Lifelong Republican for Obama/Biden

[jas3443]

Why do you think he's raising taxes on people who make 250k (or is it 150k now?) He is spreading the wealth around. It's a common Socialist trait. Look it up

[firefightermom]

I may be wrong, but I thought I heard it's been lowered to $120K. If so, it just keeps creeping down...

[steamer]

I like Steve Forbes, he is one of my very favorite muppets! I also believe he has the best tax plan out there, and I am not rich or selfish..In fact I work in social services and believe abortion is as much murder as capitol punishment.

The problem with Obama is he is not asking people to be more generous, he is threatening to take their money because they are selfish in His opinion. Not cool at all, socialist big time.

McCain still has not got a clear message, so what's an individual like me to do. I think I'll stick with the muppet for write in, and pay big attention to the local issues. Shut those Pay Out places down~~~Those business are nepharious, unscrupulous, and not healthy for our communities.

[kaimik]

First, let me say it's nice to post in a forum where we seem to be able to have a mostly respectful discussion about our different viewpoints. Refreshing, that's hard to find anymore.

No matter your ideals, socialistic or not, it's just a terrible idea to raise taxes on anyone right now. It's the perfect set-up to move a recession into a full-on depression. Like it or not, those with more money run the businesses than employ this country. Raise their taxes, they'll scale back employees, or raise our prices, or both. The government needs to learn to live within its means, just like we do.

I guess I have a problem with the definition of "rich" in the first place. Under Obama's original definition, we would still fall into the middle class. Under the latest numbers given by Biden and what's his name, we would now be considered rich. I have a problem with that. My hubby and I both come from very humble beginnings, worked our way through college (the first in our families to do so), and advanced schooling, racking up enough educational debt to equal many mortgage payments, and have just started earning a decent living. We are very generous and donate many times more money than Obama & Biden combined, based on percentage of income. (But, we're the selfish ones?) Last year we finally replaced our cars, a 14 year old Honda and a 10 year old Mercury, and replaced them with a Civic and Subaru. We live in a modest home, which we are trying to sell so we can move closer to my dad as he gets older. And because of the devaluation of the homes due to greed and irresponsible lenders/buyers, our home is worth about $30,000 less than we owe on the mortgage. So, we'll have to take out a loan just to pay off our mortgage, because that's what responsible people do right?

Anyway, that's a long way to say that I feel we pay our fair share. I'm happy to pay taxes, but I expect government to be responsible and frugal, just like we've had to be. We don't need trillions more spending when government is so wasteful already. And I'm happy to help those who are willing to help themselves. But, I'm so tired of this entitlement mentality that is increasing among all sectors of our society, not only the poor, but everyone who wants to live a lifestyle beyond what they've earned, and also middle and upper class kids who think they deserve the same lifestyle right out of high school that their parents spent a lifetime to achieve. What happened to taking care of ourselves?

I hope whoever wins tomorrow remembers the ideals and hard work that built this country. We don't need anyone to do for us, what we can do for ourselves.

P.S. If you share your peanut butter sandwich, you're being generous. If your teacher takes it from you and redistributes it as he/she sees fit, that's stealing!

[US-Traveller]

This website is very anti-conservative. The posts that I made in the Cleveland forum were unique. I understand some of the others were the same but my Cleveland posts were unique in that I metioned my grandfather. I'd appreciate it if we were able to post our opinions on this forum.

[kaimik]

US Traveller - I wasn't able to read your previous post,..

[OhioNative]

Originally Posted by kaimik

But, I'm so tired of this entitlement mentality that is increasing among all sectors of our society, not only the poor, but everyone who wants to live a lifestyle beyond what they've earned, and also middle and upper class kids who think they deserve the same lifestyle right out of high school that their parents spent a lifetime to achieve. What happened to taking care of ourselves?

I would certainly agree about the entitlement mentality. I think that greed across all sectors of society, at all income levels is responsible for the mess that we are in as a country. The upper income people did not want to play by the rules - they wanted to collude with government to fatten their wallets, and then get bailed out when it didn't work out as planned. The middle class were not happy living like their parents, but had to have a bigger house, latest ipod, new SUV, and plenty of extra money for hardwood floors, granite counter tops, and frequent trips to Applebees and Outback. The lower income people have expected breaks and handouts while spending their money on expensive clothes, big screen tv's, Playstations, and cell phones for everyone in the house. We're all to blame. The bottom line is that we have become too fat (literally) and complacent as a society. When people don't have to worry about basic needs, they have time to commiserate about feeling "uncomfortable" and worry about keeping up with the Joneses. We need a cultural shift in this country - however, IMHO, I don't think that government enforced wealth redistribution is the answer, as it will simply reinforce the culture of greed that is already there - greed for government power, greed for more goodies, greed for more influence in Washington, greed in taking jobs overseas to avoid taxes, etc. I don't know what the answer is, but I know that we need a cultural shift in this country towards personal responsibility and a new set of priorities across all income brackets. I am almost certain, however, that government will not provide that, it will have to come from the bottom up.