reply to post by melatonin
Where we likely get hit more is in sales taxes. Thus, only in some states do you have it, whereas it's the norm across the UK but doesn't
cover all purchases.
I dunno about that mel. Here in Alabama, the excise tax (sales tax) is now at 9%. Some areas of Tennessee are now at 10% sales tax. That's across the
board on all purchases, no exceptions whatsoever. Some of the Northern states I know from my truck driving exempt food and other necessities from
sales tax, but down here they don't.
Now, as to the question of why we dislike anything to do with Socialism, as queried by yourself and IR84:
You know that stereotype of the Americans being rude, crass, and arrogant? Well, as much as I hate to admit it, it's true! We are all of those
things. But we are also compassionate and caring people in our own way. The reason behind that is, I believe, rooted in the very foundation of our
country from an untamed wilderness not so long ago. Our forefathers were rough and tough, hard-working men who tamed a continent. That spirit of
independence has been passed down generation to generation from them.
In some ways, I see that as a good thing. We (those who still hold to the more traditional values) are a bit stronger, a bit tougher than other
people. But it also means we are more stubborn and resistant to change. That can be a hindrance to progress at times.
Another factor is our government itself. We tend to distrust governmental authority, and perhaps this also goes back to the independent streak we
have. But then again, perhaps it is a reflection of the fact that almost everyone has at some time come to be on the wrong end of a governmental
regulation. So more regulation gets equated in our minds to more problems.
Add in the cultural education against anything Communist that comes form the years of the Cold War. Even our comic books from that era were crammed
with innuendo about the Russian bear that was going to devour us whole if we didn't fight it. Every hero from Wonder Woman to Superman battled the
'evil Communists' at some point in time. Our heroes were military men, the likes of John J. Rambo. Patriotism was always associated with military
service, or at least service to those who served.
Now factor into that equation the debacle that was Vietnam. I have often said we made two mistakes in Vietnam: going in and not winning. When the
soldiers came home from that unpopular war, they were traumatized by the very people they had been fighting for. Some of us saw this and became very
angry with the 'hippie' movement because of this, and that anger still runs deep today. Like I said, we are an arrogant and stubborn people, and we
do not soon forget such a thing.
(I should mention here as well that those same hippies who protested returning heroes from Vietnam are now working in the halls of higher government,
many as Congressmen. Hence, more distrust.)
So you can see why we are so slow to embrace what is apparently a very good plan for you. Socialism in any form is the opposite of independence, and
we are an independent people.
For good or evil, we simply are what we are.
TheRedneck
