and the willingness to live under deferred gratification vs. instant gratification have been beaten out of them by a class of adults who have somehow convinced them that the government is the answer to everything under the sun.

In other words, the baby boomers have failed an entire generation of people.

I would give that statement a thumbs down simply because it is not the first time I have seen it and it is constantly used by those who think they do not need to pay their share for Government and post repeatedly on here trying to get some sort of validation for their own greed and selfishness

. If you really had something to say, you should express it in something other than bumper-sticker slogans.

This is a direct result of the brainwashing of public, fed govt-run schools. Convincing a whole generation that a conglomerate of federal programs that control the masses from cradle to grave is preferable to freedom.

Churning out new communists daily via the US Dept of Education.

Hey LeAnn; Think about all the people who have twenty thousand on their credit card and are caught in a house that is five times what they need and have gone bankrupt five times. There are your thumbs down. Morons that could not manage a lemonade stand to save their soul.

LeAnn - you can say the sky is blue and water is made of H20 and you will get a thumbs down. There are people on this board that just thumb down everybody for no reason. Personally - I only thumb down when someone is insulting towards others

No, those are the Socialists and Communists weighing in. Yes, they are mentally handicapped.

They are Mentally Handicapped !

you should have figured it out by now

YA! is monitored by federal employees. it is their job to influence your point of view by posting and responding to posts. they say what ever their boss told them to say. just like watching tv. it is pre-programmed propaganda

don't feel bad; it's actually a good thing; getting thumbs down means that you are actually thinking for your self and not being led around like the rest of the sheep.

it you get really good; they will stop posting your questions and cancel your account

Yes it is now about crazy ideology than about real people experience in saving and spending. we only have to look at ourselves, you don't go to a restaurant if you cannot afford it, you pay off the interest and the principal of credit card debt.