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Again with the assumptions. I know right-wingers care nothing for anyone but themselves but there exists an animal called people concerned about the plight of those less fortunate (outside of church where I can score points with "God").
Yet you 'forgot' to give back your tax breaks....
Quote:
I have to laugh whenever I hear Republicans ranting that Barack Obama is a “liberal” or a “socialist” or a communist. Are you kidding me? Obama is Bush 44. He’s a bit more like the old man than the younger one. But look at who’s still running the economy: Bernanke. Geithner. Summers. Goldman Sachs. J.P. Morgan Chase.
Did you ignore the second part of what I wrote? I'd be happy to pay more once the money isn't going to be funneled to the plutocrats who run this sinking ship.
Well, based on my calcs. above, can we say that with extensive privatisation we could reduce the fed budget to about 1/3 of its original size?
That would mean that our poll tax would be about $7500, or about one quarter of the median income of a person in the US.
On the surface it sounds outstanding but would of course be dependent on retaining certain freedoms that you Brits and many Americans do NOT. Since police in particular are very difficult to carry in your pocket, the right to arm and, dare I say it, defend one's self must be retained. There are others but that's one of the biggies.
Now I'll do a little herding. Your numbers obviously will not provide much of a life for the poor as they will only be able to afford bare necessity after paying what we've hypothetically determined to be a fair amount. So exactly what would be your plan for them. Lets face it, you know a certain percentage of the population will refuse to work and will not be able to pay, others will work but will prefer to blow their tax money on booze and hookers. What to do?
To put it bluntly, such a plan will not go over well at all with breeders regardless of their social status. While more common with the poor and uneducated, there are also affluent people who choose to breed like bunnies and they won't like that a bit. The poor tend to have kids aplenty and at $7500 a head, they just won't be able to make it. Plan?
Last edited by Joe_Ryder; 07-26-2011 at 08:08 PM..
Reason: traded an o for an a
Did you ignore the second part of what I wrote? I'd be happy to pay more once the money isn't going to be funneled to the plutocrats who run this sinking ship.
Oh, c'mon! We put two through on less income than that! One went to a private college that was not real generous with the scholarships.
You were born in 48 or 49? Your children attended college in perhaps the late 1980's -- 20+/- years ago. My parents afforded much more on much less income ($45k) then, too.
Yeah, the people making $249,999 do. Keep scaling it back and see what happens.I LOVE people who make dumb assumptions about the motivations of others on the internet.
I'm fully in support of giving back my tax breaks if it means being able to pay for essential government services. I don't need that money if it means the local river is polluted, the entire gulf dies, and forest/brush fires around the country are left to burn with wholly inadequate fire teams to combat them (and these are just the beginnings of what's going on without a fully funded government).
Here. Seriously. Take it back. Take back my tax credit, BPs tax breaks, Goldman's parachute tax, and all of it. Return to a sustainable tax structure.
What you're failing to acknowledge is that your government is already fully funded. Your taxes are going to pay for every damned thing on the planet EXCEPT those services. Do you honestly believe that giving the behemoth more money will give you your services? Historically the government has shown time and again that instead of providing vital services it manages to toss your money down the toilet on everything from the study of cow farts, to an ugly chunk of steel called art in front of a building to another freaking foreign war. They have no competition and no reason to strive for efficiency. No matter how much you give them, you will never have jack to show for it.
Yeah, see, people making far less than that - those 99%! - can't do that. They may able to afford rent, maybe some consumer electronics (which are nice and cheap due to labor exploitation overseas), have a crappy car that they can barely afford to fix, can't save a penny for retirement and can easily go bankrupt if they get sick because their health insurance (if they have any) sucks!
.
1. I have worked damn hard for my income & career. If the bottom 99% would finish high school, finish college (something only about 20-25% of Americans do), learn to read & write using correct English grammar, not have babies before they're married and into their careers, and had the work ethic to put in 50-60 hour weeks for a decade or two, they could all be $250k-aires, too. It's not that hard, it just takes more discipline and delayed gratification than today's "gimme"'culture is willing to give. So don't give me sh$t for making $250k and saying it doesn't go very far when is trying to live in a like-minded community where others value education and success.
2. Today's "poor" in the US live VERY well compared to historical standards and to most other countries. A typical household in the 30M poverty level Americans looks like this:
- owns a car
- has air conditioning in home
- 2 color tvs, cable/sattelite, and an xbox or similar gaming system in households with children
- a microwave
- washer/ dryer
- coffee maker
- not overcrowded (the average poor american has more square feet per person in household than the average European - regarless of income)
- the vast majority did not experience hunger or food shortages in the past year
- access to health services when needed
Consumer items that were luxuries decades and even just 10-20 years ago (microwaves, xboxes, satellite/cable) are commonplace in poor Americans lifestyles today. The extreme majority of "poor" Americans have never experienced hunger, food shortages, or homelessness. They have problems budgeting and making ends meet- "ends" like paying the cable bill or fixing a car (vs public transit like poor people in other modern countries use).
Poor Americans have widespread access to modern conveniences an average of 12 years after the middle class. Which means in about 5 more years, every poor person using food stamps to pay for groceries will be talking on an iPhone in the checkout line. THINK ABOUT THAT.
So no, outside from the truly impoverished (starving & homeless) and truly disabled (maimed veterans, for example), I have ZERO patience or empathy for America's "poor." they live DAMN WELL compared to truly poor classes all over the world and in fact have much more in common with a middle class mentality than the impoverished. If we didn't support them with so many government services, perhaps they'd get up off their lazy butts, stop playing xbox and go to school, get a job, and get on the path to prosperity.
....still waiting for someone pushing this lie to show where he ever said that....
........you guys have had plenty of time. I know it's fun to play partisan games on the internet because Rush Limbaugh told you Obama said that people making 250K a year own corporate jets, but maybe it's time to grow up a bit, kids.
I have no idea what Rush says. But bozo keeps harping on the corporate jet thing. Maybe you should ask him.
You were born in 48 or 49? Your children attended college in perhaps the late 1980's -- 20+/- years ago. My parents afforded much more on much less income ($45k) then, too.
LOL! One wasn't even born until the late 80s, 1987 to be exact. She graduated in 2009 from the U of CO. The other graduated in 2006 from St. Olaf College, not exactly cheap.
LOL! One wasn't even born until the late 80s, 1987 to be exact. She graduated in 2009 from the U of CO. The other graduated in 2006 from St. Olaf College, not exactly cheap.
Excuses, excuses!
Um ya ya
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