As some of you may recall, I was conflicted over who to vote for President. I'm a Libertarian, but have always voted Republican due to their supposed low taxation & little support of public welfare programs. However, I had grown completely sick of Republicans version of lower taxation, which far too aligned with big business, and public welfare system spending. I ended up not voting, as I could not bring myself to vote for either candidate. I believed that Obama would do some good things for international relations, taxation, and reducing our depence on foreign oil for the long-term, I was just afraid of at what cost. I also believed Obama to be the most intelligent & capable candidate, but could not tell what ultierior motives he may have had. Thus far into Obama's presidency, I feel I was correct. I believe Obama will do some very good things for this country, including health care & social security reform. I even believe he will do some good things with taxation, as the current system actually taxes the lowest income earners the most. However, his deficit spending and the size he is/will grow the government to makes me sick to my stomach. I still have not determined what ulterior motives he may have (and I don't think socialism is one of them). As far as I'm concerned, the Republican party stands for nothing but anti-gays right now. I did not bash GWB much as a President, but looking back I feel that his presidency was simply a game of hoping the status quo stayed in tact despite things all around us changing - setting our country back 8 years. I don't think that Cheney would have been any better. I hope this sparks some good debate... opcorn:
And Democrats are anti-Republicans. Neither party stands for anything. The Democrats and Republicans are only slightly less terrible than one another. It all depends on the issue.
as you are a libertarian, i understand why you could dislike bush. but for every reason bush is bad, obama is a bit worse or a lot worse. as far as bush being the leader of the anti-gay party, i dont see what the relevance is. obama and bush have the exact same policy regarding gays. obama is relgious and thinks marriage is for a man and woman, but is ok with civil unions, same with bush. also how can anyone give a **** either way? obama's health care policy is as far from libertarian as he could possibly be and still get elected. you cant really call yourself a libertarian if you favor obama's health care policy. obama has plans for social security reform? bush wasnt bad at international relations. he was stunningly good. the idea that obama will restore respect or whatever is nonsense and has no value. his actual policy is reasonably good, not much different than bush at this point though. obama is actually good at foreign policy because he is basically sticking with bush policy. clearly obama is smart and articulate. i dont think it is particularly relevant if a prez is smart. his ideology is what matters. sarah palin, though very stupid, favors superior policy. there are really two things a president should do, one is simple; lower taxes for everyone and keep the government as small as possible. the other is to manage international policy, which is pretty hard. almost everything supafan ever says is right, unless it involves the pope or somethin.
You will be roasted for some of your views, I fear. But its good debate and a good post. The deficit is very concerning.
I agree with most of your points but the taxation issue is just silly to me. I guess if everyone paid the same rate that would be un-fair right? We all use the same services. I could care less if you made 10k or 100k. Pay the same share as the next guy. This whole idea that those that make more can afford to pay more is just ridiculous.
His contention is most likely that rich people get paid $1 in salary from their jobs and encase their money in tax shelters. Capital gains taxes are like taxing income twice, that's why I'm not in favor of them. We are dangerously close in this country to punishing people for their success. I'm just not for that idea.
I guess the question should be..."Who's really running this country?" *The people - NO *Obama - NO *The Republicans - NO *Bush - NO *Pelosi & Reid - Ding, Ding, Ding This country has many problems and although we can point fingers at Obama, Bush, etc. - the main problem is this Congress. Look what they've done in the last few years. This is the root of all evil in this country and we can't expect Obama or any President to correct the problems that Pelosi, Reid, and associates have/and continue to create.
How do you figure? Income is income. Why should someone who gets most of his income from captial gains pay less taxes than someone who gets most of his income through salary?
true enough, some folks live off gains on investment and dont make a salary. i think a decent argument against capital gain taxes is that they discourage investment. plus any excuse to not tax something is good enough for me.
