Ted Rall for June 24, 2015

Sort of like Obamacare – if you don’t have enough money to buy health insurance, you have to pay a fine – for nothing – which you can’t afford.

They could probably eliminate poverty entirely by just making the fine high enough.

Boo Hoo! Cry me a river.How about you deadbeats and criminals obey the law like the rest of us!Only a Lefty like Ted would cry about a CRIMINAL found guilty having to help pay for his food and shelter after harming the other 90% of us honest citizens!

Nice. Once someone makes a mistake then they are trash for life in your eyes. Who appointed you the ultimate judge? Jerk!

Kafka couldn’t make this stuff up.

There ain’t no way to delay that trouble ’comin everyday

Ooh more fees for attorneys….And people wonder why I won’t vote for a politician that’s a lawyer.

@samhuffI would go a bit further, it’s a crime industry. Just look at how many people make their living out of criminal actions, policemen, lawyers, judges and all court employees, and as you said, prisons and unions. If crime was to suddenly stop a whole lot of people will be unemployed. And is not just crime; traffic infractions, divorces, etc. It’s a whole industry living out of taxes.

Sweden boasts one of the world’s lowest incarceration rates – ten times lower than the US. Why do Swedish judges opt to keep convicts out of jail or issue lenient sentences, which one inmate called “a chance to start over”.Why do americans fear learning from societies far older than ours? That learning helped create this Country.

To quote Remy (Pixar’s Ratatouille) “You could fill books with stuff that is (news to you). If fact they have.” A blanket, stereotyping statement makes you look uninformed, whether it is aimed right or left.

ConservGov is the Trump of right-of-center commentors here. Just because the loudest is a clown, does not mean we all are.

It’s not guaranteed.

Mr Mikefive (et al), this isn’t about living a charmed/blessed life or one marked with “real adversity”. It is the actions CHOSEN during that adversity that make the difference. One can suffer extreme adversity WITHOUT resorting to a crime. If you CHOOSE to commit a crime then you pay the fine; THAT has NOTHING to do with adversity. If you KNOW you don’t have a license and you drive anyway, you have committed a crime for which YOU must pay the penalty. Such poor choices are the problem, NOT the adversity..Mr Echoraven claims ”what differentiates us is one point in time where they veered in one direction and myself in another.” One direction was toward crime the other was not.

Impressive research, Ted. :)

I never mugged somebody, broke into somebody’s car or home, or did anything else to harm another. I did 2 years in prison for a drug crime. Since then, I have achieved 2 college degrees, taught middle school and paid a lot of taxes. If I had to pay for my ‘room and board’ I could never have gone to college and would have done a lot less. I’m happy for the saints out there, but a second chance worked out quite well for me. If the crusading avengers had their way, that would not have happened.

“Get a skill, work hard and don’t commit crimes!”

Many did; but had their jobs taken by NAFTA and corporate greed.

Conserve: Have YOU ever been laid off? How long?

@mikefiveYour story reminds me of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, which recounts the tale of a family for whom everything possible goes wrong. OK, you may have your license suspended. So what? Odds are, you can’t afford a car in the first place. And I was once one of that class, who spent more hours on a bus than I care to remember. I did have bills, I did use public transport/bumming rides in order to pay the bills.But I never paid child support (I believed in using protection). I never placed myself in that position. And I never stayed home, waiting for the jobs to look for me.But what about the guys in jail who were there for reasons other than non-payment of child support (and how many of those are there for that reason?) Should I be paying for some miscreant who stuck up the gas station? Or for some accountant who siphoned off thousands from the company they worked for?Frankly, your argument only seems to apply to those “unjustly” jailed. Like, you know, damn near every last one of them – if you ask them.

He posted that I was a clown so I responded likewise. Read the thread Night.As for the “born white” racist statement….Have you been to West Virginia or any other rural area?Tell those people in trailer parks that they’re “privileged”.

Oh and what’s “Bubba” mean?Is that an anti-White slur?

MangeyMoose said, about 7 hours ago@ConserveGov"Conserve: Have YOU ever been laid off? How long?"Yes I have. Not sure what “How long?” means tho.I got laid off because the small store I worked for couldn’t afford to keep their employees due to slow sales.Myself and my two friends who were laid off went out and found other jobs. We didn’t jump on welfare and food stamps.See how that works Moosey?

@ConserveGovAs usual, you are completely wrong. Judge not lest ye be judged. Supercilious twit!

Mr. Night_Gaunt, I am a person of color, I am much more black than Mr. Obama, but not nearly as white. My ancestry includes as much Asian as African with a smidgen of Irish . ALL of my six children are black, as are their spouses and children. NONE of us have ever had ANY trouble with law enforcement in any way. The police are NOT after anyone because of their race. That is a myth perpetrated by black race-baiting racists who would rather blame the white man for their poor choices then make the effort to make something of themselves on their own.

Office programs are fine if you want a clerical position, and networking with the employees of target firms can be useful. However if you want more than a clerical position you might wish top seek instruction in something with better longevity and income. Trade schools everywhere offer classes in everything from welding to CAD/CAM, we just hired a 56 year old who just completed a 2 year degree in piping design with emphasis on CAD production. We started him at $25/hr and he has a chance to double that in the next ten years.