August 9, 201114 yr "The budget should be balanced,the treasury should be refilled,public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance" Cicero - 55 B.C.
August 10, 201114 yr Why does this sound so familiar? Because it was written in 1965 in Taylor Caldwell's fictional novel Pillar of Iron featuring Cicero as a character, and not in 55 BC.
August 10, 201114 yr another of rome's problems? having a standing army that tried to occupy the known world but shhhhhh....how much we spend on our military is a dirty little secret so we can blame all of our money problems on illegals, unions and poor people and its definitely not because the biggest corporations in this country are finding tax loopholes and not paying any? remember when it was your patriotic duty to pay your taxes, so that all americans could live a better life? now apparently its patriotic to say sorry to an oil company who just spilled in the gulf of mexico and give them a tax break too...awesome...just awesome
August 11, 201114 yr Until we solve our self-inflicted revenue problem, this won't change. That and bloating our military budget to fight the kinds of people best handled by law-enforcement. Unfortunately we are now being forced into a deficit reduction commission with binding results that is almost certainly going to slash key programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and SS. Which won't do anything beyond hurting the elderly and the less fortunate. We have far too many people in this country not paying their fair share, while the average person is either struggling with declining wages and rising prices, or unemployed and desperate for any work. Sadly none of this will change in the near future. Not only do we have this deficit commission doing the wrong things, but the creation of this absurd 'debt crisis' will make it impossible for any job-creation programs to be enacted to put people to work.
August 11, 201114 yr Greater revenue is part of the solution, whether or not a lack of revenue was technically part of the problem. You need both to accomplish what is needed in the U.S.
August 11, 201114 yr Why does this sound so familiar? Because it was written in 1965 in Taylor Caldwell's fictional novel Pillar of Iron featuring Cicero as a character, and not in 55 BC. Man you hit the nail on the head right there, very nice. Everyone knows what needs to get done I just can't fathom why it never gets done? - Fix the entitlement programs -Have the rich pay their share -End 1 of the wars, c'mon...just one -And for f***'s sake LEGALIZE DRUGS AND SEX ALREADY. Lets tax the f*** out of them, and earmark ALL of those dollars to do nothing (forever) except tackle the deficit (when we have one). Obviously none of these would work if done alone, but across the board reforms would definitely work. JUST DONT BE A DICK ABOUT IT, and do it properly.
August 11, 201114 yr What a terrible example. If you want to use Cicero in that manner, then you should speak of the end of the Republic, rather than the end of the nation. Because Rome became the dominate force in the Western World for hundreds of years following that statement - but they were totalitarian.
August 12, 201114 yr Why does this sound so familiar? Because it was written in 1965 in Taylor Caldwell's fictional novel Pillar of Iron featuring Cicero as a character, and not in 55 BC. -Have the rich pay their share Leave this out please and you're A-Ok! Let the rich keep there own damn money, and spend it however they please. They pay enough taxes already for our government to waste on those entitlement programs, a military that is going to crumble this country, and general waste. Why do I want successful Americans who know how to make money give up more money to people who DON'T know how to make money or SPEND money? It's such an asshat backwards idea, not sure why it gets hive minded among so many people today.
August 13, 201114 yr what is asshat backwards is a middle class who votes for rich people to do the biidding of other rich people
August 13, 201114 yr what is asshat backwards is a middle class who votes for rich people to do the biidding of other rich people It's cute that you convince yourself your guys are different.
August 13, 201114 yr Why does this sound so familiar? Because it was written in 1965 in Taylor Caldwell's fictional novel Pillar of Iron featuring Cicero as a character, and not in 55 BC. -Have the rich pay their share Leave this out please and you're A-Ok! Let the rich keep there own damn money, and spend it however they please. They pay enough taxes already for our government to waste on those entitlement programs, a military that is going to crumble this country, and general waste. Why do I want successful Americans who know how to make money give up more money to people who DON'T know how to make money or SPEND money? It's such an asshat backwards idea, not sure why it gets hive minded among so many people today. Haven't seen you in these parts for awhile. It's nice to see you back. I watched the debates yesterday and was wondering about you actually. Glad to see you're still here. I've become pretty jaded with politics, don't really understand it and truly believe it's just all about marketing and a popularity contest and that no matter what we do it really won't matter. Too much money involved in the military complex and those people aren't going to let someone like Ron Paul ever be commander in chief. I am encouraged though by Rand Paul getting a senate seat.
August 15, 201114 yr what is asshat backwards is a middle class who votes for rich people to do the biidding of other rich people It's cute that you convince yourself your guys are different. i dont think they are different...i just think the dems are less likely to screw the middle class completely... something conservatives have been trying to do since FDR was president they want to go back to the days of robber barons and shanty towns...sorry...the 1920's as well as the 1950's are over...lets keep it that way
August 16, 201114 yr Policies supported by Democratic politicians favor the creation of a permanent underclass, and limit income mobility. I suppose that is looking out for the middle class.
August 16, 201114 yr This is why I favor consumption taxes with a progressive prebate - similar to the Fair Tax proposal. Right now, Captial Gains taxes are a joke because they are a way to pay 15% on income instead of your income tax rate, but if the primary taxation were a consumption tax (sales tax) then capital gains taxes would represent an additional 15% and thus a revenue hike rather than a revenue dodge. It should also not hinder investment any more than the tax already does.
August 16, 201114 yr This is why I favor consumption taxes with a progressive prebate - similar to the Fair Tax proposal. Right now, Captial Gains taxes are a joke because they are a way to pay 15% on income instead of your income tax rate, but if the primary taxation were a consumption tax (sales tax) then capital gains taxes would represent an additional 15% and thus a revenue hike rather than a revenue dodge. It should also not hinder investment any more than the tax already does. unacceptable
August 17, 201114 yr Revenue hikes that would change the tax code to something manageable are acceptable. The reason why cuts and tax hikes don't work is because cuts can only be legislated into the current budget, whereas tax hikes are forever.
August 17, 201114 yr Author In his book, "The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire," renowned Roman historian Michael Rostovtzeff puts it succinctly: The heavier the pressure of the state on the upper classes, the more intolerable became the condition of the lower. Sounds like were damned if we do and damned if we don't.
August 17, 201114 yr Why does this sound so familiar? Because it was written in 1965 in Taylor Caldwell's fictional novel Pillar of Iron featuring Cicero as a character, and not in 55 BC. -Have the rich pay their share Leave this out please and you're A-Ok! Let the rich keep there own damn money, and spend it however they please. They pay enough taxes already for our government to waste on those entitlement programs, a military that is going to crumble this country, and general waste. Why do I want successful Americans who know how to make money give up more money to people who DON'T know how to make money or SPEND money? It's such an asshat backwards idea, not sure why it gets hive minded among so many people today. Are you serious? You are aware that people with incomes over $1 million a year pay less taxes as a share of their income than someone making about $20,000 right? I really hate this idea that rich are the 'job creators', as there is no legitimate evidence of such a thing. People as a whole are also now paying the lowest taxes in over 60 years, which is ridiculous when at the same time the politicians are freaking out over deficits. Well, if you hadn't been spending so much money on wars and tax cuts we wouldn't be in this situation. You are also seriously overestimating the waste the government creates. Most of its is currently coming from Defense spending, which is what happens when you decide that you're just going to throw as much money at a problem (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.) as possible, but not actually care about results. Just yesterday a report came out saying that at least $350 million had probably been stolen by the Taliban because there's virtually no defense oversight. This doesn't even include outdated programs like the F-22 and F-35 fighter planes, which are once again grounded because they don't work. Billions of dollars are being wasted on that by itself. Unfortunately Congress has seen fit to keep the F-22 program alive because their parts are manufactured in their constituents' districts, making it a bit hard to kill.
August 17, 201114 yr There is absolutely no reason not to raise taxes on the rich now. If people are going to whine and complain about deficits, you can't do that and not argue that there need to be revenue increases. According to all relevant information, the rich today are better off than any time since the Gilded Age, and the average worker is actually worse off than that same time period. They can more than afford to finally pay their fair share. There's no excuse anymore. Especially if the alternative is gutting programs for people who need them (SS, Medicare, Medicaid, Childhood Assistance, Heating Oil assistance, food stamps, etc.), it's unacceptable to keep the top tax rate so insanely low. At the very least we need to go back to Clinton-era taxes. It makes me angry as all hell to see working people getting the shaft right now in Washington, while anyone with money gets to benefit from the next round of unnecessary austerity measures, which are just going to continue to sink the economy as they have already begun to since they started.
August 22, 201114 yr The problem is that the GOP is fixated on this idea that they need someone who is a religious fanatic. There are plenty of voters out there who dislike Obama and value smaller government, less spending, and lower taxes but don't want someone who's a fanatic on moral issues. +1 I know you were not attempting to infer this, but moral issues can be tackled with absolutely no reference to religious beliefs.
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