Originally Posted By Dabob2 "See, there it is again----what's with you??? Reread please." And why don't you read what *I* said? I said it was fine to take every legal loophole available, but like Leona, who took advantage of legal things not available to most before she dipped into illegality and bragged about paying less than most people, it will not endear you to people. Fair share is not the same as LEGAL share. And yes, it's the fault of the folks who write the laws for the benefit of moneyed interests. As is often said, outright criminality in DC pales next to what people get away with that is perfectly legal. Just don't expect us to be cheering you on while you avoid taxes the rest of us pay, any more than we'd cheer GE for paying zero on billions in profit. It may be legal, but ethical? Open question (and of course raises the need to close some loopholes). You may be passing the legal hurdles, but like GE, you remain part of the problem. Did GE pay its legal share? Unfortunately, yes. Its fair share? Nope.
Originally Posted By dshyates Arrogance and pretension are endearing qualities. "Bragging Rights" are by definition contentious.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Why hasn't the 'liberal media' been able to help our liberal President? Seems like it would be free sailing from now until 2012.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Why hasn't the 'liberal media' been able to help our liberal President?<< Right. Jon Stewart is right on top of this. It's not a "liberal" media, but a sensationalist media. It's just that the concept of a "liberal media" fits with conservative perspectives better than it does liberal ones. Stewart had a sad, and all too predictable, bit last night about all the news stations waiting for Nancy Pelosi to speak after Anthony Weiner resigned. She got up to the mic and said she wouldn't discuss Weiner but was here to discuss jobs and the economy. Every single station cut away from her remarks after she said that. Wolf Blitzer even commented on how they didn't want to cover the Weiner scandal, just jobs and the economy. Gee, if only you were in a position to do something about that.... It's hard to know, however, how much of this is the media's fault and how much is it just that they know through years of experience that Americans won't tune into politicians discussing real issue, but they'll greedily eat up a scandal.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>It's hard to know, however, how much of this is the media's fault and how much is it just that they know through years of experience that Americans won't tune into politicians discussing real issue, but they'll greedily eat up a scandal.<< In part, I blame CNN's "Crossfire." Hoping to grab some of that red-meat-lovin' talk radio audience, the show was basically the template for most political shows that would follow. Every topic was argued from two extreme positions, and once stated, it was all about getting in shots at the other side. The hosts were often coached to amp up the anger and rhetoric -- and we see that today in a big way. I don't know that Crossfire was ever a ratings jauggernaut, but in that format, political zealots on both sides saw opportunity. Outrage, real or phony, sells. And it's easier than actually figuring out solutions to complex problems.
Originally Posted By barboy2 I did read your Matrix style leap of a wrong assumption: ///And this excuses you not paying your fair share since 2004.. how?///
Originally Posted By Dabob2 It's not a wrong assumption. Again, check the difference between LEGAL share and FAIR share. Unless you've just been blowing smoke, you've been bragging about avoiding paying taxes, getting breaks that most of us here are not able to get. That's no more fair than GE paying nothing (quite legally).
Originally Posted By barboy2 Since you 'know' that I don't pay my fair share please tell me how much money you would like me to pay. 150K? 367K? 436K? By the way do you pay more than you're obligated to pay? What's that I hear? You said "NO'....Well then maybe it's best you keep your laptop shut ortherwise you paint yoursef in a hypocritical fashion. That applies to the 'show me' carpetbagger too.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Since you 'know' that I don't pay my fair share please tell me how much money you would like me to pay.>> Your fair share would be about 20% of your income. I don't believe in the top marginal rate being 35% because it just encourages the creation of loopholes. I would like a flat tax rate where the first $25,000 of everyone's income is exempt from taxes and then pays 20% on everything else. No deductions, no nothing. I think it would result in the wealthy paying significantly more than they pay now. Of course if the U.S. went to a flat tax folks like you would probably just start hiding their income and report only a fraction of what they actually made. The only good part of that is then instead of taking advantage of legal loopholes you would be doing something clearly illegal and would hopefully be caught.
Originally Posted By barboy2 barboy out, I'll see you on the other side of the globe in Bali, Indonesia(my first time).....MOSQUITOS, TERRORISTS AND TYPHOONS OH MY!!!!!
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<By the way do you pay more than you're obligated to pay? What's that I hear? You said "NO'....>> It is possible that Dabob isn't paying any more this his "legal" share, but is still paying his "fair" share. He may be paying all the taxes he is legally obligated to pay, and nothing more, and still paying more of a fair-share than most wealthy people who have the ability to take advantage of more tax breaks than ordinary citizens can. Sometimes fair-share can equal legally-obligated share.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Since you 'know' that I don't pay my fair share please tell me how much money you would like me to pay. > It's not about what that. You're missing the point. So I'll run it down again. You brag about avoiding taxes the rest of us have to pay because of your situation. There are two points about that: a). I don't expect anyone to pay more than they legally have to. BUT (and this is not a contradiction), I can see the unfairness in the loopholes - like the loopholes that let GE pay nothing - and say that what is legal needs to change. b). If you go around bragging that you're avoiding taxes that others have to pay, don't expect to get cheered for it. You really seem to have been caught short by this - like you expected us all to say "atta boy!" instead of "you're part of the problem." But I keep coming back to Leona. Long before she broke the law, she followed the law and got away with paying next to nothing, then bragging about it because "only the little people pay taxes." Sadly, that's true, all too often. You can't expect the little people to be happy about that.
Originally Posted By ADMIN <font color="#FF0000">Message removed by an administrator. <a href="MsgBoard-Rules.asp" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards.</font>
Originally Posted By ADMIN <font color="#FF0000">Message removed by an administrator. <a href="MsgBoard-Rules.asp" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards.</font>
Originally Posted By ADMIN <font color="#FF0000">Message removed by an administrator. <a href="MsgBoard-Rules.asp" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards.</font>
Originally Posted By ADMIN <font color="#FF0000">Message removed by an administrator. <a href="MsgBoard-Rules.asp" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards.</font>
Originally Posted By tiggertoo <<Are we talking ourseleves into another recession?>> We are winnowing ourselves down to an oligarchy...or at the very least a plutocracy. And the Tea Party idiots are sucking up the Kool-Aid their masters are giving them, and talking themselves into their own (and our) demise. Seriously, the more I watch these extreme conservatives, the more I'm reminded of the way Kim Jong Il has managed to influence North Koreans. It's sad, very sad.
Originally Posted By ADMIN <font color="#FF0000">Message removed by an administrator. <a href="MsgBoard-Rules.asp" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards.</font>
Originally Posted By ADMIN <font color="#FF0000">Message removed by an administrator. <a href="MsgBoard-Rules.asp" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards.</font>
