What Is Wrong With America ?

[Bombur]

Can we reset your brain into understanding that the responsibility to support yourself is ONLY yours?

/

Every citizen is a potential asset and liability. It is in the nations best interest to have as many people working as possible and to reduce crime or reduce the instances where a citizen does something harmful.

There is also the fact that we are not simply millions of individuals but families and communities that rely on one another and share a common bond. We do not simply view each as other clogs in the machine but as fellow human beings who we have a moral obligation to.

Your comment might be 100% correct true but it is ultimately meaningless when discussing policy.

 

[Immanuel]

Let me repeat

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DOLLAR 14 AND DOLLAR 200,000 .....IT HURTS LESS TO LOSE THE LAST......THATS JUST COMMON SENSE

If you think someone making 200,000 is bothered as much by a $2000 tax or even a $20000 tax as is someone making 20,000 is by a $2000 you are a fool.

This country is heading over a cliff, if we don't start paying down our debt, and the only way realistically to do it is to bring taxes on the rich up to a point that they were in the past, and/or reduce loopholes that the wealthy use.

You may very well be right that it is the only way but what gives you the right to punish the rich for the mistakes made by the government supposedly to benefit the poor? I say supposedly, because so much of our entitlement programs are appropriated by those in power in Washington.

Immie

what gives you the right to punish the common man for mistakes by government that benefit the rich,....such as the recent bank bailouts.

Who is punishing the common man? He is not paying taxes and won't. Politicians will just add it to the national debt until they finally default on the loan.

Immie

 

[protectionist]

You may very well be right that it is the only way but what gives you the right to punish the rich for the mistakes made by the government supposedly to benefit the poor? I say supposedly, because so much of our entitlement programs are appropriated by those in power in Washington.

Immie

Why is it thought to be "punishing" to restore the normal tax rates of the USA, before Reagan came along and rearranged everything, and threw the whole country into a tailspin that we haven't recovered from yet ?

And why is it thought that restoring the normal tax rate, is for mistakes made by the govt, when these rates 70-92% rates, are the normal rates that have existed in America for most of the past 95 years ?

As for "appropriated by those in power in Washington", could you clarify that ?

Can we reset your brain into understanding that the responsibility to support yourself is ONLY yours?

No you can't. You see my brain comes from 1946 (long before Reagan and the rise of greed). It comes from a time when Americans pulled together, and helped each other out. And when taxes on the rich were 91-92% and the thought was to keep Civil Defense (that's what we called it then) strong, and conserve American values, and not let it wither away into the fiasco we have now, LIKE whole cities where a language other than English is expected to be spoken. It was a time when it was unheard of to be letting criminals out of prisons because there were not the funds to house them, or build new prisons. It was a time long before fire stations closed, and animal control offices told people you'll have to start picking up your own dead animals - "WE DON"T HAVE THE FUNDS"

So NO, you can't reset my brain to go to the Reaganist mindset that this country has degraded down into of protecting the rich from taxation, AT ALL COSTS. I'm more concerned about the costs. Especially national security.

 

[Immanuel]

Let me repeat

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DOLLAR 14 AND DOLLAR 200,000 .....IT HURTS LESS TO LOSE THE LAST......THATS JUST COMMON SENSE

If you think someone making 200,000 is bothered as much by a $2000 tax or even a $20000 tax as is someone making 20,000 is by a $2000 you are a fool.

This country is heading over a cliff, if we don't start paying down our debt, and the only way realistically to do it is to bring taxes on the rich up to a point that they were in the past, and/or reduce loopholes that the wealthy use.

You may very well be right that it is the only way but what gives you the right to punish the rich for the mistakes made by the government supposedly to benefit the poor? I say supposedly, because so much of our entitlement programs are appropriated by those in power in Washington.

Immie

Why is it thought to be "punishing" to restore the normal tax rates of the USA, before Reagan came along and rearranged everything, and threw the whole country into a tailspin that we haven't recovered from yet ?

And why is it thought that restoring the normal tax rate, is for mistakes made by the govt, when these rates 70-92% rates, are the normal rates that have existed in America for most of the past 95 years ?

As for "appropriated by those in power in Washington", could you clarify that ?

Confiscatory tax policy is by definition punishment.

Immie

 

[protectionist]

Can we reset your brain into understanding that the responsibility to support yourself is ONLY yours?

/

Every citizen is a potential asset and liability. It is in the nations best interest to have as many people working as possible and to reduce crime or reduce the instances where a citizen does something harmful.

There is also the fact that we are not simply millions of individuals but families and communities that rely on one another and share a common bond. We do not simply view each as other clogs in the machine but as fellow human beings who we have a moral obligation to.

Your comment might be 100% correct true but it is ultimately meaningless when discussing policy.

Well said. "No man is an Island".

 

[protectionist]

You may very well be right that it is the only way but what gives you the right to punish the rich for the mistakes made by the government supposedly to benefit the poor? I say supposedly, because so much of our entitlement programs are appropriated by those in power in Washington.

Immie

Why is it thought to be "punishing" to restore the normal tax rates of the USA, before Reagan came along and rearranged everything, and threw the whole country into a tailspin that we haven't recovered from yet ?

And why is it thought that restoring the normal tax rate, is for mistakes made by the govt, when these rates 70-92% rates, are the normal rates that have existed in America for most of the past 95 years ?

As for "appropriated by those in power in Washington", could you clarify that ?

Confiscatory tax policy is by definition punishment.

Immie

YOUR definition, that's all.

 

[Bombur]

Confiscatory tax policy is by definition punishment.

Immie

The inclusion of the word "confiscatory" is at best redundant and at worst blatantly incorrect factually. Either way the rest of your statement is factually incorrect by definition.

I see little point in pointing you to a dictionary only to have you ignore it. Either way your argument should stand or fall based on the logic behind it and not your ignorance of the English language.

 

[ShawnChris13]

The real problem with America is the structured political system that everyone believes is looking out for their best interest. When politicians make over a million dollars from base pay in ten years there's definitely an issue that must be addressed. They abuse the public trust, and yet we squabble over bills that they are going to hold up and not vote on. Or otherwise have challenged by SCOTUS.

It's time to return the system to a point where the people tell the government what to do. Instead of the government telling us what to do. Some states have made it illegal to store rain water! Fishing without a license is more punishable than entering the country illegally. Politicians with cocaine keep their job, their benefits, and their freedom. Meanwhile any average joe goes to prison for ten years. The problem with America is Americans allowing a handful of people dictate our lives. The problem with America is the Super Bowl winner is more important than our rights being taken away by the NDAA or the Patriot Act. The problem with America is the divide we've allowed ourselves to create such a large chasm between us when we really have the same goal of helping those in need while encouraging self reliance. The problem with America is our leadership, and how far we've allowed the standard to fall. Millions of dollars on vacations and alcohol and clothes for politicians while children starve in the streets? The real problem with America is Americans. The people should wrench our freedoms back and our grasp should never faulter.

 

[OKTexas]

Maybe if you had taken 10 minutes to think about it, instead of only 9, you might have gotten it right. You're still WAYYYYYY off the mark. Think about it. And now you're twice as irresponsinble.

Really, $150.00 per hr X 40 hrs = $6,000.00 per wk X 52 = $312,000.00 per year. So no I'm right on the mark as you say, unless you lied about the $150.00 figure to begin with. If your calculations are different, as the teacher says, show your work.

HA HA> Who said anything about 40 hrs ? Answer: YOU DID.

Play your games of semantics, but keep in mind that semantics are the last bastion of a loser. Now that I know you're a senile old fool like fake jake I'll ignore your ignorance like I do his.

 

[Immanuel]

Confiscatory tax policy is by definition punishment.

Immie

The inclusion of the word "confiscatory" is at best redundant and at worst blatantly incorrect factually. Either way the rest of your statement is factually incorrect by definition.

I see little point in pointing you to a dictionary only to have you ignore it. Either way your argument should stand or fall based on the logic behind it and not your ignorance of the English language.

The fact is that the use of confiscation is punishment. The fact is that in this case they are most definitely using tax policy to confiscate property from others.
The fact is that in this discussion they are using tax policy to punish the rich.

No matter how you spin it, they are promoting the idea of punishing the rich using tax policy. That makes it a confiscatory tax policy and means it is being used as punishment.

Any time tax policy is used to confiscate property from one class it is being used as punishment. What else do you think dcraelin and protectionist are promoting?

Immie

 

[Silhouette]

.

Narcissism.

Left to right, top to bottom, all the way through.

.

The man takes the award! Give him a prize!!

It's the narcissistic disregard for "other than me". It pins people down to immediate present and renders them incapable of future planning.

Well done Mac!

 

[Silhouette]

Turn off the news, log off the internet, and stop reading the papers and you'll find there's nothing wrong with America.

The Silver metal goes to Mr. Clean. Well done Mr. Clean!

Regular people are basically good at heart. About 30% of them anyway. Elect these people as your leaders! Go for a walk, think positive. These are the things that will inspire you to act well when the moment is right.

 

[Silhouette]

In a nutshell, Americans are a bunch of spoiled infants addicted to wretched wasteful abundance and instant gratification. The only thing Americans are really the best in the world at is complaining.

In a recap of the previous two condensed nuggets of wisdom, occupied takes the bronze.

A round of applause for "occupied"!

 

[protectionist]

Really, $150.00 per hr X 40 hrs = $6,000.00 per wk X 52 = $312,000.00 per year. So no I'm right on the mark as you say, unless you lied about the $150.00 figure to begin with. If your calculations are different, as the teacher says, show your work.

HA HA> Who said anything about 40 hrs ? Answer: YOU DID.

Play your games of semantics, but keep in mind that semantics are the last bastion of a loser. Now that I know you're a senile old fool like fake jake I'll ignore your ignorance like I do his.

There's no sematics involved. You just jumped to a conclusion that I was talking about full time workers, working a 40 hour week, when I never said any such thing.
Your mistake, not mine. You made an assumption which (based on the information I provided), you had no right to make.

Actually, I said I paid my workers the equivalent of $150/hour. They worked on commission, and got 15% on a $1000 sale ($150), which it took them generally an hour to do. Roughly I'd say there were an average of a couple of these each week (ie. 2 sales/week paying $150 each) which is a total of $15,600/year.

Let this be a lesson to you. Never try to talk about information that you don't have.

 

[Silhouette]

What is wrong with America?


We have a generation of kids that have never known "work", aren't interested in knowing "work" and are used to being coddled by Mommy and Daddy.

They believe (and expect) their "fair share".





Pithy enough?

Randall Flagg gets honorable mention. He brings about full circle the points by the gold medalist that narcissism forces today's "parents" to not regard that their children even have a future without THEM always by their side. Coddling is just a way of getting the coddled to fawn, look up to, admire or depend on you. A very narcissistic trait of a parent indeed.

The future-disconnect is most prominently displayed in Randall Flagg's observation. Having not prepared their own children even to be separate beings, the narcissists cannot see that as they age, they need an infrastructure run by competent people [their own children] who have a keen sense of the school of hard knocks and how to avoid them through intelligent independent problem-solving.

Well done Randall!

 

[Immanuel]

Turn off the news, log off the internet, and stop reading the papers and you'll find there's nothing wrong with America.

The Silver metal goes to Mr. Clean. Well done Mr. Clean!

Regular people are basically good at heart. About 30% of them anyway. Elect these people as your leaders! Go for a walk, think positive. These are the things that will inspire you to act well when the moment is right.

Only 30%? As people go, I think the general public is basically good. I think the percentage is much higher than 30%. In fact, I suspect even TDM is generally a nice person when she is away from the keyboard.

Immie

 

[protectionist]

What is wrong with America?


We have a generation of kids that have never known "work", aren't interested in knowing "work" and are used to being coddled by Mommy and Daddy.

They believe (and expect) their "fair share".

Pithy enough?

Randall Flagg gets honorable mention. He brings about full circle the points by the gold medalist that narcissism forces today's "parents" to not regard that their children even have a future without THEM always by their side. Coddling is just a way of getting the coddled to fawn, look up to, admire or depend on you. A very narcissistic trait of a parent indeed.

The future-disconnect is most prominently displayed in Randall Flagg's observation. Having not prepared their own children even to be separate beings, the narcissists cannot see that as they age, they need an infrastructure run by competent people [their own children] who have a keen sense of the school of hard knocks and how to avoid them through intelligent independent problem-solving.

Well done Randall!

All fair enough, but who appointed you to hand out the awards ?

 

[Silhouette]

Only 30%? As people go, I think the general public is basically good. I think the percentage is much higher than 30%. In fact, I suspect even TDM is generally a nice person when she is away from the keyboard.

Immie

Depends on where you live. I live in a very indulgent area so narcissism flows like water over the Niagra Falls. Actually, 30% is maybe a little generous.

In the Heartland where christian or other similar moral structures are still in place, the percentage I'm sure is much higher than that.

Narcissism is diametrically opposed to the "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" Golden Rule. This is because a narcissist completely lacks the ability to process the concept of "others".

I know a couple clinically malignant narcissists and have been in a position to observe closely their actions, speech and behavior for years. They are like spiritual amputees who even if they wanted to consider others, are completely incapable of doing so and no therapy can even reach them because their elevated sense of self renders even trained professionals "beneath them".

It's a most insidious disease with varying degrees. Once an animal learns to disregard others in his or her actions and decisions, you have a predator on your hands. I call malignant narcissists "diet sociopaths". The only thing that keeps their apathic behaviors in check is their equally large addiction to being admired and shining in the eyes of their mirrors in the immediate sense. So they probably don't go around killing or maiming people for that reason; not from lack of sadism for sure. I get the feeling though like they would kill if it meant admiration or awe in others' [mirrors] eyes. No, I'm certain of that in fact.

Look at what we did in Iraq.. There is a very fine line between a narcissism and malignant narcissism. There's an even finer line between malignant narcissism and outright monsters.

It's a spectrum that goes like this: healthy narcissism in small doses, > moderate narcissism in more noticable warning doses,> malignant narcissism in unhealthy doses > and finally a sociopath in lethal doses. On the left end at its extreme end you have the Golden Rule. On the other end at its extreme you have complete unchecked sadism.

 

[ShawnChris13]

The real problem with America is the structured political system that everyone believes is looking out for their best interest. When politicians make over a million dollars from base pay in ten years there's definitely an issue that must be addressed. They abuse the public trust, and yet we squabble over bills that they are going to hold up and not vote on. Or otherwise have challenged by SCOTUS.

It's time to return the system to a point where the people tell the government what to do. Instead of the government telling us what to do. Some states have made it illegal to store rain water! Fishing without a license is more punishable than entering the country illegally. Politicians with cocaine keep their job, their benefits, and their freedom. Meanwhile any average joe goes to prison for ten years. The problem with America is Americans allowing a handful of people dictate our lives. The problem with America is the Super Bowl winner is more important than our rights being taken away by the NDAA or the Patriot Act. The problem with America is the divide we've allowed ourselves to create such a large chasm between us when we really have the same goal of helping those in need while encouraging self reliance. The problem with America is our leadership, and how far we've allowed the standard to fall. Millions of dollars on vacations and alcohol and clothes for politicians while children starve in the streets? The real problem with America is Americans. The people should wrench our freedoms back and our grasp should never faulter.

My post is way better than any of the 'awardees'.

 

[Bombur]

Confiscatory tax policy is by definition punishment.

Immie

The inclusion of the word "confiscatory" is at best redundant and at worst blatantly incorrect factually. Either way the rest of your statement is factually incorrect by definition.

I see little point in pointing you to a dictionary only to have you ignore it. Either way your argument should stand or fall based on the logic behind it and not your ignorance of the English language.

The fact is that the use of confiscation is punishment. The fact is that in this case they are most definitely using tax policy to confiscate property from others.
The fact is that in this discussion they are using tax policy to punish the rich.

No matter how you spin it, they are promoting the idea of punishing the rich using tax policy. That makes it a confiscatory tax policy and means it is being used as punishment.

Any time tax policy is used to confiscate property from one class it is being used as punishment. What else do you think dcraelin and protectionist are promoting?

Immie

Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online

HTH