Quote: Aaron @ May 29 2010, 3:35 PM BSTIt means he's scared of admitting that Governments are the worst people to be allowed to spend money.
Not at all. Just that it reflects an abstract value of resources.
I'd rather a government spent it on hospitals, schools and the occaisonal war.
Rather than wealthy individuals rat holing it in tax havens or wasting it on pointless cars whatever.
High taxes and responsible governemnt can create some of the best places to live.
Quote: sootyj @ May 29 2010, 11:53 PM BSTHigh taxes and responsible governemnt can create some of the best places to live.
It might work in theory if you could keep the people and businesses from voting with their feet and running away.
Well they got that right in France, Sweden, Norway etc all who have enviable standards of living. As compared to the UK or US.
Of course if standard of living doesn't include universal good quality health care, low crime and good education for all.
Then you're welcome to all the consumer goodies you can afford.
N.B. outside of manufacturing simple products most business's seem to like healthy, stable, educated workers.
Quote: Oldrocker @ May 29 2010, 11:42 PM BSTWe appear to have hit 4000 threads on the General Threads !
Really!? Whoooah!
Quote: sootyj @ May 30 2010, 12:10 AM BSTWell they got that right in France, Sweden, Norway etc all who have enviable standards of living. As compared to the UK or US.
France definitely does NOT have "enviable standards of living". Sweden in some respects, perhaps, but not France.
The crime rate in Sweden is much higher than in the United States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index
Frankly though having this discussion with 2 posters who have previously mentioned how much they benefit from government spending is odd. No you're right utterly countries with low taxes, low reinvestment and few services are some of the happiest places in the world. I guess I wouldn't want to live in them. Silly me.
I know many people in Sweden and they leap at every chance to spend time at our office in (overtaxed and nearly bankrupt) southern California.
Taxes and government services are fine and often essential. But not every problem can be cured by more taxes and more government. Given half a chance, the government (and government spending) will quickly balloon into a monster that requires ever-increasing amounts of tax money to sustain itself.
Government spending traps funds and stops it leaving. Doesn't really matter hospitals or aircraft carriers. Both offer lucrative jobs to those who spend and reinvest constantly.
Government spendign sometimes needs to decrease. But it's more a case of rebalancing. Certainly the UK needs to shove more people into work pronto, but those jobs need to be there. And in some regions no government investment or employment no work.
Oh and there are lots of places that are fun to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there...
Quote: DaButt @ May 30 2010, 2:56 PM BSTTaxes and government services are fine and often essential. But not every problem can be cured by more taxes and more government. Given half a chance, the government (and government spending) will quickly balloon into a monster that requires ever-increasing amounts of tax money to sustain itself.
This.
Quote: sootyj @ May 30 2010, 3:02 PM BSTOh and there are lots of places that are fun to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there...
France is neither. 
For what it's worth I never enjoyed visiting France.
I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
This seems like a cool idea:
Mainly one for Aaron and those of a similar mind . . .
The girls were watching television the other night and I happened to wander through.
There was this 'thing' on the screen.
Was it male/female? Human/Beast? Of this world or another? Malevolent?
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.
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'Dad, that's Gok Wan for Heaven's sake!'
