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Where is Kend? He says corporations and the wealthy do pay their share.
Oyvey 65: Your story is tragic, maddening, sad,... I know so many retired people who are struggling, yet cling to their boxed-in conservative mindset and to the faux values of the Rethuglican party and fall for their lies--over and over. My catholic mother-in-law sits at my kitchen table and "bitches" about how tough she has it, but every election day, she steps into the voting booth and votes against her best interests because of abortion. I try to tell her that the Rethugs are only against abortion for the poor. The wealthy need it still for their wives and misstresses and daughters and the unworthy women of their trust-fund sons. But I cannot reason with her.
Perhaps you could advocate to the retired, who, I imagine, think President Obama created this situtation and set them straight about who really created these policies. Please tell them that Jeb Bush or whatever democracy-stomper they nominate will use them to the enrich those who already enjoy a splendid life on our/their backs.
I am the payee for my mentally disabled aunt. She is 73 years old and is in assisted living. She goes to dayhab five days a week and volunteers for organizations around the city (out-of-my-pocket, I pay $120 in fees yearly for her there). After I pay for her apartment and the Area Agency on Aging fee, which I think is really paying for insurance she should be receiving for free because of her low income, she has $50. Then I must pay her basic cable fee, which is about $25--Time-Warner does not give senior discounts--and a new fee of $4.20 of some meds I cannot get covered--she will have $20. She does not understand why she has so little to spend. But at least she has something now. The county assisted living facility she was in kept ALL of her extra money and went through her and other resident's rooms to resell their possessions in a store. She had NOTHING when I moved her out. I've had to pay to furnish her apartment; I purchase all of her OTC meds and pay for her haircut/lunch outings. I also am stretched. I receive a stipend once a year and must get by on that.
America has become a heartless country. Nothing like what my ancestors, who came over in the 1600s, would have ever dreamed.
I find it very interesting that Republicans and other conservatives talk about reducing the size of government and getting government out of lives, and yet the corporations thrive on public money and then there's the revolving door between the two. In some cases, it's hard to tell where government leaves off and corporations begin. I think it's time for them to live up to their own rhetoric and get end not only corporate welfare but the revolving door between the two as well.
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I agree with Bill Marher, who recently said, "trickle down economics is like giving a weenie to one of three dogs and expecting the dog with the weenie to share it with the other two."
Thanks Reagan, I knew you were in the pockets of the rich long before you died.
All of this really makes me angry as hell. Why can the people do anything about dogs like Scott Walker that are so obviously and undeniably working for dogs like the Koch brothers that have all the weenies, and he's laughing at the middle class all the way to the bank. Brainwashing talking points seem to trump any education about this stuff, like Thom Hartmann provides here, and it's because so many U.S. citizens seem to suffer from ADD. They have been dumbed down to the extent that they are litterally voting for their own jailers. Something like Stockholme Syndrome has totally taken over their tiny missled brains. They hate labor unions in the face of the fact that unions protect them from being taken advantage of, just because Fox News tells them to. This is just too remenescent of Germany 1939, when the good Germans were so propagandized that they almost completely destroyed themselves.
When Cons ask that union members should be able to have a say in where their political contributions go the comeback should be that all shareholders should also have a say in where the money gets donated.
chuckles8, then what was Obama's rationale for introducing a bill that he knew was going to be rejected without consideration? If not a political stratagem , then what was the purpose?
I am not sure, how THEY define a Welfare Queen, I was forced to retire > 30 years ago,
on S.S.D.I. I can barely afford to buy food, let alone Pay MY bills: I earn ~ $50 more than the MONTHLY, Maximum allowed for Medicaid; IT took me more than 4 hours to get SOME HELP from Food Stamps [$16/month].
The C.O.L.A. that the GOP would like to gut, as well --- has NOT even remotely kept up with REALITY.
I worked from a Power Wheelchair, the last 5 years I earned a paycheck. ABLEISM, SUCKS!
I retired because a wealthy Surburban Teenager came up a blind hill, too fast to bother stopping at a Stop Sign; he also did NOT yield right of way; however the young, male SPD Officr who arrived at the scene, after-the-fact; chose NOT to cite the
male teenager, who essentially ended MY paid career [I suffered both head and neck injuries, from THAT 'accident'; and was unable to return to my place of employment within the 3 month [unpaid] time-limit, I had been given. The only reason, I am NOT currently homeless is that I paid off my mortgage > 10 years ago; and qualified for a reduction in my Real Estate Tax Bill; and a Special Rate on my Utilities --- I use Heating Oil, even here in Seattle, [temperate climate, or not]; its still too high to fully heat my home; and I do run out of oil, periodically.
I did NOT choose to retire, not everyone does. My outgo, exceeds my income, consistantly. I use my local Foodbanks, and attend a variety of Community Dinners in my neighborhood; because of Food Instability. ?Where can I cut --- there IS nothing
left to cut back on.
Once upon a time I was Upper Middle Class; now I am barely Middle Lower Class. I do
not understand, where else I can cut.
My home has been adapted, over the years, to my progressively more difficult challenges [I DO NOT PLAN ON MOVING]. My neighborhood, is > 85% walkable; I
waited more than 2 decades, for curb ramps to be built, on my block. With tree roots,
breaking up the sidewalks; it could be better. But I live in one of the safer Urban Ghettoes of Seattle; and after > 40 years in my home --- there is no where else I'd
choose to live.
"2013.....176 billion in lost revenue thanks to corporate tax breaks!!!!"
I still don't know why Progressive Democrats don't push to install a revenue loss clock on the House floor to counter "Tea Party Tom" Reed's debt clock idea....or at least how about a distinct debt clock related to the out of control spending on illegal war and the military industrial spy complex?????
Rich of Jeff -- I don't mind rudeness. I think it indicates that you are feeling strongly about the topic.
Since Obama has no more elections to face and the dems tried to separate themselves from him, I do not see how you can call his 4 T budget political gaming.
I thought I was the one who said his budget would help voters get off their asses and vote. I said it because his budget revealed what would happen if they voted for dems in even larger numbers.
If Obama knew about the Caucus Room Restaurant meeting 7 years ago, I think he might have tried this 4 T budget back then. I think in his naivety he thought he would propose their ideas and they would vote for them; like the ACA was a Heritage Foundation plan. I listed the things from 7 years ago, to show what can be done if we have a super-majority of dems.
Mathboy -- I thought you would never ask. I was talking about debt. What you are talking about is deficit, I always say increase the deficit to lower the debt. The only debt economists talk about is the ratio of the debt you are describing (cumulative deficits) to the GDP. The economist's debt measure is the one we should worry about. It indicates how much of the expenditures are being appropriately invested in keeping the marketplace fair, balanced and competitive, in roads, in education and other infrastructure. I like describing it as building an economy that devours the debt.
It just makes sense that when the public (the "real" workers) are healthy, the nation stays strong and healthy.
Taxes collected by the Federal Gov't via the IRS are not used for Federal spending. I'll say it again - Federal Taxes are not used for Federal spending. The Federal Gov't is monetarily sovereign and has no need to collect taxes. State and Local Governments, on the other hand, are non-monetarily soverereign (just like you and me) and rely on the dollar, which is by law created by the Federal Government, to pay their bills. We need to stop repeating the "Big Lie" the uber rich Oligarchs have brainwashed us to believe.
Trickling?!? TRICKLING?!?
It's stampeding up, it's skyrocketing up, it's an unrestrianed torrent upwards.
And I want back my share of it.
Anti-Christ is not a person. Anti-Christ is any action that is not LOVE. Jesus was the human manifestation of love as a demonstration of loVe to humanity. That does not detract from his spiritual nature. The kingdom go God is not future. Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is with in us.
Richard aasness
My guess is that uninsured people don't end up on waiting lists for healthcare. This might affect the waiting list statistics. So we can't assume US stats can be directly compared with nations which have universal coverage.
Chuckle8, how does a rising GDP mean that the government is spending less than it takes in?
Can’t the new Greek government tax the wealthy and the corporations to increase revenue?
A good story on Sixty Minutes last night about a man who hacked into the computers of various Swiss Banks and downloaded massive lists of tax dodgers from all over the world. It was not surprising that the Sixty Minutes Reporter, obviously a loyal member of the private Government/Banking/Corporate complex, attempted to paint him as a despicable criminal !
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chuckles8, I will try to be less condescending because it is rude. You've done nothing to warrant rudeness, but I was talking about political theater.
Obama's introduction of a budget bill that's DOA for the sole reason of political gaming is a farce. The budget acts a proxy straw man - The republican reject- the democrats pounce - this is what I was addressing. I have no idea what voting has to do with what I posted. Obama could've put a similar bill up during his first 72 days but he didn't. He waited until there was no chance it would pass either House. It merely act as a political poly to hopefully put republicans in a bad light, and give democrats some hope in 2016. Now that's cynical.
You suggested that I was advocating for people to get off there asses and vote - I did no such thing.
Then you did make a general comparison of what I said about people organizing into democratic institutions to counter representative government. You said - It seems to me that getting people off their asses and voting is a lot more likely than getting people off their asses to form democratic institutions to put pressure on representative government. I thought voting was putting pressure on representative government. Now, the only reason I mention anything about voting or democratic institutions was due to you misreading of what I was talking about in my initial post.
Then you went on to list a bunch of unrelated accomplishments from 7 years ago that had nothing to do with what I was talking about.
You're wrong, chicagotim, the family budget analogy is a complete fallacy. A family can't print its own money, among other things.
A budget deficit is not a problem, the U.S. has run much greater ones before and it led to prosperity. The problematic aspect of it was all Republican hype to steal our resources.
Greece's problem was EU membership and Golman-Sachs fraud. Don't you fall for their fraud too!
Rich of Jeff -- I would think being an Obama apologist, I would be giving excuses for what he hasn't done. I would not think the apology part of my argument would be pointing out all the good things he has done.
The apology part of my argument would start with the meeting in the Caucus Room Restaurant.