quote:

---

Originally written by Student of Trinity:

But what is the evidence or argument that has persuaded you that American wealth actually has been gained at the expense of the rest of the world?

---

quote:

---

Originally written by PoD person:

I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I'm coming closer and closer to the depressing conviction that my USA's standard of living is predicated on the poverty of several third-world countries. I would welcome some sort of disproof, but it seems that our proletariat became bourgeousie by turning itself into the white-collar controllers of an impoverished global proletariat, and that's ;_;

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Jumpin' Salmon:

quote:

---

...if every person in the USA gave only the tenth of their income to charity that I as a college student do, we'd actually be the generous nation we claim to be.

---

This was good too, and when I was younger I thought along similar lines. It goes back to the thing Mom used to ask, "If Jimmy jumped off that cliff, would you follow him?" It turns out that every person has the ability to make their own choices, independent of influence from anyone else. The one person that doesn't make charitable donations is not a bad person. They just aren't. If you feel badly that they aren't donating to charity, or you feel that they should in fact donate to charity, then you need to step back a few feet and ask how it would feel to be in that persons shoes and have that kind of pressure.
Our society is somewhat contingent on mutual respect, and more and more I see our freedom of choice removed by well meaning individuals. That creates homogenity, which in my view is bad for me and bad for society as a whole. But be how you want to be, I won't stand in opposition, as long as I can be left out of it.

---

quote:

---

Originally written by SoT:

In other words, the rich getting richer is an acceptable side effect in a system that makes the poor less poor faster than any other practicable system.

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Eldibs:

The entire income of my immediate family is just enough to live off of (approximately $10,000 a year). Besides, are you going out and doing good in the world, or are you just sitting around complaining and saying everyone else should?

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

How do they earn it? By being good little boys and girls whenever you're watching?

---

No, by working (well, of course they'll have to behave, but not only when I'm looking). If they want to get that new toy or videogame, they'll have to do chores to earn it. When they turn 16 and want a new car, they'll get a job and pay for it. That way, they'll know the value of money, and they won't get a free ride. Then, when I die, they will evenly split whatever is left of my fortune with all the other members of my family.

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

You can't earn a fortune in any fair sense of the word. What you can do is get lucky in location and birth.

---

So If I happen to work hard, spending my own free time inventing something that revolutionizes the world, and I get rich off of it (this is assuming I'm not already wealthy), then I didn't earn it? How is that right?

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Eldibs:

quote:

---

Do you really think anyone works one thousand times harder than average?

---

No, but do you really think it's fair to take away a person's wealth when they did work harder to get it?

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Thuryl:

Academic research is another field with high contributions to society for really, really low financial reward. As a medical researcher, unless I start my own biotech company or win a Nobel Prize or something, I'm likely to earn even less than a teacher for similar hours of work. (I have several family members who are teachers, so I know how much they make.)

Frankly, this doesn't bother me. I'm not in it for the money anyway.

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Eldibs:

If those without starve to death, then so will those have have plenty. The wealthy need the poor to work for them to keep food on their tables. If the poor all starve, nobody is there to run the factories, clean the toilets, flip the burgers, etc. Also, nobody is there to buy the burgers, use the toilets, or whatever. In short, businesses would fail, the rich would become poor, and then they would starve, having been catered to all their lives.

---

quote:

---

Sometimes, you have to pick what will do the most good, and go with it.

---

quote:

---

So what you're saying is we should go empty our bank accounts, and sell anything we don't absolutely need to live, and then hand out money to random homeless people on the street?

---

quote:

---

I don't know if it's because I'm an American, or because I'm human, but if my family is hungry, or in need of anything, they come first. If my father, brothers, or whatever are going hungry, I don't really care about anyone else. Sure, it's not other people's fault that they're going hungry, but I've got other things to worry about. Namely, the survival of my family tree first and foremost.

---

quote:

---

Trust me, if I ever get rich and have kids, they're going to earn their inheritance. None of this "free ride because Daddy's rich" crap.

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Dikiyoba:

Just the fact that this is the third game in a row to have "tests" is a bad thing.

Dikiyoba finally writes Dikiyoba's first short post of the day.

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Eldibs:

[QUOTE]Regardless of how good it would be for society, people in general, or the planet, Communism still has increased restrictions on freedom when compared to Democracy and Capitalism, and restricting freedom is something I would never stand for. Nobody has the right to run another person's life in any way, with the exception of the "imminent danger" rule. If someone decides they want to trade products or services for some sort of currency unit, that's their right. That kinda goes hand-in-hand with the whole "free will" thing.

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Kelandon:

There are many kinds of degradation in this world that can be found in many kinds of professions. For that matter, there are lots of products that have been touched one way or another by humiliation and hatred.

---

quote:

---

Originally written by *i:

It's upstairs in the northern part of town. In a quite dark barracks in a box or something that might be easy to miss. I suggest turning the brightness of your monitor up.

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Januarist Revolutionary:

The only advantages I can think of are Mac user elitism, which really isn't all that advantageous, and the absence of Mac viruses, which is debatable.

---

quote:

---

Alorael said:
Plugging something into a laptop to get the keypad isn't useful. If I'm already dealing with that, I might as well get a whole keyboard. It makes regular typing easier too.

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Januarist Revolutionary:

—Alorael, who prefers to avoid the mouse in general. This forced him to purchase a keyboard to go with his laptop (numerical keypads are necessary!), and he now contemplates the engineering challenge of making some form of folding keyboard for laptops that duplicates the standard desktop keyboard.

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Januarist Revolutionary:

In fact, strangely enough minor characters often get more fleshed out as people because they have less exposition to give and less plot to drive along.

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Eldibs:

The majority opinion is somewhat correct, as even people with small amounts of brain matter dislike huge amounts of frustration. If Windows was as evil, frustrating, and glitchy as everyone seems to think, then businesses, and large amounts of people would have switched over to Linux or Macs. Sure, you can claim that some people are lazy/idiots and don't switch because of that, but then why don't colleges and businesses switch? Why would they pay $100 a PC (depending on the Windows version) to run Windows, when Linux is free?

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Mimi:

Hum... sorry, but where is The Tower of Magi ? :confused:

---

quote:

---

Originally written by Glafna:

Contra-ooooookkkkkkkaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy.
Not exactly how I would put it. And you ARE aware that Jeff has a job outside Spiderweb, right?

---

quote:

---

the About Jeff page:
Practically all my programming is done from noon to 6 PM and from midnight to 4 AM. The afternoon programming is done with the soothing sounds of Comedy Central and the Simpsons in the background. The late night stuff is done with Comedy Central playing on the telly. I say all of this only to make it absolutely clear I don't have a real job. We work in our basement here, with the TV always on, and we like it that way.

---