XPost: soc.culture.baltics, soc.culture.czecho-slovak, soc.culture.russian   
   XPost: soc.culture.nordic   
   From: anton.usenet@gmail.com   
      
   David Friedman kirjoitti:   
   > In article ,   
   >  Anton  wrote:   
      
   >> James A. Donald kirjoitti:   
   >>> On Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:44:09 +0300, Anton    
   >>> wrote:   
      
   >>>> Second: Finland built after WWII a "wellfare state" structure, with its   
   >>>> publically funded healthcare, free education from elementery school   
   >>>> education to university level etc etc. If the Finno-Soviet trade had   
   >>>> been all tribute with nothing or next to nothing in exchange, it could   
   >>>> hardly have been possible to financially support all these sectors   
      
   >>> Capitalism creates enough wealth that it can pay a lot of tribute, and   
   >>> still make everyone better off.   
      
   >> Most capitalist countries consider < 1% of their annual budget too   
   >> expensive to give as aid to developing countries. If the economy can't   
   >> afford < 1% of "tithe" to the poor how could it afford to pay "tribute"   
   >> to the mean, nasty, bully?   
      
   > Is that intended as a serious argument, or is the pattern of "if you   
   > don't have an argument, find an irrelevant insult instead" spreading   
   > beyond one poster? The fact that a country doesn't spend 1% of its   
   > income on gifts   
      
   There is a difference between gift and aid. Aid can be much more than a   
   sack of dough handed out.   
      
   > to foreign governments, purportedly intended to aid   
   > their citizens, tells us nothing at all about whether it could afford   
   > to.   
      
   You can discuss that with the US government, or the Finnish government,   
   or any other government of a industralized, 1st world country. They all   
   basically rationalize it in that same way as above. It is not something   
   I have made up on my own.   
      
   While you are at it, and eagerly throwing yourself to the very core of   
   this issue you can also dig up the solid proof to the tribute claim   
   regarding Finno-Soviet trade. When you have done that, we can continue   
   to analyze this foreig aid subject further.   
      
   > There are lots of ways in which I could afford to spend parts of my   
   > income and don't.   
      
   You probably rationalize it in that because you don't feel a need to,   
   not because you can't afford to.   
      
   --   
   Anton   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)