Decision 2008

Everything that doesn't fit anywhere else!

Postby mnp13 » August 4th, 2011, 10:07 pm

I'm pretty sure the tea party existed since... the tea party. Isn't that kind of the point?
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Postby Pit♥bull » August 6th, 2011, 11:20 am

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Postby DemoDick » August 7th, 2011, 11:04 am

The Tea Party fantasy that somehow, if we can get Obama out of office in the next election, this country will turn around, is ludicrous. This country is so broken, financially and culturally, that we are headed for an inevitable balkanization. It's coming.

We are witnessing the waning of America. The experiment is nearing its end and it's going to get very ugly, very soon.

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Postby TheRedQueen » August 8th, 2011, 10:54 am

"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw
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Postby DemoDick » August 9th, 2011, 5:40 pm

TheRedQueen wrote:Well I feel better now:

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/0 ... ince-1995/


Increasing taxes on the rich sounds like a good idea but it is a complex problem. The mega-rich are the people who have the means to best hide their wealth. They have teams of lawyers to make sure they pay as little as possible (which is not to say they don't pay; they certainly do, a lot moreso than any other income demographic). They also have the means to "vote with their feet" and leave for greener pastures if it serves them. A lot of celebrities did this in Europe in the 70's and 80's when countries started jacking up income and luxury taxes. The Rolling Stones, ABBA, etc. expatriated to countries with favorable tax rates, and their home countries got nothing from them.

Increasing taxes on the wealthy presents another problem, and that is a moral one. Why should the wealthy be forced to pay more? Because they have more? That's never computed for me. If you have eight apples and I have none, I have no right to take your apples. I can take them by force, but I think we all would agree that a system based on this premise, that might makes right, would basically turn us into tribal Africa in short order. When I see the massive protests that come from the left on this issue all I see is an angry mob that wants to take, by force, that which is not theirs in the first place. They claim that it is in the name of "fairness", but how fair is it to take another man's property by force?

Lastly, the biggest problem with this strategy is that it doesn't work. Increasing taxes on the wealthy not only encourages them to hide or move their wealth, it also fails to address the bigger problem: for decades we have been spending money we don't have, on everything from unnecessary foreign wars to MASSIVE entitlement programs. There is literally no way we can tax ourselves out of this problem, and even massive deregulation of industry, which I generally favor, would not spark enough of a renaissance of the American economy to get us out either.

In hindsight, we should have kept entitlement programs to a minimum, and established a flat tax rate, or even a negative income tax, a long time ago.

What is happening in London right now is going to happen here. I don't look forward to that day, but I do look forward to the day after that.

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"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama
"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge
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Postby Pit♥bull » August 10th, 2011, 11:01 am

Little wonder why this guy is boss. He is sharp!
You can't be any fairer than this leader...

Dear Employees:
As the CEO of this organization, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barrack Obama is our President and that our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way. To compensate for these increases, our prices would have to increase by about 10%. But since we cannot increase our prices right now due to the dismal state of the economy, we will have to lay off sixty of our employees instead. This has really been bothering me since I believe we are family here and I didn't know how to choose who would have to go.
So, this is what I did. I walked through our parking lots and found sixty 'Obama' bumper stickers on our employees' cars and have decided these folks will be the ones to let go. I can't think of a more fair way to approach this problem. They voted for change......I gave it to them.
I will see the rest of you at the annual company picnic.
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Postby mnp13 » August 10th, 2011, 11:17 am

The other problem is... what is "wealthy"??? And why should people be punished because they have made the right choices in life?

I know a couple who needed food stamps in the late 60's, owned next to nothing, had no money, and a new baby. They have spent the last 40 years specifically not getting in debt, not living outside of their means, saving money, spending appropriately. A few investments have really paid off over time, and on paper they are now worth over two million. But that's not liquid, it's on paper... but they would be included in this. And ironically, would have to sell property to afford the taxes on that property.

And quite frankly, every penny was earned and saved by them - why should they be punished for working hard and making good choices?

Capital Gains taxes are bull crap. I pay tax on my money, then I invest it or buy something, then I sell what I bought and make money on it. Why the hell should I pay more taxes?

The government takes 25% of my pay right off the top. Then with the remaining money, they take 8-10% of everything I purchase. If I invest that money (in stocks or purchase of an item) and manage to make any decent amount of money from my investment, they take 20% of that.

Honestly, it sounds "easy" to say "take more from the rich people, they have more to give" but when you see what defines "rich" it's a little different. I'll be honest and say that I don't really care if you tax the living hell out of every cry baby whiner professional athlete who makes millions a year and complains that they aren't paid enough. Tax them at 90% and bring them back to reality. But those people who WORK for a living, and have made the right choices, stayed out of debt, have real assets and not just paper ones (like paid off houses) why are they punished?

My first host family were self-made millionaires. He came from money, but was disowned by his family when he married his wife. So he worked through law school (college is paid for by the government, but there isn't housing or anything) and they are worth a ba-zillion dollars now. They did the calculations; with taxes, paying their employees, paying for their offices, etc, they work until the first week of October every year before they make any money. Granted, those eleven weeks of income are still more than most of us will ever see, but it's a "bit" obscene. At least in France your college education is free (if you can get out of high school) and your medical care is free. So they get something from being taxed half to death.

It's really far more complicated than it looks on the surface. Of course, you can't tax "old money" more than "new money" because how do you qualify that? And I am not an advocate of removing social services, but the handouts to fully-capable adults need to stop. Our entitlement culture is destroying our country, and taxing the "rich" isn't going to fix that.
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Postby Pit♥bull » August 10th, 2011, 4:50 pm

GREAT post Michelle, I agree 100% :)
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Postby cheekymunkee » August 11th, 2011, 11:05 pm

DemoDick wrote:The Tea Party fantasy that somehow, if we can get Obama out of office in the next election, this country will turn around, is ludicrous. This country is so broken, financially and culturally, that we are headed for an inevitable balkanization. It's coming.

We are witnessing the waning of America. The experiment is nearing its end and it's going to get very ugly, very soon.

Demo Dick


So true, what is happening in this country is not one administrations fault, it is ALL of their fault. They are all to blame.

I agree with Michelle to a point, I would like to see the uber-rich taxed as they should be. People these days with a couple million dollars in assets are not rich, they are comfortable. The definition of rich has changed tremendously over the years.
There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.

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Postby TheRedQueen » August 15th, 2011, 11:22 pm

Interesting article from Warren Buffet (super rich dude)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opini ... d=fb-share
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Postby mnp13 » August 16th, 2011, 9:54 am

Interesting article, and nice to see someone being completely honest about what they do and do not pay. If you have no other source of income except for the interest that your investments pay, then those investments ARE your income and should be taxed as such - if they are more than x dollars, or maybe more than a certain percent of your total income. If you're living off of your investments, but the amount generated is less than say $100,000 a year (which, sadly, isn't all that much really), then leave it alone.

It's so freekin complicated... I don't think the "rich" - ultra-rich, or otherwise - should be taxed more than the rest of us. I also don't think they should be taxed less!!

Thanks for sharing!
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Inside me is a thin woman trying to get out. I usually shut the bitch up with a martini.
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Postby TheRedQueen » August 16th, 2011, 10:20 am

When I refer to "rich" people paying more taxes...these are the people I speak of...the super rich folks
"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw
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Postby Pit♥bull » August 21st, 2011, 4:50 pm

:rantSwitch:
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » August 21st, 2011, 5:16 pm

We're going to have to start a Decision 2012 topic soon, and so far I'm terrified by what I'm seeing.
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Postby Pit♥bull » August 21st, 2011, 7:22 pm

pitbullmamaliz wrote:We're going to have to start a Decision 2012 topic soon, and so far I'm terrified by what I'm seeing.
I'll get it started within the next few weeks. :mrgreen:
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Postby DemoDick » August 22nd, 2011, 9:53 pm

pitbullmamaliz wrote:We're going to have to start a Decision 2012 topic soon, and so far I'm terrified by what I'm seeing.


It gets worse.

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/bundl ... =N00009638

Replace "Obama" with any high level Republican and you will see the same thing, with a list of different names. This country's national level elections have been bought and sold by people with more money in their checking accounts than we will ever see in our lifetimes, before we ever even head to the ballot box.

We are being played.

Demo Dick
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