I'll just say for starters that my views are a bit more extreme. I actually do think that the entire population of America is to blame for screwing the world over. Its true that most if not all of the decisions was made by the 1% that is the government and major financial institutions, but the American people are guilty in part of electing these politicians and giving business to these financial institutions and effectively not trying to protest or overthrow these imbalances because it benefited them at the time. One of the responsibilities of taking part in the democratic process is that you STILL hold some responsibility for the decisions of the government officials you elect. Even if you say that "well, I voted for this guy but he turned his back and lied to my face... so I'm not responsible for all the crimes he's committing" is nothing more than the words of a liar and a coward. Democracy, freedom of speech and constitutional rights is a two-way street, you can't just exercise your right to walk at the green but not be happy with having to stop at the red. If their government is doing things they disapprove of, its their responsibility to put a stop to it. Fact is, if enough people had bothered to see what their government was doing and retaliated to it, all of this would never have happened. The Greek people DID benefit, not as much as the elites but they still rotted the system. It doesn't matter to me if the politician got 10 million extra and the average joe got 10,000. A lot of them purposely cheated the system because enforcement of it was non-existent and its a joke that they claim that its not their fault because "the cop wasn't there to stop me". It seems to me that the majority of Greeks knew what was going on but none of them spoke up and let it continue because they got an extra penny for every hundred dollars the elites got.
What country do you live in? Whatever country that is, you are saying that YOU are to blame for all the governments crimes.
That's a good sum-up of my beliefs. If you live in a democratic country, you are responsible for the actions of your government. So yes, while I may be "less" responsible than Johnny and Julia for the war on Iraq and carbon tax, I am still guilty because this is the government that I voted to represent me. The only countries that I think people do not hold any responsibility for their government's actions are where freedom of speech is stifled by military brutality.
I don't follow your line of thinking. How am i responsible for the introduction carbon tax and Juliar's other actions of government, when i voted for the opposition at the last elections?
Because the government is still acting on your behalf whether you voted for them or not. The general idea of a democracy is that majority rules right? By participating in a democracy, you accept that regardless whether of the outcome, you will follow the consensus of the majority.
Can't really agree there. A consensus is formed when all voting segments/parties are consulted not just one. Example being a unity government like there was in Germany a few years back between the CDU and the SDP. In the specific case of our govt, i consider it an illegitimate one as there was no clear majority and it's propped up by 2 independents who went against their conservative, rural constituents to side with Labor. It is there on a technicality and wasn't legitimately elected. Not to mention its leader lied on a key issue by promising no carbon tax and then introducing one. This is outright fraud and deceipt.
Actually, our govt became legitimate the moment its people did not take action to demand a rerun. That's because Ignorance and laziness isn't an excuse for responsibility. If enough people stood up and protested the decisions, stuff like carbon tax would be thrown out the window. The problem is that people are just too lazy to care and this opens up a venue for lobbyists to take advantage and pass laws to their liking. If Gillard committed a crime in deceiving the people, we can exercise our right to impeach her but we don't.
I generally agree in theory, however in practise attempted action such as impeachment is easier said than done, especially for the "average" citizen. If it was that easy, why hasn't the Coalition (which represents people that do not support Labor) attempted to do this? Even the state govt was advised by leading law professors that proceeding with a court case against the carbon tax in the High Court will fail. Unfortunately I do not believe that popular protests, even on a massive scale, will ever be able to topple a govt here in Australia. There is no mechanism in place to force govts to accept popular opinion short of MPs defecting and again this is not common here. In Europe revolutions and defections are possible.
Have your citizenship in one country, live in a different country and keep your money in a third country. It is easy in Europe.
Actually, I have a hunch that's bordering on the conspiracy, I think both the main parties were going to try to force the carbon tax on us which is why Abbott is trying to get the populist vote by verbally attacking it but isn't promising to any action close to repealing it. Popular protests can force a government to change its decisions. If the government still refuses to budge, then we can just our pens in the next election and show them the door. Politicians are a very self-serving bunch and I think if enough people complain loud enough and long enough, change can happen. Pacifism is always detrimental to democracy, just look that served the Americans. They refuse to vote or care about anything and now their rights and money is being stolen away one by one. There's always a bright side to everything though! Its not like we only have two parties in Australia, if Katter had won in Queensland, I am certain he would have told Gillard to take a walk and rebelled against the tax. Thats why I think its our duty to try to convince people to be angry about the carbon tax and to vote for neither party at the next election. If Katter is running for the federal election, then I think both you and me should be voting for him and convincing others to do the same. I agree with you that its much harder to put this kind of stuff into practice though and that having a third party running the country is going to be very difficult but final say is still in our hands and that's why I think at the end of the day, we are all responsible for this country.
Abbott has stated categorically on several occasions including about 2 weeks ago that he will repeal the carbon tax if he achieves government. He said that he would not simply dilute it, that it would be gone. When asked about the loss yo government revenue due to the lifting by Gillard of the tax free threshold he said that he believed that Australians would agree that reducing one tax by introducing another new one was counterproductive, i.e.: that he thought that Australians would accept the resumption of the original TFF in order to get rid of the carbon tax.
lol - just saw this thread header and said to myself "just another reason to keep 99.99% of your assets out of the system" :lol: I dont believe the regime here in Australia is far behind ...
Spain Bans Cash Transactions Over 2,500 Euros ... Those who violate the ban will face fines of 25% of the payment made in cash. The Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has announced on Wednesday that the plan to combat tax evasion on Friday approved the Cabinet prohibit the payment in cash transactions of over 2,500 euros and which at least involved a businessman professional. During the control session the Government in the House of the Congress of Deputies and in response to a question about the tax amnesty made by the general coordinator of IU, Cayo Lara, the Prime Minister, has revealed that those who violate the ban will face fines of 25% of the payment made in cash. The Government had already advanced the plan to combat fraud limitations include the use of cash for certain operations, although he had not yet specified which would place the threshold (yes at the time there was talk that it could be 1,000 euros for self-employed). This measure aims to prevent the use of black money in commercial transactions and, in the case of companies, give them an obstacle to not resort to false invoices. The plan to combat fraud adopted on Friday, the Cabinet intends to raise up to 8.171 million euros in 2012. http://thedailybell.com/3814/Spain-Bans-Cash "It is estimated that 65 billion of deposits left Spanish banks this past March alone." If you can not use it why bother?
I read an article recently about how the government, despite the fact they are getting rid of lower denominations, because of inflation, are not issuing larger denominations to compensate, making cash transactions harder and harder.
They are already quite hard to find in some Eurooean countries. A few people i've asked about these notes, joke with me and say they've never seen one and that only "criminals" carry these around not the average person. I also found it difficult to break a 100 euro note (let alone a 200 or 500), as many vendors are suspicious of counterfeit notes.
This is EXACTLY the reason why governments should be limited in their power. EXACTLY the kind of thing which will (and already does) happen here in Australia where there is no Bill of Rights and where government infringes on the rights of individuals every single day in order to steal from them.
