Bay 12 Games Forum

Quote from: Flying Dice on October 25, 2012, 09:13:45 pm

Quote from: Bohandas on October 25, 2012, 09:12:59 pm

My father insists that gay rights is an economic issue.

What. How, if at all, does he try to justify that? I need some comedy tonight.

Supposedly gay marriage will make his taxes higher.

Well, marriage is basically nothing but a tax break. People save a lot of money under joint filing and if any two persons can do this, you can expect more sham marriages for the purpose of saving tax money. It just opens another loop hole for the ring-clackers to exploit.

So it might conceivably lower revenue, more likely the gov't might alter the tax codes in response so that marriage doesn't provide as much of a tax benefit or abolish joint filing entirely. Not very likely, but possible.

Anyways, how about cluster nukes? Wait, they already have those, nvm.

There are people who internet debate to learn something new, and there are people who debate to convince themselves that they are right. Avoid the latter and you've solved all your problems. I've learned to back away from a debate when one side starts appearing shrill and hugging a weak point; good internet debates will have people conceding to you when you're right, and building off your points to a mutually agreed conclusion.

Basically this. Especially the first sentence. Debate, especially on the internet is not likely to fundamentally change anybody' position. If you present a lot of strong points and they later resort to stupid ideological rhetoric and slogans and the sort, then you've won and it's time to quit posting, you won't accomplish anything.

Quote from: Snowblind on October 24, 2012, 05:53:29 am

I don't get sick or go to hospitals because I take care of my self, so I'd rather have my personal freedom and extra money in my pocket, thanks.

I rarely if ever get sick either and even if I get sick, I usually don't go to the doctor either but an accident is just around the corner. If you got in a car accident (which can happen to anyone, no matter how well you can drive), killing the other and severely crippling you, you're fucked from what I understand.
Child birth in a hospital as well brings a +/-10.000 dollar price tag with it, assuming everything goes as it should. In Europe (or atleast, the Netherlands), it's free. You don't have to worry about being able to pay the hospital bill as there is no bill.

Also, you might take good care of yourself but what about your (future) loved one? Or parents? They never get ill either? I'd prefer spending 100 dollars a month, knowing that if something happens it's covered instead of having to cough up thousands of dollars at once for an expensive surgery

I have insurance and I don't get drunk and crash into things with my car.

It's well known, tried, and true: socialized healthcare systems are more efficient than social-security ones, which in turn are more efficient than private insurance ones. Do you think it's a coincidence that the US has one of the highest health-expenses per capita, yet overall most European systems are ranked higher? Keeping that extra change is costing you your health and your money in the long run.

That is probably true, but the healthcare system in the USA is dysfunctional and overpriced for other reasons. Namely that uninsured patients still must be treated in emergencies by law and the hospital foots the bill. The main thing Obamacare was intended to remedy. Like my car insurance being required by law, now health insurance is required too. Unlike taxes, my how much I pay for insurance rate scales with how much of a risk I am. More or less. Same basic goal, different outlook on getting there.

Placing responsibility and liability on the individual allows for greater individual freedom. There is a balancing point of course. Anyways, I wasn't trying to start up some silly political or philosophical discussion, I got carried away discussing something similar and it was just on my mind when it was provoked through causal lurking here.

Afaik, It would eventually stick to the side of the tunnel, because of the gravity of everything else in the universe acting on the ball, or the unequal gravity of the planet, or whatever.

Unless the planet was perfectly shaped, ball perfectly shaped, tunnel was perfectly smooth, complete vacuum, no minute changes in anything at all, absolutely flawless conditions, then it would oscillate forever. Unless quantum decay or something acts on it and it changes course slightly.

Afaik, one of the fundamental conditions for 'TRUE Capitalism' to exist is an equal playing field for every firm.

This is impossible with globalization and free-trade. No libertarian wonder-world can exist if every product and service and firm and good and commodity, upheld with righteous laws and self-determination, can compete if all of these things are imported from firms in countries practicing slave-labor and receive massive government subsidies.

If they were serious about all this rhetoric about China and 'jerbs going overseas' they'd implement protectionist measures with countries with dissimilar economic practices so that not every domestic firm is unable to compete.

But nah, let's play with the tax brackets and try to subsidize and enslave instead to compete.

I dunno why they don't just get that World-Cup predicting octopus to just tell us who will win before hand so we don't have to waste our votes.

I'm also somewhat adverse to popular things. I don't own a smartphone and buy nothing but generic products. I dunno if this is my inner hipster or something, but it's basically how I've always approached things. Hyped products are rarely worth the price mark up.

1984 was probably one of my favorite books though, it's unique in that it is nothing but misery and defeat all around. It doesn't follow the 'hero always wins' standard of mainstream literature. I dunno how prophetic it is, although it is a pretty accurate idea of totalitarian societies of the era it was written in. I have never liked Shakespeare though.

Zombies are stupid and overhyped. I'm absolutely sick of movies based off children's toys or comic books. They need to stop that shit.