congratulations Republicans on your elections .....

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we can't all be middle-class professionals or entrepreneurs like yourself, no matter what you think. and we pofolk do pay taxes, which are hidden in the cost of things as well as sales taxes on things like gasoline [living out in the sticks is cheaper than in town] which are not negligible on a 3-figure monthly income.

And that's the whole truth behind of the right's beef with taxes - resentment for the poor. This resentment encourages them to fight for paying as little taxes as possible, so those evil, evil poor people can't get a free ride. What the right doesn't care to acknowledge is, even with public benefits drawn from taxation, the poor still don't have anywhere the buying power or material wealth of the middle and upper classes. Idiots on the right, like Newt Gingrich, have to lie about poor people taking vacations to Hawaii with their food stamps(!) - something which the right allows themselves to believe, even though if they cared to apply a little mental power in thought to the matter, they'd know that was impossible.

I think at least some of the right's antipathy towards the poor is the secret fear that they, should they run into more than some bad luck, might end up right down here with us. and that makes them very angry. so when they see a poor person that jogs the memory of that fear and the anger comes out.
some pertinent quotes-
"The poor can never be made to suffer enough." Jimmy Breslin
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary." James Madison, Federalist #51

After Tuesday's elections, I'm believing more and more in H.L. Mencken's adage, "Never underestimate the stupidity of the American Electorate."

People wonder why I haven't voted in over 30 years. When the only choices you have are tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber, is it any wonder I'm apathetic about politics? It's even worse when you only have one candidate, since PA allows a candidate to cross file on both the Democrat and Republican ticket. The only reason I registered independent in the past is because I didn't like any of the candidates that filed in either party during the primaries. Besides, my bullsh!t detector no longer works, since I have trouble discerning who's being sincere and who's feeding me a line of bullsh!t. It's also next to impossible to find out what each of the candidates stand for nowadays, no thanks to negative spin and extreme mudslinging. How can I feel confidence in a candidate with all the sh!t slinging that goes on?

Personally, the whole electoral process should be thrown out and redone. Instead of campaigning for almost 18 months, and getting damn little work done in either Washington, DC or your state's Capitol, campaigning should be limited to 30 days before the election, with no mudslinging. Candidates would not be able to use the coffers of whatever party the affiliate with. The must use their own funds without any kind of outside funding.

In addition, term limits should be put on our legislators, just as they are for the POTUS. It's no secret that our legislators do very little legwork: their staff does most of the research. So the idea of institutional memory doesn't fly with me when it comes to legislators, it's their research staff that takes care of institutional memory. Imposing term limits on legislators should break up the gridlock and Beltway intelligence (if you can call it that) that has been endemic in DC for the last 35 years.

In a way, I'm glad Tom Corbett got the boot. Unfortunately, i don't think Tom Wolf will be any better as Governor of PA.

I rather like "nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."


that wide open primary crap is not my fave. it messes with party integrity. I want my democrats straight-ahead democrat and not mixed with the other side.


most other western nations have such a regime in place, England most notably. "American exceptionalism."

The poor do pay sales tax....you don't get exempt from sales tax when you purchase things at stores for being poor. Also there are other ways to contribute than money that poor people are capable of contributing. But yeah obviously poor people don't have the means to financially contribute to the system as much as people in stable financial situations...of course they are still citizens and thus funding has to go into resources for said poor people, there isn't really an effective alternative that I am aware of at least not any that are humane in any way.

I might add to the quotes:
Nobody suffers like the poor, baby. - Charles Bukowski.

I just cannot wrap my head around it, I mean I could see complaining about tax rates being too high...I could see complaining about the government using tax money for some wasteful project that serves no practical purposes. But instead they b*tch about the fact that some tax revenue goes to programs to help the poor as if that is the most wasteful thing on earth. How is it wasteful to help citizens of this country have resources to live. I guess there is the myth that poor people are all just lazy scum who simply did not try hard enough, when that is simply not the reality. There are plenty of barriers that limit peoples abilities to move up in life so the system sort of has a duty to compensate for that.

Yes, this is how it is.

Democrats and Republicans won't tax the super-rich to pay for these things, instead they tax the middle class. So, the middle class develops resentment towards the "free loaders" who keep wanting more and more tax increases.

We have seen that the Canadian median income surpass America's median income, so the middle class in America is struggling to maintain their standard of living. Also, real wages (wages after inflation) are not increasing. The borders are essentially open and poor people are coming in by the hundreds of thousands and need stuff. The middle class in America is shrinking as Americans lose high paying jobs and take lower paying service work.

And the poor have the audacity to ask the middle class for higher taxes ??

If the right hadn't allowed big business to outsource, the American middle class would still be a roaring engine. Those poor people could be gainfully employed, instead if depending on public assistance to survive.

so it should be plain to you, then, that the GOP ain't really got your middle-class interests at heart except for paying de rigieur lip service while kissing you off just as soon as they are securely ensconced for their term. I needs to be repeated that there are too any who vote GOP because the GOP candidates with a wink and "dogwhistle," profess to disdain the same groups of people as they do. we as a nation have a choice to continue down this road into eventual but certain decline relative to other more enlightened nations, or to reverse course and insist on better for ourselves. it's still not too late. but I'm not optimistic that we won't go down the first road.

Last edited by auntblabby on 07 Nov 2014, 2:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

They convince themselves that poor people are taking advantage of them in order to live the life of luxury. Some life of luxury. It says a lot about the right when they think more highly of their money in the bank than about the lives of vulnerable citizens.

Well perhaps the middle class should develop resentment towards the politicians who are disproportionately taxing the middle class over the super rich, it would be more rational. I myself do not think more tax increases is going to solve much, though the government could probably use the tax revenue they already get more efficiently, if more tax revenue is needed then yeah they should tax the very wealthy more not the middle class...wouldn't it make more sense to have resentment towards the government doing the unfair taxing rather than poor people who need government assistance. Also I was not aware 'the poor' as a whole where asking the middle class for higher taxes, most of the poor I have talked to lean more towards the opinion they should be taxing the very rich more, or at least enforcing the taxes they are supposed to pay rather than allowing them all the options of tax write offs or whatever. But the politicians in their pockets aren't going to do that.

when the tax rate for millionaires [mostly would be billionaires in today's money] was over 50% I don't remember ever reading about any hardship on their side of things.

There is nothing wrong with lower taxes.

As long as it covers expenses, which it has not for forty years.

Doubling taxes on the bottom half would still produce 0.

Children, old people, the disabled, low wage and income workers,

The well is dry.

Those in business seek tax relief, and mostly complain that the cost of compliance is higher than the tax, and subjects them to fines, prison, unless they do an audited inventory every year, which proves they owe no or little tax.

They are taxed by the City, County, State, and Nation, each with their own set of rules, but all with,
"Those who misfile, even in error, are hereby agreeing that they can be fined and imprisoned, and all their assets seized."

Seven years the Tax Man can come and say, you have under paid for seven years, and with fines and interest, and your new higher tax rate, you owe all the profits for the next seven years.

Close, they seize everything you own, and send you to prison.

Employ people, you become an agent of The IRS, Workmans Comp, Unemployment, State Tax, and the Police, from local to supersecret national, who can and do demand you spy on and report the workers.

There is a whole level where you pay your workers taxes, and report on them.

It is like the old KGB, who have become too lazy to keep files on everyone, and demand their employers do it for them.

Considering who gets the money, it seems a business should just pay rent on the government owned slaves, and the government should do its own paper work, and send out paychecks.

Business is forced to do this for free. If the Government did it, they workers would owe more for processing, more than they earn.

For example, SSI, has a 90% expense for processing and administration, with less than 10% going out in the form of checks.

Employers are not allowed to question workers, or potential workers. Asking things like, Are you alive?Do you have a sex? How old are you? Why does the name on Social Security number seem female, and you male? Only the last now has an E-Verify,

Jobs now have to require a drivers license, because otherwise you are forbidden to ask for photo ID.

If the Social Security number is real, for Mary McCaffrety, MD, of New York, you cannot question the dark brown man with a spanish accent in Texas, or ask for other ID.

You are not allowed to ask, demand, but if it turns out Mary is an illegal, it is your fault.

A small business employing five, also needs a Lawyer, Accountant, Payroll, and you had better be making some civic and political donations.

Altogether workers get paid about half of what they cost you. The other half goes to Compliance.

Office supplies have become employment. Anyone you pay more than $500 a year has to have a 1099 filed. Grass cutter, babysitter, office paper. A new level of compliance, reporting everyone you deal with to the government. You must include their full name, social secuity number.

Commercial space has higher property tax, rent, lease, own, you pay it.

Sole Propriator does not get the same tax treatment as a Corporation, and can be sued for everything. A corporation is taxed at a higher rate.

So now you want higher wages, and full medical and dental?

A lot of people in business are just running out the lease, and looking at locations in Mexico.

Our protection was Congress, but they sold out.

A "K" Street Lobby Firm, banking through several small European governments, keeping income abroad, giving stock tips to Congress, you can bring the profits home paying a one time 15-17%.

The only American assets they have are Stock, untaxed, including transactions, and cash in the bank, also untaxed.

Stocks make up Pension Funds, Federal, State, Union, Teachers, and they own it all. The tax laws protect their retirement accounts.

It is not Big Business that gets tax exemption, it is the Government Employees Union.

This is also why there is no transaction tax on securities, that is their money.

That is why Wall Street, the banks, and AIG Insurance got bailed out.

That is why QE pumped cash to the banks to buy stocks, commodies, at rock bottom prices.

All tax laws could be fixed with a single tax on all income of 15%, in the year earned.

Social Security could be fixed with extending to tax to all personal income.

A 1% transaction tax on securities would pay off the National Debt, then buy all the world's gold.

All the oil offshore belongs to The People, and should pay for Health Education and Welfare.

Norway gives drillers 10% and strict regulations, 90% goes into the Social Fund.

We foolish people who have tried business are not the enemy, we used to provide the employment.

Some 90% of jobs are in small business. 70% of the economy is in retail consumption.

We are being crushed by big business that makes the rules in Washington, a Congress that wants to put their national responsabliity, National Health Care, like every other industrial nation, on the backs of small business, and even the unemployed.

They are voting their Pension Fund and gold plated health care.

In an Information age, we should be paying people to go to school, knowledge makes the next economy. Students should not be put in debt to qualify for jobs that do not exist. They should be paid to learn how to create the jobs of ten years from now. It would amount to a small part of our Military budget.

Education is the only way to defend our standing in the new global economy. We have come up with great ideas in the past, we are good for more to come.

Poor, sick and uneducated people do not make good customers. A national income floor, would replace many programs that lead to government bloat. They are just going to spend it, which will drive the economy.

Giving $1,000 a month to everyone, would cost less than our Prison Program, and do more to reduce crime. It also abolishes Welfare, Food Stamps, SSI, and comes with Medicare.

Earn a $1,000 a month, no tax, keep the benefit, and the health care. Let the poor get some money in the bank. In school? Tution plus books added.

People with a total income of over $25,000 a year would not mind paying some income tax, to support the program.

We need to reduce government workers, they are what have caused this problem. They, their offices, pensions, healthcare, cost a lot more than the food stamps they give out.

There would be an incentive to work, the next $13,000 tax free, go to school, and all that money flowing around would support many local business. We would rapidly reach full employment.

Demand for workers brings higher wages, more reason to become educated, and the freedom to dream of a better world.

Old White man, Goldwater Republican. Government is the problem.

^^^