Just did our taxes

[dc.]

Nice numbers, Dee. I suppose I just also wonder what exactly you get when you cut big sources of revenue?

 

I know one answer of course is that most states with low tax rates are net borrowers from the Federal Government. So maybe you don't give anything up... you just get it for free from someone else. In fact, that's always been my favorite part of the taxing debate. The northern US tends to pay more in federal taxes than they receive. While the opposite is true in the South.

 

But ultimately, I come back to... can a larger state with a smaller tax base/revenue provide the same quality of education, health services, waste removal, water treatment, etc? I don't think so. I know in Pennsylvania people complain about road quality and maintenance, not to mention some basic city services that they wind up paying for separately (trash removal or recycling)... Haven't lived it myself so I don't know for sure.

[dc.]

Oh... I forgot an obvious one...

 

The ability to run an election without major issues... you know, running out of ballots, miscounting, broken machines...

[cravnravn]

Oh... I forgot an obvious one...

 

The ability to run an election without major issues... you know, running out of ballots, miscounting, broken machines...

Lol, we did absolutely fine this past election

[cravnravn]

Nice numbers, Dee. I suppose I just also wonder what exactly you get when you cut big sources of revenue?

 

I know one answer of course is that most states with low tax rates are net borrowers from the Federal Government. So maybe you don't give anything up... you just get it for free from someone else. In fact, that's always been my favorite part of the taxing debate. The northern US tends to pay more in federal taxes than they receive. While the opposite is true in the South.

 

But ultimately, I come back to... can a larger state with a smaller tax base/revenue provide the same quality of education, health services, waste removal, water treatment, etc? I don't think so. I know in Pennsylvania people complain about road quality and maintenance, not to mention some basic city services that they wind up paying for separately (trash removal or recycling)... Haven't lived it myself so I don't know for sure.

I can tell you the secondary roads in PA were for shit, and I traveled the back roads from the md-pa line all the way up to my brothers in Allentown.

[cravnravn]

 

48th in K-12 funding; 50th in higher education funding

http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2013/sep/19/nan-rich/nan-rich-rankings-education-funding-florida/

 

33rd overall in healthcare

http://www.americashealthrankings.org/FL-MD/2013

Not to down play the facts, but I didn't move here for education nor do I have children that need K-12 education. As a matter of fact Drew wants to move here, he graduates college in December, he could have came down last year, but the local colleges didn't offer his course he is majoring in, and the big campus UCF, wouldn't transfer his credits he has already received.

 

The winter you are experiencing is the exact reason I moved, I was a different person in 2009-2010 with that similar winter as you are having.

And as far as the numbers go, you have to consider the population down here, I work in a shop with 11 people, 1 is a true Floridian. The other 10 are from up north.

[cravnravn]

And one other thing about the stats, least we not forget, we are a rubber ducky raft away from the poorest of dictatorship run islands known to man. All the more reason to close the borders, then maybe Florida's numbers would improve. Just a thought.

[dc.]

Yeah... I'm sure Florida's problem is immigration and not a lack of money because it has no income tax. Maybe its an abundance of apathy from people who move there under the mantra of loving no taxes and not having to pay for services they don't care about.

[cravnravn]

We have income tax, just no state tax on earnings, and I moved for the weather

[oldcrow]

isn't it funny how Florida is becoming a joke like Cleveland

 

people doing things like

"which news story is florida news?"

 

people bash on florida all the time now and it's not because of the immagrants it's because of the fucking backwoods bullshit from locals

 

so much shit flows down the coast to florida it has contaminated the water .

 

I'm glad I just visit briefly I would not like it there for long

 

TURN YOUR MUSIC DOWN BEFORE I SHOOT YOU!!!!!

 

TEXTING IN A THEATRE I'LL SHOOT YOU

 

WHO NEEDS EARLY VOTING AND LETS LIMIT IT TO THOSE TIMES THAT DO NOT BENEFIT MINORITIES

 

JUST SAYING

[cravnravn]

That's a Benny in a right to carry state, the theatre states no cell phone use age . Boom if you don't listen. I can't stand the boom boom music myself, plenty if times when I lived up north and would here that shit I'd say wish I had a gun, guess what, here you can do it.

 

See that's the problem, you are handcuffed up north, you can't defend yourself, and you think we are the laughing stock? Think again granny, the laughing stock is pointed at you,

 

I absolutely loved the video I seen last year, Internet cafes are gambling joints down here, 2 gang bangers thought they'd be smart asses and try to rob the place.. A 78 year old man stood up from his machine and wasted those 2 gang bangers, not 1 single charge placed in the old man. That happens up north, and Jesse and co are starting a rally as to why the old man is not charged.

[dc.]

Crav... my hope is that most of your post is at least lighthearted if not a joke.

 

If you think it's a bonus to have vigilante justice ... movie theater and gas station shootings over cell phones and loud music... I guess you're right where you want to be. I hate chronic texters and loud music - regardless of genre - but I don't think I'd much like to live in a place where a gun was the answer to those problems.

 

I also disagree entirely with your example of the internet cafe. Those guys were obviously committing a crime - as evidence shows. The movie theater had a camera... it shows a cell phone and popcorn. The gas station had a camera - it doesn't show much, but we've yet to see a gun.

 

You're just so full of shit.

[cravnravn]

Why do you disagree with me when the evidence is right there in black and white? The gangbangers ONLY intention was to rob, they got their judge, juror and executioner in one shot, face it they had guns right? Hurrah for the 78 year old man, as far as the gas station goes meh, there's no audio provided, but I'll bet you my pension check that it was boom boom

[dc.]

I agree w that. I disagree that if it happened here you'd see protests.

 

I also said I disagree that the other situations are remotely related/are a good sign of the quality of your society. Hooray dead people for playing music and using cell phones?

[deeshopper]

I agree w that. I disagree that if it happened here you'd see protests.

 

I also said I disagree that the other situations are remotely related/are a good sign of the quality of your society. Hooray dead people for playing music and using cell phones?

 

DC, your lack of profile pic bothers me immensly. I'm gonna come visit you, but I gotta get my gun first.

[dc.]

Oh no... I used to have one! Where'd it go? Do I get a chance to explain before you shoot?

[cravnravn]

 

DC, your lack of profile pic bothers me immensly. I'm gonna come visit you, but I gotta get my gun first.

If he's in florida, he's allowed tocarry

[dc.]

Crav... You're missing the point and the joke. We'd both be allowed. But in Florida right now it's shoot first then justify later. My radio is too loud ... Shoot. Maybe I was carrying. But hardly matters if I'm shot without as much as a warning.

 

But sure... Maintain the "polite society" fallacy. It's clearly decreasing crime in Florida, right?

[cravnravn]

Crav... You're missing the point and the joke. We'd both be allowed. But in Florida right now it's shoot first then justify later. My radio is too loud ... Shoot. Maybe I was carrying. But hardly matters if I'm shot without as much as a warning.

 

But sure... Maintain the "polite society" fallacy. It's clearly decreasing crime in Florida, right?

Don't know if it's decreasing, but it should make a criminal think twice

[deeshopper]

Playing music loud makes one a criminal?

[oldcrow]

BEAT STREET BREAKDOWN RUH!!!!!!

[cravnravn]

Playing music loud makes one a criminal?

Nope, but while at a filling station have some courtesy and shut it off

[dc.]

Crav... no one disagrees that it's rude. But the point here is that it's not an offense or a rudeness worth being shot over.

 

And yet, in Florida, people ARE getting shot over it.

 

So, your "oh, they'd have to think twice" is resulting in exactly the opposite... Instead of thinking twice, people who are angry are able to quickly and WITHOUT THINKING fire at people they find "rude."

 

Seriously, I can't tell if you think we're just talking hypotheticals or if you're just that dense. But there's a 16 year old dead for playing his music too loud at a gas station ... and in Florida all the guy had to do was say, "It made me afraid." Who in that case "should have thought twice?"

 

There's a guy in Florida dead because the guy behind him was mad about his texting - during the previews, just to clarify. Once again, who there should have thought twice? Because in that case, the old man didn't think twice, he just fired.

 

But sure, give everyone a gun and it will certainly reduce our likelihood of committing crimes. Instead, it will make us all much quicker to shoot. People talk about arming teachers to prevent school shootings. Absurd. Schools see teachers throw chairs and curse out students on a regular basis - and students do much worse of course. What happens if there's a gun in those situations?

 

#1 reason I'm not moving to Florida -- Crav is there and seems pretty clear he'd acquit my killer because "I should've thought twice" before bumping into someone in the men's room.

[Spen]

I've never been to Florida so I cannot really say how it is. I've been to all the states around it but never crossed the border. No particular reason, just never a destination.

 

One of my friends moved there after college for a fresh start. He lasted a year and came back summing up in one sentence why. 20 years later its still probably the best description anyone has ever given me of a place. "The scent of domestic violence was in the air".

 

My wife worked for a year with a guy who thought guns were the solution to every problem. Really nice guy, just would have almost weekly rants about guns. The wonderful place he often spoke of free from all crime because of more relaxed gun laws? Texas! Now my wife is from Texas (don't judge me!) so she knows there is plenty of crime there, violent crime too, so she would tell him but out fell on deaf ears. He would explain to colleagues how wonderful and safe Texas is every time there was a big shooting story. Now you may ask as I did why he didn't move to this wonderful land. He would have but he was Jewish and alas he didn't think the wonderful utopia of Texas cared much for Jews.

 

Just a couple things that amuse me. Philosophical question, if a baby is crying in a Florida movie theater - do you shoot the baby or the parent?

[oldcrow]

Spen

 

You have to shoot both, the baby first because it is the offspring and the one making the noise then the parent because they produced this chaos and should not be able to do it again.

 

then

 

someone else can shoot the shooter for making a loud boom bang noise with their gun

and so on

and so on

and so on

 

hell yes

I'm kinda leaning towards cravn's thinking now

 

I mean really, what is the value of human life other than pollution ?

[RavenMad]

Dee. I think you should merge this thread with the Global Warming thread. We have our solution.....shoot everyone and then there is no one left to pollute the world! Of course last man or woman standing has to turn the gun on themselves.