>>>>>>>>>>>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24849101/
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>3 years later, and New Orleans is still a mess.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>See if the chinese construction is standing in 3 years. See if the occupants are still alive in 3 years (a new outlet for lead paint and other poisonous products).
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>Sure, their construction methods are less stable than the US. But hey, at least they ARE doing something.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I'd bet the people in the Quake area are doing something too other than whining, looting, and waiting for money from the government (yeah - not everyone in NO did that, but a LOT did and still do).
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>The issue isn't what the people are doing, it's what the government is doing. In NO, the government did nothing. Heck, they're still doing nothing. 3 years later and people are still homeless.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Remember, the government is for the people, not the other way around.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>You hit the point. One side thinks that people should do something for themselves, while another side (yours) that government should relieve them from this burden and do everything for them.
>>>>>
>>>>>I never said the government should do eveything for them.
>>>>>
>>>>>Many people did get out of NO - those that had cars or could afford a plane ticket. The remainder were those who could barely afford the eat, let alone leave. Those are the ones who were stranded in the stadium while their homes were floating away.
>>>>>
>>>>>But you have to admit, the government did very very little to help the people down there. But had they not paid their taxes on time the government would have assesed large fees or garnished their wages or taken their homes.
>>>>>
>>>>>The government exists for the people, not to get rich off the people and then do nothing when tradgedy strikes.
>>>>
>>>>Please, stop kidding. People you are talking about do not pay taxes. On the contrary, other people pay taxes so government can waste money caring about these people. That's the reality quite different from your dreams.
>>>
>>>
>>>Oh, I see., The 250,000 people left abandoned in NO were not taxpayers. And, even if they weren't, that gives the government the right to selectively decide who gets help and who doesn't.
>>>
>>>You could at least come up with a sane, logical argument.
>>
>>My argument was perfectly sane, because 'abandoned' really did not pay taxes, while yours was a demagoguery because people who don't pay taxes are not taxpayers. To be precise real taxpayers don't need in government, while non-taxpayers need in it because someone should rob, sorry collect, money from taxpayers providing handouts for non-taxpayers.
>
>
>I don't entirely get what you're trying to say here.
>
>It's rediculous to argue that the 250,000 people left to survive by themselves were not taxpayers. Maybe they didn't make 100K a year and so by your definition were not 'taxpayers', but many of them had jobs who now don't. And when you work, you pay taxes, little as it may be.
>
>And, I make a very handsome salary, and I certainly pay taxes, and I DO need the goverment, I expect them to protect me from danger, and to be there when catastrophy stikes.
>
>The people of NO are citizes of the United States and have every right the same protections as big ticket people. You're placing classifications on these people where none should be. Remember 'all men are created equal'.