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Forum Post: If you were president

Posted 11 years ago on Aug. 3, 2012, 7:49 a.m. EST by bensdad (8977)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

would you cut taxes for yourself and the millionaires by $250,000 and raise taxes on the 99% families by $2000 each? That's what the independent Tax Policy Center calculated. Boy - do I have your candidate!



On the other hand, if you don't have the courage to vote,
david & charles will be very happy to take advantage of that - to buy his job.


Prove it to yourself: Calculate it the way TPC did: http://www.barackobama.com/tax-calculator/

69 Comments

69 Comments


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[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

Here's a different idea,

Let any of the Confederate states who still want to secede, actually do it this time. It will provide a refuge for those patriots who are NOT so thrilled about equal rights, consumer protection, women, children, disabled people, students, immigrants, blacks, hispanics, teachers, police, firemen, factory workers, the auto industry, senior citizens, Muslims, Methodists, Buddhists, Sikhs, atheists, artists, psychologists, professors, journalists, actors, civil servants, moderates, intellectuals, scientists, poor people, small families, adopted children, trial attorneys, people who don't like austerity and higher taxes for the poor and many other "other" people who "aren't like us". And of course it would be a place for those who do love the .01% and are willing to let them live there, tax free, of course,

It would be a great experiment. Somebody described two Americas which were at opposite poles philosophically and politically. Maybe they should be separated geographically?

How do you think that would work? As President, I am waiting for the bill to land on my desk. Should I sign it?

[-] 3 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

I have often questioned the wisdom of Lincoln's sacrifice,
but I truly believe Lincoln's RECONSTRUCTION would not have led us to this place.
YOU MUST SEE
Spike Lee's
The Confederate States of America
yes - that Spike Lee

[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

One of my relatives was a general who was the appointed governor of a Southern state (called a carpet bagger), appointed blacks to his cabinet, elected Senator, Blocked from being seated, accused of corruption by the local plantation owners, resigned to prevent civil strife, exonerated by Congressional investigation. Moved back North and watched Jim Crow and sharecropper slavery take over. Johnson and Grant should have been impeached for what they allowed to happen in the South. The Radical Republicans were about the last Republicans you could be proud of except Eisenhower. Of course they became Democrats.

I agree Lincoln would have at least delivered the 40 acres and a mule to blacks as a token reparation. Not enough, but maybe just enough to keep them from going back under the thumbs of their former owners.

How did that trickle down work out?

[-] 2 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

the trickle down worked better after they unzipped


thanks for sharing fascinating family story


Although the brutal reconstruction planted the seeds,
this lit the torch:


On November 10, three days after election day, Tilden appeared to have won 184 electoral votes: one short of a majority. Hayes appeared to have 166 votes, with the 19 votes of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina still in doubt. Because of fraud by both parties in the three disputed states, the results were uncertain, and Republicans and Democrats both claimed victories there.[102] To further complicate matters, one of the three electors from Oregon (a state Hayes had won) was disqualified, reducing Hayes's total to 165, and raising the disputed votes to 20. If either candidate could claim the 20 disputed votes, he would be elected president. A map of the United States showing electoral results in 1876 Results of the 1876 election, with states won by Hayes in red, and those won by Tilden in blue

There was considerable debate about which person or house of Congress was authorized to decide between the competing slates of electors, with the Republican Senate and the Democratic House each claiming priority.[105] By January 1877, with the question still unresolved, Congress and President Grant agreed to submit the matter to a bipartisan Electoral Commission, which would be authorized to determine the fate of the disputed electoral votes.[106] The Commission was to be made up of five representatives, five senators, and five Supreme Court justices. To ensure partisan balance, there would be seven Democrats and seven Republicans, with Justice David Davis, an independent respected by both parties, as the fifteenth member. The balance was upset when Democrats in the Illinois legislature elected Davis to the Senate, hoping to sway his vote.[108] Davis disappointed Democrats by refusing to serve on the Commission because of his election to the Senate. As all of the remaining Justices were Republicans, Justice Joseph P. Bradley, believed to be the most independent-minded of them, was selected to take Davis's place on the Commission. The Commission met in February and the eight Republicans voted to award all 20 electoral votes to Hayes. Democrats were outraged by the result and attempted a filibuster to prevent Congress from accepting the Commission's findings.

As the March 4 inauguration day neared, Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders met at Wormley's Hotel in Washington to negotiate a compromise. Republicans promised that, in exchange for Democratic acquiescence in the Committee's decision to elect Hayes, Hayes would withdraw federal troops from the South and accept the election of Democratic governments in the last "unredeemed" states of the South.
The Democrats agreed, and on March 2, the filibuster was ended. Hayes was elected, but Reconstruction was finished

[-] 3 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

The guy I was telling you about was the youngest general in the Civil War, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, wounded early first Manassas. Later in life, he became a good friend on J.D. Rockefeller. So, nobody is perfect.

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[-] -1 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

and they used to say patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel
I say changing the subject out of fear or ignorance is the first refuge of a scoundrel

[-] -1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

I think they should update that saying or add a saying - Blind Patriotism is foolish!

[-] 2 points by marvelpym (-184) 11 years ago

the saying should be not being able to read a political cartoon is the first sign you need glasses.

Yo bensdad!. Look at the cartoon. It's the big drawing thing you posted. See that stuff that looks like words on the left?

[-] 1 points by freewriterguy (882) 11 years ago

If I were president, I would make interest on loans low for poor people, and expensive for rich people! This should be a no brainer, but instead it just proves that people who make the rules have no brain!

[-] 1 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

I like the idea of a federal bank - that would compete with our preposterously shrinking NUMBER of banks to make low interest small loans. We loan money to banks for next to nothing. Provided we don't repeat our mortgage disaster.

[-] 1 points by ericweiss (575) 11 years ago

calculator: married with 2 dependents:


1,000,000 Obama tax plan you save $8295 Romney tax plan you save $245,551


..100,000 Obama tax plan you save $3999 Romney tax plan you PAY $1339

[-] 3 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

So, then the 100,000 folks vote for the Romney plan so you can't get a mammogram. So in effect, they are paying someone else for you not to have healthcare. Isn't that a mandate?

It's GOP common sense.

[-] 2 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 11 years ago

private insurance or insurance for health makes no senses

everybody dies

[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

No, it doesn't. It is, by definition, an inefficiency built into a system. It is like title insurance. They pay out less than 4% of their fees and administration is tiny, so there is no risk. It should be free as part (a small part) of the realtor's fee.

[-] 1 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 11 years ago

the problem is money keeps leaving the system so we never have enough to buy what we need to keep the system moving

as if the world tilted

[-] 4 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

We hear the giant sucking sound that Ross Perot warned about, but it is a vacuum that ends in a 1% bag somewhere in the Caymans.

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[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

He said,"That's my bag."

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[-] 1 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 11 years ago

and in order to have money to live,

we must work for those that have money

[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

Yes we do. Fun? Well, not so much.

[-] 1 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 11 years ago

we want so much more than jobs

[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

Pride in what we do and the recognition that is good work and appreciated by others who are knowledgeable is a start Then there is the life outside the job, time to be fully engaged with family and friends, to pursue interests that are satisfying to our curiosities, and holding a trust in the justice of the system in which we work and live. It's a start.

[-] 0 points by hchc (3297) from Tampa, FL 11 years ago

That giant sucking sound is a vampire squid...

The gasping is the muppets last breath.

[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

I hear squid makes good bait, if you cut it up small enough?

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[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

we must have misheard him. It must have been, "Cooperatives are people too"?

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[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

Well, maybe not. Man has the character of a saboteur.

[-] 1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Co-operation is good for people too?

[-] 1 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

Did he say that? I almost agreed with that.

[-] 1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

LOL

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[-] 1 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 11 years ago

I said that corps are made of people

just as vulnerable as any of us

Campaign funding miniscule compared to government budget

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[-] 1 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 11 years ago

we all know that londen has had huge "riots" of student protests and social immobility

this year

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[-] 0 points by hchc (3297) from Tampa, FL 11 years ago

Both candidates are already bought by the same people you moron, and it aint those loud mouth morons the Koch brothers.

[-] 0 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

name calling is the first sign of dementia
inability to differentiate is the second
please see your doctor

[-] 1 points by hchc (3297) from Tampa, FL 11 years ago

Well, I must say there are a ton of occupiers with early dementia. And I thought they were just words...hahah.

They differ, but their funders are the same.

"Inability to see that is what is destroying our country.

Here, this is off of OccPhoenix site. didnt see an obama pic on there. hmmmm.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=434746296570044&set=a.251867728191236.64940.251838778194131&type=3&theater

[-] 0 points by hchc (3297) from Tampa, FL 11 years ago

102 Comments on that pic, almost all fed up and in 100% agreement. Hmmmm.... someone doesnt seem to be representing the change we want....

[-] 0 points by SteveKJR (-497) 11 years ago

From a man that has never run a business a day in his life.

A Man that has NOT produced anything with his bare hands.

From a “Union” President that condones Union’s taking money from their members for political causes.

From a President that “shares the taxpayer wealth” Crony Capitalism style giving money to bankrupting Green companies because they donated to his campaign in 2008 (Solyndra, Tonopah, Serious Windows, etc.) and supported his Green Initiative.

From a President that has sent MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and has sent taxpayer dollars to Palestine to “Green” their buildings.

From a President that condones regulations through fiat and the EPA to strangulate the Coal Industry forcing coal plants to shut down and hundreds of coal miners to lose their jobs.

In the past year 400+ U.S. Citizens have expatriated themselves to avoid the Obama taxation.

From a President that chastises Mitt Romney falsely accusing him in the Bain Capital expose, yet fails to tell America he himself has received campaign donations from Bain Capital and will not return that money.

From a President that chastises Mitt Romney for overseas accounts (Romney reported them on his tax forms), yet fails to tell America that Nancy Pelosi, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and “daddy money bucks” George Soros ALL have accounts and investments overseas.

From a President that complains Congress is NOT doing enough, yet Senator Harry Reid, in the Senate, is holding up 30+ bipartisan House jobs bills in the Senate and will NOT bring them up even for discussion.

How can working/middle class be fooled by this Obimination and think that he is a better candidate?

You decide.

[-] 2 points by TitusMoans (2451) from Boulder City, NV 11 years ago

SteveKJR, you need to take off the partisan blinders and assess both candidates objectively. You can start by using the President's real name, which may indicate a more mature attitude on your part.

Romney would probably fit all the descriptions you give above, except the first, when he headed Bain, which specialized in outsourcing. Romney may send MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars someplace else like Israel.

Then you have the audacity (I purposely used that word) to mention Romney's tax returns, when he won't release most of them, even when he's been accused of not paying taxes for ten years. Before you stand up for the man and condemn the President, take a cool look at both. You won't see much of difference at all.

[-] 0 points by SteveKJR (-497) 11 years ago

And where is the proof that Romney didn't pay taxes for 10 years - Just because a dingbat in Washington DC mouthes it sheepish people believe it.

Where's the proof?

BTW - Obama also invests in jobs overseas just as GE is doing along with all the rest of his contributors- read the following link

http://romanticpoet.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/obama-and-his-wife-have-investments-in-companies-that-ship-jobs-overseas-ge-is-one-of-them-is-jeffrey-immelt-ge-influencing-the-obamas/

[-] 1 points by TitusMoans (2451) from Boulder City, NV 11 years ago

I did not say that Romney had not paid taxes for ten years; Harry Reid said that. Whether Romney paid the taxes or not can be easily resolved by releasing his tax returns. Something even Republicans have urged him to do.

You don't seem to understand. I don't like Romney or Obama. They're both hacks doing nothing more than what their masters, the ruling class, tell them to do. They're both liars; we know that from what they say and don't say. They're probably worse than that, but I don't really care to discuss people I consider criminals.

Suffice it to say, I will vote only if need be then I will vote for the candidate that--I believe--will harm the working class least along with the party that will harm workers least regardless of the lies they sling back and forth.

[-] 1 points by freakyfriday (179) 11 years ago

Do you REALLY believe that if there were a problem with Mitt's taxes tbat the IRS wouldn't have "accidentally" leaked it by now? Come on! O is a Chicagp thug and the IRS is just part of his gang. (for now)

[-] 0 points by TitusMoans (2451) from Boulder City, NV 11 years ago

Duh, Romney can make the whole issue go away by releasing his tax returns. Don't you REALLY know that?

[-] 2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

The Greedy RATs leaving before the people and the government rescind their abusive tax breaks? Gee how sad for them.

Imagine - emigrating because you did not want to be a part of society.

Huh.

Wonder how they are gonna keep separate from society in their new digs?

[-] 1 points by brightonsage (4494) 11 years ago

Wow. 400 people actually left? Out of 310 million? How many people were crushed in the stampede?

[-] 1 points by VQkag2 (16478) 11 years ago

Sounds like those 400 are greedy selfish traitors. Maybe we should take whatever money they made from this great system, ban them from coming back & disallow any business they may want to do here.

Good riddance.

[-] 1 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

Are you afraid to answer my question????????????? Did you try the calculator????????????????? Have you heard the news that Democrats want to cut taxes on every one but the top 2% - and the senate passed it. The republiclans in the House won't do it because they want to include the top 2%
but david & charles told you that already


Just to address your first rant -
Who is your prime example of a businessman who became a great president?
hoover? bush? shrub?
Who is your prime example of a businessman who became a great president?

[-] 0 points by salta (-1104) 11 years ago

dont confuse the ows/libs/dems/progressives/ marxists with fact.

[-] 0 points by shoozTroll (17632) 11 years ago

How very, very Rovian of you to place so many lies and half truths in a single post and finish off with a line from FLAKESnews.

My decision is final.

You are a bullshitter.

[-] 0 points by VQkag2 (16478) 11 years ago

How can working/middle class be fooled by these greedy selfish plutocrats, and support them?

It's disgusting.

[-] 0 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

I wish I could understand it -
BUT I REALLY don't understand how OUR brethren believe the answer is to support an unelectable candidate, or no one
which david + charles applaud

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[-] -3 points by hchc (3297) from Tampa, FL 11 years ago

Hence the D and R parties being around for over 100 years. Hence the D/R parties being the ones that passed the legislation that caused the collpase. Hence the American people deciding again that its best to put them all back in charge again.

You are right. Its fuckin insane.

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[-] -2 points by hchc (3297) from Tampa, FL 11 years ago

I guess it all depends on what you consider right wing. a few here consider anything that doesnt line up with their very narrow views as right wing. I know you consider facsism right wing, which is always pretty funny (just as funny as when the right calls the left a bunch of fascsists).

Some of us endorse the people we know would do a good job if elected. Many of you decide to vote based on fear and media manipualtion.

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[-] -3 points by hchc (3297) from Tampa, FL 11 years ago

Disturbing as usual Zendog...

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[-] -3 points by hchc (3297) from Tampa, FL 11 years ago

What the most violent thing that has ever happened to you?

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[-] 0 points by VQkag2 (16478) 11 years ago

How so many of the 99% vote against their own interests in the hopes they might be invited into the elite 1% plutocrat group is depressing. I wish the dissemination of info gauranteed they would absorb it and learn the truth.

Thx for another good post.

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[-] 0 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

Rachel is fantastic. She has a brilliant ability to explain a complex story in LENGHTY detail the keeps you interested from beginning to end.
I know she has a PhD - do you know what in?

[-] 1 points by fiftyfourforty (1077) from New York, NY 11 years ago

Early life and education

Maddow was born in Castro Valley, California. Her father, Robert B. "Bob" Maddow, is a former United States Air Force captain who resigned his commission the year before her birth and found civilian work as a lawyer for the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Her mother, Elaine Maddow (née Gosse), is a school program administrator from Newfoundland, Canada.[9][10][11] She has one older brother, David. Her father is of Russian and Dutch descent and her mother is of English and Irish ancestry.[11] Maddow has stated that her family is "very, very Catholic". She grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative."[12][13][14] Maddow was a competitive athlete and played three sports in high school.[15] Referencing John Hughes films, she describes herself in high school as "a cross between the jock and the antisocial girl."[14] A graduate of Castro Valley High School[16] in Castro Valley, California, she attended Stanford University. While a freshman, she was outed by the college newspaper when an interview with her was published by the student newspaper before she could tell her parents.[17] Maddow earned a degree in public policy from Stanford in 1994.[18] At graduation she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship.[19] She was also the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 at Lincoln College, Oxford. In 2001, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in politics from Oxford University.[20] Her thesis is titled HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons (supervisor: Dr Lucia Zedner). She was the first openly gay American to win a Rhodes scholarship.[21][22] [edit]

[-] 2 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

Fantastic - I'm glad she's on our team!

[-] 1 points by fiftyfourforty (1077) from New York, NY 11 years ago

I hope she gets to unravel the Adelson prostitution links as well as the corrupt bribery of Chinese officials and gangster connections. A lot rides on the civil trial of the claim of wrongful termination that resumes in Nevada August 30. Adeslon's lawyers have already been caught lying and concealing evidence and the judge is ticked off at them. Steven Jacobs, the claimant, also alleges that his apartment was burglarized with only documents related to the trial stolen. The FBI is on that claim. I think Rachel Maddow could do a really interesting and funny show on this if it comes out in court the right way.