Guns for Food

[brosometal]

FQ13 you patronizing academic jackdonkey!

The sharing of knowledge is never patronizing, its the manner it which it is done.  You, my friend, have failed to meet the patronizer smell test.  The mere fact that you worried about coming across in that manner is enough to show that it is not the case. 

I like to illustrate principles with exaggeration.  The tax dollars paid for number of votes is such an illustration.  Yes, it would be an Oligarchy, however it would be an Oligarchy of the successful as defined by taxes paid. Our current president is an example of the exact opposite.  Never has so unaccomplished a man held the office of POTUS.  As his policies are revealed daily this fact is held in sharper contrast, but I digress (as has this thread as Tom has mentioned  )

Back to the original point I was attempting to make.  Most folks voting today would not be able to vote (me included) had we kept to the original plan set forth by the Founding Fathers.  Regardless of the perfections of ideals and principles, they must be implemented by fallible human beings.  One could argue that we presently are operating (or not) under an Oligarchy.  Senators no longer represent their state legislature as designed, but party stances and continued re-election, votes are bought with the very dollars confiscated from those who actually produce, and the lights are going out in Reagan's shining city upon the hill*.  I mentioned the FairTax, if you haven't looked into it you should.  It removes the controlling power of the Washington insiders, moves the tax burden to consumption and removes that burden from production.  You can choose whether or not to pay taxes, while making the USA an international tax shelter, but that's a different thread (or not) altogether.  So in deference to the spirit of the thread, if anyone has guns, I have food and will be glad to trade.

*"I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it and see it still." -Reagan 1989, farewell speech.