Here you go Nathan you poor simpleton.

Your taxes at work.

Tax - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Purposes and effects
Funds provided by taxation have been used by states and their functional equivalents throughout history to carry out many functions. Some of these include expenditures on war, the enforcement of law and public order, protection of property, economic infrastructure (roads, legal tender, enforcement of contracts, etc.), public works, social engineering, and the operation of government itself. Most modern governments also use taxes to fund welfare and public services. These services can include education systems, health care systems, pensions for the elderly, unemployment benefits, and public transportation. Energy, water and waste management systems are also common public utilities.


In addition to managing better and using less, I believe we're going to have to pay more of the actual costs of maintaining our water systems over time. The Congressional Budget Office recently issued a report entitled Future Investment in Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure4 which points out that increased future infrastructure costs will either have to be paid by taxpayers or ratepayers. To quote CBO: "Ultimately, society as a whole pays 100 percent of the costs of water services, whether through ratepayers' bills or through federal, state, or local taxes." CBO raises strong efficiency arguments for ratepayers picking up the increased costs rather than taxpayers. Certainly the most direct route for funds to flow is straight from the ratepayer to the utility. In addition, we know that when prices rise, quantity demanded falls. Moreover, in this same report, CBO estimates that combined water and sewer bills currently average 0.5% of income in this country (i.e. one half of one percent of average household income). There appears to be room for higher water bills among most households. In a recent draft report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,5 the United States had the lowest percentage of income going to water charges among the 18 OECD countries. CBO, in its report, calculated that even if future infrastructure needs fall into the very high range, average water bills will still only account for 0.9% of income on average. In a recent article, Harvard economist Robert Stavins describes our water prices as "muffled".6 He suggests that ratepayers need to hear stronger price signals so that they see a connection between their consumption and their water bill.

EPA > Water > Sustaining Our Water Infrastructure


I upsized the important part for you Nathan. So you'd be sure and not miss it.

You can bet that 90% of the people who turn on tap and have public water coming into their homes have it because that system was paid for by federal and state tax payer funds. ...........................And we pay a monthly bill to maintain the system.

They are just now getting around to trying to privatize water systems , and so far thank goodness that is failing.

Why do you think paid for hoover dam Nathan so Arizona and Nevada have water and power? ...................................We the tax payers is who paid for hoover dam.


Geez , It just occurred to me I have spent hours debating what the bible says with a man who is too stupid to know that public utilities were originally financed by public monies . IE taxpayers money.

Well, that will teach me. I think from now on before spending hours talking to somebody about the bible I will ask hey, before we get into the bible , how were public utilities paid for in this country?

make sure they are smart enough to know tax payers footed that bill , that way maybe at least they are smart enough to talk about the bible.

__________________
American Politics and More the forum for smart people.

http://americanpoliticsandmore.com/forum/index.php

Or one closer to home for her Baltimore Gas and Electric
Jacksonville Electric Authority was originally build by private interest and taken over by a "public corporation" Its not part of the government and to my knowledge never got funds from the feds. I lived in Jacksonville from 1977 to 2006 and never heard of anything except them telling us our electric bill was going up.

__________________
Its better to have fussed and crabbed then never to have fussed at all - Lucy

Again Soho , you must not be reading the posts.

I never said Exxon Mobile damaged any homes. Nathan brought Exxon up as a example of a good corporate citizen.

I just pointed out to him a few thousand people along a few hundred miles of coastland who lost their entire way of making a living and saw their towns dry up and people by the dozens commit suicide might disagree with him that EXXON has been a good corporate citizen.

You really should try to read more closely Soho. Or avoid posting while distracted at work or whatever your deal is.

__________________
American Politics and More the forum for smart people.

http://americanpoliticsandmore.com/forum/index.php

Actually you sort of implied it you wrote: "15 K is not enough. For instance if the roof blew off there is a good probability that heat pumps and garages were damaged by flying stuff in the winds as well. "

Granted I know get that you meant it purely as a metaphor, but when I read it I wasn't sure how to interpret it. It sounded as if you were saying that there was some property damage.

If you would have wrote then what you wrote now there would not have been an issue, and I wouldn't have responded because I would have agreed with you.

You know peach, the problem isn't always that others are not paying attention, but in your presentation (or my presentation, or anyone's presentation). In that you have COMPLETELY misread what I wrote several times today to the point of claiming the OPPOSITE. I would remove the beam from your eye before complaining about the mote in mine.

peach,

Americans have lived without all of this taxation and public works, it can be done again!
I would rather demand a 50% cut in all spending and in all taxes.

__________________
Bush-lite fooled the American people

Most all of them originally Soho.

Most all public utility systems in the country and most every other country for that matter were in large part paid for by tax payer money.

Some have been turned over to private companies but since tax payers built them to begin with even the ones wholly privately owned are not allowed to just hike rates as they please. After all tax payers should get some considerations for shelling out the initial investments.


Who do you think builds dams and hydro electric plants Soho now days?

Still the tax payer. Just because we allow corporations to jump on the band wagon and take profits from tax payer funded projects should not throw you that much. We allow corporations to take profits where ever they can.

Here you go Soho . One states regulations and application procedures to get federal matching dollars to improve their public water systems.

http://www.state.ct.us/ott/debtrepor...nkingwater.pdf


The main features of Connecticut’s DWSRF program — the ranking system, the project funding, the
maximization of set-aside and the leveraging plan discussed in this section and allow DPH to meet
the public health and compliance goals of the DWSRF while simultaneously preserving the integrity
and perpetuity of the Fund.
Sources and Uses of Funds The funding for the DWF comes from federal capitalization grants, revenue bond proceeds for drink-
ing water projects, and state general obligation bond proceeds. Federal capitalization grants and
state match have been primarily used to secure program bonds and interest subsidy to borrowers .
These amounts are held by the Trustee. Similar to the CWF leveraged program, federal funds are
drawn monthly from a Federal Capitalization Grant in proportion to the rate of spending on certain
projects. State bond authorizations are used to provide the required state match.
Under the DWF leveraged program revenue bonds are the funding source for all loans financed by
the federal account. The State intends to fund future loans to DWF borrowers from the proceeds of
bonds. Federal Capitalization Grants Federal drinking water capitalization grants for federal fiscal years 1997 through 2003 in the
amount of $75.9 million have been awarded by the EPA to the State. The largest grant to date was for $21 million in 1997. Since that time, Connecticut has applied for and received grants each year
as detailed in Appendix I.

Under the SDWA, in order to receive federal drinking water capitalization grants, the State must pro-
vide matching funds in a ratio of at least 20% of federal drinking water capitalization grants. State
contributions include required State matching funds and other amounts contributed by the State to
the Drinking Water Program above the amount required by the SDWA. Connecticut has made State contributions in the form of taxable State general obligation bonds deposited in the DWF to meet
the required amount of State matching funds for Federal Drinking Water Capitalization Grants
awarded to date.


This is just in one state Soho, The feds and state governments fund all public utilities and always have with tax payer money.

The fact they let private companies take them over and profit from them sometimes is irrelevant to this conversation as is the fact everytime a public utility needs to expand they get the money off the feds and the states . IE we the tax payer.

__________________
American Politics and More the forum for smart people.

http://americanpoliticsandmore.com/forum/index.php

When have Americans lived without all these taxes and public works?

I can tell you that we have not since the civil war and that was in the 1860's

The water you drink , the roads you drive on, the policeman who makes sure the bad guys just don't shoot you and take your crap all are paid for by taxes.

So in other words WOW your saying you would like to pick and choose what you pay for in taxes. Well guess what so would I .

The first thing I would do is cut the military budget in half and use half of that to help father less children and sick people.

So who gets to decide what services our taxes go for Wow , you or me?

neither of us is the answer.

But we do have the right to vote. We are always going to pay taxes , ALWAYS. All we get a right to do is lobby our representatives as to how they should be spent.

__________________
American Politics and More the forum for smart people.

http://americanpoliticsandmore.com/forum/index.php

But not all, Nathan has pointed out two. Now I can have a good argument that utility work SHOULD be done by the government (in that you want surplus, not market efficiency), but you need to get off your obsession and realize that there are different point of views to yours. Doesn't mean that you can't believe yours is right, but it does mean that other can have perfectly valid arguments to their positions. And that the government has given SOME money, does not mean that the Government controls everything (though I don't necessarily agree with the government giving money to private enterprises like this - though the devil lives in the details.).

Hoover Dam, you mean the dam that provides water for Southern California? Was that a good stewardship of America's tax dollars?

These services can include education systems, health care systems, pensions for the elderly, unemployment benefits, and public transportation.

Please note it says "can include" not always includes.

Why is it automatically the requirement for the government to provide us with water, sewage and electricity? For many years this was done by private ventures. I bet you know even know who was the first producers of electricity and a provider for homes. Heres a hint, it wasn't the cities or city government.

Private enterprise can and has provided the utilities. At some point, probably during the Socialist Roosevelt Administration utility companies were deemed to be "public servants" and therefore should be controlled by the government. FDR started this mess with the TVA which while it provided electricity to many small communities also took valuable farm land that had been in families for generations. Dandridge TN lost about half of its best bottom land to Douglas Lake, this area is now a depressed area because of that. They damn near flooded the entire city.

I don't care what government does, I don't care how long we have been paying taxes. Not everything is done best by the government. I don't want the government intruding in my life, you apparently want your privacy but are quite willing to have me give up mine.

And you are an arrogant witch. You are condesending like a true boneheaded progressive. God, I hate your type.

__________________
Its better to have fussed and crabbed then never to have fussed at all - Lucy

Explain to me how it will put money into my pocket.

Are you sure? They pay around 60% in taxes I believe and in purchasing power they fall short of the average American.

It may not be politically correct to say, but it is true for the most part.

Equity is fairness and fairness is subjective.

So terrorism isn't real?

China isn't out best buddy and China relies on us econmically far more than we rely upon them. Their economy is tied to ours.


What propoganda is that?

Pretty sure your daddy didn't come up with that one.

Actually, it wasn't a large majority, so that isn't the truth.

What attitude? What selfishness?

Thanks for your input, Reverend Wright.