Jay Walker

Reply to Are there really two Americas? in Democrat JoeUser Forums

Fuddle duddle, as PET was once claimed to say. JW

Reply to Are there really two Americas? in Democrat JoeUser Forums

Well, it's one thing if the whole, say, state is poor. This is obviously different than where the poor have concentrated in pockets due to economics (ie housing costs). And stop worrying about my country of origin so much - I'll comment on whatever the hell I want. This is the internet, man. If you want to stay

Reply to Are there really two Americas? in Democrat JoeUser Forums

It wasn't your hat I was imagining you talking through. OK BakerS, I think that's far enough. If you can't keep your comments civil, then I'm not going to debate with you any longer. This is nonsense. <TR

Reply to Are there really two Americas? in Democrat JoeUser Forums

Sadly, that is spurred on by the very mischaracterization you are perpetuating. I'm not sure what "mischaracterization" I'm perpetuating. Please refer to my article over here Link which gives factual information about their situa

Reply to Are there really two Americas? in Democrat JoeUser Forums

Brad, When you say "able-bodied" does that mean, that if the body is OK, but the mind is mushy ... what are your thoughts then? I've discussed some of these problems that the poor face, over here .... Link ... essentially, many poor suffer from learning disabilities and sometimes mental illness. What's your world-view of that? Sympathy

Reply to Are there really two Americas? in Democrat JoeUser Forums

My mom could have gotten welfare if she'd wanted to. She actually made LESS working full time than she would have received via welfare. But you said on a different thread that hard work alone was enough to pull people out of poverty. Say it isn't so Joe DeMa

Reply to can money buy you love ? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Another good one we support is Foster Parents Plan (now called "Plan") Link which supports children, families and villages with practical items in undeveloped and developing countries. ABout 80% of the funds are spent on aid, with about 9% to fundraisign and 11% to administration. Had a relationship with them for decades ... JW

Reply to What's your hobby? in Misc JoeUser Forums

My husband and I both say that if we ever win the lottery or come into a substantial amount of money we're both going to become professional students. That's cool. That'd fit in my world-view too. JW

Reply to What's your hobby? in Misc JoeUser Forums

My hobby is learning. In the 1980s I learned about herbal remedies and became reasonably adept at using them for our family. In the later 1980s, I studied ecology. I personally wrote to every Canadian MP, and included a 12 page booklet I'd written about that, encapsulating our pressing environmental problems. I have personally signed letters from the two prime ministers, and several cabinet ministers, thanking me for my efforts. I also studi

Reply to Why as Americans we should speak up about TV programming in Entertainment JoeUser Forums

The world is full of idiots, don't worry. Americans are just a little less bashful about showing that than other folks. I think people realize these types of things happen world-wide - they just aren't televised. JW PS I think the quality of TV is terrible in general, but wadda gunna do 'bout it? A hopeless case, I think, except by voting with your feet - so to speak.

Reply to Voting Trends and Economics in Politics JoeUser Forums

Not paying federal tax: votes Gore - 55%, votes Bush 40% I don't think a 55%/40% split is overwhelming - a solid majority, sure. Overwhelming ... no. An interesting counter-point question to yours, is if the poor are purportedly so greedy, then why don't they vote 80-90% Democrat, instead of just 55%? JW

Reply to Voting Trends and Economics in Politics JoeUser Forums

The 4/6 split your analysis breaks (AT MOST!) out belies the title of your article. Just like many newspapers I've seen. Of course that doesn't make the inaccuracy any less irritating. But it does continue to tell me that controversy sells better than accuracy ... Or that some people continue to hold beliefs (ie your headline), despite the facts (ie the body of your analysis). As to your flat fee idea ... might have some merit, but i

Reply to Observation versus Intuition in Blogging JoeUser Forums

As a former pizza driver, I think of it as triangulation. Last good address = X, approximate distance travelled = Y, therefore the address on the box should be upcoming VERY SHORTLY. JW

Reply to The Price of Education in Blogging JoeUser Forums

All you have to do is look at the correlation to income and education to know it's worth it - for most people - in the aggregate. Of course, there's always anomolous stories against the average, but for most, the story is "good education = good income". It's just that simple ...

Reply to Tobacco Documents Links to Evidence in Pure Technology JoeUser Forums

Much better writing dude, I actually read this one ... JW

Reply to The ADHD Conspiracy in Health & Medicine JoeUser Forums

RIght, mrperky, I understand that (ADD doesn't go away just because you grow up). While stimulant medication works to reduce some of the symptoms, I'll respectfully suggest that it's not really that good of a solution. A far better solution is to change the brain wiring through the right type of progressive mental exercise - to expand the ability to pay attention and working memory. We

Reply to Are there really two Americas? in Democrat JoeUser Forums

Bill Gates did not "start poor". He's the son of a very wealthy attorney. He attended Harvard University. From the Microsoft iste ... "Their father, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney. Their late mother, Mary Gates, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent, and chairwoman of United Way International. "

Reply to Why your taxes are so high in Politics JoeUser Forums

Brad, BakerS, and David, I'm not going to get into every detail you boys are slinging about, except to say that: 1. Canada's health care isn't perfect, and needs some serious revisions to keep it healthy long-term. However, Canada spends far less of it's GDP on health care than the US does (last time I read about it, the US spent about 3.3% of GDP, vs. 2.2% for Canada), yet health outcomes are virtually the same, across all income gro

Reply to We're All Socialist in Politics JoeUser Forums

Great stats, thanks David ...

Reply to It's time for show and tell in Just Hanging Out JoeUser Forums

Here I am .. some people tell me I look a bit like Brad Pitt ... but I really don't see the resemblance .... Link

Reply to The ADHD Conspiracy in Health & Medicine JoeUser Forums

Mrperky, I guess my comment was added to sort of say ... well if taking a medication for ADD / ADHD doesn't improve the social or educational outcomes ... there's not much else left with ADD / ADHD except the irritation of a child who won't sit quietly. The Claritin analogy isn't applicable, because it does deal with the core issue of why you take it. Yes, you're right there's lots of things that can affect social or educational outc

Reply to Federal Taxes, paid by the few to be given to the many in Politics JoeUser Forums

littlewhip Traditionally the purpose of democracy is to prevent tyranny (the accumulation of too much authority in the hands of one or a few). That is, democracy is not necessarily intended to give us "good" government, but to put some limits to the abuse of power, and to ensure that any bad government can be deposed and replaced peacefully. Nonetheless, many people think that there is no system that can ideally order society and that

Reply to Federal Taxes, paid by the few to be given to the many in Politics JoeUser Forums

Emoticon Man, that's funny - improvement in the cardboard boxes they live in! But important to them too! Republicans are all too happy that these folks don't vote, I think.

Reply to Federal Taxes, paid by the few to be given to the many in Politics JoeUser Forums

because while the distance between rich and poor may grow, the standard of living for the poor improved. I don't believe this is the case. I think the standard of living for the poor has fallen; certainly the articles I recall reading suggested that the bottom two quintiles are getting poorer. <

Reply to Federal Taxes, paid by the few to be given to the many in Politics JoeUser Forums

Oh, one other question I had. You refer to federal taxes, and make the statement that the top 1% pay 1/3 of the total federal taxes. But your chart says "income" taxes. Are there other sources of federal income (i.e. corporate taxes, dividend payments)? And how much "income" comes to the wealthy through sources other than "income", i.e. dividends, etc.?