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When it comes to balancing the federal budget, our country isn’t mythically “center right,” it is, in reality, ultra-left wing. From a recent 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll of American adults:
What would you do first to balance the budget?
In order to balance the budget, 61 percent of Americans would rather start by taxing the rich more and 20 percent would cut defense spending. Very few people would mess with Medicare (four percent) or cut Social Security (three percent).
An overwhelming majority of Americans think the absolute first thing we should do to balance the budget is increase taxes on the wealthy. There is a barely measurable, tiny minority that supports cutting the hallmarks of our liberal social safety net, Medicare and Social Security, before raising taxes on the rich or reducing our bloated defense budget.
This means the entire Congressional Republican caucus, with their near-unanimous opposition to tax increases of any kind and position that only spending cuts should be used to reduce the deficit, is dramatically outside the American mainstream on the issue deficit reduction.
If Democrats can’t exploit how significantly the elected Republican disagree with the American public on this issue in 2012 (when the Bush tax cuts are set again to expire), it will be an act of serious political malpractice.
41 Comments
It’s so understandable, really. The ultra rich have benefitted from what America offers above and beyond their fair share. Middle class wages have been flat for a decade (thanks, Bushites!), and the rich have raked in the goodies. Time to give back a fair share. It isn’t even to be questioned. Where are the realists who can put this into plain English that the populace can understand?
eat the rich
dude, you’re rich
its all relative, who asked you?
It’s all about doing the bidding of those who can afford to pay for your TV and radio ads, particularly nationwide.
That’s why http://www.publicamapaign.org is so important.
Damm I’m part of the majority now….liked being an outsider:)
link not working
Well, DEMs been seriously malpracticing politics for At LEAST 4 YEARS!
The problem isn’t where the Republicans disagree with the American public, it’s where the Democrats disagree with the American public. The Democrats never really wanted to cut those taxes on the rich, because they are the rich. All the Dems wanted was cover. The GOP gave it to Obama, and Obama gave to the Dems in Congress.
Tax ‘em. NOW!
You know what the alternative is, right? Punk rock does.
Damn, I can’t hear ya, Fox News is blasting in the back ground.
The rich have assets we need to tax that otherwise they will play games and claim no income
If the Democrats are still too fucking stupid to actually take advantage of this overwhelming public opinion they deserve to lose………again.
That head banging stuff doesn’t work for this old girl. Nice thoughts, though. I can’t stay on the street forever. That’s what I’ve come to learn.
Hey, Happy New Years to you, long time no see.
If 61% of Americans think that we should eat babies then that would be OK as well.
Depends. Boiled, or fried?
(((((Busted))))
Really long time. One foot in front of the other, here. You?
Which means it will be completely within character for them.
The rich got tax cuts but what did they use it for? Outsourcing jobs and investing overseas not creating jobs here.
Friedman at the NY Times and Greenspan are wrong about the global economy if we move jobs overseas America all throughout the Bush/Obama years will not create better high tech jobs.
Even when America does create these jobs well Bill Gates wants Indian computer geeks with Visas who work cheap not Americans.
Ayep.
Ya think Busted??
Happy New Year to you and Nasty girl Busted…
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My friend
Peace and love sign
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Sounds like the Willie Sutton school of tax policy: “Why tax the rich? Because that’s where the money is.”
Really. What else can we do? Hugs, again.
Jefferson warned of this aristocracy as he did the corporatist shell.
Aristocratic wealth entitlement and hoarding go hand in hand
http://www.tagolden.com/deathtax.pdf
“At birth everyone should be equal to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. At the time
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence this obviously was not the case. Thomas
Jefferson had slaves who never had a chance to reach his lofty goals. However, the standard for
America was established. A standard far superior than the rest of the world. A standard that would be
the goal of the masses.”
“In the rest of the world men were not born equal. The aristocracy of the old world was the wealthy
privileged class, and it controlled the rules and laws of society in order to make the aristocracy a birth
right. The aristocracy perpetuated itself at the expense of the masses, the poor, the serfs, the peasants,
the minorities, and the slaves. The aristocracy of old controlled the wealth which was usually by land
ownership. The land was passed from father to son for generations as dictated by the laws of the day.
The birth right of the nobles.”
I love that you are enjoying your graphics. You!
and that’s phrasing the question posed in right wing talking points
imagine if it were posed the correct way;
“to reduce the deficit, do you believe the president should reclaim middle class assets that were given to the wealthy”
watch the poll results with proper phrasing, it will be closer to 90 percent
Makes my eyeballs feel like they are blowing right out of my head.
Ding.
I bet that’s not the intended reaction Nahat was looking for.
The rich are stupid America is the biggest consumer of goods if we fail the world economy will stay slow for years. But But China is growing so fast!
Yes but after the Boxer Rebellion or Opium war does anyone think China will let foreigners control any part of their economy ever?
No control means less reason to turn over profits to shareholders when China can instead use the cash to make a better China.
Which is what Obama should be doing now.
sorry sniff sniff…
Hey demi New year! Hope all is well..
If the Dems can’t exploit this advantage. perhaps it is because they don’t really want to; why should they want to tax themselves?
Here is a petition for federal election reform, so that Congress will obey the people not corporations: http://www.petitiononline.com/PoliTru3/petition.html.
If we act together now, we can still save our country.
Great song!
*G*
This is not an isolated example of how far right-wing our government has become. 76% of Americans were in favor of a public option during the HCR debacle, and I’m sure you could get similar polling numbers on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. All policy is one big fat lie perpetrated by our government to serve the interests of themselves and the wealthy elite.
Yeah, I wish we’d do the same over here!
In many ways, China is just using old American models of economy. A fact that adds to the frustration.
That’s what the King said when we kicked him out!
But as it turned out, baby eating was never popular with the US public.
On the other hand, the King went on to make a veritable feast of the peoples of Asia. AKA The Opium Wars
Extreme wealth tends to crowd out concepts of love and joy… at least that’s been our experience with economic royalists.
So how does stuff like this happen? Let’s endeavor to reason! I would say people forget history. When God or Ancient Aliens genetically cleansed planet Earth they did not get all those that possessed the “MMMI,” aka as the Myopic-Me-Myself-&- I, chromosome.
The Ancient Alien theory contents humans actual are a slave race. Jefferson like many other enlightened men throughout history have sought to free men of the bonds which enslave them. The institution of slavery abolished in the modern era under our law is an aberration from history. When viewed in a larger context one could argue, progress for the better. Man’s affinity to develop natural aristocracies is well documented, also. America’s founders envisioned something different. They envisioned a nation predicated on “reason” within the moral constraints of many religions whose practices is protected by law. Where freedom to dissent is considered necessary in reasoned pluralistic debate, in a democracy. Opposed to being burned for theorizing the sun was at the center of the solar system. Finally a ” separation between “state and religion,” where the “absolutes” of religious doctrine cloud the grounds of rational debate like a swam of locus feeding. Leaving nothing, in the swam’s wake.
The “AMERICAN DEATH TAX” was the mechanism to keep in check, aristocracies. The entitlement of wealth to wealth, breeds the likes of Caligula. Today 61% of Americans support increased taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Jefferson would support this without, doubt. The consolidation of wealth within corporate shells administered by corporate aristocratic, consolidating power and contriving schemes undermining liberty, while extracting copious liberty and destroying a standard of living for a nation and it people is what Jefferson feared. We are living it and the rule of law is being used to perpetuate this system.
History now repeats as certain interests once refused to relinquish their claim to ownership of human being’s for the exploitation of the slave’s ENERGY, for profit, because, it cost to much to change? Perry Logan states “Eat the Rich.” I disagree! If you eat them, you cannot tax them? I say the tax the rich and the corporate shell’s created by law which allow the accumulation of wealth tax free. For instance Exxon Mobile is reported to have paid no corporate tax in America. However Exxon Mobile is the second largest corporation in America engaged in the energy business selling America gas.
The next time you fill up your gas tank, if you can? Remember you are wasting .80 cents of every dollar you spend on gas? Now this di minimus “negative aggregate effect” of every individuals wasting of .80 cents of value for every gallon of gasoline purchased (for how many decades,) is an undeniable loss of wealth for the republic and the nation. This single individual act, purchasing gas is protected, instilled and keeps Americans in a state of bondage like slaves. Now, instead of sound energy policies, we get Citizen United, the modern era Scott v Sanford, folks. This overt protection of the corporate shell controlled by corporatist can be likened to the Taney Court’s decision in Scott vs Sanford, protecting the interest of slave-owners who did challenge the rule of law, the constitution and took this nation to civil war to protect their way of doing business, because it cost to much to change? Sound familiar! Just say no! Lets not forget our history. The unwillingness of slave owners to change. Now corporations can spend all the cash needed perpetuate American economic servitude to corporations, as the colonist where in servitude to a King, in a lop-side business relationship leveraged under mercantile colonial law, or a slave subordinate to his master.
It is time for the wealthiest of Americans, who do “get It” to step up to the plate and be Americans. The redistribution of wealth offered by learned men for the betterment of a society and a republic in a reasoned and equitable manner is an American value from our nation’s inception! Like, “Have you pledge your sacred honor, you life, your family’s wealth and property to a cause, an ideal worth dying for under pain of death? FUCK NO!
Wealthy Americans still would maintain a standard of living well above the average American and their sacrifice is nothing compared to “”sacrifices”" made by other Americans protecting this nation from enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC!
So how does stuff like this happen? Let’s endeavor to reason! Little black boxes brainwashing minds? The abdication of reason? Looking forward without realizing how we got here? Most important! The failure of the Ancient Aliens to genetically cleanse Earth of the MMMI Chromosome. Manifest by man’s myopic self interest called, “greed and avarice” by the Gods!
http://hubpages.com/hub/Avarice-versus-Greed
Who cares. They are both terrible parties. What will happen if the Democrats do exploit this “weakness” of the Republicans? Will the Democrats all of a sudden become less corrupt and stop sucking Wallstreet’s cock.
STOP!!! These parties represent only one thing: consolidation of power. Anyone with some independent thought would be disparaging both of these corrupt institutions instead of talking about how one side can get upper hand on the other.
I’m sick of this same stupid shit…wake up.
Welcome to FireDogLake, jerome!
“The consolidation of wealth within corporate shells administered by corporate aristocratic, consolidating power and contriving schemes undermining liberty, while extracting copious liberty and destroying a standard of living for a nation and it people is what Jefferson feared. We are living it and the rule of law is being used to perpetuate this system.”
The very reason why Madison and Jefferson wanted restrictions on “corporations,” is for the undue influence they exert on the political process today, usurping rights and liberties of individuals and the welfare of a nation. Citizens United is a “bullshit” decision as rank as Scott vs Sanford. It requires an abdication of reason only a slave owner could justify, to perpetuate a corrupt system predicated on the obliteration of rights, using the color of law.