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House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says it's time for Americans to "come to grips with the fact...
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Wednesday, August 3, 2011, 6:20 PM ETHouse Majority Leader Eric Cantor says it's time for Americans to "come to grips with the fact that promises have been made that frankly are not going to be kept for many," and young people must "adjust" to a future with fewer entitlements. Straight talk for a change, or a betrayal?
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Boomers adjusting to less? Doesn't Cantor realize "Grandma" is now a Boomer??
The government took money from the "boomers" all the years they worked and forced them to be in the system with no chance of opt outs.
If what was paid for is not now forthcoming then refund the money confiscated all those years.
How about if you paid for medical insurance and when you and your family put in a claim they told you to drop dead? Tell me the difference...............
talk about screwing us twice
We pay for the oldsers and nobody pays for us
thanks Boomers!
The problem in what you wrote:
"The Boomers created a $2.6 Trillion SURPLUS in the SS Fund for their retirement. Now that they're retiring, they're told it has been "borrowed" (plundered) and spent."
Maybe for the first few years there was really a Social Security fund. The truth of the matter is there never was one. Not for decades and decades. It has just been one big rob Peter to pay Paul scheme and now the jig is up.
Will SS be my only source of income in retirement, no. Is it accurate to call it an "Entitlement", NO! If you want to take it away from me, I'll go ahead and take the money I've put in plus the average market interest over the years I've paid in.
Guns and ammo - it's not just a magazine anymore.
However, it's the Republicans who want to rob the SS participants of their contributions to fund the Bush tax cuts for the rich and for the continuation of these tax cuts into the future. That's what all this talk of entitlement reform is all about.
Anyone check the CD rates at your local banks lately?
The real funny part of all this?
None of it is real.
Income taxes go to paying interest at the Federal Reserve. You are paying a global banker. None of it goes to where you think it does. All of it is theft, and it is illegal. The Founders warned of this long ago and it is now here.
Watch this.
www.youtube.com/watch?...
It'll be a loooooong time before I even think about looking for another scapegoat.
I think you suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
Steve Miller wrote a song about this, "Your cash aint nothin' but trash".
Enron, WorldCom and the Arthur Andersen frauds were not orchestrated out of WS but they used WS to acheive their goals. Just like some Chinese companies are doing now. Don't confuse WS with the actual actors doing the fraud. Similair to charging GM with bank robbery because someone uses a Buick as a getaway car.
Social Security is already disappearing through inflation. We don't need the government to take real dollars from everyone and then return us pennies later then tell us they kept their promise. That is where we are headed unfortunately.
Reducing our military spend is fine with me. Secure our borders and let everyone else kill each other for a while. Better find our service men and women something to do back here in the US when we bring them home. Our press will go around the world and show us the atrocities and indirectly tell us we should feel guilty but I am sure China will step in. We are waning in power as we don't have the resources to spend Trillions in transfer payments and also be an active player internationally.
now go to your room.
We have more money around than we need, but it is constantly being redirected into the pockets of those that need it the least. If our populace would actually wake up and stop drinking the right-wing, fleece-your-nest-egg kool-aid, we might get something done around here that would benefit someone other than the top two percent of society. Otherwise, start polishing those apples and sharpening those pencils. You will soon be selling them on street corners. Hooverville II, here we come, thanks to the Koch Brothers, Tea Party, and other delusional, selfish thinkers. It's the rule of Morons.
I'm all in favor of wiping the tax slate clean. No deductions for anyone. You spend your money as you see fit and I'll spend mine.
But lets be clear. All the farm subsidies and oil subsidies amount what each year? If I believe the general news they are reporting oil is 5 billion a year. Farm is around 40 billion? So out of a 1.4 Trillion deficit thats 45 Billion. That leaves 1.355 Trillion to go.
And I'm in favor of reducing military spending. Close overseas bases, develop but don't buy as many weapons systems, reduce the number of military commands and thin the ranks of senior officers writing papers. Lets say 33% reduction. That gets you another 200 some Billion. So now 1.1 Trillion to go.
Now what do you want to cut? Well all the "discretionary" spending has increased dramatically in the last two years and in the past 10 years. Which programs? Which services to the poor? Which environmental protection? Education department a good place to start?
Then there are the bureaucrats. Step raises on top of merit raises. Salaries and government levels achieved by getting worthless pieces of paper. Security clearances somehow worth 6 figures. Gold standard of health care and pensions. Government employees are the new "upper middle class". So you want to say 25% reductions?
The simple truth of our federal budget is that Defense spending, SS, and Medicare are the three largest drivers..... soon to be joined by interest on the debt.
The programs will have to be changed. Social Security retirement age will have to be lifted to at least 70. The disability part of SS desperately needs reform and the rolls need to be cleaned out of all the folks using it as early retirement. Partial means testing will have to be implemented at the top end. Medicare has to see its age raised to at least 67-68, and we will have to put in place parameters of what will be covered and that means some things won't be covered. Modern medicine is nothing like it was even 20 years ago. Basic care, preventative, "normal old age procedures" like hip replacements and hearing aids, all can be easily covered. But what about nursing homes? Should society pay for what people's children aren't willing to provide? How will we address the vast resources spent on dying?
And yes, I believe taxes on those earning the most will have to increase. We need a new tax bracket at 1 million and another at 10 million. But that revenue should really go to paying down the 14 Trillion we owe! And something else - everyone has to pay something! Its obscene that half of all people pay no federal income taxes. Yes, they all pay other taxes but thats no excuse. Until everyone has some ownership the demands for spending money will never cease.
And I don't know why you assume I support Wall Street and the banks - I write constantly that the largest banks should be toast and the fraud has to be prosecuted. But guess what? Your Democratic party is just as bought and paid for as the Republicans.
And I might add that if you look at what the projected trajectory of our budget going out 50 years the situation is even worse. The longer these programs exist in their present state, the worse our children and grandchildren will have it.
So you can call me a moron. You can decide my ideas are daft. Thats ok. Unfortunately, it doesn't change the facts of our budget situation.
IMO, we've had the greatest generation get replaced by the "entitled" generation. My father was lower middle class (some years less than that), he paid income taxes every year. He is amazed that today, when the government is broke, he is being sent money. He knows what it is - he's spending his grandchildren's futures. Because all the money people like to believe is "their's" was spent by the politicians they elected and made demands on.
Good summary of the scope of the problem and where the big numbers live that need to be managed.
Two points though:
1. If SSA is raised to 70 then it should be shut down as a fraud. Average US male lives to 76 which means he would pay in 40 to 50 years for 6 years of SSA. No thanks that is highway robbery.
2. Not everyone is paying Federal Taxes and that has created the largest moral hazard in world history. SSA is not meant to be a tax for discretionary spend so I don't count it. Everyone needs to be Federally taxed to fund discretionary spend so we all get on the same page that it needs to be managed. At that point a lot of people will be saying "NO" to more spend.
I think the boomers have had many, many decades to prevent this mess. They also felt smarter than their parents which you would think would lead to better results but so far the evidence is that they are not. Spoiled, self-indulgent and arrogant might be a better description.
One thing that I learned a long time ago was that of those that grew up in the Great Depression, half became savers and half became spenders. The boomers are the off-spring of those folks. Half the boomers are savers while half are spenders. That is why we have a fractured government and 45% of the households paying 0% FIT.
You are going to have to convince the spenders to become savers instead of just calling boomers "spoiled, self-indulgent and arrogant ". Nothing gets accomplished by just namecalling as a lot of posters are doing.
I agree but I think the evidence speaks for itself. If people are not humble they will NEVER change until they are broken which means our country has to go into an awful tail spin for them to reach that point. If they think they are smarter than their parents and have figured out everything then they have nothing to learn so we go on. That is arrogance. Spoiled is that their parents wanted a lot for them and they still want more. Self indulgent in that they want a check and they want it now.
And I am a boomer so I am blasting my own in this post. These attitudes have now permeated the culture and non-boomers and now we lack leadership to turn it around.
"Ask now what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country" was buried with JFK.
But the fraudulent republicans & their companies will surely come begging for QE3
Democrat spending us into oblivion didn't work & Eric Cantors mantra wont work either.
Great depression II or bust... whether its straight deflationary or hyperinflation QE, its the same result for the people... you're right Cantor
Medicaid is unfunded.
Medicaid is funded by payroll deduction. States also pay half. Medicaid is welfare, not an 'entitlement'.
Don't hold your breath.
1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the chain deflated CPI .
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. Congressmen are not allowed to trade securities while in office.
8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.
9. Impose 50% surtax on any post-Congress income any of them earn if any committee position they had in while in office did anything that even remotely impacted the business/taxes/etc of the company they end up working for after leaving office.
BTW-All for the above list. All that needs to happen is for congress to pass it, wait, aw....
I agree. We need a regular infusion of new blood rather than decades of entrenched politicians.
======================...
new blood vs old blood
white vs black
man vs female
what about infusion of qualified people
If being a congressman was so tough they would all quit and not do that fluffy job until they were in their 80's and 90's. What a joke.
We change astronauts every so often we can definitely change these idiots.
Absolutely correct! The problem is campaign financing and lobbying. ALL campaigns should be publicly financed and K Street should be given a napalm blanket!
Campaign finance reform was discussed to death as well, and the Supreme Court decided to go the other way and call corporations "individuals". It's gonna be one ugly election season.
HMMM...17% to 86% RAISES IN SALARY FOR HIS WHITE HOUSE STAFF MEMBERS!
Hey Obama & Congress, Last year I mismanaged my $ & this year my wife & I cannot decide on a budget. Until we come to a unified
decision that fits our needs & interests, we will have to shut down our checkbook & will no longer be able to pay our taxes. I'm sure you'll
understand. Thank you very much for setting an example that we can all follow.
Americans need to take a look at their rights and become far more interested in their government and in their own freedom. For too long we've been comfortable being told what is best for us.
Outside of ethanol which is a complete government money pit the energy industry pays very high taxes. Energy at the pump is also taxed like crazy by government. And we the consumers pay those taxes but oh well it is going to a good cause.
Military spend is voted on every year so that is up to our stellar leadership in WDC to manage. I think it should be cut dramatically but it is an overstatement to say this is all about military contractors. Ag has always been receiving subsidies and especially the corporate farms. Less food would be good for Americans................ some weight.
SSA needs to be restructured if it is going to survive. Too many people on it and not enough people paying into it.
Taxes cannot go high enough to take care of all the the USG wants to spend and that is the core of the problem. The USG has to pick its battles because we cannot fund them all.
Because the American people listen to this dipS#!+.
All the talk of creating more jobs by cutting spending: a bunch of hooey. All that the cutting of spending will do is justify the tax cuts that should never have happened and should be rescinded as soon as possible. Meanwhile millions will suffer, crime will rise, bankruptcy will become rampant, the real estate meltdown will gain momentum, and the people will still fail to blame the real culprits: tea partiers and their rich corporate and Republican cohorts, who are laughing, even squealing, all the way to their piggy banks.
So while both operations need to be ended, we still have tough work to do with our allies. Either they provide some of the money to develop these weapon systems, or they will need to agree to start developing them on their own.
Basically if we are to keep NATO in something like its present form, there has to be a transfer of financial burden from the USA to other allied members.
Anyone that has spent time in Eastern Europe would be hard pressed to argue that we should simply abandon NATO.
Personally, I believe the answer is two fold. One is to close at least a third to 1/2 of our overseas bases. Work with our allies to have them keep "vital" bases open with their own personnel and money. The second is to keep developing weapon systems, but buy much fewer of them.
In today's world, there are different threats (cyber) that didn't exist 20 years ago. And there are threats (Soviet Union) that simply don't exist. Its time to restructure our approach - it will still be costly - but the costs can be brought down to 3% give or take of GDP.
We do spend too much on defense but we spend a ton of wealth on health and education. In the case of education we are not seeing the results for the spend so we have hit diminishing returns. On health we have a real runaway problem as the USG is now paying 57% of all medical bills.
Cut defense and look to restructure education and health. The education system will fight change so look out. Health is going to be a train wreck on our current course.
I was just a kid during Viet Nam protesting, but I can see it coming to that level before all is said and done. The debt debate and it's lack of any meaningful change points to pitched battles over Federal largesse for years to come.
Please, politicians, talk to us like adults, and bypass the media circus. Everyone under 55 needs to start preparing for a different future now.
Please do not just regurgitate the standard democratic or liberal talking points. Try to keep and open mind, do research, and then form your opinion. He are the fact according to Bureau of Economic Analysis. Government spending has risen to 37% of gross domestic product from 27% in 1960. According to projections used by the bureau, that would rise to 50% by 2038. The Tax Foundation reported that from 1986 through 2009 (the most recent year for which data are available), the share of federal income tax paid by the top 5% of income earners rose from 43% to 59%, while those who paid zero income tax or were net recipients of income from the government rose from 18.5% to 51%.
The only reason the 'share' of income taxes paid by the top went up is because their share of the income went up even faster. It is not like they are paying more taxes per dollar of income. What a specious argument! They can afford to pay it and more. The reason the rest of tax receipts are declining is because the rest of us are going broke. I am not weeping for the rich (greedy) class.
Perhaps that's because the average annual household income of the top 5% has risen 108% since 1975, and the bottom 20% has risen 10.7%. Those numbers suggest the percentage of total taxes they pay should be higher yet.
I lived under a government that was liberal in the 1950's, 60's, and 70's. I can tell you without any equivocation it is much better that this Conservative S#!+.
Yes, we had out troubles, but, by and larger we all pulled together for the common good. And guess what we all paid taxes.
I remember it well. This country started going down hill when Reagan was voted into office. Been downhill ever since.
Why don't you like that?
"Defense & Stupid Projects?"
Just a little reminder for you.
Obama's failed stimulus cost almost as much as Bush's war.
Remember the one that was promised to keep unemployment down with "shovel ready' projects to buy more union votes via Davis-Bacon?
Funny thing, that was all a lie, never happened.
Neither the projects nor the results.
Instead it was just used for handouts so state and municipal union employees need not to engage in any shared sacrifice, as was being endured by the private sector.
I see they got you falling for their BS.
Fact is, both sides are dirty. And as long as people like you continue to actually believe one side is superior to the other, it will continue to work as designed.
Wake Up!
In the first 19 months of the Obama administration, the federal debt held by the public increased by $2.5260 trillion, which is more than the cumulative total of the national debt held by the public that was amassed by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan. I think four basic steps are needed. (1) Reduce the spending levels to the last year of the Bush Administration. (2) Freeze spending for the next 2 years or more. (3) Review each and every goverment agency/department to determine if they are needed and what is the correct funding level. (4) Review all entitlement programs. It's not the governments function to confiscate from other citizens (even the "rich") ones to provide for your welfare that's your opportunity and responsibility. You can’t redistribute your way to prosperity; you can only growth your way there. Over taxing, excessive regulation and heavy public debt load make it hard for the economy to grow. Don't weep for the rich, aspire to be one that is the american dream.
The ONLY reason is that goverment spending is growth faster then GDP. In 1965 the median household income was $39,732, per household spending (federal, state, & local) was $21,893 per household. In 2009 the median household income was $50,255 and household spending(federal, state, & local) was $47,824. The result is that total goverment spending more then doubled since 1965. Even if your second observation has a speck of truth in it about the "good old days", we have created a economic climate where you are not rewarded to reinvest. As for your third argument that is just nonsense. We spent almost 1 trillion on "stimulus" money and have had QEI, QEII, QEIII (maybe) from the Federal Reserve and what are the results. Higher unemployment, larger deficits, higher energy prices, and a worthless currency. That worked well didn't it.
I don't want to confuse you with facts but here are a coupe you may have forgot.
Real GDP per working-age adult, which had increased at only a 0.8 annual rate during the Carter administration, increased at a 1.8 percent rate during the Reagan administration.
Reagan increase in productivity growth was even higher: output per hour in the business sector, which had been roughly constant in the Carter years, increased at a 1.4 percent rate in the Reagan years. Productivity in the manufacturing sector increased at a 3.8 percent annual rate, a record for peacetime.
The unemployment rate declined from 7.0 percent in 1980 to 5.4 percent in 1988. The inflation rate declined from 10.4 percent in 1980 to 4.2 percent in 1988.
Misery Index (unemployment+Inflation):
Carter(average): 16.26
Reagan(average): 12.19
Hope this refreshes your memory or at least will get you to review the facts.
Nixon and Ford were not liberals. Carter was not entirely a liberal so perhaps that is why he was a real disaster :-)
I know that doesn't jive with your way of measuring prosperity. So you may never understand what I'm saying.
Additionally, I think in almost every measure for quality of life compared to other industrialized nations around the world, the United States has declined over the period I'm talking about.
My memory doesn't need refreshing.
By today's standards Nixon and Ford were FLAMING LIBERALS.
Carter was a liberal and was not a disaster. Indeed, if we had listened to him on energy policy we would be GOLDEN to day. :-))))
I will let you grapple with Nixon and Ford.
Carter was a good person and commendable in a lot of ways but a disaster as a Pres.
Straight talk is well overdue.
I would be mad, however, if he suggests that those same young people will have to keep fully paying into the system as it is, without ever seeing the benefits. I guess we'll just have to wait and see the proposed plans for the future.
As for the Boomers making do with less remember they have been betrayed for decades. There was a time when money collected for SS was kept in an interest bearing account. The the pukes in DC decided they needed that money for bullshit programs, raided the account and left a bunch of IOUs, the first betrayal. This hastened the exposure of the ponzi that SS truly is. The the pukes realized that they were going to get caught so they raised the retirement age of SS, another betrayal.
This latest betrayal is nothing new. Until we change the SS system it will go on betraying future Americans. So Cantor talking the way he did is a betrayal but we need to hear the truth and do something about it.
So Cantor talking the way he did is a betrayal but we need to hear the truth and do something about it.
----------------------...
You are confusing message with betrayal.
You can not fix a thing without getting message first that thing is broken
How's that one working out?
what kind of drugs are you on?
At least there is one politician willing to stick his neck out and tell it like it is. I don't like what I hear, but I want to hear it none the less and Cantor happens to be the honest man in the room. Blame who you want for getting us into this situation, I just want to hear the truth so I can prepare to provide for those I love.
The "IOU" is $2.6 trillion in U.S. Treasuries. Is this obligation less than that to, perhaps, the Chinese?
If I start collecting now at $1531 per month I will have my money and my employers' money back in 7 1/2 years. What we are arguing about is the interest rate on the contributions, not theft of principal. The only way you don't get all 'your' money back is if you die.
The above is not to say that I have any positive feeling about anyone who has ever served in Washington.
At 18372 per year (1531*12), it takes you 32 years to make back the result at 5%, at 8, it takes you 86 years!!!! I could leave a cool million to my kids, instead of saddling them with a million each in unfunded liabilities.
And Madoff is in jail....
hoohah. I'm 59 and building my compound. dewds....
And don't forget that part of your social security is about disability - that money is hypothetically an insurance policy and is paid out to others (assuming you maintain good health).
www.usdebtclock.org/
There are less than 3 million millionaires in the USA. I wonder how the other 110 million are going to pay those taxes?
You mean those successful folks who have socialized the risk (on the backs of the taxpayer) while privatizing the profit?
The amount of money they stole would fund SS until 2100 and beyond!
So patriotic................
Always has been, always will be.
You all should have been having these tough discussions about the de-industrialization of America and energy independence and budget and trade deficits when I was in diapers 40 years ago. Instead you whooped it up on fancy living and retiring at 55. Well, the coffer is now empty, and the generation you expect to support you wants to take away your high society lifestyle.
Someone has to make these tough decisions, so the 30-40 years olds will do it for you since you won't do it for yourselves.
You pay into Social Security, man. It's not your business or anybody else's if I want a Mercedes or a Frappocino. We are not talking welfare or food stamps here, which are intended to be temporary (and meager) safety nets.
Yeah, that MAXIMUM SS benefit of $2,366 a month ought to buy a Mercedes or two. And the AVERAGE benefit of $1,177 ought to qualify you for that loan on the 4,000 sq ft house. Those folks on SS, damn they're living high on the hog!
I think you miss the point. No one is saying that those receiving 1100 social security checks are living well. Nor is anyone suggesting taking that away from those currently receiving them. But we will have to tell people that they won't be eligible to receive SS until later in life (like at least 70). We will have to tell those that have existing income that they won't receive all their promised "benefit" (and I'd note that most of the comments on this thread speak to "I contributed, its my money" - well that is true for those at the top end also!). We'll have to reform and clean up the disability part of SS - its become early retirement for millions.
the sooner people realize that they are responsible for themselves and their families, the less pain will be involved. Safety nets are supposed to catch you when your falling and stop you from hitting the ground. They aren't supposed to guarantee you can enjoy the view from the 10th floor.
SS is the easy one to fix. Medicare is where the real pain will be.
My grandfather knew this day would come eventually and prepared for it just in case, my father is doing the same and I will follow in their footsteps. If gov't bens are still around when I retire, then hey its a bonus. If not, I'll be just fine. Learn from the mistakes of your elders.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
"By the time of her death, Fuller had collected $22,888.92 from Social Security monthly benefits, compared to her contributions of $24.75 to the system."
FDR = Bernie Madoff.
Why no mention of hyper inflation now? My guess is that was about $300 by 1975, after multiplier effect likely worth close to $1,000 added to M1.
Right now we've got a $15T Savings account that is worth only $4T because the multiplier effect is .8.
If the "Austerity Now" crowd gets it way, we can all go back to work for 42 cents and hour, and go back to living on 250 per month in a $1500 dollar house, probably the same one we're living in now.
But whats the point? That free TI calculator you got with a tank of gas back in 1976 when it was 60 cent a gallon and they needed to move it can't handle more than 6 digits at a time?
1) Go into your HR department. Tell them you want them to stop withholding FICA. Tell them that its yours and you're 'not down anymore' with the program.
2) They'll hand you a new W4. Write 'exempt' on the bottom, sign it and turn it back in.
3) On April 15th while you're at H&R Block, tell the guy sitting behind the desk you're 'not down anymore' with social security and have decided to not pay in. He'll warn you against it. Override him.
4) In a few months you'll get a letter from the IRS telling you that you have neglected to pay your taxes. There will be fees added as well as interest on 'the debt' owed. There will also be fines if you fail to comply.
5) Call the IRS. Tell them you're 'not down anymore' with social security and have decided to like, you know, not pay into the failed scheme which amounts to theft.
6) They will send you another letter with bigger fines and bigger threats.
7) Ignore them too.
8) The IRS will put a lien on your life for the rest of your existence on planet Earth, for as long as you live.
9) Don't pay it. Refuse.
10) Get a new job. Tell your HR manager to ignore any future garnishments imposed on you from the IRS. Tell them they are illegal and not Constitutional. Tell them you are an American citizen who has rights.
11) Your employer then garnishes you anyway. You quit.
12) The next day you get a call from the IRS wondering where the payments are. Ignore those calls.
13) Two months pass and you get a knock on your door. Its the IRS serving you a note that they are putting a lien on your private residence. Crumple it up and throw it back in their face.
14) A week later while you are eating a bowl of Cheetohs on your sofa watching a Seinfeld rerun, you hear a megaphone in your driveway and what you think is your name being said over and over.
15) You walk up to your front door and peek out the blinds. There are two patrol cars and another unmarked white vehicle with a small 'g' on the license plate. Someone in that car is holding a clipboard. There is another gentleman holding a tactical Mossberg pistol grip shotgun.
16) You tell them you are watching Seinfeld and are just fine and that they should go away.
17) You walk back to your couch. About halfway back to your sofa your front door is knocked in with an iron battering ram. Two men charge you. You struggle with them, fighting back. You throw a 'bow and the hit strikes one of the men in the temple. As you spin out of the hold of the other man, you run into another room and are once again tackled. There is an agent behind you with a drawn weapon. You try to bullrush past him, but he mistakes that for a threat and sends half a clip of Corbon 10MM 165 Grain Jacketed Hollow Points deep into your thoracic cavity, center mass.
18) You die in your living room, trying to protect your own private property that was to be stolen for the 'betterment of society and those less fortunate.' You were murdered for the left's cause.
Long live FDR and LBJ. All hail to the king!
Ignore Ignatius Reilly. Even Myrna has dumped him.
Tell me about the nice chain of events where you and an IRS agent cuddle up on a couch together, two straws, one milkshake.
Harry Reid at his finest.
www.youtube.com/watch?...
HAHAHAHAHAHA.
www.youtube.com/watch?...
Educate yourselves.
Why the hell did you spend our money to bail out these crooks? Is there any accountability left?
Also, how about the public union members? THEY need to sacrifice as well, given WE pay the pensions....
I have paid into social security for over 40 years and if they don't want to pay me what was promised---I want a cash repayment, plus interest.
It's time to FORCE government and their employees to sacrifice if they want to force it on the rest of us....
Currently, there are no jobs for us, a wild debt amount, we're running out of oil... i guess the road toward progress just hit a bump. a huge one.
It's sad we vote this d!(k#e@d in to make our country better.
Now that we know he can't do it. He should be voted out as soon as possible. Hopefully, he will go back to the Democratic state of Wisconsin.
The country can still afford Medicare and Social Security if the US moves medicare and the tax system closer to the model in other developed countries (Canada, France, Germany).
I really don't think they've done it, unless we let them.
It really is amazing what revenue will do for government finances. Tax the freaking rich!
Cantor just wants to make sure that his rich constituents are not inconvenienced.
And the fat seventh graders who found a friend in Ayn Rand and never grew up are eating it all up.
Ayn Rand was a writer of fiction folks. Wake up.
All better.
Eric Cantor is one of those despicable Republicans who must be an Ayn Rand ideologue like that other Rand fanatic, Paul Ryan. It's been the Republicans who've left us our greatest deficits. It started with that over-hyped, Ronald Reagan.
I begin to wonder why these Republican Senators and Representatives owe more to someone like Oliver Norquist than to the American public. They pledged no taxes to him. But, they all took an oath of office to protect the American people. As far as I'm concerned, they are traitors when they held hostage the debt ceiling. That is not protecting the American people, that would have been destroying the economy. These people are hypocrites.
I know. We need to get rid of the deficits now.
Cut government spending by 50%. Glad you agree.
Where exactly is the Democrat's plan to lower the deficit in writing? At least Paul Ryan and Tom Coburn wrote theirs down and showed the country. You don't like them; so what. I don't like Pelosi, Reid, Schumer, Levin and a bunch more...I didn't get to vote for those bums. Their districts vote them in long term because they bring home the taxpayer's money - other people's money.
The only real congress persons with much integrity are the TEA Partiers. They ran on TEA Party principles and you want them to break their promises to their constituents? You are the hypocrite.
Who the hell is Grover Norquist? I wanna know cause he's the only person the Republicans in the House represent.
Yeah, we should do the opposite like Krugman says, another $9 trillion in stimulus right away.
Don't worry, we'll get there. They just made 'a debt deal'. I hear there will be another $12 trillion in 10 years, on top of the 14. The market is now vomiting its guts out.
You guys are real smartz.
www.youtube.com/watch?...
Freeing doughy, middle class white folk out of slavery.
Ironic.
The real question is... what are we going to do about it?
Look around. Look at our country. I have read many times now that close to 50% of our country is now receiving some sort of government assistance in one form or another. Then you have many people in this country who only earn $20K per year, but because of government hand outs they are living their lives as if they are earning $60K / year and enjoying their lives 100X more than the family that is really earning $60K per year.
Our culture is a mess. There is very little quality anymore and outright trash is now the norm and is worshiped and rewarded.
(Hi MTV's Jersey Shore)
Even children's programming promotes a false sense of entitlement and unrealistic expectations from life without telling kids the truth that 99% of them are not going to be famous.
Our govt regardless of your political affiliation is a corrupt mess owned by the select few and the genera population is completely brainwashed into believing that these people care about them.
I am still searching for that hidden reset button that is buried somewhere under Mt. Rushmore.
Thank you for the one good thoughful comment in this stream.
Who needs a cop? Not me. 911's a joke. I have 'Ol bessy, behind the front door, my hog leg in my truck. Who needs a fireman? Not me. Let it burn down. Just pay the deductible, then move on. Better economic value. Fire all the public teachers. They blow corn.
Defense? Yeah, its bloated. Cut it in half. But keep in mind that its the only Constitutionally authorized confiscation of federal monies. Everything else if scratch & graft, son.
Lincoln signed the Land Grant Act which established universities and was a great idea. He provided funds from this act in a way that was not that expensive for the USG unlike now when we look to take money directly out of bank accounts and hand it to someone else.
And that robbery of Peter to pay Paul for doing nothing or to provide them support which is what we experience now is a far cry from what early Presidents did to build this country up.
The conservative-media reinforced notion that everybody can be a "contenda" regardless of brains, talent, or general worth is a rot eroding our society. I worked hard to get a an advanced degree only to find myself in a world where much of my profession has been off-shored. Contrast that to the TV world of heavily-hyped nothings, like Kim Kardashian, Sarah Palin, and all the get-rich-quick junk-- American Idol, state lotteries, etc. Most people will NEVER reach that top 1% of income.
If you travel around the world enough you will find that America is a land of great opportunity and immigrants tend to see it more clearly than people born here in the US. So yes you can be a contender in your own world. You can define what you want to be and work towards it without having a title of nobility or connections. But there are no guarantees so it is something to be worked on constantly. And yes a bit of luck helps also.
Education never was a guarantee of success and by the way education is an industry which a lot of people don't see. Therefore be careful what you choose to learn and make sure it is marketable after you graduate. A degree in Italian Literature from the Middle Ages is likely going to sit on the shelf as nobody has a need for it. And get two degrees if possible so you have more choices.
Having said all of this our government knows next to nothing about creating jobs or keeping our people employed so don't look to them for any leadership.
Cons drive trucks. We also drive earth movers, CATs and Kubotas.
We're the guys you call when your feminine complaints get too much for us to bear.
But, we won't carry you forever.
We as a population continue to buy products from China/Brazil and oil from Saudi/Canada. Our money guarantees the overseas investments pay off, which in turn generates more investment overseas.
We have a long way to go before the bottom. There is nothing an Obama or Bush or whoever can do to fix this. Educate, innovate and work hard...these actions will be the solution in years to come.
Existing on the Internet is a US Treasury report which clearly shows which presidents have racked up the greatest deficits since Ronald "McDonald" Reagan. Bush Jr. was the worst and he left a huge mess to clean up. The American public clearly knows via polling that he takes he fall for this recession. The more the Republicans show their dirty hands, the worst it becomes for them to the general public. Forget the Tea Party, they are vocal minority backed by the Koch Brothers whose firms are the leading cause of pollution in America. I guess that's what these Tea Party nuts have bee inhaling for a number of years. They now have toxic brain cells.
Deficits don't matter during Republican Presidency. Spending does not matter during a Republican presidency.
Your comment has been puked out on this site so many times and then licked up by people like Moongi and Vran and then puked up again it is pathetic. This line of thought should be copyrighted by the DNC as it is their talking points.
We have argued these numbers 6 ways from Sunday and heard all the anti TP bashing blather. But nobody cares except for people who think the Dems or the Reps are the answer. Neither party should be allowed to run a puppy farm never mind a $14 Trillion economy.
They are Big Bro cheerleaders pouring out their 40 on John Maynard Kay's gravestone, and on that gravestone it is engraved MORE FREE SHIT and REST IN DEBT.
www.scribd.com/doc/614...
Get to the bottom line, hang on to your cajones if you got a pair:
Republicans 71.65% & Democrats 28.35%
And the Dubya boy's record will make you barf as a % of what the Dems did. Bring out the barf bag.
Now, you may wish to calm down your belly with some really old stuff used for ages and still used to this day, very potent> Belladonna
Or, your only other option is to continue belly-aching.
Facts are cooked up by liberals.