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Politics & ReligionWell Since every damn forum has one. Might as well leave it out there. This place is loosely moderated and should not be entered if you're weak of heart.
i agree that it would vary depending on geographic location, so we cant really debate that too much. maybe i should rephrase the question to should the united states as a whole fear being a victim of white collar or street crime? how should we focus our LE efforts, 30% towards white collar and 70% towards street crime?
Violence is gotta be almost everyones #1 fear. Just go ask ur grandmother what shes more afraid of: Getting robbed over the internet, or getting robbed walking to her car in the grocery store parking lot.
One threatens ur life(which consequently threatens ur livelihood), the other threatens ur livelihood(which consequently threatens ur life).
i agree that it would vary depending on geographic location, so we cant really debate that too much. maybe i should rephrase the question to should the united states as a whole fear being a victim of white collar or street crime? how should we focus our LE efforts, 30% towards white collar and 70% towards street crime?
Id say focus 100% on getting those fucking stunterz in PA off the roads.
While the white collar crimes are pretty fucked up - I may sound like a bastard saying this - no one is entitled to retire from working just because they're alive. Now, I may sound like a even bigger bastard saying this - but anyone putting their nest egg into one stock is seriously misinformed. With an account balance of $500k in stocks, he probably had a bunch in other forms. He should have spent the $2000 to get a financial planner to divest some of that for him. It's no better than the poorly informed masses that are relying on Social Security, the utter debacle that is.
The cliche: Never put all your eggs in one basket.
Ah... don't confuse money savings with assets. My folks still have way, way more than 500k in land, real estate and other investments, however in order to retire without having to work, those assets would have to be liquidated. The old man is no idiot, to be sure.
Here's a question for you - what percentage of your earnings are going into your company-provided 401k and stock purchase plan vs. going into your own privately managed investments? Getting back to the subject at hand - of those privately managed investments of yours, what precautions have you taken to ensure they will remain yours and not become the property of some slick computer jockey who has discovered your account ID and password?
Lastly, I could not disagree more with the statement that no one is entitled to retire because they're alive. That has to be the most ignorant statement I've heard in a long time. I know of only one person who works because he enjoys what he does - my old man.
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If you want to stand out from the crowd, try being yourself for a change.
I think that both are a huge problem. Personally, I fell more threatened by street crime. I do not think that LEO should nessesarily spend more time on street crime, though. My glock can go a long ways towards protecting me from street crime. Personally, I feel that the way LEO handles it now is a great way to do it. Local cops deal with local problems, folks like FBI dealing with the big time white collar stuff.
I really don't think that one should be focused on more at the expense of the other, unless maybe we get some of these speed traps off the roads to focus on something that really matters.
Well, without divulging too much so that slick computer jockeys won't figure it out... I max out the company match in the provided 401k. Since we are not a public company, the match goes into the funds I select by the outsourced provider. Every year I purchase stocks and mutual funds with my bonus. They're doing pretty well at this point, considering they're all aggressive funds. My cash savings are in line with my income. I'm set to retire now if I die at 35
What exactly entitles you to retire just because you're alive? That's asinine. You're also not entitled to health care, vacations, a car, internet access, etc. just because you exist. Where anyone gets the idea of that type of entitlement is beyond me, and calling that ignorant is pretty ironic.
Violence is gotta be almost everyones #1 fear. Just go ask ur grandmother what shes more afraid of: Getting robbed over the internet, or getting robbed walking to her car in the grocery store parking lot.
One threatens ur life(which consequently threatens ur livelihood), the other threatens ur livelihood(which consequently threatens ur life).
i understand your point, but the majority of people have no reason to fear street crime. the likelihood of being victimized is slim to none.
What exactly entitles you to retire just because you're alive? That's asinine. You're also not entitled to health care, vacations, a car, internet access, etc. just because you exist. Where anyone gets the idea of that type of entitlement is beyond me, and calling that ignorant is pretty ironic.
What is it that requires one to work just because he/she is alive? That's assinine. One works in order to afford one's health care, vacations, a car, internet access, etc. One can choose to be self-sustaining if the desire to forgo such niceties in life exists, no? The smart individual affords himself/herself a few luxuries in life while at the same time socking dollars into a savings account of some sort such that at some point in the future, that person can quit working and enjoy life. Why anyone should think that it's not only ok, but almost expected that a person work himself/herself to death is beyond me -
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If you want to stand out from the crowd, try being yourself for a change.
What exactly entitles you to retire just because you're alive? That's asinine. You're also not entitled to health care, vacations, a car, internet access, etc. just because you exist.
I wanted to add one more thing. As much as I detest seeing a third of my paycheck disappearing into the void of the federal government, I do understand that some of that money is being used to provide healthcare to those who cannot provide for themselves. I have no problem with this; as a healthy, hard-working American, I feel it's my obligation to support those Americans who are struggling to support themselves.
Sorry to jack your thread, Snigg. Now... back on topic -
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If you want to stand out from the crowd, try being yourself for a change.
i understand your point, but the majority of people have no reason to fear street crime. the likelihood of being victimized is slim to none.
Whoa what? You're reading the wrong statistics then, bud. Maybe you define "street crime" as just murder or just things that actually happen on a street in the ghetto or something.
And anecdotally, I'm 28, I've lived in various burbs and midtown areas of Atlanta. To date the following has happened:
- Mugged at knifepoint at 14 for a jacket (this is after living in LA area and nothing like this happening to me)
- Mugged for wallet by 3 people after a concert
- Tires slashed
- Multiple cars (mine being one of them) broken into at school for the stereo equipment. To date, my cars have been broken into 4 times.
- Car broken into for my GYM BAG (guess they thought it was something else?)
- Garage broken into through side door (our new house doesn't have one of these)
And most recently, my truck (which I park in my driveway now that the Duc is in its place in the garage) was broken into and various work stuff was stolen out of it. Why anyone wanted that crap is beyond me. The police said a few people in the neighborhood had been victimized as well, so it was probably just smash and grab whatever.
Anyway, a lot of stupid shit has happened to me. Luckily, insurance has taken care of most of the worse things, and others I just chalk up to bad judgement on my part for leaving stuff in the car. Not sure how I can take my stereos with me, but whatever.
That old "don't leave stuff out you don't want stolen" saying really pisses me off. How bout "don't touch other people's shit, you fucking scumbucket thieves" instead?
Security isn't the reason I have him, but having a pit bull sure does make me feel less threatened that someone will try to break into the house ever again. Oh, the shotgun helps too.
What is it that requires one to work just because he/she is alive? That's assinine. One works in order to afford one's health care, vacations, a car, internet access, etc.
Both sides of your mouth are talking. Think about what you write, jeez.
I wanted to add one more thing. As much as I detest seeing a third of my paycheck disappearing into the void of the federal government, I do understand that some of that money is being used to provide healthcare to those who cannot provide for themselves. I have no problem with this; as a healthy, hard-working American, I feel it's my obligation to support those Americans who are struggling to support themselves.
Sorry to jack your thread, Snigg. Now... back on topic -
Big surprise here, a supporter of socialized healthcare. How bout all the illegal immigrants that are taking advantage of the system too? Do you feel good about that? There are children dying in Africa, why don't you help them too?
Fine for HELPING others. I applaud that. But that's not what this is about. This is about those that feel ENTITLED to health care, or retirement, or anything and everything that "someone else has" or the "evil rich" have... just because they exist. That's a bunch of crap, and you should feel more than detest at the way our tax money is spent, especially in the arena of healthcare provisioning.
White collared crime is much more dangerous because much of it is legal, and you have no recourse against it. I can defend myself against a street robber, can't do much against corrupt judges, politicians, LEO, and Wall St sharks. As an aggregate, white collared crime costs Americans much more money than street crime does, and yes it is life threatening. When Enron executives steals your money, that's money you can't spend for health care, food, shelter, basic needs to stay alive. When politicians declare bogus wars on fictitous claims, someone's kid has to die, get sick from DU poisoning and die later, or become a mental basketcase as a result. White collared crime is a very serious problem, much more so than street crime.
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If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.
-Noam Chomsky
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