Saturday April 28, 2012, 2:28 pm
Do you think liberals hear the things they say, and if they hear them do you think they understand how goofy they sound? When rich liberals criticize the rich in general, you have to wonder what they’re thinking. Maybe they believe that it’s OK for liberals to have boat loads of money because liberals are right in their liberal views. They need lots of money to get their ideas across to the masses. If they weren’t rich, they wouldn’t have the ability to shape the minds of the ill informed.

Here’s the latest goofball logic coming from a group of multi-rich media hypocrites. On NBC’s Today Show, co-host Ann Curry criticized people who are able to pay more money to get through airport security faster:

“[T]here’s an inherent unfairness to it…. It’s about those with money having an easier life than those who don’t. And there’s something fundamentally unfair about that.”

How much money do you think Ann Curry makes for sitting in a chair pontificating on what she thinks about what’s going on in the world? She earns about two million dollars per year. Her net worth is estimated at ten million dollars.

Do you think Curry has an easier life than someone living in a trailer park? You know she has. If it’s so unfair, why doesn’t she take a lower salary, move into the projects, and give her high-priced salary to people who would like to go through airport security faster but can’t afford it?

There are lots of people who can’t afford to fly let alone get an express security pass. There was a time when only rich people could fly. Now almost anybody can fly. The airports are packed with people from all walks of life.

What made this possible? People with money took risks with their money and created the greatest transportation industry in the world. We’d still be traversing the country in Conestoga wagons if we followed the “fairness” mantra of media hypocrites like Ann Curry.

Do you think Ann Curry flies coach? I don’t think so. I suspect that a limo drives her to and from the airport when she flies. She might even travel on a private jet. Where do you think she stays when she’s away from home? Motel 6 or the Ritz? Does she shop at Goodwill or Saks Fifth Avenue?

Consider this bit of tripe from Curry:

I’m not sure I think it’s fair. It’s something I’ve done, and I have to say that I always feel guilty about it…. I mean, you are paying for a service – but one time I came out of a plane and I was in first class, and they stopped everyone who was in coach from even exiting the plane until we all got out and I just wanted to put a bag over my head. It just feels, there’s a sense of, I’m kind of better than you are. And I don’t – I don’t think that is right.

Ann, if you don’t think it’s right, then give your money away, but don’t make feel guilty for bettering myself from the days I rode a bicycle to work after having a college degree, worked 70 hours a week, lived in a one-room apartment, and hitchhiked home from college because I didn’t have a car and couldn’t afford to fly. It was because I did not envy the rich that I did not succumb to the “woe is me” syndrome.

What would happen if people believed in “fairness”? Everybody would be poor!

Ann, what you should feel guilty about is your support for a flawed economic system that is making it more difficult for millions of Americans from all walks of life to better themselves.

Saturday April 28, 2012, 3:19 pm
thanks

Saturday April 28, 2012, 4:03 pm
Do you think conservatives ever listen to the tripe they parrot as though it were true?

Saturday April 28, 2012, 4:12 pm
You see Dave..that is the difference between actions and words...when you act there is no need for words..people can see the result of what you do...not so with just preaching words.

Saturday April 28, 2012, 7:35 pm
/Where is this goofball logic. It is not that liberals are complaining about how much money one has, what liberals are stating is that a) not everything is for sale and b) the rich shouldn't receive perks because they are rich, including the purchasing of expediency. Do we live in a world where everything is for sale, health care is granted to those who can pay above those who don't have the means? Are the children of the wealthy more entitled to a good education over those who cannot pay for that "good"education? Is someone who is rich entitled to better legal representation when charged with a crime than one who cannot afford a high priced lawyer?

Saturday April 28, 2012, 10:00 pm
Kate..The whole thing is those who in fact ARE rich like this lady here that is telling the less fortunate that it just isn't right that the rich can buy their way out of whatever..and here SHE IS RICH talking about herself but yet not.. because she does not include herself in that category of being rich when in fact she is! It's double talk, hypocrisy at it's best! That is the point of it all....the hypocrisy!

Saturday April 28, 2012, 10:01 pm
You sure don't see her talking about giving any of hers up do you!? If she has that big of a problem with those who WORK for their money then shut up and put up!

Sunday April 29, 2012, 6:23 am
I don't think it's a issue of giving up money, it is an issue about treatment based on the level of income, this issue is about granting privilege based on money. Is everything for sale and is this a principle we want to instill in our youth?

We put much too much weight on wealth. For some reason we believe that wealth and character are synonymous. Why should a teacher (most important job in the world) be paid so little in comparison to people who are paid extremely well for essentially nothing (this includes being a co-anchor of a morning show).

Why should someone who has loads of money get better health care than a child who was poor to modest circumstances? We seem to value live based on $ rather than on equality.

Sunday April 29, 2012, 12:26 pm
The point is Kate...these wealthy people that say all of this crap when the rubber meets the road do you really think they are going to do themselves what they project as unfair!? As in give up their wealth so they can bring themselves down to the poverty level which they claim is so unfair when they themselves are part of the wealthy!? And I agree we put too much on wealth. So why not stop this insane 1% crap and concentrate on how to help those who are not as wealthy LEARN what it take in order for them to PROGRESS to wealth also!? Would that not make more sense!? As far as treatment based on the level of income I think a lot of the treatment comes from the resentment of those who do not make as much. Those people who make all of the money they do today make it because they took advantage of the system in our country today in order to get ahead which is called LEARNING! Their wealth didn't just drop in their lap out of the clear blue..they WORKED for it. Today everyone seems to be jealous of those who have made money and rather than get on the educational bandwagon and start from scratch like those with wealth today had to do they demand they want it now and there are the sick people in this country who are greedy enough that they promote this idea thus here we have the case of so many poorer people demanding that the wealthier people hand over part of their wealth so they don't have to work for it!! That is NOT the way it goes! A good share of the problem we have today with those who are not as wealthy as some is jealousy because they are not as wealthy. If they could only focus on what they have in life and be thankful for it instead of being envious of those with more think how much happier we all would be!

Sunday April 29, 2012, 2:46 pm
Take advantage? Let's talk about taking advantage like the Tea-Party which is Kock Bros. backed which claims it is representing the middle class. Isn't that a joke. This wasn't an attack on people who have money, it was a point made of people being granted privilege because of money. They are two different things. You are claiming that what, liberals are jealous of the rich. You are now telling me that the T-Party is supporting educational opportunity? You don't think that people who work at a factory are working their duffs off Carol?

Sunday April 29, 2012, 6:41 pm
Kate..So you are saying the Kock brothers are financially supporting the Tea Party!? What you don't seem to understand is there are several Tea Party's there are different CHAPTERS of them and they ARE middle class people who are IN the Tea Party's...YOU DID NOT KNOW THIS!? I would say the joke is on you!

You also missed the point of the story..the point of the story was about the "hypocrisy" of liberals claiming that it's not fair to be rich and having more money than the poor when they themselves...this particular person who this story is about would not think about giving any of her wealth away to the poor! Who does she think she is to make such a claim when in fact she herself indulges on what she is claiming to be complaining about!? I am not saying the liberals are jealous of the rich..I said this particular person the story is about and I am sure there are more... is a hypocrite!

The Tea Party supports Anything and everything American that Americans want because the Tea Party members ARE We The People...don't you understand that!? The Tea Party members are Republicans/Democrats/Independents and anyone else in between which could also include you had you the desire to be a Tea party member! It's NOT just about Republicans..it's about the simple plain down to earth average American!

Yes I think people in factories are working their butts off...I did when I worked in one..I know what work is and I never complained because I wanted something better either. I was happy I had a job and I searched for that job! Actually I worked in 2 different factory jobs in my life! They were not beneath me and I was proud to have them!

What I am talking about is the jealousy of some "lazy" people who want everything the rich have or the more wealthy... but yet refuse to get their butts out there and search for jobs and will stand back and demand they get paid the same amount as the rich OR they are happy just to sit on their ass and draw money from the government!! After all why work and make less than you can make having kids and have the government taking care of you!? That is the mentality of a bunch of people which is truly sad for America!

Sunday April 29, 2012, 10:22 pm
You seem to like to generalize. These "liberals" you speak of are all the shifty, lazy people? I bet they don't go to church either. How about the "rich", of which many of these people you speak of, actually inherited their money or make their money on the back of those who are working their asses off? See the liberals are those who stand for the middle class and working man, the GOP certainly doesn't stand for worker rights, equal pay for equal work, etc.

Sunday April 29, 2012, 11:14 pm
So I like to generalize?.. or is it that maybe you feel there is a need there to associate liberals with what I am saying!? Did I say all of the people who are shifty and lazy are liberals or did you say that!? Those who are making money off the working people who are working their asses off started out with nothing and built their business up to prosper..you know the American way!! If you could do that are you telling me you would say No..I don't want to be rich!? You may be partially correct on some liberals standing up for the working man..they can't all be bad!! But I guarantee you that there are also Republicans that do the same thing! Why is it that by what you say here you assume the Republicans are the bad guys!? As far as I am concerned those who are not for American workers can all find another job so they can get the feel of what it's like trying to be employed and stay employed today or even find a job for that matter!! it makes no difference what party they are! A crook is a crook and crooks are not one party designated!

Monday April 30, 2012, 4:26 am
Give me a break Carol. Do you think that the people on Wall Street for instance are worth what they are paid to do? Do you think a corporate CEO worth the pay and bonuses he/her receives? Do you think that those who actually caused the financial meltdown should have been rewarded as they did? It is not a matter of being rich, what matters is this idea of privilege and superiority associated with it. The baron/robber mentality. You certainly did care which party when you started with the "liberals" commentary.

Monday April 30, 2012, 7:05 am
Guess Who Really Pays the Taxes
(Published Nov/Dec 2007)

1. Are income taxes fair?

That depends on who is offering the opinion. ... Over the past seven years, however, Americans in general think taxes have become more fair, not less. The Gallup Organization found in an April poll that 60 percent of respondents believe the income taxes that they themselves pay are fair, com­pared with 37 percent who believe the taxes they pay are unfair. In 1997, the figures were 51 percent fair and 43 percent unfair.

2. What income group pays the most federal income taxes today?

The latest data show that a big portion of the federal income tax burden is shoul­dered by a small group of the very richest Americans. The wealthiest 1 percent of the population earn 19 per­cent of the income but pay 37 percent of the income tax. The top 10 percent pay 68 percent of the tab. Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent—those below the median income level—now earn 13 percent of the income but pay just 3 percent of the taxes. These are proportions of the income tax alone and don’t include payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare.

3. But didn’t the Bush tax cuts favor the rich?

The New York Times reported recently that the average family in America with an income of $10 million or more received a half-million-dollar tax cut, while the middle class got crumbs (less than $100 shaved off their tax bill). If we examine the taxes paid in a static world—that is, if we assume that there was no change in behavior and economic performance as a result of the tax code—then these numbers are meaningful. Most of the tax cuts went to the super wealthy.

But Americans did respond to the tax cuts. There was more investment, more hiring by businesses, and a stronger stock market. When we compare the taxes paid under the old system with those paid after the Bush tax cuts, the rich are now actually paying a higher proportion of income taxes. The latest IRS data show an increase of more than $100 billion in tax payments from the wealthy by 2005 alone. The number of tax filers who claimed taxable income of more than $1 million increased from approximately 180,000 in 2003 to over 300,000 in 2005. The total taxes paid by these millionaire households rose by about 80 percent in two years, from $132 billion to $236 billion.

4. But haven’t the tax cuts put more of the burden on the backs of the middle class and the poor?

No. I examined the Treasury Department analysis of how much the rich would have paid without the Bush tax cuts and how much they actually did pay. The rich are now paying more than they would have paid, not less, after the Bush investment tax cuts. For example, the Treasury’s estimate was that the top 1 percent of earners would pay 31 percent of taxes if the Bush cuts did not go into effect; with the cuts, they actually paid 37 per­cent. Similarly, the share of the top 10 percent of earners was estimated at 63 percent without the cuts; they actually paid 68 percent.

5. What has happened to tax rates in America over the last several decades?

They’ve fallen. In the early 1960s, the highest marginal income tax rate was a stunning 91 percent. That top rate fell to 70 percent after the Kennedy-Johnson tax cuts and remained there until 1981. Then Ronald Reagan slashed it to 50 percent and ultimately to 28 percent after the 1986 Tax Reform Act. Although the federal tax rate fell by more than half, total tax receipts in the 1980s doubled from $517 billion in 1981 to $1,030 billion in 1990. The top tax rate rose slightly under George H. W. Bush and then moved to 39.6 percent under Bill Clinton. But under George W. Bush it fell again to 35 percent. So what’s striking is that, even as tax rates have fallen by half over the past quarter-century, taxes paid by the wealthy have increased. Lower tax rates have made the tax system more progressive, not less so. In 1980, for example, the top 5 percent of income earners paid only 37 percent of all income taxes. Today, the top 1 percent pay that proportion, and the top 5 percent pay a whopping 57 percent.

Read more here:
http://www.american.com/archive/2007/november-december-magazine-contents/guess-who-really-pays-the-taxes

Monday April 30, 2012, 10:10 am
Warren Buffett says the super-rich pay lower tax rates than others (Politifact)

It's not often you see someone stand up and say, "Tax me more!"

Yet that's just what famed investor Warren Buffett has done in an op-ed in the New York Times headlined, "Stop Coddling the Super-Rich." Buffett says that very wealthy people like himself pay lower tax rates than the middle class, thanks to special tax categories for investment income.

"While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks," he writes.

As an example, Buffett said he paid an effective tax rate of 17.4 percent, while people who worked in his office made much less but paid higher effective tax rates of between 33 percent and 41 percent, averaging 36 percent.

"If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine — most likely by a lot," Buffett wrote. "To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot."

Buffett's op-ed inspired a reader to write to us and ask how Buffett's numbers could be correct. As our previous fact-checks have shown, about half of all Americans pay no federal income taxes because they are low income. And when you analyze who pays the bulk of federal income taxes, it's people with higher incomes. So we decided to fact-check Buffett's statement that "the mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. ... (The middle class) fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot."

Before we get to the heart of the fact-check, it's best if we review a few basics of the tax code that Buffett's op-ed takes for granted. This review proves the point that the federal tax code is extremely complicated, so bear with us.


Income taxes. Federal income taxes are progressive, which means your income is taxed at higher rates as you make more money. Let's take a married couple filing jointly as an example. In 2011, after deductions and exemptions:

• the income between $0 and $17,000 is taxed at 10 percent;
• the income between $17,000 and $69,000 is taxed at 15 percent;
• the income between $69,000 and $139,350 is taxed at 25 percent;
• the income between $139,350 and $212,300 is taxed at 28 percent;
• the income between $212,300 and $379,150 is taxed at 33 percent;
• the income above $379,150 is taxed at 35 percent.

Keep in mind that even if you're in the top bracket of 35 percent, you don't pay that tax rate on all your income. You pay 10 percent on the first $17,000, 15 percent on the money between $17,000 and $69,000, and so on.

Payroll taxes. Payroll taxes are separate from income taxes. If you work for a company, your employer deducts the payroll taxes before you get your paycheck and sends the money on to the federal government. These taxes pay for Social Security and Medicare; it's listed as FICA on your pay stub. Typically, workers pay 6.2 percent of their first $106,800 in earnings for Social Security taxes, and they pay 1.45 percent on all their earnings for Medicare hospital coverage. The employer has to match those taxes, bringing total contributions on behalf of an individual to 12.4 percent for Social Security and 2.9 percent for Medicare. Last year, though, President Barack Obama and Congress knocked 2 percentage points off Social Security taxes for workers, as an economic stimulus measure. So this year, most of us are paying 4.2 percent while employers pay 6.2 percent. Oh, and if you're self-employed, you typically have to pay your share and the employer share for totals this year of 10.4 percent on earnings up to $106,800 and 2.9 percent on all income. Payroll taxes are not progressive -- the rates don't get higher the more you earn. In the case of the Social Security taxes, which disappear once your reach a certain level of earnings, the percentage actually gets smaller if your income is higher than the $106,800 cap.

Head hurt yet? Ours, too.

Taxes on investments. Okay, now we're getting closer to Buffett's main point here, and that's taxes on investments. The tax rates on investments tend to be lower than taxes on regular income. If you make money buying and selling stocks or receiving dividends from stock ownership, those earnings are generally taxed at 15 percent, the rate for long-term capital gains and qualified dividends.

Some hedge fund managers and other finance-sector executives get taxed at this rate on their earnings because their compensation is classified as "carried interest" and taxed as a capital gain. (The Wall Street Journal breaks down how carried interest works.) In fact, some economists believe that the lower rates for capital gains actually encourages tax dodges, because it motivates high earners to look for ways to classify normal income as capital gains. Defenders say the lower tax rate helps the economy because it rewards investors for risk-taking and entrepreneurship. They also argue that taxing dividends amounts to double taxation because corporations pay taxes on their income before investors are paid dividends. We won't settle the argument here, but there's no doubt that investors get lower tax rates on their income than workers.

Getting back to Buffett's op-ed, his claims rest on how these taxes interact with each other. The fact we're checking here is that "the mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes," while middle class taxpayers "fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot."

He's right that a billionaire whose income is mostly from investments is probably taxed at a lower rate than someone who has an ordinary job. Very little of this taxpayer's income is wage income, so payroll taxes don't take much of a bite. It seems likely that much of this hypothetical person's income would be taxed around the 15 percent rate. And, in fact, as Buffett says, statistics from the Internal Revenue Service show that the 400 wealthiest taxpayers pay tax rates of less than 20 percent.

On the other side of the equation, people who work for a living, especially those who make higher than average salaries, get taxed at higher rates. It gets a little complicated, given how the tax brackets work, but basically, people who make between $100,000 and $200,000 are paying around 20 percent in income taxes, and it goes up from there, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Buffett slightly glosses over the fact that if you're in the 25 percent tax bracket, your overall tax rate is less than 25 percent. And, the more money you make, the more income taxes you pay, while payroll taxes seem less and less significant as a percentage of income. We're dubious someone would pay as high as a 41 percent tax rate, as Buffett claims someone in his office now pays. (The top income tax rate is 35 percent, but payroll taxes as a share of income decline as income rises, which makes it difficult to get above 37.9 percent, according to the people we ran this by at the Tax Policy Center.) We contacted Buffett's offices as Berkshire Hathaway about this point but didn't hear back.

One final note: People who don't pay any income tax at all tend to have limited incomes, or they qualify for enough deductions -- think of child tax credits and mortgage interest -- that they have no income. When Buffett talks about people in the middle class who pay more taxes than he does, he's thinking of people who make much higher than average salaries.

So when it comes to Buffett's statement, there are two categories: the rich and the really rich. And the evidence tends to point to the conclusion that the really rich pay less in taxes as a percentage of income then their merely well-to-do counterparts -- if their income comes primarily from investments. Overall, we rate Buffett's statement True.

Monday April 30, 2012, 12:07 pm
And you believe Warren Buffet!?!?

Monday April 30, 2012, 3:37 pm
I would certainly believe him over godfatherpolitics and the T-Party. When is it considered good when we are supportive of people like the Koch Bros. financiers of the T-Party who have made their money at the expense of the lives of fellow human beings? When is it acceptable to support segregation? When is it acceptable to be more concerned about the rich are benefited through tax loopholes making them only richer on the backs of the middle class. Do you have a problem with the middle class Carol? It seems that the GOP and baggers support people whose want to only create a larger divide creating only two classifications, the rich and the poor. It is shameful when a country that has no problem throwing out hemorrhaging money on wars (one of which wasn't even the right country) yet resents providing to those who are less fortunate. When is the love of money more important than humanity? When is it not a country's duty to provide an equitable education to all of its citizens? When is teacher's pay considered excessive when a) they are underpaid and b) it is the most important job in the world?

Monday April 30, 2012, 4:11 pm
Well then Kate you keep your head in the sand because nothing of what you said her is true but if you believe that then I guess it will be up to those who really love America and know what it takes for Americans to prosper!! Say nothing of the disrespect you have for right wing groups or anything associated with the right! It's called disrespectful which is what I see a LOT of from the left! The Tea Party supports nothing of what you say and seeing as how you have NEVER really checked into them to see what they are about or WHO they are you don't know squat about them but yet throw out accusations! And the Tea party members ARE the middle class in America..but as I said you haven't checked into what they are about or who they are so how would you know!? It is shameful in America when it is ready to throw money out to lazy so and so's who refuse to work and prefer to live off the system and that is done by none other than those who abuse the systems that you fight for to stand! they need and over haul and those who refuse to work take them off the help and help someone who REALLY needs the HAND UP instead of the HAND OUT! The education in this country has been taken over by the Socialist liberals and that is another thing that needs to be overhauled and those who are teaching and abusing students need to get kicked out of the education business and find another job! The Unions have helped corrupt the teachers in this country too and many of the teachers anymore don't want to be in Unions but fear trying to get out or saying anything against the Unions! And teachers DO make a good salary!

Monday April 30, 2012, 7:06 pm

To actually make accusations about people's love for America or infer that they are less patriotic than you demonstrates how incredibly bagger brainwashed you actually are. The T-Party movement and organization was funded by the Koch Brothers. Do you deny that? The Koch Brothers interests nowhere converge with the interests of middle America. Their interests are to make a buck, anyway they can and rely on sheeple to promote their agenda. Let's union bust, segregate, get rid of environmental protection, get rid of any government regulation of anything, get rid of Social Security (which people actually pay into so to call it an entitlement is an oxymoron), Medicare, etc. As for women rights, Tea-bagger darling, Scott Walker repealed the Equal Pay Enforcement legislation in Wisconsin and the T-Party is out there to save him from being recalled. Where do you think any of this benefits you? Unless you are obscenely rich and your income derives from corporate investment, it does nothing for you.

You think health care is an intrusion? What Obamacare does for American is nothing to what a wealthy nation should provide for its citizens. Healthcare, along with education are fundamental, basic rights, not privileges.

I think it is not just that your head is in the sand, you are actually drinking the Kool-Aid by the gallon. I do know that many tea-partiers are from the middle class, the thing is that they don't bother realizing what proposed legislation by the Tea Party does for them which is nothing. They utilize Christian, fundamentalistic b.s. which benefits not the middle class, but those at the top tier. The Tea Party has made this country the laughing stock of the world. The insanity of the debt ceiling fiasco is a prime example. You people would cut of your noses to spite your face.

Arizona and its absolutely crazy proposed legislations is the mother of tea party craziness. Some of this stuff doesn't even make sense, like Carl Seel's proposed legislation which would have the State determine eligibility to the Presidency based on the use of one's circumcision certificate in lieu of the long form birth certificate. Where is a circumcision certificate make you more American? How about the border militia proposed by looner Sen. Sylvia Allen who called upon antisemitic racist Glenn Spencer to give invaluable insight into the need for this volunteer border militia? Great way to start an international incident.

You think these are sane, balanced people?

Liberal education? What like teaching abstinence in states like Texas where the teenage pregnancy rate is one of the highest or in the country. Let me guess, you want only abstinence taught, bring prayer into schools, deny climate change and science and base reality on blind faith. Yes, let's further de-develop America so the citizens can have a plot of land, a shotgun with 430 children running around under foot, being home schooled by people who have no business schooling anyone but themselves and have no rule of law.

This is the America you want? You want to make it an Us v. Them world when we should all be standing together as a nation? I relish all of the Tea Party attention, because once the independents and moderate Republicans see them for what they are, they will want nothing to do with them.

As for teacher's being paid well? According to the United States Bureau of Labour, "In May 2010, the median annual wage of kindergarten teachers was $48,800 and the median annual wage of elementary school teachers was $51,660." Teachers require at least a bachelor degree in order to qualify. Do you think that is well paid?

Teaching is the most important job there is. They are educating the future. Perhaps if teaching was a little more lucrative, it would be more competitive, ensuring quality. No doubt, education certainly needs reform, but to blame it on the ills of "socialist liberals" is kind of buzzword mentality. What is going to be next accusations of fascism. If you listen to enough Glenn Beck, which for some reason I suspect you do, he interchanges communism, fascism and socialism as if they are the same thing. If your definition of socialism is to care more about people than money, then I certainly am a product of a socialist educational system and am proud of it.

Tuesday May 1, 2012, 12:32 am
You know what Kate...I am done talking to someone when there is no hope for them to see anything other than what they see. If you think the liberal agenda is where it's at... good luck honey! I read about the first 2 paragraphs of what you wrote and that was enough for me to see you don't have a clue! And Scott Walker has brought Wisconsin out of the hole! Go and read my other article on the Unions and teachers and you will SEE that what you are saying is a bunch of BS!

Better yet..here you go!!
http://www.care2.com/news/member/907581929/3284862

Friday May 4, 2012, 8:24 pm
Warren Buffet believed what he reasoned out for himself and got rich. So did the Koch brothers.
The defining point to me is what you are willing to sacrifice for to better one's children. Neither the examples of left rich or right rich quite cut the mustard for me. Neither I or my children deserve to be dominated by someone of either persuasion just because they can milk a system better than a welfare mother.

For all of the derision she must endure, she does so because she cannot survive any other way. The above do it because of ambition. Enough is never enough until it becomes too much for them.
Both Kate and Carol have points that must be reconciled. Not overcome like an enemy. Once that is done we will not be able to continue as a nation any longer.Now that you no longer subscribe to the Ostrich policy of citizenship it is time to think about balance.. Not vanquishing people that make up our communities.

Friday May 4, 2012, 9:56 pm
People who inherit money are job creators. There is nothing wrong with that. The majority of charities exist because of them.

Friday May 4, 2012, 10:57 pm
Sorry Nan...can't send you another green star!!! Darn it!!!!!!!! :-(

John..The point is that we as American citizens are trying to tell our leaders what we want...the Republicans have tried to pass things through the House and when it gets to the Senate which NOW is controlled by the Democrats they reject everything that the Republicans bring up. HOW can we as a people even begin to come to some kind of understanding or recognition with each other... when the left refuses to even make an attempt to consider alternatives!? It's a proven fact that the Educational Dept. in Wisconsin today is out of the hole from Scott Walker's policies because the Unions were RAPING the members of the Union trying to make it appear they were working for the members of the Union which they were not and were in fact working for themselves AND the Democrat party....I don't see how anyone other than the Union Leaders and the Democrat party can benefit from this....can you? So many people have this Republican/Democrat animosity for just the name of the party...say nothing about what the party stands for. So IMO once that happens all common sense rational is lost before anyone starts. The left refuses to look at the stats honestly to see the actual results of what Scott Walker has done. He has done an amazing job but it's just because he is REPUBLICAN that it ends up like a pack of hungry wolves with no common sense to even begin to think about taking a look at the outcome of what he has done. When that happens it's a total loss for everyone!! We are in the mess we are today because of the Democratic controlled Administration! Sad...but true! Bush is a bygone for now even though some keep insisting he is the reason for all of this turmoil....at some point in life everyone has to stop blaming everyone else for their faults! When they don't..........they end up LOSERS!

Friday May 4, 2012, 11:16 pm
There will always be the HAVES and the HAVE NOTS. As Jesus said 'The poor are always with you'. Some people manage their money better than others. We cannot all have the same riches as some people. If you believe in Karma, as we do, then you are on this earth to learn certain lessons - being poor may be one of them. One thing is for sure, YOU CAN'T TAKE WEALTH WITH YOU - AND YOU DO NOT NEED IT IN HEAVEN.

Friday May 4, 2012, 11:26 pm
So true Pat!!!! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

This article I have read many times and it seems to fit this article SO WELL!!! Sandra added it onto our group today and I am so glad she did because we need to keep this point focused today where ever we turn because it is a fact and it is TRUE!! If only those who expect a handout would take this seriously and start thinking about themselves and just what it is in life they expect of THEMSELVES!!! Help is one thing..but supporting for life is another total ball game!!!


“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” — Winston Churchill
1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealth out of prosperity.
2. What one person receives without working another person must work without receiving.
3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.
5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them; and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.
“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Blaming the prince of fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools, such as those who made him their President.” — Translated from Czech Republic Newspaper Prager Zeitung (April 28, 2010.)
http://godfatherpolitics.com/5038/all-anybody-needs-to-knbow-to-understand-politics/

Saturday May 5, 2012, 5:12 am
If it is common sense you think American needs, it is not going to come from the Tea-baggers.

Saturday May 5, 2012, 9:52 am
And what side are you on Kate!? LOL It SURELY is not coming from your side!! You would not know what common sense is if it came out and bit you! :-)

Saturday May 5, 2012, 12:38 pm
Really Carol. Considering your posts are all about Tea Bagging is equated to the Insanity Party. You must really love those Koch Brothers Carol.

Saturday May 5, 2012, 4:42 pm
Kate....The only thing I consider is the fact you really have nothing of importance to say except pure nonsensical jibberish BS....None of it so far shows any amount of intelligence..it's just a rambling on about nothing material!