by Spider » Sat Apr 06, 2013 3:10 pm
Prior to 1913 the government was able to be so tiny that it got by on excise and tariffs. People were paying taxes, just not on income. So...very disingenuous point. Used to be relatively cheap to have a military. No need to pay for expensive modern benefits. Get a bunch of guys, buy them boots and simple rifles, feed them beans. Or operate steam or sailing warships, as opposed to computerized nuclear city-ships that burn through a few million bucks every time someone pushes a red button that says FIRE. Also, the military was very small compared to what it would become during WW2 and the Cold War, and the scale of the wars it fought was about perfectly suited to its size.
As to everything else....things just used to be a lot cheaper. Labor was cheap. Infrastructure was basic. Regulations were minimal. You needed a road built? Find some guys, give them shovels, pay them a pittance, and done. No need for a thousand pages of workplace safety regs, SAIF, OSHA, DEQ, EPA, and the army of lawyers to juggle it all. Healthcare? What healthcare? Boiled water, bone saws, and linen bandages, as opposed to MRI's, heart transplants, and radiotherapy? Completely nuts to compare a century ago to today as if there is any sort of equivalence. There just isn't.
As to communism...this has nothing whatsoever to do with it either way. Dunno how it even reminds anyone of communism.
Don't interpret this to mean I don't agree with the advancements we've made. I think its awful the way peoples health, lives, and security were thrown away to build a cheap (Insert project X), or the way the environment was pillaged for expedience. Or that military used to be more of a forced grunting match, rather than a professional, volunteer service, where people are reasonably well paid and supported medically and in retirement.
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