Daily Topics - Friday August 19th, 2011
By shawnt56
The Big Picture "On Air" Questions or Comments for Thom?
"Anything Goes on Townhall Friday!"
Hour One: "Brunch With Bernie" - Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) takes your calls
Hour Three: "Is the SEC covering up Wall Street Crimes?" Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone Magazine
Comments
#2
Hi Thom, The lines are busy, so I decided to blog. In regards to the state of the state of Texas, I have a concern that ties in with a deaf and dumb corporate media issue as well as a horrible situation in West Texas.
In 2007 an honest and dedicated Texas Ranger named Brian Burzynski began an investigation into the horrible conditions at a West Texas juvenile detention center. It turns out that the abuses were many and varied. If you google his name you'll find articles. Some have since closed, however my point is that when a leader such as Gov. Perry is a minion of corporate bidding this is what you get. I stumbled onto this information several years ago, I think in the NY Times, but never saw any follow-up. Never saw it on any major network news. It is scandalous that our media is also mandated by the elitist money. I feel that part of our solution to many current dilemmas is to expose the ones who are supposed to be doing the exposing. Look what they did to Julianne Assange. Isn't the function of the press, according to the Constitution, to be a seeker and divulger of facts that keep the public aware of the actions that impact society? Part of the balance of power? I am guessing that you know this specifically.
rick Perry should never have gotten this far just on the facts of the horrible treatment of these kids who are mostly the victims of poverty, which he and many others are in contempt of. He ought to be being investigated for his most likely complicity in this. I am betting that the for-profit prison system owners are contributors to his administration and that he is proud of it. I do not feel it is alright to character assassinate, however, I do feel it vital to evaluate behavior and how it impacts one's fellows. It is criminal to treat anyone this way, especially children!
#3
Right on, and the same after Nixon. I am from MA and had a father who was a very liberal and active citizen. The bumper sticker after Nixon's re-election, I believe, said "Don't blame me, I'm from Massachusetts". We were the only state that didn't vote for Nixon.
It is called Taxachusetts, but it is a progressive state and like NY, Calif. and VT has lead the way towards a more civilized society. Even with the Boston corruption, there has been enough fundamental soundness to deal with it and function. The nature of things in Democracy is to be imperfect, you just can't ever be too tired to deal with it.
#4
I figured out something I would do if I were in Congress. Any time someone proposed a ridiculous reduction in corporate regulations, I would propose an amendment to eliminate the very first regulation--the one that grants limited liability to the investors. If business hates regulation so much, let the investors suffer the risk of having to directly pay off all the debts of a failing multi-national corporation.
For the caller Mike, I would suggest his Constitutional amendment idea use the phrase "eligible voters", since not all states require voters to register.
I want to hear more about this "justice emeritus" idea. I'm assuming it was explained while I was away at lunch.
#5
That was the re-election of Richard Nixon. In 1973, the bumper sticker, "Don't Blame Me I'm from Massachusetts" was in response to Nixon having resigned because of Watergate. Massachusetts was the only state along with D.C. that voted the majority for McGovern.
Sad to say, Massachusetts went for Reagan. In 1980 Ted Kennedy challenged Carter and lost.
#6
Reply meant for #3 not #4
#7
We are making it too complicated talking about effective tax rates. The simple matter is that 85% of the wealth in the USA is earned by the top 2%, yet they pay only 40% of the taxes. In other words, the 98% earning under $500,000 per year pay 60% of the taxes but only earn 15% of the income. After 30 years of doing this we are repayed with our safety nets, medicare, social security,medicaid, bargaining rightw, etc.,eliminated.
#8
Hi Thom,
Your comments on Friday's show regarding Texas tort reform. Your statements were/are not correct. You stated that in Texas you can only sue a doctor for $250,000. That's not correct. The only thing that is capped/limited are PUNITIVE damages, and it's limited to a maximum of three litigants, such as doctor, hospital... at $250,000 each, for each occurrence. However, ongoing medical costs are never capped, and in cases of negligence, even the $250,000 limits for punitive damages are waived.
You many times talk about the infant mortality rate for the US v. other countries. You fail to mention that all countries do not use the same definition for calculating the infant mortality rate. While the US uses the definition as stated by the W.H.O., others do not. Germany, France and Canada along with others use their own definitions for calculating infant mortality rates. Until all countries use the same definition for calculating infant mortality rates, your comparisons of the US to other countries rates is meaningless and has no value. By continuing to make the statements on infant mortality rates, it would seem to me, you are intentionally making false statements to give a negative view of the US medical system.
#9
"Taxing millionaires at an effective tax rate of 50 percent would raise only $120 billion more, according to Tax Foundation calculations based on IRS data.
Taxing those who make $10 million or more at an even higher rate, as Buffett advised, would also do little to reduce the deficit and debt. Tax Foundation calculations indicate that taxing these individuals at an effective rate of 100 percent would only net the government $186 billion, reducing the deficit by 12 percent and the debt by an additional 2 percent.
In fact, the only way for the government to solve its fiscal issues with revenue would be to confiscate every single dollar from every single American making $200,000 or more per year, the study said."
And remember, you can only confiscate 100% once, because people will not work only to have it stolen.
All in quotes are from an article from CNS News. To read the entire article click the link or copy and paste the info below to your browser.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/warren-buffett-s-tax-solution-won-t-...
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Regarding the discussion of Massachusetts vs. Texas. Don't forget that Massachusetts was the ONLY state that DID NOT go for Reagan in 1980. They had a bumper sticker: "Don't blame us, we didn't vote for him".