War in Ukraine

[norrislakevol]

I bounce around a lot. I've lived in a lot of different countries, but I'm currently in South Korea and it's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. I pay 3% in federal taxes and 0.3% in local taxes and see so many benefits from my 3.3% in taxes that I never get as an American taxpayer in the USA when I pay 10x that amount. The fact that my parents are paying 10x my tax rate to Washington DC and fund the protection of South Korea's border while the US border is wiiiiiiiiiiiide open is one reason the Korean government can stretch my taxes so far. It was the same way when I was in Israel. The border wall there is much taller and robust than what Trump was proposing. Americans won't invest in their own border security that will benefit us or protect the future of America's kids. But we'll pay for South Korea's and Israel's.

But back to Korea. The roads are always perfect. There's almost no crime because the people are very well-educated and have opportunities. People leave their laptops, cell phones, purses, et cetera on tables unattended in crowded cafes and restaurants to reserve a table while they go to the restroom or order food. A recent video of a guy stealing a smartphone under such circumstances was a national scandal because it's so rare for such a theft to occur. The buses and subways are first-rate. My electric and gas bills last month were a total of $18 and while my apartment isn't big, it isn't small either for someone living alone. There are even low-key improvements. Last winter, most of the benches at bus stops were heated which feels damn good during Korean winters. We can't have something like that in Knoxville because our homeless war veterans and local drug junkies sleep on the benches and piss all over them. You can't sit on the benches in the Gay Street/Market Square area of Knoxville for that reason. There aren't many homeless or drug addicts in Korea and there definitely aren't tent cities. There seem to always be around a dozen homeless at Seoul Station, but that's about all.

I like the Koreans, but they're extremely proud and will never ever give the USA or anyone else credit for liberating Korea from Japan and they take sole credit for the meteoric rise of the South Korean economy. Americans can dump all the money we want here, but there will never be any gratitude, just boasting from the Koreans. To their credit, at least they invested the money wisely and didn't piss it away on stupid **** the way we do.

While I'm very disappointed with how much my siblings and parents are going to have to pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine, I'm already studying the opportunities that might present itself in the rebuild. I hate that the USA always dumps its money all over the world while Americans do without, but it's going to happen whether I like it or not, so I always like to crash the party and enjoy as many benefits and amenities that I can. I think a lot of Ukrainians are going to resent the destruction of their country and will blame and hate Russians and Americans alike, which will cause some dangerous situations for Americans traveling there. It won't be as safe for Americans as most people think and it won't be a good idea to wear a Joe Biden cap and boast to everyone, "We saved yer ass!!!" Americans going around saying that are going to be picking their teeth up off the sidewalk. That being said, it's still going to be the perfect mix of American welfare and Ukrainian widows for quite a while in the areas that remain under control of the Ukrainian government.

Edit: My emergency appendectomy in Gangnam with three nights in the hospital was $300. Without insurance, it would've been around $1200. American incomes are higher, but Koreans build wealth much faster than Americans because when people in Korea pay taxes, there are tangible benefits. Nobody is left wondering where all the money went like I wonder when I'm in the USA.

Solid post right there sir.

 

[NorthDallas40]

Solid post right there sir.

Look up one post from yours. His tax valuations are total crap

 

[KB5252]

How it started



Going

Anyone who believed those "election" results is/was a stooge.

 

[KB5252]

Instead we now have a Russia that is fully aware of its faults and shortcomings. Those can be addressed instead of exposed. Have to believe US intelligence knew this way in advance

I'm not so sure they did.

 

[Hunerwadel]

I sometimes wish I could live outside the United States again but likely will not happen. Would love to go back to Japan and live or maybe live in Thailand or Laos.

If a man wants to leave America to better himself in another country I believe he should do everything possible to make that happen.

 

[MontyPython]

Ukraine lays out $750B 'recovery plan' for postwar future
"President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday the reconstruction of his war-battered country is the “common task of the entire democratic world,” as his prime minister laid out a $750 billion recovery plan once the guns of Russia’s invaders fall silent one day."
Sounds like another 20 year, 2 trillion dollar boondoggle in the pipeline.

Well, we and our allies have $300+ billion in frozen Russian assets.

Give it to em I says.

 

[VolStrom]

If a man wants to leave America to better himself in another country I believe he should do everything possible to make that happen.

Didn't you leave the US and move to Alabama?

 

[Hunerwadel]

Didn't you leave the US and move to Alabama?

I came to help improve the plight of the natives.

 

[MontyPython]

A certain group of morons are awfully quiet tonight.

They're still waiting for TASS to post their new talking points.

 

[VolStrom]

I came to help improve the plight of the natives.

You need to work harder, because whatever you're doing is not working.

 

[Velo Vol]

They're still waiting for TASS to post their new talking points.

Ideally, even they got tired of their own bs.

 

[MontyPython]

A change in leadership could reverse that within a decade.

Or a new liberal minded Russian leader could sweep the house clean and make everything right with the West.






Nahhh.. just kidding.

 

[MontyPython]

I bounce around a lot. I've lived in a lot of different countries, but I'm currently in South Korea and it's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. I pay 3% in federal taxes and 0.3% in local taxes and see so many benefits from my 3.3% in taxes that I never get as an American taxpayer in the USA when I pay 10x that amount. The fact that my parents are paying 10x my tax rate to Washington DC and fund the protection of South Korea's border while the US border is wiiiiiiiiiiiide open is one reason the Korean government can stretch my taxes so far. It was the same way when I was in Israel. The border wall there is much taller and robust than what Trump was proposing. Americans won't invest in their own border security that will benefit us or protect the future of America's kids. But we'll pay for South Korea's and Israel's.

But back to Korea. The roads are always perfect. There's almost no crime because the people are very well-educated and have opportunities. People leave their laptops, cell phones, purses, et cetera on tables unattended in crowded cafes and restaurants to reserve a table while they go to the restroom or order food. A recent video of a guy stealing a smartphone under such circumstances was a national scandal because it's so rare for such a theft to occur. The buses and subways are first-rate. My electric and gas bills last month were a total of $18 and while my apartment isn't big, it isn't small either for someone living alone. There are even low-key improvements. Last winter, most of the benches at bus stops were heated which feels damn good during Korean winters. We can't have something like that in Knoxville because our homeless war veterans and local drug junkies sleep on the benches and piss all over them. You can't sit on the benches in the Gay Street/Market Square area of Knoxville for that reason. There aren't many homeless or drug addicts in Korea and there definitely aren't tent cities. There seem to always be around a dozen homeless at Seoul Station, but that's about all.

I like the Koreans, but they're extremely proud and will never ever give the USA or anyone else credit for liberating Korea from Japan and they take sole credit for the meteoric rise of the South Korean economy. Americans can dump all the money we want here, but there will never be any gratitude, just boasting from the Koreans. To their credit, at least they invested the money wisely and didn't piss it away on stupid **** the way we do.

While I'm very disappointed with how much my siblings and parents are going to have to pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine, I'm already studying the opportunities that might present itself in the rebuild. I hate that the USA always dumps its money all over the world while Americans do without, but it's going to happen whether I like it or not, so I always like to crash the party and enjoy as many benefits and amenities that I can. I think a lot of Ukrainians are going to resent the destruction of their country and will blame and hate Russians and Americans alike, which will cause some dangerous situations for Americans traveling there. It won't be as safe for Americans as most people think and it won't be a good idea to wear a Joe Biden cap and boast to everyone, "We saved yer ass!!!" Americans going around saying that are going to be picking their teeth up off the sidewalk. That being said, it's still going to be the perfect mix of American welfare and Ukrainian widows for quite a while in the areas that remain under control of the Ukrainian government.

Edit: My emergency appendectomy in Gangnam with three nights in the hospital was $300. Without insurance, it would've been around $1200. American incomes are higher, but Koreans build wealth much faster than Americans because when people in Korea pay taxes, there are tangible benefits. Nobody is left wondering where all the money went like I wonder when I'm in the USA.

Is Korea's tax rate high?

"Personal Income Tax Rate in South Korea averaged 38.26 percent from 2004 until 2022, reaching an all time high of 45 percent in 2021 and a record low of 35 percent in 2005."

Are you sure you're not in North Korea?

 

[LouderVol]

Not necessarily, when China launches its invasion of Taiwan I don't want an unbeaten Russia standing in Europe thinking they can take advantage of the chaos.

With them being their current weak state? Or them after 10 years of fixing the problem?

I dont see any way China is making that jump without Russia's backing. And I dont know if it really matters how successful Russia has been.

You are trading a weak war hawk for a stronger war dove imo.

Weak is weak. Strong is strong.

 

[Velo Vol]

Are you sure you're not in North Korea?

I'm sure South Korea, like every other country, has its pluses and minuses, but when he starts the post out with an obviously false comparison it's hard to take the rest seriously.

 

[MontyPython]

I'm sure South Korea, like every other country, has its pluses and minuses, but when he starts the post out with an obviously false comparison it's hard to take the rest seriously.

Like most of her posts, blowhard BS.

 

[evillawyer]

Have our resident Putinistas weighed in on the Russian "success" in Kherson?

 

[Velo Vol]

Have our resident Putinistas weighed in on the Russian "success" in Kherson?

If they were here they'd probably be saying these 70-year old women bringing flowers to the UA soldiers are being paid by the US State Department.

 

[AM64]

Same thinking that got us Korea, Vietnam, Iraq x2, Afghanistan, etc. Maybe one day this will be true

I agree with the action in Korea; maybe you forget that although it may have been mostly US troops, Korea was a UN action. I understand the why of Vietnam even if the way we went about it was unwise. I agree with chasing Iraq out of Kuwait - just like Russians out of Ukraine; if it took a little more convincing like destroying an army then so be it. As far as the rest of it goes Iraq v2 and Afghanistan etc, it was stupid to think we'd even make inroads into those cultures. You won't like my viewpoint on that either, but the correct answer to Islamic countries is to either eliminate them or leave them alone ... maybe one day their women will grow balls and fix the problem - as likely as bullfrogs growing wings though.

 

[AM64]

There can be a time when principles become too costly to uphold.

Hard to believe that anyone in this country could think that keeping your own country and being free could be too costly.

 

[AM64]

I doubt it. They have trouble enough in the EU already. And the money wont be efficiently used, and it will scope creep to include a lot more than rebuilding.

Another way to look at it is that Ukraine was under the Russian thumb for a very long time. Perhaps this was what was needed to literally and figuratively throw off the Russian stench and become a new nation with pride of accomplishment. Perhaps the realization that in working together for the common good in tossing Russia out will breed better policy in Ukraine. Yeah, the French are still French, but you have to admit the Germans made a real change post WW2.

 

[AM64]

Okinawa. I was actually stationed there for over 3 years. I spent as much as my time off base as I possibly could. I honestly had the opportunity to stay and work there but decided to come back to Tennessee after I got out.

I might have stayed on Okinawa if there had been an opportunity. I have liked the places I've been in Japan, too; and while I understand why Japan has made changes to Okinawa, I liked Okinawa better before Okinawa was "returned" to Japan. The reason for the qualification is that the Ryukyus were really never truly Japanese in the first place.

 

[lukeneyland]

Hard to believe that anyone in this country could think that keeping your own country and being free could be too costly.

It depends on many people things and hypotheticals. But I’d argue that we’ve already about lost it. Now ask me about Tennessee and I’ll give you a different answer. Tennessee means more to me than this country ever could

 

[AM64]

It depends on many people things and hypotheticals. But I’d argue that we’ve already about lost it. Now ask me about Tennessee and I’ll give you a different answer. Tennessee means more to me than this country ever could

That I can understand. I've always believed the US would be better if the South had won. We might still be on the same track as a country we are on now, but I believe there would have been an eventual reconciliation and states would have a larger say in things - at least for a while. In the end it seems inevitable that a "top" tier of government will always seize power even though that was never the design. I've always believed that's why the smart Brits (not all of them) saw the impending problem with the EU and bailed.

 

[Burhead]

For the, "Lets force Ukraine to negotiate" crowd.