Replies to post #86216 on Politics and Money

[SOROS]

You trust the Democrats? Naive.

On the floor of the Senate in 2006, then-Sen. Barrack Obama said, "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies. ... Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."

Since President Obama has taken office, the national debt has risen from about $11 trillion to $17 trillion and counting, and he is currently looking to raise the debt ceiling once again during his administration. Is it a failure of leadership, are we borrowing from other countries to finance our reckless fiscal policies, are our children and grandchildren much more in debt than they were five years ago? Absolutely. Yet the president apparently has a very short memory from what he said as a senator speaking about the Bush administration, and what he is saying today on his own. I wasn't any happier during the Bush administration about the burgeoning debt and the burden on our children.

His stand and threats toward Congress is the height of hypocrisy. He is unwilling to either negotiate nor look at where the government can cut its outrageous spending. He and his family live like the royal family, at taxpayers' expense. He and his administration behave like a dictators and thugs. The country is no better off than it was five years ago; in fact, I would dare say we are much worse off both in national and international arenas. Do I feel safer than I did five years ago? Absolutely not.

Does he not remember what he said seven years ago, or does he just assume that we don't remember his stand on so many issues that as president he has changed time after time?

I would also like to ask, why isn't "Obamacare" (the Affordable Care Act) good enough for Obama and his family, for Congress and their families and staff, for big business, labor unions and other friends of Obama, but it is good enough for the rest of us? Hypocritical? You bet!

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20131005-OPINION-310050309

[SOROS]

You trust the Democrats? You believe they don't have enough money to run their offices? Do the math on how much money you would have to have in the bank at .01% guaranteed interest rates to have this much in spending money each year, and that will tell you how BOTH sides are living.

I simply keep reminding people that "our elected officials" in the House EACH get a $1.2 - $1.6 MILLION stipend of taxpayer money to help them do their job, and EACH one in the Senate dips their sociopath hand in the same taxpayer bucket for $2.6 - $4.9 MILLION EACH! If you had that much GUARANTEED, tax-free income, plus your $170,000+ salary and only God knows the perks from big business on top of all of this, would you be worried about ANYTHING happening to the sheeple?

The love of money is the root of all evil, and power corrupts. It's been the perfect storm for creating sociopaths and psychopaths in DC since they figured out they could rig the system in their favor many years ago.

Think about it. If you had a cook, a personal trainer (if you wanted one), a dog trainer, a housekeeper, a chauffeur, a bill reader, a speech writer, a bodyguard or two, important people calling constantly wanting favors and willing to give you all sorts of crap to get them, and a dozen interns, most 30-50 years younger than you and willing to rub your feet and any other body parts you designate just to keep their jobs, what would your state of mind be? Would you begin to think you were a king above all of the small people in the country? Would you live in your head in another realm?

[shermann7]

There are certain things that can be done within the existing system that will make things better in many ways ... A few ideas ...

1. Change the tax brackets. Start by making the standard deduction 50,000 for all Americans. That will cover the cost of basic living tax free. Limit the Dividend and Interest income one can take at 15% to say the first 50,000. That closes a huge loophole used by the Mitt Romneys of the World. There is at least 200 Billion a year that can be cut from deductions, subsidies, and Credits. We can start with the ability to deduct interest on a second home. It is a luxury.

2. Fix Social Security. Raise the Ceiling from 115,000 per year to around 180,000. Eliminate the paltry Death Benefit. Get rid of reduced benefit retirement at age 62.

3. Fix Medicare. Hike the employer/employee tax from the 1.45% to 2%. Retirement plans allocate around 4% for health care benefits. Implement Fee for Service, and get as many people as possible getting their yearly checkups.

4. In One Bill ... Cut the top corporate tax level 10 to 15% and force all companies to base their taxes on standard GAP accounting principles. In the Same Bill, Raise the Minimim Wage to around 10.50 an hour, and index it for inflation.

5. Bring our troops home from all these military entanglements around the world, and close around 30% of the 900+ military bases globally. This will save 300-500 Billion a year on Military/Miltary related spending. We need to be extremely well prepared to address imminent threats on the U.S States and Commonwealths.

6. Eliminate all Corporate donations to partisan political complains. Limit all contributions to people who file a U.S. Tax return, and cap it at 5,000 per individual indexed for inflation. This will probably require a constitutional amendment. I would throw in Term Limits also.

This is a good start in my opinion.

Shermann