Massive bailouts, foreclosed homes, jaw-dropping gas prices, chaos on Wall Street. These are just a few signs of the U.S.'s struggling economy. As America enters the next chapter of its history, what impact will an Obama administration have on our economic future?
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How is it fair for more than 35% of working citizens who collect a paycheck to receive the full portfolio of legimate government expenses without paying taxes. How is it fair for almost half the citizens to be eating a "free lunch?"
The Military serves us all by confronting our enemies. Homeland security serves us all by protecting our boundaries. The Treasury Department serves us all with fiscal stability (not so much these days!). The State Department Serves us all by negotiating with our friends and enemies all over the world. THe JUstice Department Serves us all by prosecuting lawbreakers. THe Interior Department serves us all with national parks...There is no such thing as a free luch, if we make money, we can afford to pay something--even if its only a nickle.
It seems "tax fairness" is code language for "soak the rich", and "tax cut" is code language for "welfare payment". I'd probably be eligible for one of Barry's class warfare welfare payments, but I think I'll pass. John McCain's objection is a sensible response: All we need to meet the expenses of our lives is a good job, and lower taxes! I respect him for refusing to be baited into class warfare!
- ScottyNow
October 18, 2008 1:21AM
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Provide Middle Class Tax Relief
- From Obama Campaign
By Obama Campaign - Jason Furman, Economic Advisor
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Junpstart the Economy, Reduce Taxes, Shout them Much Louder.
Obama and this argument say in few words spoken softly we must reduce taxes for ordinary people and make sure th nation's economy works for them. THESE ARE GIGANTICALLY IMPORTANT TO EVERY VOTER OBAMA NEEDS TO HAVE ON HIS SIDE.
How to reach the voter with these points is the real challenge. Keynes and Adler argued we do not even need taxes. Production and consumption in a monetary system of production support the money used to motivate labor. Savings can replace taxes until anti-inflation taxes, ONLY, may have to supplement such savings.
A mobilized economy as we had in WW II is called for in today's crises. But to get these dramatic truths into the dialog of the day seems to be impossible.
TAXES and ECONOMIC SUCCESS as argued by Obama hit these nails on the head. But the way they are presented they read dry as dust. I do not have the answer. But the answer is a MUST. Get the guys who wrote these two points together. And make these points into our new national anthem.
- john gelles
July 24, 2008 7:37AM
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Restore a measure of fairness to the US economy
The wealthiest individuals in this country have had an unfair advantage for far too long. They have used their wealth and connections to perpetuate a "winner take all" strategy that benefits only them. Additionally, their children enjoy these same benefits (best schools etc) and promise to perpetuate this situation for generations to come. Yes, a few crumbs do get thrown to the masses, but the vast majority of the subsequent wealth creation is enjoyed by a relative few. Obama wants to turn this around and force the very wealthy to give back to those from which they have taken so much and so mercillessly exploited.
- Coventry July 24, 2008 11:27AM
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So damn wrong...
Everything about your post is wrong on every level and you have clearly identified my disgust with the democratic party. Mercilessly exploited? A few crumbs? Blame everyone else from successful people to corporations as an excuse for why your life didn't turn out the way you thought instead of taking a long hard look in the mirror. I have had more hardship in my life than anyone you can name, regardless of background. I fought through it all and am now successful and yes, my kids will be going to good schools. What, I should send them to bad schools to make you feel better?
Life is not fair and there is no such thing as a level playing field unless you would prefer to live in North Korea because there is about as close to a level field as you will find. Years ago I wanted to play pro football. Should they have leveled the playing field for me? People who are faster than me should have been forced to run with 100 lb. weights on their backs. That would be a level playing field. That would be fair to me.
No matter who you are, what your upbringing was, what your skin color is, religious belief is, there are always going to be people who get better chances than you. Don't compete with them, compete with yourself. Rich people didn't hold you down. Corporations didn't hold you down. George Bush didn't hold you down. You held yourself down. Suck it up and play the hand you were dealt and if you work at it, your life will be better. But continue to blame and point fingers and cry about how you were wronged by life and you are only hurting yourself.
- Pliskin
October 2, 2008 1:17PM
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Everyone suffers in a class war!
Please Coventry, think about what you said in July! The wealthiest people in our country don't just force people to give them money. They get rich because we really like the stuff they do and we pay for it!They work, they take big risks, they build businesses, they hire people, thy buy equipment for their employees to work with, they provide goods and services that make our lives better. Can you identify the goods and services the top ten wealthiest individuals in America provide to make our lives better?
Then they spend about 1/10th of theri wealth on themselves, give a bunch to charities that turn them on, and reinvest the rest of it to grow their business, start a new business, or invest in other businesses on the market. More jobs! And there is no rule that keeps you or I from following that same path, except our won ambition.
On the other side, Barry wants to take, by force, 35% of their corporate profit before anyone else gets to see it. Of what's left, he wants to take, by force, another 40% of their personal income. And of what's left, he wnats to take, by force, another 35% of their capital gains. He claims he wants to spread the wealth around, but when you look at his performance in Chicago, you find that all the poor people on the South Side are still poor, he's blindly rich, all of his friends are blindly rich, and that big Chicago machine pays a million sloths to create and enforce mindless regulations that make it harder for the poor people to find a way out of the cellar. I'd much rather have a good paying job that comes with a vibrant economy than a few hundred bucks of Eearned Income Credit Welfare that comes with Barry's "spread the wealth around" nightmare!If you torpedo, the big boats with higher taxes, it goes down with the crew and passengers too.
Name one federal "spread the wealth" program that has actually made things better. Social Security? Bankrupt! Welfare? Inner city baby mills! Education? The more they spend the worse it gets! Higher taxes just get productive workers in the marketplace fired so worthless bureaucrats can get hired.
- ScottyNow
October 17, 2008 9:17PM
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Proposed changes in taxes: Capital Gains Tax
Proposed changes in taxes after 2008 General election: CAPITAL GAINS TAX.
MCCAIN: 0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.
OBAMA: Impose a 28% on profit from ALL home sales.
How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their
retirement income.
- burnleaf July 28, 2008 7:21PM
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Which candiadte is better on Dividend Tax?
DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN 15% (no change)
OBAMA Impose a 39.6% tax!
How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.'
- burnleaf July 28, 2008 7:25PM
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which candiadte has a better plan on INCOME TAX?
INCOME TAX:
MCCAIN (no changes) - Single making 30K - tax $4,500, Single making 50K - tax $12,500, Single making 75K - tax $18,750, Married making 60K- tax $9,000, Married making 75K - tax $18,750, Married making 125K - tax $31,250.
OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400, Single making 50K - tax $14,000, Single making 75K - tax $23,250, Married making 60K - tax $16,800, Married making 75K - tax $21,000, Married making 125K - tax $38,750.
Under Obama, The working people making the least will have their taxes almost double!
How does this affect you?
- burnleaf July 28, 2008 7:28PM
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Middle Class Tax Relief?
The boast of giving 95% of workers tax relief seems absurd! Approximately 35% of workers pay no income tax at all. I happen to be one of them right now. How will this "tax relief" work for us--a check in the mail? If the fellow who signs my check happens to be in that top 5% will he have to lay me off to pay the government the extra money? I'd really rather keep my job, but now the "spread the wealth around" theme comes into focus!
The Military and Homeland Security protect me, my family, my wealth, my job, my community...The Treasury Department (when it's not dealing with "spread the wealth" sub-prime mortgage bailouts) maintains fiscal balance for the economy...The IRS collects revenue...The State Department maintains neighborly relationsh with our international frineds and enemies...The Justice Department enforces laws and prosecutes lawbreakers...We all benefit from all of these valuable services whether we pay taxes or not. When I have a job that pays me enough that I can pay taxes, then I am HAPPY to pay for those valuable services.
But there are a host of "spread the wealth" programs that are just bloating our bureaucracy and increasing our national debt without any real results. Enlarging the Welfare program under the disguise of "tax relief is utterly deceptive. Barry says, "I'll give you and your wife $1,000 to drink this yellow cool-aide.
No thanks. My liberty is worth more than $1,000 per year to me. The best way to gather wealth is a JOB! If my neighbor loves me and gives me $1,000 bucks as a gift, I'd say tanks. But if I take it from him by force, he'd hate me. Besides, I'd like to become one of those 5% rich people who Barry expects to carry 100% of his big governemtn boondoggles.
All John McCain needs to do to win me over is promise to knock some corrupt heads together (so to speak) in congress!
- ScottyNow
October 18, 2008 1:01AM
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tax balance
"But there are a host of "spread the wealth" programs that are just bloating our bureaucracy and increasing our national debt without any real results"
The war in Iraq? I'm with you, I don't think haliburton needs to have my wealth spread to them.
"Besides, I’d like to become one of those 5% rich people who Barry expects to carry 100% of his big governemtn boondoggles."
This is misleading. The super wealthy currently pay a lower percentage of their income than the middle class. Warren Buffet has stated that he pays about 17% of his income in taxes which is less than his secretary and made a million dollar bet with a bunch of rich people that non of them could prove that they paid a higher percentage than their secretaries. None of them took him up on his bet!
Obama’s plan will simply restore some balance here. McCain’s plan will actually increase the difference between what Buffet pays compared to his secretary by further decreasing the capital gains tax.
- reckoner
October 18, 2008 10:03AM
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Tax balance?
Good try reckoner...nothing intelligent to say ON Subject? Just change the subject! Defense spending is not a socialist "Spread the wealth around" program, it is one of the legitimate purposes for which the Federal government was formed by the constitution!
But while we are on that subject, I can remind you that although it is not a socialist "spread the wealth around" policy, the Iraq war has produced results!
1. A brutal dictator who killed almost 1 million of his own citizens has been deposed, tried for war crimes, and executed! (100% of Free World leaders wanted this to happen, and even 98% of Congress voted for it!)
2. The war on terror is being prosecuted in the terrorists' back yard not ours! Have you noticed the last seven years with no radical muslim extremist attacks on our soil! The vigilance of freedom is expensive, but it is worth every penny!
3. Another growing democracy in the Middle East!
- ScottyNow
October 19, 2008 1:42PM
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the usual double standard
people that throw the word "socialist" around always have a double standard. The government spending they like is justified and the ones they don't like are "spread the wealth" programs.
The role of government is to provide security for it's people. This means more than simple physical security from from violence. The FDIC is a good example. The FDA is a good example. Public schools are a good example.
The idea that Iraq is a growing democracy is laughable.
- reckoner
October 20, 2008 8:45AM
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Wealthy or Superwealthy Class Warfare hurts everyone!
First, Reckoner, if Warren Buffet feels like he's not paying enough taxes to spread his own wealth around, he could do a few things to change the situation.
1. He could fire the Accountant who files his tax forms and pay his dumb tax figure--you know--the one without all the itemized deductions!
OR
2. He could just make a donation to the government! Thank You Mr Buffet!
Second, How much is 17% of 1 Billion? $170 million from one man! Thank You Mr. Buffet!
Third, Warren Buffet paid income tax on his $Billions when he first earned them! Now these $Billions are invested in the market. They are financing companies that produce trillions of dollars in goods and services that make our lives better! They are creating JOBS so that regular folks like us can earn a living. Because most of his Billions are doing the entire world so much good, he only has to pay 15% capital gains tax. Capital Gains represent the increase in the value of his investments, and they are more valuable to him, simply because they are more valuable to the entire economy! We all benefit from him leaving the money in the market--especially now in a credit cruch. Thank You Mr. Buffet for letting us use the Billions you earned so that we can earn the opportunity to carry the weight of our own government, and thank you for paying a second rouond of taxes on your $Billions
Fourth, although Mr. Buffet is superwealthy and doesn't need to worry about his capital gians tax, (he is the top 1/10th of 1% of taxpayers) the rest of us need to be careful about who's in charge of "spreading our wealth around." The only pwople who benefit from these socialist "spread the wealth around" programs are the politicians who get obscenely rich on the kickbacks and the bureaucrats who siphon of the funds. You haven't answered the most important question on my mind:
Can you name even one socialist "spread the wealth around" (Thank you Barry for that compelling Phrase!)program that has lifted anyone out of poverty?
- ScottyNow
October 19, 2008 2:09PM
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nice dodge
Can you be clear. Do you believe that the super wealthy should pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes than the middle class?
"Can you name even one socialist "spread the wealth around" (Thank you Barry for that compelling Phrase!)program that has lifted anyone out of poverty?"
Public schools
- reckoner
October 20, 2008 8:47AM
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Cost of goods will go up, jobs will vanish
Better use that $1,000 wisely, as it won't go very far. We need John McCain, who will bring jobs for a stable future, reduce spending for lower taxes, reduce or eliminate the capital gains tax to protect your investment. Big government is VERY expensive, that is why they want to give you back $1,000. If we sell out to get a few bucks in our hand, we will owe for a much longer time. And, if you are in a category that is to pay the "retributive-redistributive-fairness" taxes, you will pay even more. The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness demands a McCain presidency.
- TexasMom
November 1, 2008 9:46AM
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