There has been a lot of discussion since Athens about foreign swimmers training in the United States. Most of them attend U.S. Universities, receive athletic scholarships, and compete at NCAA's. Some notable examples include Duje Draganja (Cal), Fred Bousquet and Kirsty Coventry (Auburn), Markus Rogan (Stanford), and the South African sprinters (Arizona). Some train in the U.S., but don't compete for a university (Inge de Bruijn). All of these athletes benefit from U.S. coaching, from training with U.S. swimmers, and in some cases, from financial support provided by U.S. entities (athletic scholarships). They all turn around and then win medals for other countries.
A couple questions: 1) What do you think about this arrangement generally? 2) Is it of benefit or detriment to U.S. swimming to have these foreign athletes training and competing here? 3) Should we be giving athletic scholarships, which are a scarce resource in swimming, to foreign athletes who will represent their own countries internationally instead of U.S.-born swimmers who will represent us internationally?
I'm sure there are other issues, but these come directly to mind.
Originally posted by some_girl
I'm saying the sign of an advanced nation is the willingness to provide a decent standard of living for all its citizens regardless of their economic situation. And the sign of a decent human is a willingness look beyond your own narrow interests. And no one ever died from paying taxes, so let's not get histrionic.
Why is the only way to accomplish this by levying more taxes? I doubt anyone on this forum wants folks to not have a decent standard of living. I just find it incredible that some believe the only way for this to be possible is to have greater taxes. Throwing more money at an inefficient gov't system has never proven a good use of that money.
I personally believe the interests of our country, not just my own narrow interests, are fewer taxes and less gov't. Have you been to a gov't office lately? Were you impressed with your level of service?
Originally posted by some_girl
I'm saying the sign of an advanced nation is the willingness to provide a decent standard of living for all its citizens regardless of their economic situation. And the sign of a decent human is a willingness look beyond your own narrow interests. And no one ever died from paying taxes, so let's not get histrionic.
Why is the only way to accomplish this by levying more taxes? I doubt anyone on this forum wants folks to not have a decent standard of living. I just find it incredible that some believe the only way for this to be possible is to have greater taxes. Throwing more money at an inefficient gov't system has never proven a good use of that money.
I personally believe the interests of our country, not just my own narrow interests, are fewer taxes and less gov't. Have you been to a gov't office lately? Were you impressed with your level of service?
