Quote Originally Posted by Ronin
personally I see such things as a tax on stupidity......maybe if people are scammed long enough they will learn something.....

I know that history is pretty much against any positive gain on this field....but hey....
Well, it's the difference between what things should be like, and what they are like.
Some folks donate some money to the church in the idea that that money will help the poor, the homeless, the hungry, etc. Charity, you know ?
If that money goes towards improving the priest's lifestyle, well, then, yeah, we have a problem.
But that's not because the people are stupid, but because the priest is corrupt and a hypocrite.

If our government taxes the hell out of us, and it does not use that money in a proper way, are we stupid for continuing to pay taxes ?
Yes, I know, the two are different, since the ones we pay to the state are mandatory, but then, are we stupid for not overthrowing the government ?
No, because, in all truth, whichever government you choose, there will STILL be poor management of the money, corruption, bureaucracy, etc. It's just the way things are. They should, and could, be better, but they're not. That doesn't stop us from continuing to try and improve them - that's why we vote new people in power, because we're hoping things WILL improve...