READER LETTER: Debt
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READER LETTER: Debt

7/27/2011

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Do you think the Debt Ceiling should be raised? If not what can be done quickly to resolve this issue? What do you think will help boost our economy? Do you think its fair that Oil companies rake in billions in profit and don't have to pay taxes on that money? Do you think its fair that the wealthy receive tax breaks but the median household income pays into the taxing system? What will fix the housing market?

Dawn Day


News Feedback NOTE: Views expressed below do not reflect the views or opinions of TheBayNet.com, or the employees of TheBayNet.com.

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TheBusNot Logged In
 7/27/2011 at 4:21 PM
Well...
I think it's disgusting that 52% of households have no federal tax contribution whatsoever.

I think it's outrageous that so much of our budget is wasted on entitlement programs for people who have absolutely no intent or motivation to contribute to society. (Why would I want to actually work if someone is willing to give me free money for sitting on my butt?)

I think I'd much rather have my hard-earned tax dollars spent on legitimate functions of government, like defense and infrastructure and the space program.

Just my $0.02
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FYOUNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 11:57 AM
Reply to TheBus: Agreed....
just look at the "political rally" in Chuck County today.
FYOUNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 12:05 PM
Reply to TheBus: Agreed....
just look at the "political rally" in Chuck County today.
freefallerNot Logged In
 7/27/2011 at 4:24 PM
Do you think it's Fair that:
The top 2% of wage earners in this country pay about 58% of the taxes.

If congress took out the tax deduction for corporate jets, it would take about 5000 (yes, 5000) years for that to pay for 1 year of our current deficit? But, Obama will still play the class warfare card to those who don't think and swallow his crap without thinking.

That the lower 50% of wage earners pay NOTHING in income taxes?

We have to stop this class warfare that our president is pushing. It's got to stop. I've never gotten a job from a poor person.

Do you know that if the federal budget were actually frozen at todays spending levels, we would spend 9.5 trillion dollars less over the next decade. The democrats (and some establishment republicans) call that a budget cut. In the mid 1970's, congress passed a law that automatically raises the budget every year without a single vote in congress. Why do you think that Obama hasn't had to pass a budget yet?

Do you know that even when congress talks about trillions of dollars in cuts over the next ten years, there is no requirement that the next congress has to abide by that?

Learn about our Federal Base line budget system. It will scare the heck out of any reasonable thinking person!
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freefallerNot Logged In
 7/27/2011 at 4:35 PM
Do you remember
When Jimmy Carter was president? Another Democrat who raised taxes that sent the economy into the dumper. Remember trying to buy a house? The mortgage rates went up to about 13%, remember the only thing that this country had to feel good about was the US Olympic hockey team winning a gold medal at the Olympics?

Do you remember when Ronald Regan was elected and the fight we went through to lower tax rates. Remember? Well he got it passed and the economy exploded. We had growth rates in excess of 8% and everyone had a job. The actual income into the federal coffers doubled. Imagine that, lowering peoples taxes actually brought in MORE money. Double in fact. The problem became that our democratic congress spent it all (and more).
Lower tax rates and give the american people incentive to invest in new businesses and expanding old ones. We need more taxpayers, not more taxes or higher tax rates!
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direstraitsbNot Logged In
 7/27/2011 at 7:00 PM
Give Me A Break
First off, there shouldn't even be a debt ceiling. It's a stupid idea to begin with. Congress spends the money; therefore, what's the point of allowing them to set their own limit. It would be like giving a credit card to someone and saying, "Okay, you can decide your maximum credit limit."

Second. The debt ceiling has been raised over a 100 times since its enactment. What's different in 2011? And please, drop the 'we are broke' Tea Party nonsense. This country is not broke. We print our own money, and we're the greatest superpower in the world. I think America is on fairly solid ground.

Last, but certainly not least. Taxes are at their lowest rate in over 50 frickin' years. How can one say that raising revenue should not be a priority? The fact of the matter is the well off in this nation have been stockpiling cash for years. They're not creating jobs. We passed an extension of those oh-so-precious Bush Tax Cuts in December, and I ask you: where are the jobs?

Democrats should be owning this debate. Most of this debt was run up by a Republican Congress and a Republican president--GEORGE WALKER BUSH. And everyone seems to be focusing on Obama.

And if these tea-baggers would just turn off Rush Limbaugh for a minute, they'd hear the truth.

Mr. President, don't budge; give the Republicans hell :)
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freefallerNot Logged In
 7/27/2011 at 9:41 PM
Reply to direstraitsb: Wow, how uninformed you are
President Obama has added more to this countries debt than every president from George washington to George Bush, combined.
If we start to just print money, you'll see inflation in the triple digits. You might as well withdraw all your savings and wallpaper your bathroom with it. That's how much it'll be worth.
When (if ever) is this president going to accept the responsibility for what he's done?

'This country is not broke. We print our own money, and we're the greatest superpower in the world. I think America is on fairly solid ground."

The above statement shows how truly uneducated you are
direstraitsbNot Logged In
 7/27/2011 at 10:16 PM
Reply to direstraitsb: Wow, how brainwashed you are
It's good to know that the right-wing media empire--Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, and Fox--have a stronghold here in Southern Maryland.

The fact is Bush, by the end of his presidency, accumulated 4 trillion dollars in debt. And there wasn't a peep from the right, and there certainly was no Tea Party complaining about spending. Where was your outrage then? Where were your calls for Bush to take responsibility?

Oh, and by the way, cutting spending does not lead to jobs; it kills jobs. You have been successful in proving your own ignorance. You want Obama to create jobs, but at the same time, you expect him to slash programs that create jobs.

At the end of the day, it boils down to one thing: the only thing Republicans are good at is screaming, complaining, and moaning. Since taking back the House, the GOP hasn't passed or even brought to the floor a single jobs bill.

It is this lack of leadership and abundant amount of posturing that will lead to Obama's reelection. Because let's face it, there isn't much competition.

Bachmann/Trump 2012!!
freefallerNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 8:16 AM
Reply to direstraitsb: Your thinking is all wrong
You write;
"At the end of the day, it boils down to one thing: the only thing Republicans are good at is screaming, complaining, and moaning. Since taking back the House, the GOP hasn't passed or even brought to the floor a single jobs bill."

I forget, who is the president and the LEADER of the free world? who was it that promised to focus, laser like focus on jobs? When obama took office, unemployment was 5.7 Z%. It's now 9.2% Does obama have any responsibility after almost 3 years in office? I know, it's Bush's fault. You'll never stop playing that card, never.

You also write that "Oh, and by the way, cutting spending does not lead to jobs; it kills jobs. You have been successful in proving your own ignorance"

My ignorance? Once again, you seem to think that everything flows from the government. Cutting taxes and federal spending will lead to "PRIVATE SECTOR" jobs. That is where the problem will be solved. We need more people employed by non government employers. We don't need more government jobs, we need fewer!

Finally, you say "It is this lack of leadership". Again I ask you, who is our countries leader? Certainly and sadly, it is not our president.
direstraitsbNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 10:39 AM
Reply to direstraitsb: Broken Record
Again, you keep selling the same Tea Party garbage that absolutely no one is buying.

In the 90's, when there was another Democrat in office named Bill Clinton, we taxed the rich at an APPROPRIATE rate and created 23 million new jobs. And on top of that, at the end of Clinton's term, we had a surplus.

Well, your guy (you know the one who bears no responsibility for this 'bush-whacked' economy) took that surplus and turned it into a lovely deficit. Because let's face fact, two wars, tax cuts for the wealthy, and a failed prescription drug program don't pay for themselves.

And let me say it one more time. Not a single Tea Party rally was held in response to Bush's spending spree. And not a single Republican expressed their outrage over 'big government.'

Therefore, in my view, the Tea Party and these fake establishment Republicans pretending to be 'fiscal conservatives' have no credibility.

And I will close with one of my favorite quotes: "A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward." -- FDR
freefallerNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 3:50 PM
Reply to direstraitsb: Where we agree
You state:
In the 90's, when there was another Democrat in office named Bill Clinton, we taxed the rich at an APPROPRIATE rate and created 23 million new jobs. And on top of that, at the end of Clinton's term, we had a surplus.

Here we agree. I'll remind you that Bill Clinton had a republican house and senate who oversaw the spending of the money!

I'll finish with a presidential quote as well. I believe it was Harry Truman who had that quote on his desk "The buck Stops Here".
Our president apparently has "It's Bush's fault" on his.

There is no one person or party to blame for the situation we're in. We can also thank all those nice congressman who were overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for demanding that lending institutions write all those bad loans. Ther's lots of blame to go around. Our government is completely broken.

By the way, when is president obama going to get around to submitting his first budget?
freefallerNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 5:09 PM
Reply to direstraitsb: Another question
With due respect, How'd the billions of dollars we spent on those "shovel ready jobs" work out for the country?

I know I Know - It's Bush's fault!
direstraitsbNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 7:38 PM
Reply to direstraitsb: I'm Not Alone
From the National Journal:

"When asked whether the policies of President Obama and the Democrats or Bush and the Republicans are more responsible for the country's current economic problems, 57 percent said Bush and the Republicans are more responsible, according to the CNN/ORC poll, while just 29 percent said Obama and the Democrats are more responsible. 10 percent said both are responsible while three percent indicated they find neither to be culpable."

Bush: Gone, but not forgotten
freefallerNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 9:24 PM
Reply to direstraitsb: Unbelievable
Quoting from the national Journal and a CNN poll, well there are a few non partisan groups! Laughable!
PartygirlNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 3:05 AM
In response to Freefaller, what makes
him think we don't just print money, or federal reserve notes, right now?
My goodness I can tell from this discussion you people are very misled about the true state of this country.
Sit down, The Bus, your federal taxes don't go to pay for gov't goods or services, they go to pay interest on the national debt. The federal reserve bank is 1 of the biggest menaces this country has. It has morality far worse than a prostitute.
We could dutifully start to get our act together by having our military come home from the 130+ countries its in it doesn't belong in, which would cause us to lower our military budget instead of having the largest 1 in the world, and then some & putting a moratorium on immigration, legal or otherwise, until we got to an unemployment figure we could deal with, including letting Americans, not foreigners, have 1st dibs on business ownership.
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LulzyKNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 9:07 AM
i don't pretend to know anything
about politics. however, i'd be more than willing to give up whatever i could to help our country survive. I feel like america needs to cut out the b.s. and stop donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to world aid, and maybe start focusing on home. i personally do not donate to any charity involving any world catastrophe, unless it's here, in america. if you sit and think about it, we as a nation are the great bandaid. we go in, we destroy to protect our interests, and then we spend three times as much rebuilding those countries we just crippled. any country who can't sustain themselves comes to us, looking for a handout. in my opinion, this needs to stop. simply put, the things that make this country great could end up being our downfall. America is not the single parent of the entire world and all it's bastard countries. it's time to make these troubled countries take some responsibility. there is no reason that while millions sit on welfare and food stamps here, we are just giving away resources for free to lesser countries. they are our competitors. I'll gladly give up my yearly tax refunds, and twenty dollars a month for each member of my household if it'd get us out of this mess. What if everyone in America did that? charity should start at home, and right now, i think we need it worse than any other nation around. banks around the world are sitting on our IOUs. it is time to fix that.
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FYOUNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 9:11 AM
lets see...
The housing problem, and debt, can be blamed on rap music. Rap videos have people "makin it rain" i.e., no care for money, because it wasn't gained through hard work. And all have fancy cars. Which explains the Navigators and likem sitting outside of trailors and apartments, but at least when you're out on the town, you look "ballin." Rap has created an illusion kids and idiots strive to achieve. So people live outside their means. The banks are a business, and may allow you buy to buy a home you can't afford with very little to no down payment. So when you're life style catches up with you, you lock the door and leave because you have nothing invested in your home, so F-it. Okay, brace yourself, T.V. is not reality, it is business, and to buy into "the have to have to be cool" is all a marketing scheme. Don't feel bad for falling into the trap, chances are your dumb, hey you listened to rap in the first place.
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escapeNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 11:17 AM
I have heard it said....
that the Dem's are for the poor and the Repub's are for the rich. Is this true?
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FYOUNot Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 12:50 PM
Reply to escape: not true...
They are all self serving.
38graham97Not Logged In
 7/28/2011 at 1:58 PM
Let see
After the initial recovery from the 9/11/01 attacks, this country had an awesome period of growth. January 2007 rolls around, things start going downhill. Something occurred at that point, hmmmmm, it'll come to me. Since then, it's been downhill ever since. The taxpayers of this country too a major bath on the bailouts of GM and Chrysler. Wow, wish I could get a loan and not have to pay it all back. Yes, the republicans spent money like crazy for a few years, and paid for it in 2006. However, there was more money around, so it didn't turn into the debt like Obama has been piling up since he got the checkbook. There were ALL these shovel ready projects that were going to take place. Yeah, didn't happen. So many people get up in arms about companies going to Mexico (GM) or overseas, but if it's cheaper to run the business somewhere else, you can't fault a company for doing that. It's pretty sad and sick that American companies have to resort to leaving this country in order to be competitive. SO, why not cut corporate tax rates? I bet if it were cheaper to run a business here, you might even see other companies move to this country. Not to mention, if its cheaper to run a business, that leaves more money to hire people (which is the #1 expense of running a business).

I don't understand why it's so bad to be rich these days. People like direstraitsb think the rich need to be punished. Why? I would love to be rich one day. SO, it makes me work to figure out how to get to that level. Don't hinder me, let me get there.
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