Comments on: A Billion Dollars to Stop Democrats From Running Deficits Like Republicans Did

By: ekunin

ekunin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:53:41 +0000

I doubt anything can be fixed within the framework of capitalism. Everyone is too busy protecting their turf to accept reasonable change. Capitalism rewards the greedy and the truly insane, the polluters who breathe the same air poor people breathe and drink the same water.

Carl Icahn, the billionaire investor is a case is point. He wants Microsoft to buy Yahoo so he will make hundreds of millions while Yahoo employees find themselves on the street as Microsoft saves by using fewer people to produce the same amount. If Icahn were to live a few years more; if there were something in it for him, I could understand his need for more money. All he does is demonstrate the emptiness inside what will not be filled no matter how many deals he engineers. That we let the likes of him run things, doesn’t say much for our sanity either.

By: MsAnnaNOLA

MsAnnaNOLA — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:37:02 +0000

Of course they are here to “Drown the baby that is the Federal Government!”

No big surprise here. We just have to make sure the American people know what the federal government is spending our tax dollars on. Once they realize that 60 or 70% is on Military related spending maybe they will question the next wacko that thinks it is a good idea to attack a country that has not attacked us.

Nuff said.

By: ACitizen

ACitizen — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:42:20 +0000

Let’s focus here….

What is the top income tax rate under current law?

What is the effective rate; i.e. what do folks in the upper brackets actually pay?

What was it in 1965?

What was it in 1996?

What happens when you raise it?

Most here, including from what he says in this post Ian, have guzzled the ‘Taxes is bad…’ Kool-Aide the ReThugs been selling for a long time.

If you are really interested in learning you some economics try these sites:

Angry Bear….great on SS and Healthcare

Economist’s View

The Economic Populist

These are just a few but they’re pretty good. And….

Economics is just as complicated as politics so if something sounds to simple to be right it’s probably wrong.

By: earlofhuntingdon

earlofhuntingdon — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:55:59 +0000

This is Peterson telling former Gooper CongressCritters – and their Base – not to be afraid. He just built him a whole new campus for the Wingnut Welfare University. Pity about the rest of the country, though.

By: Teddy Partridge

Teddy Partridge — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:50:48 +0000

Just caught Contessa Brewer: “Maybe Phil Gramm has a point….”

Yes, Contessa, he has a point for RICH people like yourself.

By: ubetchaiam

ubetchaiam — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:49:59 +0000

“although it is borrowed and spent by the government for other purposes. ” THAT is a major problem.
Add to that the fact that the real situation is being hid from ‘the people’ by the accounting method being used by the gummint(cash basis as contrasted to the accural method used by most biz);
Add to that -and BTW, thank you Ian mucho for this posting- this op-ed suggestions re ‘the budget:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....11825.html

And this bit of news: http://www.signonsandiego.com/.....ealth.html

Then add in what the Senate just went through to get the Physicians pay NOT reduced because of the ‘hit’ that the insurers for Medicare Advantage will take and you have a real good idea of how deleterious the whole situation is and how much effort it will take to ‘turn the ship’.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:38:13 +0000

I would also say that most physicians hate dealing with the bureaucratic side of their practices. Single payer would get rid of most of that and that would be a plus. OTOH most doctors are fairly greedy and want to be paid as much as possible.

By: rwcole

rwcole — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:30:27 +0000

Don’t know- but docs tend to want to get PAID and universal coverage accomplishes that. What they DON’T like is getting paid LESS. They see that docs in europe and Canada have their incomes capped in many cases.

By: BooRadley

BooRadley — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:26:54 +0000

FWIW

Internist society sees single-payer as option

A new American College of Physicians paper says the government should guarantee a basic level of health care as part of larger reforms.

By: HelplessDancer

HelplessDancer — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:25:41 +0000

Many thanks to the toxic media environment. You could think that the fact that the public debt balloons under Republican rule might sink in eventually