[ridetoofast]

POP TARTS

 

[Changleen]

Wow, you guys are harsh/ judgemental.

Sometimes. This is PD.

I don't go to church.

Do you believe in god?

I don't like paying taxes.

Nobody likes giving away their money, however we are mature enough to realise that it takes a lot of money to maintain our society and it's got to come from somewhere.

I think we should have a flat tax. One undeniable truth is that evey thing you buy is a percentage of what you earn. It should be the same for tax.

I totally disagree with this. Flat tax would be a kick in the nuts for the poor and and a free pass to Disneyland for the rich. What model do you base this on? Look at all the countries with the highest standards of living. See any flat tax? What do you want for the future generations of the poor. Do you want them to continue to be poor, or would you like them to have the opportunity to help society as a whole get richer?

I want people who can't take care of themselves to be taken care of.

Good. Remember that a bit more. 'Not being able to help yourself' applies to more than the simplicities of food and clothes.

I don't want lazy people who find loopholes in our welfare systems to get money.

I don't think anyone does. However many Republicans seem to think the welfare system is entirely used by 'lazy' people. This is simply not true. I get the feeling from right wingers that they feel 80% of welfare receipiants are abusing the system.

I think Unions are outdated and killing the industrial base of America.

No, globalisation is killing some aspects of American industry. I sort of agree that unions are outdated, but then so is employment law, so they are stil necassary.

I think if we were not at war in Iraq, the car bombings happening there would be happening here. I don't own any body armor that can withstand more than a tree or rock.
Well, maybe not car bombings per se, but I think the focus of our enemies is in Iraq, and not necessarily on the continental US.

Please ask yourself why you have these enemies in the first place.

 

[Silver]

Ok, flat tax again:

Works well in countries without a huge income disparity. Not so well in countries like the US.

Any idea what kind of tax rate you'd need to be revenue neutral? Tax exclusive, the way we normally think about sales taxes...you may be surprised.

 

[Changleen]

One of the things we must remember before we get so bent out of shape about flat tax, is that the main 'flat tax' proposal before congress (the so called FairTax) is by no means actually flat. In fact it allows for negative tax for the extremely poor, so it's not as bad as all that. However the maximum rate is likely to be between 23 and 33% depending on who you ask. This means the rich will do very well out of it, which will have the knock on effect of making them even richer. IF the US wasn't owned by the top 0.25% of the population, and 24% of the wealth wasn't spread amongst the top 2%, this might be OK as the money would trickle down like Reagon thought, but even with the rich being taxed as they are now, this is increasingly not happening to the degree you might like to elevate all of society.

Society does need rich and powerful people, and strong leaders, and all that stuff. Society does not need a detached layer of elite class so far removed from the normality of 90% of the populations lives that the rules basically don't apply to them. Absolute power tends to corrupt absolutly.

 

[Changleen]

Interviewer: "Why does Kenny get killed in every episode?"

Trey Parker: "Because he's poor."

 

[DRB]

Kim Wallace, managing director and chief political analyst of Lehman Brothers, suggests that there's a link between House Republicans' troubles in cutting the budget and the CIA leak investigation and the distraction he sees it posing for the White House, because of the lack of direction the White House is inclined or able to provide.

This is the Bush management style coming back to haunt him, Wallace says, noting that Bush has been both the biggest spender and the biggest tax-cutter since World War II. "It's very difficult to turn to Congress and say, you guys cut X amount, when the White House is still talking about another round of tax cuts." Per Congressional Budget Office data, he says, 3.5 GDP points in revenue have been lost during Bush's administration, and spending has increased by 1.5% -- a 5-point swing the nation hasn't seen in its non-wartime history. And "the top is so distracted that it can't change the culture."

 

[Reactor]

MOST IMPORTANTLY...SHOULD I GET THE FOX DH40 OR WAIT FOR THE NEW BOXXER WC?

The Fox DH40 !!

 

[Reactor]

i wasnt saying that side was cart blanche pork, just that it listed examples of pork, of course its going to vary by both state and opinion of what pork is.

i do agree that the wealthy have more discretionary spending (concerning some of your other posts), however i am always hesitant to give them license to raises taxes without first considering where spending can be cut. those jackasses (BOTH PARTIES) have had a free reign for too long on what and how money should be spent and have lost site of what the FED is actually responsible for vs what the states should be spending the money on.

The Government (state and federal) need to look very carefully at what they are paying for and why, and what they should be paying for and why they aren't. I'm not advocating any particular policy at this point, but I am noticing Gov spending is a bit schizophrenic, and I think it would be a lot easier to account for if it were more organized. IT would also reduce the potential for pork.