i have a brother that makes over 200k a year. he works contract for oil. he doesnt pay his taxes

[seabeyond]

Poll question: i have a brother that makes over 200k a year. he works contract for oil. he doesnt pay his taxes

proudly. he is a fox news watching repug. always mouthing off the free loading liberals. harping on personal responsibility. and preaching moral in u.s. and he knows nothing about religion, yet, this is a christian nation.

if he lived in this county where it was optional to pay, he would not. and he would bitch about all the poor in the city, that are paying the taxes to fund the FD.

would you let his house burn down?

[TexasObserver]

1. No, of course not. The failings of the person have nothing to do with it.

I don't care if it's Glenn Beck's home, the fire department should put the fire out.

[seabeyond]

2. he would giggle and call you a sucker.... laughs all the way to the bank. nt

[Hansel]

5. Yes, that would be my greatest fear.

Not. Because I'm human.

[TexasObserver]

19. Why should I care what your obnoxious brother thinks?

He is entirely irrelevant to the discussion.

Your entire premise is that the worthiness of the person whose home is burning is an issue. It isn't.

[Hannah Bell]

53. how about if he used 75% of the fire services & the paying customers used 25%?

because that's the situation in real life.

75% of calls are from outside the municipalities that fund the fire service.

[JuniperLea]

3. My compassion for a human being is based on my compassion for a human being...

Either you have compassion, or you don't. Compassion isn't dependent on any other factors. If it were, it wouldn't be compassion.

If George W Bush's house was burning down, I'd put it out.

[seabeyond]

7. things mean nothing to me. food on the table matters. i have compassion, for those people in city,

paying taxes to provide services for themselves, at expense to themselves regardless if they can afford it.

why is that not compassion

why must my compassion only exist for that person that well hell, made the choice not to receive the service and now whines.

[JuniperLea]

10. Because he's a fucking human being!

You honestly don't get that? Really?

Where the fuck am I? Jesus God we are all doomed if DUers are actually thinking like this!

[seabeyond]

17. well, really, both of us would shoulder shrug. thankful alive

and go on with life.

maybe that is the difference. things are not that big of a deal. and he makes plenty of money. would not be the end of his world.

[JuniperLea]

28. never mind

[Hannah Bell]

54. oh, bullshit. not if you had to pay for it, you wouldn't.

if you're so "compassionate," why aren't you bankrupt?

because that's what you're asking these cities to do.

[Brickbat]

4. No. Just because someone else is a jerk doesn't mean I have to be.

I'm not even religious and I believe that.

[KeepItReal]

6. Not paying his taxes? IRS is gonna Wesley Snipes his ass.

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the actor Wesley Snipes to three years in prison for willfully failing to file tax returns.

Mr. Snipes, who was convicted in February, received one year for each count, to be served consecutively, and an additional year of probation. The sentence was handed down by Judge William Terrell Hodges of Federal District Court

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/business/25snipes.html

[seabeyond]

9. it is certainly possible then i will hear years of whining how he is being picked on and a nation

is not meant to be paying all these taxes for all the rw'er reasons.

[KeepItReal]

16. LOL... hope you can talk some sense into him

'luck with that

[seabeyond]

18. nevaaaaah. now the rule is... no politics in my house.

over and over and over.

[TroglodyteScholar]

8. I wouldn't let his house burn down...

...but I'd tip him off to the IRS.

[EFerrari]

11. No. Not because of who your brother is just as it isn't about the man

whose house was allowed to burn down. It isn't about them. It's about being a decent human being, no matter who happens to be in trouble at the time.

[Little Star]

12. Yes, in a heart beat. It may be the only way a greedy pig can

learn a lesson. Services such as fire fighters cost money. If he paid his fair share, his house would likely be saved.
No one gets a free ride, nor should they.

I have more compassion for the fire fighters who lose their jobs because cheap bastids like him don't think his service is worth paying taxes for.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. No because then he'd have to come stay with you

Just lookin out for my buds here :)

[seabeyond]

15. bah hahaha.... oh, that is the best, funniest and so fuckin true. lol. nah, not really

he isnt married, has one daughter almost 18. has plenty of money. wont need to stay with me. but that was funny. thanks for the laugh.

[Dappleganger]

14. no

[MineralMan]

20. Not a chance. His house fire would be put out.

Then he can fight his tax case in Federal Court.

The real question is whether you should turn your brother in for Tax Evasion. I say you should, if you really are a progressive, since he is sponging off everyone else who is paying taxes, including paying more because your brother does not. Yup, turn him in tomorrow.

[Electric Monk]

22. +1 she should.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

26. +2.

[Maru Kitteh]

35. +3

[Electric Monk]

50. seabeyond, are you going to address this or simply ignore it? nt

[seabeyond]

51. simply ignore. point? nt

[Electric Monk]

52. Character. Point already made. I suppose we're done here. nt

[Hannah Bell]

55. good to know the "compassionate" faction supports informing *and* libertarian free-riding.

[Electric Monk]

56. You're now pro tax evasion? And for someone making 200k+ at that?

I thought you were a commie from some of your previous posts I've read here.

[Electric Monk]

57. pwn3d fail

[thelordofhell]

21. I'd save the house......but I'm not the city

It isn't going to be his house in a couple years anyway.

[sandnsea]

23. More importantly, would you?

And if so, this would be the second time in a couple of weeks that your coldness will have shocked me.

Helping someone isn't about the person being helped. It's about the person doing the helping and nothing will ever change that.

[seabeyond]

27. i dont know. i cant say. in all my posts, i haven't made a judgment on this.

i am soooo pissed at these teabaggers not pulling there weight and being a part of the process that is destroying the collective pot in so many areas. schools, libraries, fd, pd, infrastructure.

i am so pissed off at the lying dog saying his animals burned for sympathy when in all likelihood that is a blatant lie. a disgusting lie.

i am pissed that this county would demand a service and refuse to pay, putting the cost on the city that cant afford it.

it all disgusts me

and i cannot imagine fire standing there.

what was the other one. i know you got pissed at me, i dont remember.

[sandnsea]

42. Oh my god that's absurd

There is NO ONE that I hate so much that I'd stand by and let a home burn down, not even Karl Rove's home let alone my own sister or brother. My sister's daughter named their child Reagan, what does that tell you about them? But would I let their home burn down?? No friggin' way.

It's just as absurd as your idea that kids just don't want to learn. You've been in Texas too long, that's all I can figure.

[seabeyond]

45. geeez....

those are very valid democratic values fighting those issues. not a matter of hating a person and wanting house burn down. if i had written the same thing, but not where the conclusion is a house burning down, there would not be an "Oh my god that's absurd"


and if you think all kids (i am talking middle school and high school) wanna learn, still gotta disagree with you on that. i have too many kids around me.

but thanks for the reminder.

[sandnsea]

58. No. They aren't.

None of it. Again, you've been in Texas too damn long. No wonder we end up with Blanche Lincolns in the senate.

[JanMichael]

24. I might light the match (he deserves it it seems) but it should be put out.

Light - burn - soak.

[Johonny]

25. No, We put other peoples houses out for starters so ours doesn't burn to

fires have been known to burn whole city blocks etc. Fires don't have * detectors to known who "deserves it" and who didn't.

[ZombieHorde]

29. Of course not, especially if I knew he was related to a wonderful DUer. nt

[seabeyond]

30. ahhhhh

geez, that is sweet cause i am getting beat up last couple days. lol

[ZombieHorde]

34. I think you're awesome, even when we disagree. nt

[seabeyond]

37. thank you.

it is reciprocated

[JI7]

31. Report him for Not Paying Taxes

[activa8tr]

32. Overly simplistic, and many have already posted pointing out how your

posting is not really what we are about.

Of course we save his property and his dogs and cats.

Eventually, he will be tracked down, made to pay, or face criminal charges and jail time.

I'm not concerned with him, but with his conscience. True, a few of the millions in America get away with tax evasion, but we are concerned with each and every American having the same rights and the same obligations, and the same services and the same justice under the law. He could be a drug dealer, or a successful legitimate worker, making his money however he does, we are a nation that stands up even for all of those few who do that. WE are a nation of people who protect us all, and offer the same rights and privileges to them all, and more than 99% of them are just like us.

[seabeyond]

38. but he, and those in the county, are out to break the system. and it is possible.

take note what they and now with dem support are doing to our school system. all because they dont want to pay taxes to feds to get education for our kids. they want it privatized. like the do the police and fire. this is jsut a successful way of doing it.

[kirby]

33. Report him to the IRS... 1-800-829-0433...

You can do it anonymously. However, if you give your name, you can get up to 30% of his taxes as a reward.

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. I'd even risk my hide to go in and rescue him

but that is just me...

The fact that you are even asking this shows the chasm in values in this country.

[seabeyond]

39. different with a person and things. and as i said to a poster above

i see all this as a orchestrated effort to bust the system into privatization. we are watching it done with the schools now and with dem support, a lot of dems on du.

people will argue the compassionate position is allowing kids go to charter. and make comments to those that oppose as lacking value and moral ect...

but people like me will argue that it is a process to break up the federal funding and equalities of schools and we cannot allow. to me, that system is important to our survival as a compassionate nation.

for a county to have 75% of the calls and 50% not paying is such a burden on the city, that i see it as incredibly unjust. and a county purposely and with intent, destroy the very social structures you advocate for.

as i said to a poster above, ...(a different one), i dont know. i havent decided. i see both sides.

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. I am sorry, but if this continues

and this mindset wins... I'd better emigrate somewhere else. I cannot recognize this country anymore.

Though I agree that schools should not be privatized.

As to that particular FD... cancel all mutual aid and let Obion county sink or swim... that seems to be too harsh for some, but hell they are IN ANOTHER state after all.

And I actually don't like that, but hell, if they want to live in libertarian Utopia I'd buy them a ticket to Somalia... but hell, no fire, next no police... they'll be happy, or wake up.

As to your brother. No, we would not let it burn... in fact where I did my shtick, we'd be VERY AGGRESSIVE in fire firelighting. I mean there's no State Farm at the end of the day.

The fact that you are even suggesting this tells me more than I want about where this third world country is going. At least I should know that declining Empires do this like clockwork... Rome comes to mind.

[hfojvt]

48. that is the slippery slope

Suppose you put the fire out. Then what happens? People start to talk. "Are you paying for the fire protection?" "Yeah, it is expensive, it sucks, but you have to have it, just in case." "No, you really don't. If your house starts on fire, they will put it out anyway, just like they did for me/Mr. Johnson." So more and more people start dropping their coverage. Heck, why buy a bull when ploughing is free? So taxes go up for the people in the city who have to pay for fire protection. In a democracy, people are gonna wonder why. Why should we pay more to provide free fire protection to another county? If I have to pay for fire protection why shouldn't they? And if they are not paying for it, then why should we provide it to them?

It's one thing to have compassion for people who cannot afford to pay, and to provide them with assistance. It is another thing entirely to support free riders who can walk but expect other people to carry them. Those people threaten to overwhelm the system. There are two ways to enlist their help. The first is to appeal to their sense of fairness and duty and solidarity. To berate them into paying their fair share. The other is to appeal to their own self interest, to demonstrate that there can be very real and very harsh consequences if they do not pay their fair share.

It's a harsh lesson, but sometimes people need to be whacked by a 2 x 4.

[seabeyond]

49. exactly. i get why they did it. nt

[NC_Nurse]

41. I think the only way to change people is to lead by example. He might actually be

shocked enough to have a change of heart if someone saved his home or his life for NO reason other than kindness. Ya never know. ;-)

I also understand your frustration and disgust for these selfish jerks who seem to have the upper hand in so many areas these days. I think what goes around comes around and many of them are only hurting themselves. Their time will soon be over, I have faith in that. If not, there's always the expat route. I may have to look into international travel nursing...

[onpatrol98]

43. Definitely Not....

His house is worth saving...just because he's your brother...

Well...and because he's human, you know.

[seabeyond]

46. a house

is a thing. things dont have a lot of attachment for me. i really dont see it in the same way. but the post was nice. thanks.

[G_j]

44. of course not nt

[Yeshuah Ben Joseph]

47. Only if oil was the cause of the fire

Then it would only be fitting. Live by the sword, etc.

[mkultra]

59. you bet, the problem with your scenario is that he DOES pay the FD taxes.

[NoGOPZone]

60. I'd save his house. I'd want it to be in good condition when the IRS seizes it. nt

[TwilightGardener]

61. Focused on the incomes, politics, and personalities involved, instead

of a human being in distress and public safety jeopardized.

[uncommon]

62. Yes, if he refused to pay for a service that had to be paid for.

Public services are not "free" - someone always has to pay.