Barfly wrote:You start your response by name calling instead of presenting facts... because you can't make your case. And you damage the English language with your word-bending - shame on you.
word-bending was just a fun poke at Snooki, actually, and calling you whacked was merely a polite way of trying to get you to realize that you are not only wrong, but haven't got the first fucking clue about the nation you live in.
That is pathetic, lol. Once again you confirm my point - government and public are the same thing.... like public schools are government schools... You see? You are saying it is not government driven in the first half of the sentence, and it is government driven in the second half.
the government doesn't decide the programs, the people vote for them, that is the difference. Government driven is the government FORCING the change, which hasn't happened. Social Security, Medicare, etc were voted on and supported by the voting public. And, don't tell me you have a problem with public education, too, because that ideal harks back to that young radical, Thomas Jefferson.
Getting favored seating in a nice restaurant because you have money and/or are a regular customer has nothing to do with class.... all private clubs organizations and professional groups discriminate when it comes to access and membership. Being able to buy or access more expensive stuff just means you have the money to do so.... I've been yachting at the Presidio and in box seats at the Palm Beach Polo Club, and at private race sessions because I know people or have friends who are members... so what. I do things I like to do and associate with whoever I want, just like anyone else, with no predetermined social barriers.
sure, those polo matches are open to the general public, right? By the way, 'been yachting' and being a guest at a club are not the same as being a member, and yes, class involves money in this country. Odd that you choose to make a distinction. Although money alone isn't the determinant, as lots of folks from the elite class have less money than others without the network of influence. That whole relationship is WAY too complicated to try and explain to you, but it involves proper schools, relatives and family history.
And government employees answer the phone for you because you donate... I don't expect them to waste their time listening to me when I don't give them anything, you know, pay for influence.
sucks to be you, bunky, just don't go around claiming you live in a class-free society, because you just come off sounding delusional. Oh, and I can talk to folks in office that I never gave a damn thing to, because they know my last name, and merely HOPE I might come up with the donation. So it isn't so simplistic as 'pay for influence'. Once again, if you understood how the game was played, you'd know that lots of us grew up with the concept of interacting with elected officials socially, often before they even became public officials. Or, in many cases, there are public officials who got their jobs solely because of prior service to the old money. If I look at Eastern Virginia, the State Delegate is the son of a man who made his money farming his land, and the Circuit Court judge was, before his appointment, my family's attorney. And so on.......
Oh, and if you were of the proper class, you'd know that you don't get into Gallatoire's unless you arrange for it with the waiters, in advance. Well, you can sit out in the cheap seats if some are open, but that isn't happening on a Friday night. Also, you don't see the private rooms at a New England ski resort unless you are real old money.
While you're at it, define the various 'classes' that the government is fond of identifying for political purposes.... you can't do it, because it is a construct, and a constantly changing one.
since when does government identify classes? And while the makeup of the elite does have flux, the core is still the same families that founded the nation over 250 years ago.
