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Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,752,651 times
Reputation: 3587
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tongpa-nyi
Income disparity is, in my opinion, the number one social problem in the United States. From this grotesque inequity rises a whole host of other problems.
We live in a corporate plutocracy, not a democratic republic as originally intended. And it's only getting worse because nearly every member of both parties in congress is owned by corporate and/or union interests. It's interesting that Ron Paul and Bernie Sanders, a conservative libertarian and a socialist, respectively, are probably the most honest and least corrupt members of congress. They may be on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but they frequently vote together against the majority of clones who do the bidding of lobbyists.
True conservatism mixed with socialism is called populism. Maybe we need a Paul/Sanders or a Sanders/Paul 2012. That would shake things up a bit!
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,752,651 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnUnidentifiedMale
Even more amazing is that there are those who argue that the wealthy in this country are overtaxed, and that lower-income and middle-income people need to pay more.
There are actually people around that are stupid enough to want to impose a 28% sales tax on the country so the rich can pay no taxes. And they have the gumption to call it a "fair tax".
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,752,651 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnUnidentifiedMale
Then the minimum wage should be raised to at least $10/hour.
That is about what it should be but you have to do education and training to ensure that the workforce can produce $10 an hour in productivity. Sadly this is not the case now. Many people simply cannot perform $10 an hour worth of work. In most other first world nations you don't see much of that.
Even more amazing is that there are those who argue that the wealthy in this country are overtaxed, and that lower-income and middle-income people need to pay more.
Those that argue that the welathy are over taxed also argue all people are over taxed. Why not go to the fair tax and eliminate federal tax for all.
We're looking at a dramatic shift of wealth in corporate America, not the national budget. This is about wages and the top 1% amassing great sums of wealth while the middle class continues to lose ground at a sickening rate.
The amount spent by the government on social programs is not the issue. Even if it were:
"According to the Treasury Department's 2002 Financial Report of the U.S. Government, the total expenditure for social welfare in 2002 was slightly over 4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), the monetary total of the domestic goods and services produced by the United States" Library Index]
4%? maybe you have not looked at the unfunded part yet.
I do believe that is alot more than 4% of the GDP of the USA, more like 100%+ of the GDP.
You think welfare, food stamps makes up 100%???
From your own article
Key federal obligations:
• Social Security. It will grow by 1 million to 2 million beneficiaries a year from 2008 through 2032, up from 500,000 a year in the 1990s, its actuaries say. Average benefit: $12,089 in 2008.
• Medicare. More than 1 million a year will enroll starting in 2011 when the first Baby Boomer turns 65. Average 2008 benefit: $11,018.
•Retirement programs. Congress has not set aside money to pay military and civil servant pensions or health care for retirees. These unfunded obligations have increased an average of $300 billion a year since 2003 and now stand at $5.3 trillion.
You are confusing entitlement programs, the largest being Medicare, Social Security and don't forget retirement funds and benefits for our socialistic military and their dependants compared to social services, like welfare, that in fact is chicken feed when you look at the big picture.
We are becoming more similar to countries like Mexico and Equatorial Guinea, countries that look prosperous on paper but where the wealth overwhelming concentrated in the hands of the tiny elite...
This article tells it like it is below is an example:
Second, there is no need yet for corporations to invest because profits are still lousy and spare capacity is through the roof. Also, the rundown in inventories, to be followed by a restocking (which is supposed to spark an explosion in manufacturing output), will be much less powerful than anticipated because inventory to sales ratios are not lean (Figure 4). Most important, inventory cycles only spark generalised economic recoveries if they lead to job creation and increased corporate investment. Neither is likely because this is a cycle like no other.
There are actually people around that are stupid enough to want to impose a 28% sales tax on the country so the rich can pay no taxes. And they have the gumption to call it a "fair tax".
I can see that you don't really know your hindquarters from page 9 about the Fair Tax. Somehow I really don't think you do.
Those that argue that the welathy are over taxed also argue all people are over taxed. Why not go to the fair tax and eliminate federal tax for all.
Most of these people don't have much idea about what the Fair Tax is or how it is proposed to work. They just know about a flat tax and think that is what the Fair Tax is about. Most haven't even looked at it.
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