Ken Ware,

Lawmakers from both parties usually decide in favor of the wealthy for two reasons; - the first is massive contributions by wealthy 'special interests' to lawmakers' campaigns, and the second is their promise of 'retirement' jobs paying millions a year in return for lawmakers' votes.

There is only one solution; - entirely public financing of lawmakers' campaigns, and mandatory retirements for life on generous government pensions. The cost to the average taxpayer would be about ten dollars a year, but the majority of us are too penny-wise and pound-foolish to pay it.

Johngutta - It is great to debate what might be a good solution to the tax problem and tax revenues we needed to create to help our country. But in fact, that ball game is over. The President, Senate and House have already decided to give it all away to the wealthiest Americans. The only thing left to debate is the part of Sequestration that they all kicked down the road until Feb. At that time they will decide how much to screw the poor and middle class out of, when they decide which programs to destroy. I noticed the Farm Bill for the Corporations got passed! So if you’re retired or rely on any social program you will just have to sit back and wait to see where you stand in Feb... The president gave away the only bargaining chip he had over the Republinuts, taxation of the Wealthiest Americans. He is sitting his ass in Hawaii and enjoying his vacation, on the tax payer’s funds. Nice to have your own 747 jumbo jet to Wisk you away for your vacations. I bet most CEO's wish they had that toy free of charge. I did not vote for him and I truly wish he could be impeached over some of the B.S. he has pulled off from the White House.

Palindromedary - Duck and Cover! Talk about giving away your age! Ha! That means you’re at least old enough to remember getting under your desk in elementary school for the duck and cover drills of the fifties. That means you probably have seen that movie about a young senator, Jimmy Stewart, using the talking filibuster to keep a bill alive while the "bad guys", waited for him to stop talking and he eventually began to physically exhaust himself. Then like in all those old movies multiple bags of mail poured into the Senate floor in favor of his Bill to help the citizenry. Unfortunately that was just a movie from the late forties. I am only sixty so no I did not see the movie when it first came out and I doubt you did either. I first remember seeing it on Sat. afternoon movies on T.V. and than on Turner Classic Movies. But, more to the subject you are right we do not have a chance in hell of getting our voices heard or even considered by anyone in Washington. Talking filibuster is a good idea, but who out there really believes it makes a difference? With the House still firmly in the control of the Republinuts nothing is going to be passed to help those of us in the working middle class in America. It is nice to dream about, but the real voices that are heard by the Senators, Congressman and Woman and President are those with big wallets to pay them off in campaign contributions. Obama is a friggin joke and a LIAR. I voted for him the first time in hopes he actually was a true representative of the people who would really make this country great and I am not talking about those blood suckers who get wealthy off the sweat and labor of the working class. Everything he said he would do, he has not done. Everything he said he would not do, he has done. So for once I think everyone who has comments on this Blog feels about the same concerning how this President and Congress has screwed the working class and given tax relief to the wealthiest in this country. And believe me it takes all my restraint not to call them what I would like tool. The bastards that have sucked the life out of this country for their own accumulation of wealth off our sweat. And any of you foolish enough to make remarks like the wealthy make the jobs, have your head so far up you intestinal track you’re a joke! Most of the jobs that are being created are in the service sector, low paying service jobs! The wealthy billionaires and multi-millionaires must have been pissed when the realized they could have saved their Millions they spent to buy the 2012 election after getting their tax break from Obama for free!! If anyone out there has any belief that America is a democratic country and the elected politicians represent the people at large that actually voted for them, I have some nice beach front property for sale in Arizona...P.S. Palindromedary; I think I have a pretty good idea on your gender, age and the approximate place of residence. The reason I mention this. is that you stated no one could guess your personal info!

Thank you!! Posting it on my FB!

DAnneMarc: Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who need help. But doubly unfortunate is the very high probability that some of these people aren't what they pretend to be. Ever wonder how these wheelchair bound people, seemingly alone, get their wheelchairs up on top of the center divides everyday? And having a wheelchair to sit in is much better than having to stand there all day. And if they needed a wheel chair then why were they walking back and forth on the isle..shouldn't they be sitting in their wheel chair unable to walk?...the reason why they have a wheelchair to begin with. Oxygen tank? Wheelchair? I suspect that they are nothing but props to make people feel sorry for them.

Well, at least it isn't quite as bad here as in Mexico...where they run out into the intersection, during a red stop light, with a step ladder, run up to the top and blow flames from their mouths. Or, young girls running out to the middle of the intersection and doing back flips. And the guys are all over the place streets, parking lots...washing your windows, without you're invitation to do so, and then expect payment for the service. Although, I've seen some of that here as well...but not lately.

Some of these people are running scams and are playing on our sympathy and empathy to get our money. I have heard that some of these people are making some pretty good money at this. The thing is that there are homes and shelters.. and these people, if in California, can get Medicaid. But, there is nothing to keep these people from hitting the street corners for a little extra money.

The next time you see a street corner beggar with a sign that say he or she is hungry...offer them a sandwich or something else to eat and see what their reaction is. I've heard of people doing this just to have the food either thrown on the gutter or back at the donor.

Another thing these beggars have done is to use young children or babies to pull heart strings. I'm usually a sucker for these beggars though..even though I know that it is not beneath some of these people to do this as a scam.

I came to an intersection once and this wild man, all raggedy headed and a nice big flow of mucus running down his sizable and matted beard, blocking traffic. He was spitting and cussing at people...very violently. He started in my direction and I just rolled up the window. He glared at me with piercing eyes that even seemed to glow. He obviously had both a mental and probably a drug problem. Just hope that the next person you hand a dollar to doesn't grab your arm as well.

I say these people that stand on street corners and walk back and forth on those isles are a traffic hazard and an accident waiting to happen. They are a distraction for sure and we don't need any more distractions when trying to operate dangerous moving weapons. Just wait till one of these people fall in front of a car... what then... lawyer... law suit... if they survive? These people are pests. And it is too bad they aren't all hanging out at the places where the rich people frequent instead of bugging the majority of us who are, ourselves, barely making it.

In Gun control I think the focus is on the wrong thing. The progressive movement should take up a new slogan:

“Guns don’t kill people, Bullets do!”

The 2nd amendment does not allow the citizens to carry or make bullets. Without bullets a gun is no more effective than a baseball bat!

So the solution is let everyone own what guns they want, legislation will control possession and storage of bullets. Bullets that are used in hunting guns are only sold in limited numbers to people who have a bullet buying license and proof of liability insurance to cover the use of those bullets in hunting (use the car model). The Bullet buying places would be government licensed and controlled outlets and do it like what is now done for alcohol, state by state (maybe even the same store).

Bullets for assault weapons and hand guns would only be available for purchase and only allowed to be used on the premises of state licensed gun clubs.

As for the licensed users of hand guns in security companies, privet body guards etc. they can purchase with their corporate bullet insurance and license from the bullet stores.

This promotes two things the conservatives like privet business, and owning guns. We create a new insurance category with large income potential and the insurance companies will do a better job of checking out who they let buy bullets than the government can, since now they need cover claims in case the insured person is found to be involved in a crime instead of hunting or guarding property/persons with those legally obtained bullets.

The insurance companies may even force the use of new technology to tie the bullets to the owner like DNA capturing rough coating material on the casings like what has been developed recently in the UK. Also they may require the use of new hunting weapons that have geo-fencing to ensure they are used in licensed hunting areas or property owned by the licensee.

Never understood this filibuster thing, now I find out they just play music or do nothing in this period called filibuster time. If that’s what they call representation it doesn’t matter about going over the fiscal cliff. Anyway that fiscal cliff stuff was pure political theater. I did a rough view at the Tax relief act of 2012. It’s pretty obvious America got punked. It took some time to put that tax stuff together, they just did not whip that up and toss it out.

Then Mr. Hartmann makes the claim that corporate money is channeled around through or to various politicians. I believe it.

“As the Public Campaign Action Fund found, huge money from corporate America, including Big Oil and Wall Street, is fueling the filibusters to make sure their tax rates stay low, their subsidies keep flowing, and that regulations are kept to a minimum.”

Actually, knowing Mr. Hartmann is a detective, and me wanting to be one chuckle, chuckle, it seems plausible that America has in your face corruption headed by John Mc Cane. The Senate knows it’s going on yet take no action to clean it up.

What really jumped out at me was nothing in the mainstream media about Tom Delay getting jail time. A lot on the web but nothing on cable was very curious. I wonder if what he did was similar to what Blagojevich did.

That corruption is chaos that is confounding yet those in that political circle casually look the other way as if it does not exist. Sort of like watching Clint Eastwood talking to an empty chair, probably didn’t realize that he is the punk now and shot himself and the party in the head. That skit defined our Republican friends. An empty filibuster hall, with empty chairs, nobody talking to nobody about the who, what, why, or where of an important America issue. America should have a shake down to see if Mc Cane has a huge money pit buried in his back yard. Or, how about an ultra sound probe in the back yard of all those politicians! Chuckle chuckle.

Akunard,

Your concerns about farms and small businesses are nonsensical if you consider the details of my plan as I presented them in previous posts; - an example appears below ( with a relevant addition in the last paragraph ):

Obama and Congress just made a big mistake. A "permanent" top marginal estate tax rate of 40% is wrong now, a "temporary" rate below 55% was wrong in 2001, and lowering the rate below 77% was wrong when Reagan did it in the 1980's. Why? - because low marginal estate tax rates, in combination with low marginal capital gains rates ( the top rate should be at least 70%), let the richest 1% acquire a net worth of 20 trillion dollars; - most of it just "redistributed" from the rest of us because Reagan's flatter, "fairer" tax rates did not increase the inflation adjusted rate of GDP growth.

Fortunately, there is a simple remedy; - No taxes on estates up to 10 million dollars ( which includes farms and small businesses ), rising from there in geometrical progression to a 90% marginal rate over 50 million ( the pre-Reagan rate was 77% over 10 million ). This marginal rate increase would reduce the power of our oligarchs, and raise enough revenue in a generation to eliminate the national debt.

JLC said "People still talk about all incomes as having been 'earned' or 'made' even when it clearly wasn't..."

Kudos to you JLC, for a point made not often enough! I pointed this out a week or two ago, approaching it from a somewhat different angle: the biases woven through semantics we all use on a daily basis. Language itself is hardly neutral, this being a case in point. What we earn and what we are paid are often way out of proportion, and it goes both ways. I would be inclined to use the word "gets" rather than "makes" or "earns", since (for example) the ridiculous compensation a corporate CEO receives is ill-gotten rather than "earned". By contrast, a schoolteacher's paycheck - or that of a motel maid, migrant worker or waitress - is way too skimpy to be in proper proportion to what one must sacrifice to perform such duties. A professional athlete's compensation may not be ill-gotten like a CEO's, but it is another example of overcompensation. Who plays a more valuable role in society; a schoolteacher or a football player? I rest my case. - Aliceinwonderland

Aliceinwonderland: I may be wrong but my understanding is there has been abuse of what's called a silent filibuster since the 70's, but not used too much until Obama got in office. A single Senator can hold up any legislation without explanation or continuous speaking. As you most likely already know, the filibuster has been used by the Republicans close to 400 times the last several years simply as a weapon of mass obstruction, in other words the goal was to "make Obama a one term President."

The new rules will ban this abuse and give the Senate a chance to debate new legislation. The continuous speaking, "talking," requirement will also be back in place. So it looks like one Senator would no longer be able to secretly hold up new legislation and Turtleman won't be able to demand 60 votes on everything progressive and beneficial to the vast majority of us....... things like job creation. Thom's right, the new rules would help to.... "get some good progressive legislation passed out of the upper chamber."

I'm puzzled by the part of Ms. Hartmann's report that mentions "bringing back" the "talking" filibuster, as if this were a good thing. I thought the "talking" kind of filibuster was all that existed. Could someone please enlighten me to what the other kind is?

If I had my way (Yeah dream on!), there would be NO filibuster at all. It is a stupid, obstructive political game that invites abuse, used almost exclusively by those up to no good it seems.