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Should the Poor not be allowed to vote

Should the Poor not be allowed to vote

  • The poor should be banned from voting

    Votes: 1 33.3%

  • The richest 10% should be banned from voting

    Votes: 1 33.3%

  • The top 1% should be banned from voting

    Votes: 1 33.3%

  • Only the middle class should be allowed to vote

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    3
Harry Guerrilla said:
I want to avoid the whole poor don't pay taxes stuff.
I think it's more equitable to require community service for everyone who wants to, vote or be elected to public office.
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What do you mean by community service? Sweeping streets? Working in a food kitchen? Serving in the military? Would there be a minimum number of hours to qualify or does it have to be a lifelong contribution?
 
radcen said:
This statement contradicts itself. Income tax is only a portion of government funding.
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True, but there are lots of people who effectively pay nothing whatsoever and receive services simply for waking up in the morning. I don't think those people deserve to be in a position to vote themselves more freebies when they have no stake in the process.
 
radcen said:
What do you mean by community service? Sweeping streets? Working in a food kitchen? Serving in the military? Would there be a minimum number of hours to qualify or does it have to be a lifelong contribution?
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Either/or.
I'm open to suggestions.

The point is that the value of voting needs to be realized through some sort of personal sacrifice.
It's pretty well known that most people who get something for free, on a consistent basis, value it very little.

A classic economic argument.
 
Thunder said:
what about people who are disabled due to no fault of their own? should they still lose the right to vote?

what about folks who have been unemployed for only 6 months, should they also lose the right to vote?

what are the ground-rules for your bigotry & hatred against the poor?
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Your point would be better made without the third point. It's not necessarily "bigotry & hatred".
 
jamesrage said:
I think every American citizen should be allowed to vote. That said I think any tax increases should be voted on only by those who would be paying the tax increases. For example they want an extra tax on cigarettes then only smokers should be allowed to vote on whether or not to vote for those tax increases. Because its too damn easy to want tax increases when you are not the person paying for them and its too damn easy to spend other people's money.
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problem with that is nothing would ever get done. Why would a smoker want to pay more for a packet of fags? If you give people the choice 8 times out of 10 they will choose to pay less.
 
jamesrage said:
I think every American citizen should be allowed to vote. That said I think any tax increases should be voted on only by those who would be paying the tax increases. For example they want an extra tax on cigarettes then only smokers should be allowed to vote on whether or not to vote for those tax increases. Because its too damn easy to want tax increases when you are not the person paying for them and its too damn easy to spend other people's money.
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Interesting.
 
TurtleDude said:
in many areas that were once black dominated, hispanics have become the largest ethnic group. and due to the political spoils system, the dems still give the spoils to blacks which is causing resentment in the hispanic community. And the hispanic community is far more diverse than the black community-some such as the Cubans, tend to be very hard working and very ambitious and tend not to buy into the Poor poor victimized me crap that the dems feed minorities in the hope of making them pawns of the dem party
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If folks like you and ALEC and CATO and the other components of the right wing truly believe that you sure are going in the opposite direction by attempting to lay a foundation to strip poor people of the right to vote.

I care absolutely NOTHING for what the far right professes to believe through their words. I put total value in their actions. And their actions are to lay groundwork and a foundation to strip the poor of their voting rights. The responses of the right here are evidence of that.
 
Blackdog said:
Community service (for other than a crime) is nothing but indentured servitude or slavery with a nice name.
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Actually, no. According to how most define it in this context, it's still "slavery" even when it is punishment for a crime, as it is forcing somebody to do something they don't want to do. Plus, it wouldn't be "slavery" for voting as one can always choose not to vote.

Disclaimer: I do NOT buy into the whole "slavery" rhetoric, but if people are going to use it, at least be consistent.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Either/or.
I'm open to suggestions.

The point is that the value of voting needs to be realized through some sort of personal sacrifice.
It's pretty well known that most people who get something for free, on a consistent basis, value it very little.

A classic economic argument.
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I totally agree with the part in red, but there are some things that I think people should have the right to, and that right also includes the right to not take it seriously. Fortunately, most people who truly do not take it seriously, also would not bother to vote at all.
 
Thunder said:
edited for accuracy.
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People get tired of your childish changing of what they said

your posts are as far from accuracy as one can imagine. many of the rich are dems. especially those who are rich because of the government as well as those who despise the religious right
 
radcen said:
I totally agree with the part in red, but there are some things that I think people should have the right to, and that right also includes the right to not take it seriously. Fortunately, most people who truly do not take it seriously, also would not bother to vote at all.
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I agree that does flesh out some what, in overall voter turn out.
On the other hand, I still think that it needs to be earned, to hopefully spur some sort of greater thinking, of what it costs to be a productive member of society.
 
Higgins86 said:
problem with that is nothing would ever get done.
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**** would still get done.The government would have to have the consent of those who would be footing the bill before increasing taxes.

Why would a smoker want to pay more for a packet of fags?
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No one wants to pay more than they have to.A lot of dishonest people are for tax increases that they themselves would not be paying for.


If you give people the choice 8 times out of 10 they will choose to pay less.
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And that is how it should be. You would not want someone going an expensive restaurant and then making you pay the bill against your will.
 
radcen said:
Actually, no. According to how most define it in this context, it's still "slavery" even when it is punishment for a crime, as it is forcing somebody to do something they don't want to do. Plus, it wouldn't be "slavery" for voting as one can always choose not to vote.

Disclaimer: I do NOT buy into the whole "slavery" rhetoric, but if people are going to use it, at least be consistent.
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Punishment for a crime is not the same thing and legal. Your reply is nothing more than a fallacy as you know what I meant.
 
jamesrage said:
**** would still get done.The government would have to have the consent of those who would be footing the bill before increasing taxes....
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the poor still pay sales tax.

that means, EVERONE in America pays taxes, and should have the right to vote.
 
Thunder said:
the poor still pay sales tax.

that means, EVERONE in America pays taxes, and should have the right to vote.
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only on the taxes that they pay

why should someone who is in the bottom bracket of the income tax be able to vote up the rates for those on the top?
 
jamesrage;1059915271 And that is how it should be. You would not want someone going an expensive restaurant and then making you pay the bill against your will.[/QUOTE said:
But that is not what we are discussing here, we pay taxes to improve the country not to front someone elses bill.
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TurtleDude said:
only on the taxes that they pay

why should someone who is in the bottom bracket of the income tax be able to vote up the rates for those on the top?
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err.....cause they might win the lottery tomorrow and suddenly become part of the 1%?

wanting to strip away the right to vote from people simply due to their income, is totally unAmerican and true class-warfare.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Yes you are still a citizen.
See; the majority of the U.S. who don't vote or serve in public office.

They still retain all their constitutional protections.
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Irrelevant if they do it or not, they CAN. Under your "plebeian system" they could not without preforming some sort of service.

Harry Guerrilla said:
If voting were so important to so many, than doing community service wouldn't be that great a sacrifice.
I think it's telling that people aren't willing to push a broom or pick up some trash off the highway, in order to retain something so important to them.

Taxation is slavery, lets end all taxation.
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Taxation is necessary for our government to fulfill it's role and service to the people, nice appeal to spite. Forced community service for guaranteed rights protected under the Constitution are not.
 
Thunder said:
the poor still pay sales tax.

that means, EVERONE in America pays taxes, and should have the right to vote.
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They're paying sales tax with money they never earned in the first place.

Come on, that's like saying bank robbers pay sales tax, they just use stolen money.
 
Thunder said:
the poor still pay sales tax.
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If elected officials wanted to raise general sales taxes then the poor should be allowed to vote whether or not those sale taxes should be increased. I did say that only those who will be paying the tax increases should be the only ones allowed to vote on the tax increases.

that means, EVERONE in America pays taxes, and should have the right to vote.
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Not everybody pays the same taxes.
 
Last edited:
Thunder said:
err.....cause they might win the lottery tomorrow and suddenly become part of the 1%?

wanting to strip away the right to vote from people simply due to their income, is totally unAmerican and true class-warfare.
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Only on stuff that does not affect them. I thought Jamesrage's post was pretty clear. Most of us understood it. You apparently could not
 
TurtleDude said:
Only on stuff that does not affect them. I thought Jamesrage's post was pretty clear. Most of us understood it. You apparently could not
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ok then but maybe we should have the top 1% live as the bottom 20% for like a week so they can see what its like before they deceide on how much taxes they want to pay?
 
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