Heres a little rebuttal to the media love affair thing. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-onthemedia27-2008jul27,0,712999.story Take it for what its worth, I didnt write the article.
I disagree. The numbers of super-rich are not growing, only their tax-sheltered fortunes. What is increasing is the numbers of upper-middle class people who have worked hard and have succeeded. People like SabanFan and myself. Some of them (guess who?) having come from humble origins and now living comfortably see themselves as part of the rich and successful and vote for republican issues that benefit the super rich, but really don't benefit the middle-class at all. I'm astonished that the republicans have managed to make many successful middle class Americans believe that they have more in common with the super-rich than with the rest of the middle class. But they don't. The gap is not growing between the middle class and the working poor, it is growing between the middle class and the super-rich.
Nice spin. It's not complicated. It's comparing income share to tax share. The top 1% of income earners pay 40% of taxes but their income share consist of only 22% of all income. (22% income but they paid 40% of taxes) This is progressive and I don't see how any rational person can dispute that. I think the person making 100mil/yr should pay the same rate as the person making $60k/yr. If that rich persons income is 100 times more then he should pay 100 times more. He should not be penalized for working hard and taking risk. I know you want to believe the Bush tax cuts on the rich have led to the current budget deficit but that's not reality. Taxes paid by millionaire households more than doubled to $274 billion in 2006 from $136 billion in 2003. Why do you think that is?
Peanut gallery? It's called a forum. People read what's written. Sometimes they respond. It's how it works. Semantics your favorite? Not much of a stretch there. Who doesn't think we could be better? But it doesn't mean we are bad. Sorry you feel so badly about your country, the majority here does not agree with you. And if immigrants had a choice what country they could go to, this would be the place. As to other countries taking immigrants, quite a few of them don't, and no other country has or does accept the number of immigrants that we do. It's not even close. America is a phenomenal country because of the opportunity provided to it's citizens, and even to it's immigrants. It is reality, and insulting it might make you feel better but it won't change it. No, you didn't use the word guilt and I am sure you will use that to claim you didn't imply that, but your statements leave little to the imagination. Really? I mean, Really? Did you read that before you wrote it??:lol: Are you willing to change the Constitution? I am willing to help provide the tools for people to succeed. I am not willing to financially support those that choose not to, or are simply not equal to the task. People should be rewarded for being better than the next guy, not punished.
Iraq became the battleground against the war on terror and those responsible for 9/11. The top 25% income earners paid 86% of all income taxes. (See my other post.) You're wrong if you think increasing taxes on the rich is going to somehow help the middle class. You are correct. Not enough tax dollars are going into the US economy. The truth is too much of the tax dollars are going to the government and not into the private sector where investments can be made and jobs can be created.
Why yes! How about the operation where we were tracing terrorists through their bank accounts? NY Times did a story and revealed the existence of the operation, and we had to discontinue.
Ok, my bad...Washington Post, not NY Times: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/23/AR2006062300167.html
