25 Great Observations

[Andyman]

GREAT OBSERVATIONS

1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress.
-- John Adams

2. If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.
-- Mark Twain

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself.
-- Mark Twain

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
-- Winston Churchill

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
-- George Bernard Shaw

6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
-- G. Gordon Liddy

7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
-- James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.
-- Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
-- P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian

10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
-- Frederic Bastiat, French economist(1801-1850)

11. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
-- Ronald Reagan (1986)

12. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
-- Will Rogers

13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!
-- P.J. O'Rourke

14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
-- Voltaire (1764)

15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!
-- Pericles (430 B.C.)

16. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.
-- Mark Twain (1866)

17. Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it.
-- Anonymous

18. The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.
-- Ronald Reagan

19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
-- Winston Churchill

20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.
-- Mark Twain

21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

22. There is no distinctly Native American criminal class...save Congress.
-- Mark Twain

23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
-- Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)

24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
-- Thomas Jefferson

25. We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
-- Aesop

[johnshasteen]

I have only one:
God often punishes you by answering your prayers.

[KIVALO]

Mark Twain is one of the men I would enjoy having a beer with. Interesting life he lead.

[SloopJonB]

Originally Posted by KIVALO

Mark Twain is one of the men I would enjoy having a beer with. Interesting life he lead.

He was probably one of the most interesting men in history. People who are funny writers can be disappointing company though. They have the luxury of being able to polish their words over and over before delivery - not the same thing at all as a quick wit in conversation.

I first became aware of this during an American Presidential election. Mike Royko, a Chicago humour columnist, whose writing I absolutely loved, was a pundit on one of the networks election coverage. I made sure to watch it and what a disappointment! He had virtually nothing to say and certainly nothing witty or funny.

Later I mentioned it to my dad, who I knew liked him as well. He was the one who pointed out the observation in the first paragraph. A similar thing shows up in other styles of writing. One of our local columnists years ago could write like velvet - it was an almost physical sensation you got from the smoothness of his writing. Years later, after his death, one of his colleagues wrote that he had never seen a writer agonize so over every word. He made it look so easy that you assumed it was spontaneous but nothing was further from the truth.

[cupper3]

Originally Posted by Andyman

...
13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!
-- P.J. O'Rourke

...

I see the wisdom in virtually all the rest of the quotes; this one is a bit skewed. Being a conservative Canadian, it does intrigue me that as a percentage of GDP we spend about 8% less on healthcare with better outcomes, including longevity.

All other arguments about a single payer healthcare system are distractions, and often skewed to one side or the others political bent (wait times, choice of doctors etc.) HMO's are not particularly known for allowing clients a whole lot of latitude are they?

Make $80K a year? Pay federal tax of 22% in Canada, 25% in US. So, we don't pay higher taxes either.

Still like your 2nd amendment rights though!

[SloopJonB]

Originally Posted by cupper3

I see the wisdom in virtually all the rest of the quotes; this one is a bit skewed. Being a conservative Canadian, it does intrigue me that as a percentage of GDP we spend about 8% less on healthcare with better outcomes, including longevity.

All other arguments about a single payer healthcare system are distractions, and often skewed to one side or the others political bent (wait times, choice of doctors etc.) HMO's are not particularly known for allowing clients a whole lot of latitude are they?

Make $80K a year? Pay federal tax of 22% in Canada, 25% in US. So, we don't pay higher taxes either.

All very true, All the current arguments against universal health care in the States were heard here 45 years ago and from all the same quarters - the private providers, doctors, right wingers etc. Deja Vu all over....

Originally Posted by cupper3

Still like your 2nd amendment rights though!

I fail to understand how you can't make the same connections here re: the two systems.

[LakePirate]

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.

Actualy this can be done with the use of a pulley system.

[merc2dogs]

Originally Posted by SloopJonB

All very true, All the current arguments against universal health care in the States were heard here 45 years ago and from all the same quarters - the private providers, doctors, right wingers etc. Deja Vu all over....

I fail to understand how you can't make the same connections here re: the two systems.

My biggest issue is that some of the biggest proponents pushing for free health care are health insurance companies, I just have a hard time with that.

Years ago, when they were pushing for mandatory auto insurance, Insurance companies were the biggest supporters, with arguments like 'since everyone will be insured, it will make it cheaper on average for any driver' It passed, and rates NEVER went down in the least
Instead, what has happened is that where I used to be able to insure and license my motorcycle for $75 a year ($60 insurance pl/pd, $15 for registration) I now pay $295. (in full honesty, it's not entirely due to the insurance, my registration fee did go up to $16 after all) No accidents, no claims, and same motorcycle.
Because of the law, multi-million dollar companies became billion dollar companies overnight.

As for Canadian health, as I understand it, Canadian health care is publicly funded, with the option of buying more coverage.

The gist of the health reform here, as it's planned, is that the majority will be required to buy coverage from insurance providers, with public assistance to those who can't pay. As explained above, any time you have a company making billions on 'voluntary' services, they have a tendency to get greedy when it is a legal requirement. Since it's required, they don't have to compete, so they lose all motivation for keeping costs down.

Essentially,what is planned, and what we would get is a mandatory health insurance law. NOT a true national health care. We will have multi-billion dollar companies with a legally required service, the only thing we will see from it is higher rates.
Also, as before, the biggest supporters of the current health plan are the health insurance companies, they know profit will be there with a legal requirement.

[SloopJonB]

Originally Posted by merc2dogs

Years ago, when they were pushing for mandatory auto insurance, Insurance companies were the biggest supporters, with arguments like 'since everyone will be insured, it will make it cheaper on average for any driver' It passed, and rates NEVER went down in the least

Instead, what has happened is that where I used to be able to insure and license my motorcycle for $75 a year ($60 insurance pl/pd, $15 for registration) I now pay $295. (in full honesty, it's not entirely due to the insurance, my registration fee did go up to $16 after all) No accidents, no claims, and same motorcycle.

Because of the law, multi-million dollar companies became billion dollar companies overnight.

I'm curious about your auto insurance costs. I drive in a city of notoriously bad drivers and we have mandatory Government insurance. We must purchase our basic minimum PL/PD from them but can get the rest from private companies as we choose.

I insure a Corvette, a supercharged Jaguar XJR and a Pontiac minivan, each for $5 million PL/PD and full collision/comprehensive/uninsured motorist protection etc. - the full boat, max limits and low deductibles.

There is no discount for multiple vehicles - each car is an individual.

I pay $3900 year total - $1300 each which includes license fees.

How does that compare with your rates?

[merc2dogs]

No real idea on that, haven't bought a new vehicle since it became almost impossible to buy a base model.
I dislike AC and I'm not too lazy to turn a crank when I want a window open, I can have a 5X better stereo installed for 1/4th the cost of factory, I work in mud and dirt all the time so don't want velour seats, or carpets, automatics are much more likely to get you stuck in snow or mud so I prefer a manual transmission. My view is an option should be optional. If it's listed on the build sheet and bill as optional automatic transmission, why can't I get the vehicle with a 5spd? if the vehicle isn't made or sold with a manual trans, then the automatic is 'standard' and shouldn't be listed as an option.
Since I can't buy the vehicle I want, I buy older vehicles and rebuild them to suit.
Because I run old vehicles I have no real use for full coverage and run pl/pd at about $500 a year