POOR USA KIDS

[IDB1]

Screw that.. only use I ever had for quail eggs was chipmunk food.. and even then only the eggs our own quail laid.

 

[The Ken]

Salt and pepper sandwiches, heavy on the pepper light on the salt (with margarine) on soft white bread.

 

[tintin40]

Love the way this thread has been hijacked Much more interesting

 

[dbmtb]

I'm stealing it back.

I have a few friends who lived in the USA before returning to the UK. Two of them lived in Orange County and the other one has lived in Seattle, New Mexico and New York.

Consensus between them seems to be that there are two Americas - the one we see on the TV in Europe - which is affluent and the one that we don't - which is bordering on being a third world country in all aspects, including education and poverty.

American readers - please discuss as I would be interested to hear a non-British take on this.

From my own point of view - I pay tax at 50% in Denmark - and I think it's worth every penny to know that there's nobody in my country living through this. Sure - some people are abusing the system - and I'm sure savings could be made - but to what gain? To give more money to rich people who don't need it and therefore won't spend it and keep the ecomony turning round? It's not just a question of what's fair and what's not and whether you're a socialist or not. As the owner of a LBS I consider my taxes to be a cost of business - which helps to keep my customers solvent so they can support my company.

 

[Whatleymeister]

All this debate (with no bun fight - horray!) yet not one person has mentioned a Michael Moore documentary...

I agree with dbmtb, that what we all see (on this side of the pond) is mostly the glamorous and 'Holywood polished' side of America on the TV. Mr Moore would certainly have us believe that it is nothing like that and I am sensible enough to know it isn't all high society and enormous houses. But does his programming represent a over-biased opinion on the matter to the other direction that TV shows do?

I would also be interested in hearing the opinions of one of our American members on this.

 

[tintin40]

Any country that goes to war on a penny tax for tea must be a bit 'different'

 

[DM]

I live in a high-taxation north European country.
Yes, I complain about taxation; But no, even abolishing all tax wouldn't suddenly make me wealthy.

I'm self-employed, but I STILL chose to relocate here from a lower-taxation country that was infinitely more inequitable, dysfunctional, and violent; But which was simultaneously obsessed with consumer goods, consumer credit, and destruction of public services (you know, those services that are the main payback we expect in return for our taxes and votes).

Whatever tax I pay (also due to the generally different mentality here towards unsustainable consumerism) is worth it to know that:

• I can safely walk to the night-store at any time;
  Disadvantaged people are not driven to desperate measures (possibly against my family or me);
  and that little girls like those in the BBC link dont have to say "We ate rats".

I don't care what your political views are:

• When corporations post record profits but make minimal taxation contributions;
  When your "healthcare" system is the least affordable, the least efficient, and the most profitable;
  When little kids say "We don't have dinner; we ate rats"...

Then your "system" is broken.

 

[tintin40]

I live in a high-taxation north European country.
Yes, I complain about taxation; But no, even abolishing all tax wouldn't suddenly make me wealthy.

I'm self-employed, but I STILL chose to relocate here from a lower-taxation country that was infinitely more inequitable, dysfunctional, and violent; But which was simultaneously obsessed with consumer goods, consumer credit, and destruction of public services (you know, those services that are the main payback we expect in return for our taxes and votes).

Whatever tax I pay (also due to the generally different mentality here towards unsustainable consumerism) is worth it to know that:

• I can safely walk to the night-store at any time;
  Disadvantaged people are not driven to desperate measures (possibly against my family or me);
  and that little girls like those in the BBC link dont have to say "We ate rats".

I don't care what your political views are:

• When corporations post record profits but make minimal taxation contributions;
  When your "healthcare" system is the least affordable, the least efficient, and the most profitable;
  When little kids say "We don't have dinner; we ate rats"...

Then your "system" is broken.

Couldn't agree more. GB is slowly heading that way

 

[greenstiles]

The full 'panorama' program is here :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... r_America/

 

[tintin40]

I think seeing people live like that in any country is sad.