Is this callous of me?

[cellophanedeity]

I'm sure we've all heard so much about the hurricanes that we're sick of it, but I have one last question regarding the way I've reacted.

As you all know, there seem to be thousands of organizations that are asking for our money to go toward rebuilding after the U.S. hurricanes, especially Katrina. Even here in Toronto, we're still frequently asked for money. Don't get me wrong, I like giving money to charity. When I have a reliable income, I intend on putting aside a small portion of it to donate to some choice charities.

But, I refuse to give any of my money to rebuilding after Katrina.

It seems to me that the U.S. government shouldn't be asking for money. They have so much as it is, and should really be able to deal with stuff like this on their own.

Is this an unfair view? I know many people are suffering, but... I can't help but think that the U.S. is powerful and rich enough to deal with it on their own.

[Psycho Dad]

It isn't so much the government asking for money. It is The Red Cross and other organizations. The government won't ask for it, they'll just tax you for it.

[cellophanedeity]

Originally Posted by Psycho Dad

It isn't so much the government asking for money. It is The Red Cross and other organizations. The government won't ask for it, they'll just tax you for it.

Hmm... I still think that the government should be taking care of themselves....

And unless the U.S. really does hold power over Canada, I doubt I'll be taxed for Katrina.

[Psycho Dad]

So the Canadian government is asking for Katrina donations?

[ObieX]

Originally Posted by cellophanedeity

Hmm... I still think that the government should be taking care of themselves....

And unless the U.S. really does hold power over Canada, I doubt I'll be taxed for Katrina.

Thats the problem. The government takes care of itself, not hte people. The time has long pased when the gvernment is the people. Atleast the "higher" levels of government. All taxes do now is feed the machine.

If you don't want to give $ to the US i fully understand. I wouldn't give it to any of the major organizations either, who knows where that cash actually goes. If you really feel the need to donate, i would put some serious research into the best way to get the money to people *WHO ACTUALLY NEED THE MONEY*, then give to that organization/person. If you don't, then.. *shrugs* it's your money. Personally I would invest it in an upgrade for my computer.

[cellophanedeity]

Originally Posted by Psycho Dad

So the Canadian government is asking for Katrina donations?

No, that isn't what I mean.

NGOs are asking for money to help out with the rebuilding after Katrina. I'm not giving to these organizations because I figure that the U.S. government has enough money to rebuild the country on their own.

[jorgelito]

Actually, I think we will have $15 billion in cuts to services in areas like medicare, education etc to pay for Katrina so we won't have to raise taxes. But what about the reduction in the other services....

What I want to know is who is keeping track of the accounting? With all the donations, foreign aid, charity, insurance money do we still need another $15 billion? I not too thrilled about having some services cut (at least on the face of it - not without a damn ggod explanantiona ans some debate) to the tune of $15 billion.

I personally think the insurance should have covered it sufficiently. Those without insurance, the IRC and all that charity money should cover it too. And if that's not enough, then all the foreign aid should suffice.

If not, well I know where to get $250 million from a certain porky Alaskan bridge project that could be better used elsewhere.

Besides, it should be a state's issue. Let them take care of it. So I am fully confident that the Republican's who are staunch supporter's of state's rights will not waste our tax (federal) dollars on a state's problems. The only thing the Feds should pay for is the interstate stuff, and the offshore (in Federal waters) stuff.

I think we'll be ok, we have a good system in place - there shouldn't be any waste and it is clear who is responsible for what.

[Marvelous Marv]

Originally Posted by jorgelito

I personally think the insurance should have covered it sufficiently. Those without insurance, the IRC and all that charity money should cover it too. And if that's not enough, then all the foreign aid should suffice.

If not, well I know where to get $250 million from a certain porky Alaskan bridge project that could be better used elsewhere.

Besides, it should be a state's issue. Let them take care of it. So I am fully confident that the Republican's who are staunch supporter's of state's rights will not waste our tax (federal) dollars on a state's problems. The only thing the Feds should pay for is the interstate stuff, and the offshore (in Federal waters) stuff.

I think we'll be ok, we have a good system in place - there shouldn't be any waste and it is clear who is responsible for what.

I like your thinking, but Robert Byrd has set quite a precedent to the contrary.

[host]

Originally Posted by cellophanedeity

.......But, I refuse to give any of my money to rebuilding after Katrina.

It seems to me that the U.S. government shouldn't be asking for money. They have so much as it is, and should really be able to deal with stuff like this on their own.

Is this an unfair view? I know many people are suffering, but... I can't help but think that the U.S. is powerful and rich enough to deal with it on their own.

The U.S. government is in the midst of a fiscal and a currency crisis. The government has accrued about $2 trillion in additional debt in less than five years. The official debt total was less than $5.5 trillion USD, at the end of 2000.
The national debt has increased more than 35 percent since then, to about $7.500 trillion. There is no consensus in government as to a plan to slow new debt accumulation down, let alone reverse the trend.

The U.S. trade deficit will exceed $700 billion this year, up from zero just 12 years ago, in 1993. The U.S. has the lowest per capita savings rate among industrialized nations. There are an estimated 45 million Americans without health insurance coverage, and U.S. residents living in poverty increased by one million in just the past year, with the poverty rate now above 13 percent of Americans.

U.S. currency is "talked" up by the same politicians who have irresponsibly decreased the growth of national tax revenue by passing changes in tax law that benefit primarily the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, and embarked on spending increases that have pushed the national budget up 35 percent in just five years, during a time span when federal agencies have declared less than a 13 percent increase in inflation.

Since the spring of 2001, the price of gold, a constant measure of the purchasing power of fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, has increased from a low of $250 per ounce, to a recent high of $475. The price of a barrel of crude oil has doubled to an average $60 in the same time span.

According to http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/...k/geos/ca.html , your country enjoys a nearly $60 billion annual trade surplus, ($315 billion of annual exports, vs. $256 billion of imports.) Your country is not dependent on 13 million barrels of oil imports per day, at an unpredictable an recently dramatically escalated price, as Your country exports 1.37 million barrels of surplus oil per day.

Canada is burdened with a higher per capita national debt than the U.S. is, and 15.9 percent of Canadians live in poverty, but Canada has already budgeted and managed the costs of healthcare for it's poor, and it's currency is on a sound fiscal footing. U.S. currency could drop like a rock in value, compared to the current value of other currencies, and the value of commodities, like oil, and precious metals, like gold, with no warning....as soon as when we wake up tomorrow morning.

Did I mention that the U.S. economy is entirely dependent on it's residents selling their homes to each other, at ever escalating prices?

There are no reference links in this post, but it is all accurate and current information. Canada is a fiscal rock, and America is an overmilitarized, paranoid, fiscal wreck of a country.

Please give to hurricane relief until it hurts. You Canadians may soon experience a simulation of what it has been like to have an impoverished country with a huge, desperate population living just south of you, as the U.S. has experienced, unitl recently, as it is located north of Mexico. Now, on paper, we share a future of similar poverty and lack of opportunity.

[skier]

Originally Posted by host

Horrible predictions of the future based on current trends

I hate watching this downward spiral the US is so determined to take. There is nothing I can do but watch from the sidelines. Pouring money into the country is not going to work- East Asia is doing so at billions of dollars a day to support the market.

If the US does crash I hope it is with a whisper, not a bang.