Scrat wrote: When it comes to education in Russia it is a community effort. You will go to school, and you will like it. The community ensures that. It falls into the "commie" mindset that says you are responsible for yourself, the state only does certain things, the rest is up to you as an individual. Believe me, I see very few losers in Russia. The lagacy of the old system still demands that people be responsible for their actions.
My uneducated view of "commie" has always been that you do your work and the gov't will take care of you. That admittedly comes from US propaganda.
Scrat wrote: Sure. When, I am in a city like Smolensk I can walk the streets at night without fear of getting mugged or worse. When I was there I saw 3 policemen in 3 days. I can even walk the streets of Moscow (a city of 9 million) without fear. I can stand in front of the Kremlin gate and have a beer. Try that in front of the Whitehouse.
Not a clue what empirical stats would show about this. I've walked many streets of many cities and towns and have never been mugged, regardless of my level of fear.
Scrat wrote: There is so little government control in peoples lives there on all levels that some people live their lives without ever coming into contact with it, it all depends on where you live.
Commerce? **** the paperwork to start a business in Seattle costs $6000, then you have to pay exorbidant taxes, small business in Russia is the rule. People power is the rule. If you want to start a business at a Bazaar you pay a small fee at the managers office and a stall fee per day and sit and make your money. The only thing you are subject too are inspections if you sell food.
You'll get no argument from me, here. Some bureaucrats enter "public service" only to satisfy their own impulses to be control freaks.
Scrat wrote: One reason the Russians are so "poor" is because they pay so little in taxes. Government payroll taxes are only a 7% flat tax and a VAT tax which because of the prolific, ubiquitious small business is all but unenforcable. The Russian government makes its money off of oil and other natural resources, not the people.
That first sentence is odd to me, and potentially very revealing of you, Scrat. This may be the type of philosophical plateau I look for. You honestly think that if the government took more from the people - or if the people contributed more to government, depending on your point of view - the people as a whole would be richer? If so, where is the balance point, if any?
As for the rest, the less one subscribes to society's definition of "success" the more freedom one has. Meaning, the more material symbols of wealth you require, the more gov't involvement you will have to endure.
Good to see you again. :-6
