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It's called neofeudalism.
The Lords and Barrons own all the land, have all the money, control the food supply (keeping the best for themselves and their syncopathic court), squeeze the peasants for taxes (while demanding their loyal, unending, poorly-paid labor) and use them as cannon-fodder for frivolous wars, undereducate them, incarcerate them for minor infractions against the ruling class, and push religion and a better afterlife as consulation for such usage. Thus, render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar's, shut-up, and let us have everything our way.
This will NEVER stop until we, the poor and shrinking middle-class, stand up with our rakes and hoes and march upon the castle and starve the b@#$%^ds out.
Hello. keep up the excellent work.
Visions have been given to me for quite some time concerning important events. I receive pictures with explanations. This latest one concerned Japan and the Solution. This is for Japanese scientists and their engineers to figure out.
At the base of the diagram which is not on this page, these words were given and written:
"On the base of diagram
On black: SIMULATION TO VOLCANIC MUSHROOM AIR POCKET
Below base: When the tsunami wave hits on both sides it triggers a reaction of an air pocket which implode and then explodes upward directionally like a mushroom atomic bomb except it is an enormous air pocket which in turn uplifts pyramid city up and over the tsunami waves and suspends it there with the release of little air pockets likened unto the kind which releases the concrete domes into shape within one solidified hour"
We can only hope the Japanese scientists can understand. Everything takes money though, doesn’t it? Makes one think - does it not?
In reference to the above,
this particular vision was given 12:01 am Friday, April 22, 2002 concerning Japan, Tsunami and Tokyo. There is another calamity to come.
I voted no for myself. The Amerofascists have never won that debate w/me. Everything I own is paid for: homes, cars, motorcycle, loans. I use 1 credit card and pay it off every month. So does my husband. I don't watch much TV so the corporate media doesn't interest me. I recycle and used to do compost heaps. I'm retired now and on disability, but I'm about Thom's age so I grew up paying attention to the counterculture. They had great ideas on eating, recycling and the 'returning to the earth' meme. They emphasized peace and that we are the caretakers/stewards of our planet. I walk that talk and will do so until I die. BTW, I detest Ronald Reagan, voted against him and have never voted for a Repuke-ican--and never will.
Après Moi Le Deluge, Louis XV King of France before the revolution
Le Deluge has begun. So seniors….. let’s see how long you can survive without social security (which is not bankrupt by the way, its funding does not come from the common fund, it has trillions in assets which the parasitic banks and Wall Street want to get their hands on), medicare, medicade and health insurance, with tax breaks to the parasitic rich, you are about to be raped and it is all going to be taken away from you by the whores, parasites, psychopaths, corrupt media, corporations, and repignicans. But some of you in your infinite stupidity and laziness decided to elect them. You drank the Kool aid. Of all the industrialized nations American is no shining beacon. It is a backward, ignorant, parasitic, destructive, corrupt, bankrupt, inept, and incompetent country; you can’t run a country with those kinds of people in charge. So, wake up and let the scales fall from your eyes, stop the self-delusion. What are you going to do about it? America is dying but all countries or governments die eventually, look at England at the end of the 19th century, look at the middle east, and Europe and Japan after WWI and WWII. We need something to replace this non-government we have, which doesn’t represent the people, we no longer have a real democracy, it is fascist, replace it with a social democracy like they have in Europe. But Americans are so ignorant they don’t know what a social democracy is, it’s not communism or Nazism. You have done it to yourself again. America needs to enter the 21st century.
My Congressman is a Secretary who answers the phone and sends out pre-fab letters from My Congressman.
Is it "special interest subversion of our democracy" or just plain greed which has taken over a class of madmen who are mad with greed? The things they say don't even make sense. This is the proof that money is the root of evil and the lion's share of money has gone over to poorest of the poor stewards of Nature's bounty snickering amongst themselves.
If they were doing a good job with the bounty, then fine, who cares? I personally can't imagine spending more than $250,000 a year.
We are in a National Morality Crisis which seems to cross all party lines. We have gotten here with the help of both traditional Parties and the cult Parties.
I suggest launching a Shame on You Tube which puts on public display the lives and holdings of elected officials like Hollywood Stars.
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A budget shouldn’t just focus on spending cuts directed at the poor and middle-class !
casino en ligne ~ Un casino en ligne vous permet de jouer au blackjack et à bien d'autres jeux de cartes.
"Make the wealthy pay their fair share."
Exactly. But then you fail to follow up. Yes, getting them to pay their fair share would balance the budget. But that's not the point. The point is in that sentence you wrote:
"...their fair share..."
What is their fair share? Well, the top 1% of incomes go to the people with over 40% of the wealth. Their fair share of the taxes is over 40%. But they are only paying an effective tax rate of 20%.
And why are they getting all this money? They are getting it because of unrestricted globalization. That allows the very rich to get their money from anywhere on earth. But workers can't get their money from anywhere on earth. They have to get it where they live. If they live in the U.S. then they can't scoop ups higher pay by going to some other country to work. The policies set by Congress are enriching the rich and impoverishing the poor. That's why taxes for the rich should go up.
It used to be that those with property had to defend the country. The sovereign gave you title to property in exchange for your pledge to go fight in his army to defend the nation. That was called your "fee". But that was too complex so they simplified it. Instead of showing up with your horse and your sword and your shining armor and some pikers you just paid a certain sum of money each year and the king used it to rent an army and defend your property.
But the U.S. doesn't have this fee. We don't use property taxes to fund the military. Instead, we have an income tax. The income tax is graduated because the people with the highest incomes typically have the most property. If you are very wealthy you should be paying the bulk of the federal bill because the majority of that money goes to defend us. And when I say "us" I mean our people and our property. Those wars we are fighting defend both people and property, and those with the most property are getting the most service from those wars.
This is what I mean by fairness. There is an objective way of looking at that fairness. It isn't about balancing the budget or how we can do that. It's about what percentages people should be paying to defend the nation. When we talk about how we need to tax the rich in order to balance the budget, that misses the point. The point is that they should be paying more. Because they aren't paying their fair share we have a shortfall. The sensible remedy for that is to CHARGE THEM what they OWE.
Progressive need to hammer away on this issue. This is how the other side convinced dirt poor red necks in the back woods that they should vote for Republicans, even though that was destined to take away the last living dollar those people might ever see. You have to talk about the morality in a way that people cannot fail to understand the ramifications of what they do in the voting booth. You have to show in unmistakable dollars and cents how these people are robbing the country blind. I call them "The Bandits". They aren't conservatives or Republicans or libertarians. They have no compunction about selling this country out. They've nearly looted it of all it's worth. The only thing that will stop them is the public going to the polls with the blindfolds taken off and sweeping just about every last member of Congress out on the pavement.
Please, talk about how a higher tax rate for the rich is fair. That's what will turn this discussion around.
There is an easy fix for the budget problem:
Charge a 1% Transaction fee all derivative trades. (It was the derivatives that sunk the economy in the first place.) There are 400 Trillion dollars of derivates traded annually. This would create 4 Trillion dollars of revenue. Allocate 2 Trillion to the states and 2 Trillion to Federal budget--problem solved.
The Congress is trying to fix hangnails while our legs have been cut off and we are bleeding out on the floor of Middle Class distruction. This rangling in the Congress is a prime example of political theater--no one is really addressing the problem on the scale that we are expereincing.
I have written my Senator--no answer--we have the best government that money can buy!
I voted: "With or without a government shutdown, haven't the Republicans already won the debate on our nation's budget?" Yes! Because the corporate media is on their side & no one will talk about the wealthy paying their fair share.
I voted yes not for the reason asserted in the yes answer. Yes, because the truth about what is being taxed and how it's being taxed and whether the taxes are collected or relieved is the real reason to agreeing that yes, the Republicans already won the debate. The truth about taxes is not being discussed by Democrats. Taxes in this country are not for the common good. Taxes are political favors and a means whereby a small group gets wealthier. Taxes are not about fulfilling a Christian ethic (even though everyone proclaims that he/she is Christian), rather taxes are about cheating the common good and getting away with it.
For this reason, Republicans are insane. Only insane people claim to be Christian and then refuse to give up their stingy hearts.
I am truly afraid of the future - the direction we will go iF GOP wins in 2012 !! Thats not hyperbole
As long as GOP / Robber barons are in control...Thanks to Reagans deregulation - Bush Cheney & Goldman FED 's toxic policies rule Middle class wages will keep going down . Fat cat policies & huge cuts - perks will prevail. GOP will chose billionairs & huge Corps over we the people They have the power - they reign supreme. Much of the blame goes to gullible ignorant voters. I am a formerly gullible GOP voter. NO more I have learned the hard way what -who the GOP stands for Its not us . They lie, smear-revise history and no one cares .Surely not corp owned media .GOP policies- tax cuts are very good for huge coporations. Not good at all for average workers / families /seniors / kids education / or the weakest or poorest among us That includes millions of kids - mentally ill & disabled -the old as well.
This despite the Government Accountability Office’s accounting of $70 billion in new Pentagon waste in the last two years alone. Despite the fact that the U.S. and its NATO allies outspend the rest of the world’s militaries by a factor of two; that the U.S. military alone outspends its nearest competitor, China, by at least six times. That the combined militaries of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Syria spend less than one percent of what our military spends.$14,120,000,000,00025.2%25$741,200,000,000• The United States spends nearly as much on military power as every other country in the world combined, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. It says that we spend more than six times as much as the country with the next highest budget, China.
• The United States maintains troops at more than 560 bases and other sites abroad, many of them a legacy of a world war that ended 65 years ago. Do we fear that if we pull our bases from Germany, Russia might invade?
• The intelligence community is so vast that more people have “top secret” clearance than live in Washington, D.C.
• The U.S. will spend more on the war in Afghanistan this year, adjusting for inflation, than we spent on the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War and the Spanish-American War combined.
Canada's PM Theivin' Harper has led the largest military buildup since WW2 with 50 ships for the navy, 65 new F-35 jets surely drones could do the job for exponentially less.
Aside from the fact that these expensive toys will cost anywhere from $16 to $30 billion, which works out to $500 to $1,000 for every man, woman and child in Canada; or to put it another way, $16 to $30 per year for every single person in the country for a period of 30 years… although the cost could actually be higher, so let’s say $40 a year per person for 30 years or so…
The 5-bladed EH101 had been the Maritime Helicopter Program’s initial winner, and a civilian version currently serves in a search-and-rescue role as the CH-149 Cormorant. Canadian experiences with this type have been strained, however, due to reliability and readiness issues.
In the end, Canada chose a different platform, but the ride has been rough. In 2000, program costs for 28 maritime helicopters were estimated at C$ 2.8 billion. That escalated to C$ 3.1 billion in 2003, and by 2010, the cost of purchasing, providing 20 years of in-service support for, training personnel for, and extra spending to keep the CH-124 Sea King fleet operational during project delays, had hit C$ 6.2 billion.
The war in Afghanistan is estimated to cost every man , woman and child in Canada $4,500 a year.The mission was extended by Harper without a vote.So why are we so heavily invested in one of the world's most corrupt, intolerant and illiterate countries?A country where you would be killed for burning religious text-killed for a myth-it's a theocracy.Is it the belief that if we occupy them for generations that when we leave they will continue to educate girls and women?It's still a horrible country for men-failure to pray 5X a day will result in a severe god squad caning.
Are we heading for a world war since that the only way however briefly, that Kaputalism can create full employment.Well hey if I die, it's the best fate that can befall a pauper.These days it seems the only possibilty that may grant me work.
Thom, why can't you run for President? The blaming rhetoric, the divisive ideology belies what we all have heard all our lives -- America is the greatest country on earth! Well, maybe, but we are floundering now in a lower state of consciousness that is keeping us STUCK and indeed manifesting that we are not the "greatest" afterall. A huge balancing act is happening in the world and we are witnessing other country "competitors" creeping up towards our level -- SO BE IT! However, it is a wonderful chance for us as a leading good nation to leap ahead with much more innovative models of renewal -- e.g., stop our "wars", massively invest in renewable energy releasing oil dependency as quickly as possible, take good care of ALL our citizens and help other "country citizens" when we can, and reward small business innovators as vigorously as possible!!
Yes, raise (even slightly) taxes on the top earners (both corporate & individuals) in this country -- many of the more notable, known super wealthy have even broadcasted their willingness to fork up more at this time to assist us out of this convoluted quagmire we've gotten ourselves into!! What are our elected representatives waiting for -- another lobbyist to wine and dine them more & more???
Yes, I will call my representatives but Thom, can't you get on C.N.N. or MSNBC more and drag Bernie Sanders with you and debate some of the known conservatives in front of America -- why shouldn't we utilize the major networks for true bipartisan "town forums" for debating urgent issues of our country. We certainly get that privilege when national elections are pending!!
Well, at least our energies probably helped to get Glen Beck off the air -- YAY!!!
The rich already pay 70% of the cost of our civilization, I see no reason why they shouldn't pay 100%. Civilization should be free to the majority in a democracy.
Does anyone realize that corporate profits are demanded by stakeholders/stockholders who are you and your next-door neighbor and the guy down the street? If everyone stopped buying and collecting stock, (or donating the profits therefrom), there would be no need to make such outrageous profits. Let the corporations go overseas, then tax up their wazoos everything they attempt to sell in the U.S. Tax the SOBs. Everyone wants term limitations. Tax the SOBs their fair share, let them kick elected official out of office, and the term limitation is solved, while the fair-share taxes are put in place. Why not?!?
I can't vote for anyone again. Democrats remain civilized and attempt to engage a civilized process, while Republicans bully the schoolyard. I don't understand why what's happening is happening. Greed only goes so far. Politeness only goes so far. I can't vote anymore--it doesn't seem to help or matter whether I cast a vote or talk a walk.
Republicans are insane.
Ask and ye shall receive...
http://taxfoundation.org/publications/show/23408.html
Unless the IRS is lying, looks like top 1% earns 20% of income and pays 38% of taxes, top 5%- 35%/59%, while the bottom 50%- 12.75%/2.7%. I'd say the rich are paying their fair share. Now, I'm not saying a progressive system is not right. Just saying how much money is enough for the government to take from anyone? It's really how they spend our money...
I know many of us have varying opinions about what is going on, particularly in our own government. However, I hope as a christian, that all of us try and do what is right during this time of turmoil and look to God for guidance because all authority comes from Him. As a citizen, we should take this as a learning experience and realize that we need to take the power that we have in the Constitution and use our rights to keep up with all of our representatives actions so that they realize that their positions are not absoulute and that we are the ones that can remove them from office.
I have one simple question that I've been asking every time someone proposes painful budget cuts that hurt the already suffering. It is especially useful when they justify those cuts by expounding on the need for shared sacrifice, and a willingness to share pain in the face of a national emergency. My simple question:
What sacrifice is being asked of the nation's millionaires and billionaires and of big successful business?
I have yet to receive a coherent answer. So I'll add one simple request:
Name just one instance in the last 10 years where the millionaires or big corporations were asked to make any sacrifice at all. Just one example.
::crickets::
Paul Ryan's draconian budget proposal ends Medicare and Medicaid, paints a target on Social Security, and explodes unemployment. Necessary shared sacrifice in an emergency? It also lowers the top tax rate on millionaires to 25%. Hella sacrifice there.
How about it, got any examples of actual sacrifices that are being asked of the economic elite?
Do I blame GE for exploiting the tax code to pay no taxes - in fact to give itself a negative 60% tax rate?
Yes.
Because GE has spent millions to lobby congress and pay into (bribe) their campaigns precisely to get favorable tax loopholes to let them mine the public treasury.
You are right on, dnarnadem. I have no words to express it better. We are doomed because we are fed stupidity. Okay, a few of us are smarter than average because we listen to Thom, but how many hundreds of thousands don't? They listen to Rush and his cronies, or they don't listen at all. The media is a mess. We've been indocrinated since the 80's to believe all the wrong things...and most of the people in this country, rich and poor, are sheep. "A Nation of Sheep" remember that book? Nothing's changed, in fact, it has become worse. They want to take us back to Kings and serfs. Why can't Obama see that? Doesn't he realize what will happen to his "people" if the Republicans are allowed to do as they are doing with the money machine corporations. Forget emancipation...we will all become slaves to the rich. One measly little 3% tax raise and we could all be living better. I'd even go for, say, one cent on every internet retail purchase...imagine the monies that could generate? Rather than cut funding...make money! Our representatives are really stupid. And, sadly, Obama isn't any better. I bet Michelle could figure out the best ways for our country to reduce deficits!
I agree that the actual wealthy, as opposed to what the Administration has been calling "The Rich" for the past several years, should pay higher taxes. Perhaps a luxury tax on income over $1M/year. But to suggest just taxing the rich more fixes the whole problem is asinine. Structurally, the budget is weighted too little in future investment because of the high % spent on seniors and defense. I voted for the President but I sincerely believe, and criticized Bush as well for the same, that the pace of spending is unsustainable.
I wish we could see something like a rate of 10% for income that would encompass the bottom 50% of tax filers, 15% for filers in the 51-75% percentile, 20% for filers between 76-99% and 25% for the top 1% with absolutely NO loopholes, credits or deductions whatsoever, apart from a revised standard deduction. Also, a corporate tax rate of 25% and capital gains rate of 25%, both with no loopholes. Obviously, I'm just free texting. These numbers surely would need to be massaged to get them just right but I think anyone would get my point of shared sacrifice, broadening the tax paying base and radically simplifying the process.
On the spending side, let's end these wars, close about 500 foreign military bases but also get serious about Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Social Security was intended as a social safety net for those who outlived mean life expectancy. It was not meant to be a retirement plan. As such, the retirement age needs to be gradually raised. I'd also suggest raising the income cap on the revenue side to broaden the base of contributions. With Medicare, I'm in favor of treating it more like we do USPS, more of a quasi governmental agency. I'd allow any adult to enroll and let it compete against the private sector but also give it, finally, the ability to negotiate with drug companies on prices and to create formularies that give cost-based preference to generics with proven effectiveness over more costly brand drugs and breaks in premiums to those with healthy BMI and non-smokers. The trade off is then it has to survive on its own, which it could absolutely do by bringing younger, healthier individuals into its payer mix. (Full disclosure- I'm a doctor). Lastly, Medicaid is really a state run program. The Feds should just get out of completely.
I don't expect everyone to agree with all my points but I think they are a superior starting place to anything we've seen out of Washington by either party thus far.
Yes, they picked the government pocket last year (December non-compromise) and now that she's drowning in red ink the Republicans won't even consider life support.