[61] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: LIVING WAGE SIT-IN AT HARVARD (fwd)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Sourav K. Mandal)
Thu Apr 19 23:46:30 2001
Message-Id: <200104200341.XAA14752@dichotomy.dyn.dhs.org>
From: "Sourav K. Mandal" <Sourav.Mandal@ikaran.com>
Reply-To: "Sourav K. Mandal" <Sourav.Mandal@ikaran.com>
To: mit-talk@MIT.EDU
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Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 23:41:55 -0400
"Boris Zbarsky <bzbarsky@MIT.EDU>" wrote:
> I don't follow your reasoning. How does this stereo thing fit in?
You broached the possibility that the cost of the services I used
outstripped the taxes I paid. First off, that's true -- I myself don't
earn enough money to be taxed such an amount. However, if you count my
parental support, then the situation is quite the opposite.
I'm not happy taxes are being collected, but I will partake of services
to make sure my parents and I get as much money back as possible.
Despite my best efforts, I will likely never be able to accomplish that
-- 52% of the federal budget goes to programs I will never use, such as
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. (The vast majority of retirees
can only expect 34 cents for every dollar they've put it.)
> ROTC is publically funded. So that would be the equivalent of getting
> federal financial aid, would it not?
ROTC is publicly funded, but national defense is a legitimate purpose
of government, and ROTC is part of that.
> You mean a public school? Most private schools are all in about the
> same price range.
Not necessarily ... there are some that are more affordable. Anyway, I
would have been justified attending my state school, since my folks pay
substantial taxes to the state.
> My only claim was that as a college student, you are likely not earning
> enough money to pay enough taxes to cover the services you use. That's
> all.
True. That doesn't change the fact that my folks are getting killed on
taxes, and everything would have been much easier if all expenditures
were out-of-pocket, instead of being filtered through the government.
Sourav
------------------------------------------------------------
Sourav K. Mandal
Sourav.Mandal@ikaran.com
http://www.ikaran.com/Sourav.Mandal/
