GOP continues to stiff-arm America’s unemployed

I have come to the conclusion that as part of the “want Obama to fail strategy” the GOP is actively and purposefully obstructing anything and everything that can possibly be done to help the economy and those Americans struggling to hold on.

The GOP appears willing to torpedo the economy in order to help themselves in the mid-terms.

Pretty sick stuff.

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GOP continues to get a stiffy over Americans unemployed.

fyt.

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” Renewing those cuts would have a far bigger and more long-term impact on the deficit than will temporary aid to the unemployed and the sick. But you gotta have prioirities, right?”

Yes, because the GOP is a bunch of heartless jerks who don’t care about anyone. That is so much easier than having a rational and civil debate. So much easier to just cast the people who dare to disagree with you as immoral.

Hey Jay. Michael Gerson wrote an article about you today:

” One of the most significant divisions in American public life is not between the Democrats and the Republicans; it is between the Ugly Party and the Grown-Up Party.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/29/AR2010062903841.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

He makes the same point that I do, namely that demagogues on the left and demagogues on the right are the same. And he is right. You are.

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you’re right, Pat – these people should just “decrease the surplus population” … I mean … are there no workhouses???!!!

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The sad thing is that, in the past, people could rely on charities to help supplement income. However, the charities are struggle to provide funds for simple utility bills and food. Well, I guess if they can’t get unemployment insurance they can sign up for welfare and public housing. Or help to fill up the already to capacity homeless shelters.

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Jay

My point is priorities.

The Demos could do it if they wanted. Remember ObamanationCare?

But it is so much easier to just blame the opposition. And besides, the repugs are just wanting to PAY for the extension. How very 20th century.

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Sinple question, for how long should jobless benifit go on for?

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Unlike Jay or any other rigid partisan, liberal or conservative, Gerson is capable of criticizing “his side”:

“Unlike Weigel, most members of the Ugly Party — liberal and conservative — have little interest in keeping their views private. “My only regret with Timothy McVeigh,” Ann Coulter once said, “is he did not go to the New York Times building.” Radio host Mike Malloy suggested that Glenn Beck “do the honorable thing and blow his brains out.” Conservatives carry signs at Obama rallies: “We Came Unarmed (This Time).” Liberals carried signs at Bush rallies: “Save Mother Earth, Kill Bush.” Says John Avlon, author of “Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America,” “If you only take offense when the president of your party is compared to Hitler, then you’re part of the problem.”"

Anyone ever see Jay criticize a liberal pundit? Is that because they never said anything worthy of criticism or is that Jay’s sense of partisanship far outweighs his sense of decency?

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“Sinple question, for how long should jobless benifit go on for?”

Simple (minded) answer: we don’t need no stinkin’ jobless benefits…those who can’t find a job should be begging in the streets

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thomas – unfortunately, too many republicans seem to think that the people receiving unemployment benefits are doing so by choice – oh, yeah, they COULD be working, but, hey, these unemployment checks are SA-WEET!

I do agree with the question about how long to extend benefits – and I wish I had the answer. I do think, though, that, despite 5 consecutive months of job growth, it seems too soon to cut the safety net out from under the people who have been without a job for more than 6 months …

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If those who lost their jobs had saved for a rainy day they might be a lil more prepared. Both my parents have been out of work for well over a year and the are surviving just fine. They arent particularly happy about the UI benefits cuts, however, neither are they scrambling for $$$ or about to lose the house, autos etc.

“Pay me now or pay me later” remains relevant to this day.

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mike – “but the only “evidence” you provide is a quote that Franken should not be taken seriously”

wow. well done, you, on your total lack of reading skillz … maybe you should stick with Captain Underpants since the WaPo seems a bit beyond you …

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Jay,
Thanks for continuing to shed light on, yet another example of, the mindless “scorched earth” political policy of Congressional Republicans. None of them [Republicans] stand to lose their homes, or have their utilities turned off, or worse yet struggle to feed their families. For all their profession of how strong their Christian beliefs are, they seem to ignore, “But for the grace of God, there go I,” or “Whatever you do for the least of my people, you do unto Me.”

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Republicans are what?

Have you no shame Jay.

Republicans don’t have the majority on anything, yet you continue to openly lie about who should be held at fault.

And sadly enough, you will be given a pass by your puppets on here.

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It is not the GOP that “doesn’t care about people.” Harry Reid has had several opportunities to get this past and help those in need right now…..like me. But he is putting politics above the needs of the people. He should be run out of town…and hopefully will be in November. All the GOP is asking for is another way to pay for it and want a “stand alone” bill. Even though a stand alone was offered early last week by another Democrat, Harry Reid burried it and won’t let it come up for debate or vote. Tell me he cares more about helping those caught up in the worst recession in my lifetime (35 years in the workplace) than he does about playing political games and trying to make it look like the GOP is blocking the extension. I would say you can’t see the forest for the trees.

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“Can we afford to extend the capital gains tax cut, Peadawg?”

No. Like I said…we need to take in more than we spend. First, that includes making cuts, NOT PROPOSING NEW SPENDING BILLS.

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Keep Up The Good Fight

**they left a surplus in 2000 **

Huh?

Who left a surplus? Who had the majority in Congress in 2000?

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2nd laughable post of the day: “Sure Dems did…they left a surplus in 2000 and then came the Republicans who just went nuts….now we have to clean up the mess. In fact if you bothered to read and think through Jay’s post, the “checkbook” was thrown way off when the Republicans cut “income” and now rather than try to balance the book by reinstating that “income”, the Republicans want to continue to forgo that “income” and cut the minimum support to families that have no jobs. Let the children begin dying.”

Republicans did it!!!!! Ignore the fact that the deficit has continued to grow under Obama! Republicans did it!!!!! LMAO!!!

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The increase in the captial gains tax will only drive investors from the market so OBlunder and Co may see an initial increase in the $$$ from the Cap Gains tax increase, however, after that this too will begin to falter.

Too bad…

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“OFF TOPIC #1″

Supreme Court Nominee “Lady Kaga” …………. Scary !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSoWGlyugTo

(Not long …….. you owe it to yourself)

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Normal

Yea, that and the fainting couch are USinUk’s big response to the destruction of the American Economic System.

I’m sure somewhere in Germany, when the little lady was cleaning the ashes off her car every morning, that silly pearl clutching, fainting couch user up the street was saying that the government was doing horrible things, but she knew the truth. She knew that she could make fun of people with concerns about the government. She certainly knew how to put them in their place.

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Pat: “How long would you suggest unemployment benifits go on. One year? Two years? Or is it to be open ended and with out end?”

Well the law right now has it at 99 weeks. and there is no talk of extending that any longer, so your question doesn’t make sense relative to this topic. The ‘extension’ we are talking about here is not adding more weeks, it’s simply extending the program deadline so that all people who lost their jobs in the recession have access to the same amount of help.

My answer to your question then is simple: If they enacted expanded UI insurance when the unemployment rate was at 7% then they should cut it off again until after we fall below that level. It’s really pretty simple.

But it doesn’t go on forever now, and no one is talking about extending it further past 99 weeks at this point.

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““Peabrain at it again. Ignorance can be so very bliss. Enjoy it!””

Name calling is all you got. Sad.

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RW, the Dems didn’t use the filibuster to block every Bush initiative.

I sure seem to remember a lot of cloture votes during the Bush Presidency and since simply having a cloture vote is now the standard for proclaiming that the minority is filibustering it would seem they did.

Let’s get a grip on reality though. We’ve had Porkulous that fritters away a trillion dollars. We’ve got government health care now. We’ve had various assorted government schemes like Cash for Clunkers and home buyers tax credits. We’ve gone along with Obama’s escalation of the Afghanistan “war.” Soon we’ll have seated Obama’s second Supreme Court nomination and on and on. It seems to me like you’re more inclined to complain if the GOP blocks ANY Obama initiative and you only use EVERY so you won’t seem so petty.

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“the dems are running on empty. where are those jobs obama promised?”

Stalled in bills in the senate because the republicans won’t let the jobs bills reach a vote.

Out of about a dozen jobs bills, Republicans have only allowed on to even reach a simple yes-no vote. They are obstructing democracy and you have only them to blame for the lack of jobs legislation.

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“Meanwhile the first billionaire estate just passed through to the heirs without a single dime in estate taxes.”

Why should any part of any estate belong to anyone other than the heirs? Presumably, the deceased was taxed on his/her assets and earnings. Capital gains, I am a bit fuzzy on. I don’t have enough money to worry about that.

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Scout is shaved leg Marine, this, of course, is coming from a Sailor…

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mike “Neither do the GOP. Just the ones they oppose. The claim that the GOP has filibustered every Obama initiative is patently false. For example, the GOP supported Obama’s Afghan surge.

Like all hyper-partisan pundits, Jay can only speak in the language of hyperbole. Makes his arguments absurdly easy to pick apart.”

It is, however, completely true that they have blocked all but one jobs bill, and they have also filibustered more than any party has ever filibustered in one session of congress. That’s right! they have the record for obstructing democracy! Congratulations. I will forgive them if they start letting some jobs legislation pass…
FYI: Your arguments are even thinner than “Jay’s”

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Im not against the extension on UI benefits.
I am against the capital gains tax increase.

Personally I will be doing my part by having all dividends reinvested thereby not contributing to obama HCare warchest or however else he intends to waste the money.

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USinuk- these people should just “decrease the surplus population

Obama’s good friend Bill Ayers thought we would have to kill off about 25 million back in the 70’s. Are you sticking with that number or adjusting for the population increase?

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I’m white, male, over 50, have an advanced degree, a retired veteran and live in metro Atlanta. I have been unemployed since Feb 2010. This time. Was laid off from the AJC in June 2009. Before that I was laid off in Dec 2008 from a major forklift supplier. Went from 60k to 24k to 32k respectively. Being a white male over 50 in the Atlanta area is not a good place to be right now. Many say pick up and move to where the jobs are. Well, you have to sell that house. And then your and your wife’s parents are getting along in age. You get smacked down enough, you really start to not care anymore.

My unemployment expired on Friday. Do I blame the GOP? Absolutely not. I blame this administration for not fostering an environment for private enterprise to thrive; or a best survive. In Oct 2008, When I was with my forklift company, I was discussing the potential upgrade of a forklift fleet with customer in Forsyth county. He said he was waiting until the November elections to determine if they were going to be a 125 employee company or a 30 employee company. The story was the same at most places I went. As it turned out, a month after the election myself and several others were “laid” off.

This administration has thrown money at saving or creating government jobs or teachers jobs. They’ve poured money into temporary government contract employment in the guise of “infrastructure” enhancement. Of course early on Robert Reich, one Obama’s economic advisers clearly stated that he doesn’t want recovery jobs for “White Male Construction Workers.”

Am I bitter? You bet. I want my government leaders to foster an environment where business can thrive and people prosper. You create this environment and people pay property and sale taxes to support infrastructure improvements and pay teachers, police and fire personnel. You don’t put the cart in front of the horse.

This administration and our congressional leaders have been focusing on peripheral traditional liberal agendas. Guess what. It’s the economy, stupid. And economic growth doesn’t come from government spending. Government is a consumer, not a producer.

God, you guys make me sick.

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Doggone/GA, ‘estates’ generally mean personal wealth, not goods and services moving through the economy.

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“Jay

June 30th, 2010
9:23 am
This was from a CNN Factcheck in February:

“President Barack Obama Wednesday accused Republicans of packing “20 years of obstruction into one.” Speaking to Senate Democrats, he declared, “You had to cast more votes to break filibusters last year than in the entire 1950s and ’60s combined.”

Fact Check: Were there more cloture votes in the Senate last year than in all of the 1950s and 1960s combined?

Bottom Line: President Obama is correct. There were 39 cloture votes last year, nine more than the combined total for 1949-1970.”

You just red herring’ed your own topic! LOL!

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Nowreally- they can sign up for welfare and public housing

If it’s good enough for the Presidents aunt it should be good enough for anybody.

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” They have the record for obstructing democracy!”

LOL. So when the Dems shut down Bush’s prviatiazation of Sociual Security, were they “obstructing democracy”.

Not certain if many folks have noticed, but the American people are quite aware of the programs opposed by the GOP. All the while, the President’s approval ratings go down and the GOP’s go up.

Could it be that blocking these massive federal programs is what the American people want?

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Normal:

Do you know why there are Marines on Navy ships ?

So we could have fun in the showers?

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“Doggone/GA, ‘estates’ generally mean personal wealth, not goods and services moving through the economy”

That has nothing to do with my example. My example was: at WHAT POINT do you say someone should not have to pay taxes because taxes have been paid at a prior point in the “chain”?

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Obama and Co just keep hitting foul balls and thats a good thing.

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The GOBP has abused the filabuster provision to no end. They are just taking the cue from Rush Limbaugh who has wished for the Presidents’ downfall.

Two tax cuts totaling over 2 trillion dollars and a Medicare Part D plan with a 500 billion dollar tax cut to businesses.

And the GOBP cant fund a current extension of unemployment benefits, especially when unemployment is so high in Georgia.

It would be laughable if it did not hurt people so much.

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Doggone/GA

June 30th, 2010
9:32 am

If I buy a godd, I pay taxes on that good.

If I then gie you that good lets say a pair of shoes. You don’t pay any taxes on those shoes.

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mike: “LOL. So when the Dems shut down Bush’s prviatiazation of Sociual Security, were they “obstructing democracy”.”

Um yes… What’s so hard to understand about that?

But it’s also a fact that the filibuster has been used more this session of congress than in any other session in history. and it is a fact that they have blocked all but one jobs bill.

Why must you change the subject?

mike: “Could it be that blocking these massive federal programs is what the American people want?”

They aren’t blocking “massive federal programs”… they are blocking things like tax credits and loans to small businesses. They are blocking job creating programs and other programs that will infuse our struggling economy with the cash it needs to make a recovery. People want jobs, and by the vast majority people want UI extensions passed.

They actually have let the biggest federal programs through (obamacare, stimulus, wallstreet reform is coming!). So no, I don’t buy that line for a second.

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thats good. not godd not even sure if you can buy a GODd

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Normal

**OMG, Righties! Cover your ears and eyes and starting yelling lalalalalalala….**

You still have the majority and you can’t get anything done. Now who’s refusing to hear the truth?

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“It’s just that your penchant for making fun of anyone who disagrees with you might not carry as much credibility as if you actually at least tried to make some sort of intelligent counter-point to what others are saying.”

sorry, but no. I don’t dignify comparisons with the Holocaust or Pol Pot or Stalin – why? because those idiotic comparisons actually belittle and diminish the millions of people that died in those atrocities when you compare them to (shock! horror!) increases in the capital gains or extensions of unemployment benefits.

you want to talk like a grown-up, then leave the adolescent comparisons on the curb

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They did come out with a idea to finally pay for the wars by raising the retirement age but other than that, all they got is the good ole no.

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“If I then gie you that good lets say a pair of shoes. You don’t pay any taxes on those shoes”

If you buy them from a distributor you pay taxes. If you then turn around and SELL them to me (not GIVE) in a retail transaction, yes I *do* pay taxes as well. Why should I have to pay those taxes? By Gale’s logic, taxes have already been paid on them, why should I also have to pay taxes on them?

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“would bring a stripped down version of the bill to the floor.”

Exactly. Peloshyt was one of the first to start foaming at the mouth and trashing the republicans. Of course this and many many other wrongs are the fault of Reps and Bush.

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“sorry, but no. I don’t dignify comparisons with the Holocaust or Pol Pot or Stalin – why? because those idiotic comparisons actually belittle and diminish the millions of people that died in those atrocities when you compare them to (shock! horror!) increases in the capital gains or extensions of unemployment benefits.”

or fighting wars supported by the vast majority of Americans or implementing a phone surveillance program or any of the other large number of things that liberal called Bush Hitler for.

The Gerson article says it best:

“If you only take offense when the president of your party is compared to Hitler, then you’re part of the problem.”

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USinUK:

There’s more but they can’t go here …………….

Gotta run ……..

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Tomas: “f I buy a godd, I pay taxes on that good.

If I then gie you that good lets say a pair of shoes. You don’t pay any taxes on those shoes.”

That’s a great theory, except UI benefits are taxed just the same as all income. So they are in fact, taxed. And it is, in fact, money that is immediately spent (and taxed again). When it’s spent it ads cash flow to businesses that wouldn’t otherwise have it. They use it to pay employees so it’s taxed yet again.

There is not one bad thing about UI benefits in a job market that can’t provide enough opportunities for everyone. In fact, it probably the wisest spending the government has made in the past several decades. It benefits everyone.

For those that don’t understand how UI works, the final 20 weeks (EB) one must prove they are looking for a job and must take any job they are offered. This kinda defeats the whole “they won’t apply or take any job” logic that people who don’t understand how UI works always use.

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“Mike-
Republicans held the majority when Bush wanted to privatize SSI and I beleive it was bipartisan rejection.”

There were some Republicans who opposed but the Democrats unanimously opposed.

Sound familiar?

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If went got rid of all of the illegal aliens taking jobs away from Americans no American would be unemployed. If we had an American in The White House the economy would be booming and everyone would have a choice of 10 high paying jobs. But then, what would JB rant about?

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Doggone/GA

June 30th, 2010
9:39 am

Thats not Gale’s logic as I see it. She was giving an example of an estate being passed down. Unless it happened in a way I was unaware of NO MONEY changed hands. So in other words I didn’t sell you the shoes… I gave them to you.

You chose to change things around to me selling them to you.

Should a person in your mind have to pay taxes on a gift given to them, a shirt, as a birthday present?

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All I see here, for the most part, is one big collective Smart-Ass.

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when I was unemployed, I worked two part time jobs that I would have preferred to decline, just to stay afloat and keep money coming in while awaiting my time that would eventually land me the job I had been searching for and working for, for 5-6 years. I never took one cent from the government.

I understand how some may need a month or two of unemployment to give them time to look for some kind of a job, but any more than that is not necessary. Anyone with a brain and some muscle can find a job in 60 days. It may hurt the pride a bit taking something “beneath” your ability, but it is one of those situations that build character.

If more people had the same drive, our country would be better for it. Yes, that was me patting myself on the back.

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What I think is so funny, is that Jay uses the CNN fact check as some kind of left wing sword, but what you fail to understand is all you have done is brighten my day with this infomation. If the Rebublicans are trying to stop Obama at every turn, they are doing as I wish. 2 more years and the one trick pony is gone.

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1. Why should estates be taxed? People work their entire lives for that money and should be able to pass it to their heirs without the government touching it.

2. I know people who are on unemployment, collect their $330 a week and then do work for cash “under the table.” What is their incentive to ever get off unemployment?

3. The Arby’s beside my office has had a sign up for about a month that they are hiring a shift manager.

4. I have people apply for jobs at my company everyday who are on unemployment. I can tell that about half of them are only applying so they can keep their unemployment. They are SHOCKED when I hire them. The last two quit within 2 months. They were only applying to keep their unemployment…they didn’t actually want to work.

I’m not saying all people on unemployment are like this…I can only speak from personal experience. I do, however, think there is A LOT of fraud in unemployment and there needs to be more oversight. The unemployment officers I have come into contact with are usually typical incompetant government workers.

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pat – “create an environment in which jobs can be created”

okay. I’ll bite.

what does Congress / the administration need to do, in your view, to create said environment?

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Once again Reagan was right! Every person who receives welfare, food stamps, medicaid, or unemployment should be required to show up at a work center at least 5 days a week. They can clean parks, mow, weed, or some other Man-Well-Labor.

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Jay –

Well that is quite a dishonest statement you make, but that is what you get paid for right?

Your pathetic cherry picking of my comments demonstrates the depths of your intellectual cowardice. You take comments out of context (often two at a time) to avoid having to discuss anything of substance.

The post of mine that you copied and pasted (you are great at that by the way) was in response to your own silly and fact-free comment to me.

I started off my post with a direct rebuttal to your argument. As usual, you ignore any substantive argument because you are hoping in vain that your distractions to the inter-personal mask your inability to respond. You know it. I know it. And everyone who can read knows it.

Feel free to respond to any of the substantive criticisms I have made of the argument you made today or of your laughably hypocritical paean to Robert Byrd.

Better yet, keep it on this level and keep demonstrating that you add nothing to this blog that AmVet to RW could not.

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I think when you occupy countries, check papers and properties and exterminate the population, the hitler reference is fair .

Just sayin.

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Obama for Heisman-

I can’t beleive I’m bout to say this but that actually sounds like a decent idea. Did Boortz really say that??

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“I think when you occupy countries, check papers and properties and exterminate the population, the hitler reference is fair .”

I am confused. Are you comparing Obama to Hitler?

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“The largest increase in minimum wage in our history is a good place to start.”

House vote – 315-116 – just under 2/3
Senate vote – 94-3

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What some fail to realize is the minimum wage is a starting point to begin ones career…move up the ladder so to speak, and not to be confused with a living wage.

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Obama for Heisman @9:57, The Republicans would filabuster that.

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Jay –

LOL. I don’t hate you. I am sure that you are a fine guy who is good to his family, friends and neighbors.

If you notice my criticisms are of your debating style, lack of professionalism, and your rhetoric’s negative impact on our community. I think that you should be fired and replaced by a real journalist who can provide more than undifferentiated partisan dreck. The fact that you are a walking, talking embodiment of everything that is wrong with mindless partisan punditry doesn’t mean I hate you.

Let me know if you ever want to explain why didn’t mention that Byrd opposed the Afghan War that you and Obama support as much as he opposed the Iraq War. Your Michael Moore style of selective reporting is too easy to pick apart.

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Let’s see, I personally know 4 people that are unemployed and have been for the past 9 months or more. 3 out of the 4 are lazy S.O.B.’s that don’t want to work, and enjoy having their days to themselves..lounging at a pool, going out drinking. And the 4th ONLY wants to work 3 hours a day, and can’t find any employer willing to agree to her demands. Cut them ALL off. Only way they’ll get off their butts, is if they have absolutely no $$$ coming in to them.

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The GOP has a history. If you are a well-connected, rich contractor/friends of the right person, they will give you tax-payer funded contracts had over fist with little or no bidding and then when you don’t perform the service, commit fraud or let’s say allow employees in you care to be raped without any redress or soldiers to get sick or electrocuted by your shoddy work, they do nothing other than fire the person in the IG’s office who investigates such occurrences.

That too many of the Democrats are letting them get away with this is just pathetic.

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The true blame belongs to the democrats. If they really wanted benefits extended, then they could craft legislation that is palatable. There are GOP that are willing to negotiate, and finding some budget cuts to help offset costs is a reasonable thing to do. All they need is a couple of senators on board and it is a done deal.
I suspect that is not happening though.
In addition, the libs keep calling the GOP obstructionists in an effort to win elections in November.
Give them “an offer they can’t refuse”, and if they still refuse, then they are subject to defeat in November.

The problem is that there is no offer.

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WELLLLLLLLLLL DOGGIES…that 790 billion dollar (1.6 trillion after financing costs) sure is proving to be a god send and well worth the money.. 13,000 whole damn jobs created in June. WoW, Big eared b*stard and bite me, how did we ever doubt you.

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Call it like it is.

June 30th, 2010
9:49 am

I can agree with your position too, but what I don’t get is how the GOP is willing to run roughshod over the people who need their help while using every weapon they have to stop President Obama? I don’t understand how they think those kinds of tactics will gain them votes in November. If I were unemployed and read that the GOP was trying to stop my Unemployment benefits while two wars and numerous tax cuts were still being financed, do you really think I’d be so dumb as to vote Republican? Nope, don’t think so. Wouldn’t be prudent.

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It appears like Mike was getting on Jay’s nerves last evening!

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I’m personally grateful to finally start seeing some of the Republican’s true colors shining through. It is so much better than the totally deceptive days of Bush and his merry band. Of course, they still have a long way to go before they have fully revealed their innermost selves but it is best to that slowly in order to avoid mass shock and awe.

And, Normal, if you’re here, not to worry about those timbers that I massacred. They were pre-killed and even previously used. They were old railroad ties.

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Jay –

And while you are “quite willing to let readers be the judge”, you might note that after years of running this blog, your audience continues to be the same twenty or so names.

Looks like the readers have already made their judgement. LOL

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I’ve been underemployed/unemployed for nearly five years. My wish list of private and public sector entities that have rejected me stands at 108. If I could qualify for unemployment I would take it. However, at some point a line has to be drawn. I hold neither the Democrats or Republicans responsible for this, although the Obama adminstrations policies aren’t helping and may be making things worse. What Mr. Bookman wishes for is called Welfare. Is it not?

Granny Godzilla @ 8:36 am: Do you really believe that?

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Why should estates be taxed? People work their entire lives for that money and should be able to pass it to their heirs without the government touching it.

The logic behind the passing of the estate tax is unassailable: the tax is to prevent the establishment of almost-royal generations who attained their privileged positions merely through a predecessor’s labors, not through their own. Republicans and libertarians love to talk about the importance of hard work and saving. Yet, they’re willing to give the DuPonts and others a free pass when fortunes are passed down tax-free to unworthy heirs (last I heard, one of the wealthy DuPonts is still in prison for a heinous murder.) The exemption level before the estate tax takes effect is very generous. If an individual can’t thrive on $1 million + 45% of the remainder of a bequest and even add to the windfall, he/she has no business sitting on such a fortune and holding it out of circulation.

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“That’s right, Pat. In 07-08, the number of cloture motions doubled, and they have roughly maintained that pace in ‘09-’10.

That’s because in ‘07, Republicans were suddenly in the minority and started using the filibuster much more aggressively
”

Careful drawning conclusions with out facts. A number of those bills, like military spending and impletmenting the findings of the 9/11 commision are things the Republicans really liked. So it does not stand to reason that it’s all the work of republicans. Just looking at the list it would be a fair conclusion of about 50/50 if one were to guess, based on what is in there…And quite frankly there are some really stupid needless bills that did not deserve any consideration.

There was little need for a republican filibuster when you had a republican president, very likely to veto anything that was staunchly liberal.

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I have been unemployed for over a year and have been looking for work ever since. My ui benifits I was collecting where helping me keep bills paid and my family fed Its sad to see people here blaming obama for a mess that was in the works all ready before he came to office and to see people leave comments that the unemployed are lazy and dont want to work Just be thankfull that you are employed and are not in our position I am not lazy have 2 degrees and cant find work If you really want to know I got layedoff feb/2009 I did not collect UI benifits till July/2009 after going thru my saving and loosing my car and I am with 1 foot out of my house I am sad to be an american with this senate condeming the unemployed to the unknown abyss

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Thank you Jay for keeping this matter in the forefront!! There should be NO debate with regard to unemployment benefits for Americans.

The recession is here because Bush chose to focus his 8 years in office on an occupation of Iraq. He had no domestic agenda and NO OVERSIGHT of the financial wellbeing of this country.

Americans are suffering TODAY because Bush FAILED HIS PRESIDENCY! The deficit was out of whach 8 years ago when he started pouring billions a day into Iraq with NO FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND DID NOT PUT THIS MONEY IN ANY BUDGET!

Americans want to work, they need to work and those millions who all of a sudden lost their jobs because we had a moron for President are not to blame for any of this! But, THEY ARE the ones suffering now! GOP has done more harm to this country with how they govern and lack of connection to the American people.

Enough of this! Voting against extending benefits was anti-American, pure and simple. Those who did vote against extending benfits should all lose their jobs. Course they’ll never have to worrying about surviving, now will they!

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Good quote on the filibusters through 1970, how many between 70-92 when the Dems were in charge most of the time?

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My wish is for Jay to join the unemployment line. I would try to help pay his benefits for him, or he could get his liberal-democratic friends to help.

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What people fail to realize is that minimum wage either creates inflation or decreases the amount of available jobs.

pat, you are not going to like my position on this matter at all. As Gomer Pyle used to say, “Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!”

Minimum wage? How about a frickkin’ living wage?

It is an irrefutable fact that for the vast majority of Americans their rights as workers and their adjusted inflation incomes have been on the DECLINE for decades. It is way past time to reverse that and give workers – the backbone of the US economy – the rights and recompense they deserve.

So call me crazy but I just won’t shuck and grin for the union-busters and the Walmarts, and their Wall Street fleecers, who constatnly stiff American employees…

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Though my own college graduate son is out of work, I have to agree that the benefits have to stop somewhere.

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Government Worker

June 30th, 2010
9:51 am

jt said———-For all you overpaid federalies. Your austerity is coming. Suffer some hard austerity cuts now, or suffer some keynesian socialist poverty later.

Government Moocher said———–Just hold off for 17 months and 29 days, when my retirement date arrives. Then you can whack all you want, loser. Good thing we got Obama to veto anything you crustaceans might want to do if you capture Congress.”

jt————–We are coming for that pension too. And your SS.

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“minimum wage either creates inflation or decreases the amount of available jobs”

minimum wage creates inflation???

yeah. nothing like $14K a year in your pocket to stimulate demand.

oy.

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JAY…….would think even a moron like you would know if unemployment $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ kept flowing…people would not even try to find work…THERE IS NO $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ tree…karl marx

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“It is a gift… you don’t agree it seems and are looking for wiggle room, cause you see I may have a point”

I have heard the argument made that ANY “gift” constitutes income and should be taxed. But it doesn’t matter to ME if you actually have a point or not, since I am opposed to ALL taxes – as I said above – except a progressive sales tax based on the total on the sales receipt at the time of purchase.

But I’m not likely to live to see that ever enacted, and I see no reason, under current tax law, that large estates should not be taxed. It isn’t (it didn’t) affect me in any way. When my parents died they did not leave an estate large enough to be taxed under current law.

I make no judgement on whether that is “right” or “wrong” – just stating the fact. But, as I also said yesterday, I am a big believer in the Biblical injunction: of him to whom much is given, much will be asked.

People who inherit estates large enough to BE taxed aren’t going to miss that money near as much as they would like “the masses” to believe.

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what I don’t get is how the GOP is willing to run roughshod over the people who need their help while using every weapon they have to stop President Obama? I don’t understand how they think those kinds of tactics will gain them votes in November.

I think it’s a “dance with the one you brung” political calculus. The GOP decided very early in the Obama term to dump any semblance of working with Dems to govern, deciding instead to play to fears that this centrist Democrat was somehow “radical.”

If you can frame your ginned up outrage over deficit spending, even when that spending is to extend UE benefits just so, you can get the people in your base to think it’s mostly about how the Democrats want to give their hard-earned tax dollars to undeserving bums.

In mid-terms, it is mostly about convincing people to be afraid of something so they’ll get off their butts and vote. If Dems don’t play these cards themselves, show the most egregious TeaTard rally signs and remind people of what they can expect to see more of should the Dem base decide to sit this one out, I suspect they’ll regret it.

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“that’s right, Jay … you need to be a CHEERLEADER, dammit!!! clap if you believe!!!”

Bah. Nobody is asking for cheerleading. Just asking for the slightest bit of intellectual honesty. There are plenty of liberal pundits who represent their view without the need to demonize their opponents. Jay just isn’t one of them.

You and Jay love your straw man arguments don’t you? So much easier than actually contesting what people actually say.

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JAY…….LIKE ALL LIBERALS….YOU LACK ANY COMMON SENSE….You & Tucker are the reason the AJC has declined bigtime..

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To USinUK…You obviously do not have much of a grasp on Economics. Minimum wage increases DO careat inflation and/or less jobs.
When the cost of labor is increased to a busioness. They have a choice to either INCREASE the prices they charge (Thsi is INFLATION) or they must reduce the overall amount of workers used to fall within a fixed labor budget (This reduces jobs) – Pretty simple concepts really

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pat – I’m still curious – what do the president and/or congress critters need to do to “create an environment in which jobs can be created”???

I asked this about an hour ago – still not a peep …

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“what I don’t get is how the GOP is willing to run roughshod over the people who need their help”

It’s quite simple, actually. We can’t afford it. We need to cut some stuff before spending more.

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“I’ll cease responding to your posts from here on out.”

LOL. You never gave any responses anyway, just evasions and distortions. Now, you used to try and got tired of losing. The one that broke your back was your silly and indefensible argument that Bush lied about Iraq but Hillary did not. Since that time, you have never even tried to debate on facts.

I view your latest “boycott” as just another example of your intellectual cowardice and as just another evasion. The final victory will be when you ban me.

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I think the wingnuts are sorely misreading the public. This is political suicide. November will be a bloodbath for the GOP. They want to move America back to the 1960’s. Well, let’s do better than that. Let’s vote them back into the stoneage.

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“The final victory will be when you ban me.”

wow. talk about someone in desperate need of validation.

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“What do the president and/or congress critters need to do to “create an environment in which jobs can be created”???”

You could start by lowering our corporate tax rate which is one of the highest in the industrialized world. There are many things that governments can do to make the US a more attractive place to do business.

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USinUK –

Yep, I am desperate. Not only do I disagree with you, but I am a flawed human being. Of course, that is true of all who disagree with you, being that you are so “tolerant” and all. LOL

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Call the Georgia Labor Commissioner Mike Thurmond with your complaints. He should have all that money you have paid in and be able to return it to you without any more from Congress. If he doesn’t have it, ask him where it went? He is a leader isn’t he?

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They aren’t always denied unemployment after they quit. They get appeal after appeal and, depending on the unemployment officer, sometimes they win, sometimes they don’t.

What a crock, libertarian. I know of no case in Georgia in which a worker quit a job and was awarded unemployment compensation—ever. I know because in my former life I was in management at a corporation. The president of the corporation saw to it that the manager of an employee who quit and filed for UI attended every hearing and appeal of that employee, and I never once saw an appeal go in the former employee’s favor, nor did any of my former colleagues who served as managers. You may think you’re making a point, but you’re really under-cutting your own argument. Georgia is about as pro-employer and anti-worker as a state can get in this country.

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“November will be a bloodbath for the GOP”

Another citizen “informed” by Bookman style rhetoric. This is what I mean when I talk about the negative impact of writing like Jay’s on the community. Whether you like it or not, anyone who thinks that November will be a “bloodbath for the GOP” is sorely misinformed.

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Better yet, keep it on this level and keep demonstrating that you add nothing to this blog that AmVet to RW could not.

mike,

Would you mind expounding on that comment?

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as for the “highest corporate taxes EVAH” argument …

“The U.S. corporate tax burden is smaller than average for developed countries.[1] Corporations in 19 of the member states of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development paid 16.1 percent of their profits in taxes between 2000 and 2005, on average, while corporations in the United States paid 13.4 percent.”

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=784

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mike is right.

The only partisonship should be us against the gang of 520 kleptos in DC.

The ” R” VS” D” is a sham, which only serves the corruptokleptocracy.

At the risk of a boycott.

Today
mike———————–1
Jay————————-0

I’m out.

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Im still waiting on what major piece of legislation the democratic majority pushed between 2007 and 2009. That was asked roughly an hour ago as well

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Jay — I think you would find that if the Federal Government were only doing what it is suppose to do (protect the Constitution from threats internal and external to the US), then the Right would not have a problem. You see, I manage a budget for a corporation, and I am not allowed to exceed that budget when making spending decisions. That is all the republicans were asking — cut something that is unnecessary and you can have the money. Jay — do you really believe that all Federal spending that is happening is necessary?

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Your missing part of the equation and you need to start pay more attention to the playbook. Your article needs to include some sort of reference to an unemployed worker that is about to get evicted but also needs a liver transplant because he/she used to work at a liquor store and the employer forced the to drink in order to keep the job. Needs those extra weeks just to survive.

I am belatedly proud of the GOP for taking a tiny stand against extra spending-(too bad they didn’t stop any spending when they had the reins.) Doesn’t matter anyway, Obi and his boys/girls can do what ever they damn well please anyway-right? That is except anything that actually helps the economy improve (like get the hell out of the way.)

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Now that 10% unemployment is permanent we should seriously consider a return to WPA or CCC type programs where the permanently unemployed could at least be improving our parks or infrastructure or something.

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“What would you do if I got banned? 70% of your comments are empty comments directed at me.”

that’s right, mike … it’s aaaaaaaalllllllllllll about yooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuu …

we never talk about anything/anyone else …

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Republicans like those places where someone spanks them for being bad. That does explain a lot.

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USinUK –

“we never talk about anything/anyone else …”

Just when I am here. Take a quick tally of the comments and while you are sneering that you never talk about me, take note of how often you talk about me.

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“that’s right, mike … it’s aaaaaaaalllllllllllll about yooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuu …”

You know that people are starting to lose it when they start with rants like this. LOL

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I have read today some who have tried to use the bible as a means to show that we should be charitable, or look after those in need. But what about these verses?

Proverbs 12:11
He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment

Proverbs 14:23
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty

Proverbs 21:25
The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.

Proverbs 22:26-27, 29
Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you…. Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure

2 Thessalonians 3:8
nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

2 Thessalonians 3:10
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”

Or do you only like to quote the parts of the bible that support your arguments?

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I think the endless spending has to stop somewhere, I don’t have a problem extending the benefits as long as Obama and the Dems. stop giving the rich banks and financial institutions money that they don’t deserve.
Why don’t the Dems challenge the Repubs. on the fillabuster and see if they will really do it?
Obama has not created one job outside of Gov’t. Where are the jobs?

The Dems. have had almost 99 weeks to create jobs, where are they?

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Go Mike Go!!!

Funny how Jay and friends project their bigotries, hypocrisy, and arrogance onto you.

Keep up the good work.

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“Funny how Jay and friends project their bigotries, hypocrisy, and arrogance onto you.”

That’s the idea. I feel like Pavlov ringing the bell

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The first $3.5mm is exempt so I have to pay tax on $6.5mm. 45% of 6.5mm is about $2.9 mm. So, I have to come up with $2.9 million in CASH to pay the IRS for inheriting a business. Where would one come up with that cash?

Cry me a river, libertarian. Don’t expect me to be tolerant of your whining when there are thousands out there without enough money even to pay for a MARTA ticket to look for a job because your boys insist on filibustering an extension of unemployment compensation. You pay the tax by selling part of the business assets. Very few are ready to concede that you’re so worthy of inheriting $10 million that we ought to allow you to get it all tax-free. If I have to pay taxes on a lousy $1,000 I make in interest in a year, why should you escape taxes on $10 million? You didn’t earn $10 million. Your parents did.

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Go Mike. Corporate tax should be zero since they are just added to the price of goods and services putting US companies at a disadvantage relative to most foreign firms. The dividends and capital gains generated by these companies for their stockholders should be taxd at regualr income rates however.

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“Ireland’s corporate tax rate is less than 17% and they’re in a recession and have done the Republican thing of cutting public spending and they have 14% unemployment rate and.. well, let’s just say they’re not too thrilled with that Republican philosophy that so many here want us to pursue.”

Well assuming that economics is multivariate, you might have a point. It isn’t, so you don’t.

If you want to claim Ireland as a failure of the conservative model, are you not also attacking the liberal model for the failure of Greece?

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Mike,

You keep listening to the rightwing media’s BS about the Republicans taking the house and senate. It will make you feel good until November at least.

I can’t believe how crazy the GOP has gotten. And the mindless imbeciles will follow them over the cliff.

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What is neccessary? Is it what a Republican wants,
or is it what a Democrat wants? Seems like we should
be on the same page. Why is the Gov’t failing when
a political group says so? I’ve yet to see the Gov’t
falling apart because just one party is in charge.
Seems to be both parties and our complicit cooperation
that is the problem.

When did the Gov’t cut costs for bombs,missiles,funding
for Black Budget projects,etc.? Haven’t heard of low
budget explosives or wars for that matter.

Didn’t realize war funding was ever cost effective or
efficient. We barter today. Must have funds. I thought
things were getting more expensive every day.

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@Disgusted

Ok, I’ve had it happen. You can believe it or not, I don’t really care. I also had a person admit to me that they were addicted to drugs and needed to go to rehab. They got unemployment. The logic? I didn’t TEST them for drugs, therefore, have no proof. Nevermind the fact that the person admitted it. But I’m sure you won’t believe that either. So, whatever…

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“Why should any part of any estate belong to anyone other than the heirs?”

“How far back to you want to carry it? When a business buys raw materials, they pay taxes. When they buy equipment to make their product, they pay taxes. When they sell to a distributor, the distributor pays taxes. When the goods are bought at retail, the buyer pays taxes. At what point would you say: this person shouldn’t have to pay taxes?”

If you look hard enough at your answer, the theme is pretty obvious – one is choosing to Buy/spend and therefore choosing to be taxed.

That is not the case with estate tax – all the assets have previously been taxed and nothing is being “spent” – the cycle would continue once the heirs took control and chose to buy/spend.

An estate tax per se is nothing but a gov’t takeover of a private asset – pure and simple.

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Jay,
As a life-long Democrat, and most of my adult life Liberal (growing more so every day), I appreciate your approach to providing information. I hope you continue to provide us with your valuable service for a long time. In addition to your analysis, I enjoy reading Granny G’s, AmVet’s, as well as, opposing veiwpoints, that is, those presented without name calling or insults.
PS
For the record: I am proud father, a non-combat Marine veteran, a retired firefighter, and a social security recipient.

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Cris –

“So to all the people calling us unemployed folks “lazy” and “shiftless” good for nothings who didn’t plan accordingly–please get off the blogs and do the job that you’re so fortunate to have”

No, Jay and his cronies are claiming that people are calling you lazy and shiftless. That is not really happening.

Saying that extended unemployment benefits are a disincentive to employment is not the same as calling people lazy and shiftless. It is a economic phenomena acknowledged by the CBO and liberal economists like Robert Reich.

Don’t let Jay’s demagoguery steer you away from the actual debate. Your confusion is one of the many consequences of Jay’s need to demonize those who don’t share his political views.

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I’m glad the GOP is standing up for more reckless spending. It has become tiresome at the liberal logic Jay spews on a daily basis. Just throw money at the problem and it will go away….. These people who have sat on their ass for months can get out and pick up trash or dig ditches….

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Thanks right mm.

I just saw a recent poll on your favorite site Daily Kos that Harry Reid is in the lead. LOL Come Nov., I’m sure you’ll have a new handle.

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Congrats to me! After 15 months of searching I start full time at my new job right after the 4th, yeah!

Yes, it is hell out there, and being unemployed is one of the worst feelings ever, I hope to never be in this position again, nor wish it on anyone else.

I agree with an earlier post, if the recession started with 7% unemployment, extend benefits until the unemployment rate is back to 7%.

BTW – I managed to get by with contract work and odd jobs, not once collecting an unemployment check from GA. Others are not so lucky, and there are a lot of others who were working just has hard as I was to find a job.

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@Some People are stupid

I think you’re an accountant (if I remember correctly) so maybe I shouldn’t argue this with you..but it is based on the fair market value of the business (according to my tax attorney).
Yes, trusts, grats, etc can shelter some of the money but not all.
I’m not a farmer and don’t know any so I probably shouldn’t have said that. I just wanted to make the point that its not only the Waltons and DuPonts of the world who are paying estate taxes…

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md-

Do we not tax capital gains? The value of the assets have changed. When it is transferred it is at the FMV. That usually generates a gain from the basis. Is it high? Possibly, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is taxable.

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TaxPayer – This ain’t Ireland dude. Ireland became a 1st world country in the 90s, not kidding.

Why on God’s green earth does every liberal think Europe has the answers?

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Jay, if the Dems hadn’t spent $800,000,000,000 for a phony “stimulus” bill (read pork feast) there might be money left over for worthy causes like unemployment benefits. Permanent tax cuts and corresponding cuts in federal spending would create jobs over the long haul. Incidentally the Clinton “surplus” was projected, not actual.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQfGTDyjVSE&feature=related

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@Curious Observer

I’m not looking for your sympathy, nor do I need it. I wouldn’t be inheriting $10 million, I would be inheriting a business VALUED at $10 million. A business that also employs 50 people. Perhaps some of them would get layed off to cover the tax burden?? But you, like most poor liberals with your hand out, are just jealous.

And again, Arby’s is hiring. I’m sure you could find $1.75 (or whatever marta fare is) on the side of the road if you looked hard enough.

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Please stop saying there are 5 applicants for every job out there, there’s no way that ratio is accurate. The last job I applied for I was told by the employer that within 24 hours of listing the job position over 200 people applied and sent resumes. I’ve heard that amount a few times from employers.

The 5:1 ratio data is skewed but the AJC keeps using it. Please do your own research and ask local employers for some real numbers and use that data. Georgia has a higher than average unemployment rate, so general statistics shouldn’t be applied to the numbers here.

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Jay,

They don’t need 60 votes.. why don’t they just ram this down our throats like barrycare?

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Karl Childers-

Permanent tax cuts and corresponding cuts in federal spending would create jobs over the long haul

Economically thats incorrect.
1. The tax cuts were in place prior to the stimulus so any affect the tax cuts would have had would have already been in place.
2. Cuts in federal spending rarely create jobs. In fact adding jobs is adding spending…so cutting spending would be cutting jobs.

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Corporate tax should be zero since they are just added to the price of goods and services putting US companies at a disadvantage relative to most foreign firms.

Woo Hoo! Another of my favorite primarily-Republicna foisted canards.

After Wporld war II the tax collections frm Uncle sam were nearly evenly split between businesses and individuals.

Now business pay less than 20% of that investment.

And some of you seem so flummoxed as to the cause of our deficits…

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Glory days, man they’ll pass you by. A house divided cannot stand. The beginning of the end of america started with NAFTA. No way in hell we could ever compete with low wage asian workers. The theory was that wages would rise to our level. Instead, profiteers realized boat loads of money was to be made by exploiting workers over there where there are no laws and regulations. We’ve been through rough times before and come back. Obama, most likely is a transitional president rather than a transformational one. However, when one surveys the political landscape, republicans have moved so far to the right, the democrats have to be the default party to deal with our problems.

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If we fired all the selfish greedy morons in Washington and quit fighting useless wars we could afford to pay unemployment and balance the budget at the same time

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My friend and boss, President Obama, isnt the problem. You being a smart-ass is the problem.

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Agreed…Obi is his own worst enemy and watching him fail is just so satisfying!!

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amvet

Some people here would prefer that we change our country to: the United Corporations of America, afterall aren’t their interests first served by our gov’t?

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pat
June 30th, 2010
8:54 am

How long would you suggest unemployment benifits go on. One year? Two years? Or is it to be open ended and with out end?
——————-
How about for as long as there are six applicants for every job?

Somebody commented that “they” have been taking the tax out of his paycheck for 20 years. Unemployment money comes from a tax on employers not on employees.

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Joe Biden, maybe your boss isn’t such a “big f’in deal” after all……

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when small businesses keep saying that the actions of washington are impairing their ability or desire to create jobs.. should we not look at this seriously? outside of the federal govt.. who is hiring like crazy.. they are largest employee base in the country.

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“The role of the inheritance tax is to counterbalance, modestly, the ability of the very rich and super-rich to create family dynasties in which family members by virtue of birth and birth alone have insuperable economic advantages over the rest of society. We live, or should live, in land of equal opportunity, not a feudal regime in which life position is determined by hereditary birth.”

I guess you are also in favor of rich countries sharing with poor countries since it is always about a genetic lottery. Let’s take the assets of every country in the world and divvy them up so all countries are “equal”. To be fair, all countries need to be 3rd world countries – right??

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AmVet – You do realize coporate taxes, and some regulations, are the reason so many US companies have moved offshore don’t you? That can’t be good for America. The ethics of inheritance tax is interesting talk but it’s peanuts from a revenue standpoint. Net estate tx revenues for 2008 totalled a paltry $25B. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/08es01fy.xls

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md

Why do people like bill gates, his father, and warren buffett support the estate tax? How much is enough? I mean when you can own everything you ever want in your lifetime, what’s wrong with giving back to the country where it all became possible?

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There are NO FREE LUNCHES–somebody has to pay.Either the current txpayers or your children and grandchildren. We can’t live on promises. Eliminate illegal immigration and it will be a step forward.

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Isn’t anyone proud of Obama for finally figuring out whose brass to kick?

Not one person? This bodes poorly for the midterms when an acting prez can’t get an applause break for his Lincolnesque handling of a stalled war effort. Lincoln, you know, fired many generals as he tried to find one who would fight. Lincoln had a thicker skin than Obama, as he endured many slights from his generals as they weighed in on their own contrary strategic visions for the war.

Mcclellan vs Mcchrystal: Both were very disrespectful of the commander in chief.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Except for this economy. This is unchartered cycle. China. Global influences. There probably isn’t one economist alive who can construct a reliable model for predicting growth. Watch CNBC interview the best and the brightest and you can’t get even remote similarities in criteria. Even Kudlow thinks this isn’t the bottom. Kudlow! I hope he hasn’t reverted back to his former addictions, and sticks with his lifelong quest for the perfect cheer for capitalism. Most wall street brokers are talking about preservation of capital.

A penny preserved is a penny earned.

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I’m proud to call myself an Independent…or a Logical Thinker, as I prefer to see it.

The Democrats control both houses of Congress and The White House. To complain about the minority party getting in their way reeks of pathetic whining.

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“Spend all your money and die poor”

That’s what I told MY parents to do. They started with almost nothing, everything they had they made, and saved, and built for themselves. I told them I expected to inherit nothing. They earned the right to spend every penny if they chose.

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amvet

Yes, and its always been that way hasn’t it? I mean the times have changed along with technology, but we still have a creepier corporate mutation of the rockefellers, carnegies, fords…..

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Smart A$$
When the Bush tax cuts passed there was a Republican majority

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@ Nothing is Free,

You must be missing something or just don’t understand american politics for the last decade. When Clinton left office in 2000, the U.S. had a surplus on the national debt. Repubs had complete, fillerbuster proof majority over the house and senate as well as a repub president. So they run-a-muc with spending for their war machine and welfare for the wealthy. The trippled the the national debt by the time bush left office.

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“Why do people like bill gates, his father, and warren buffett support the estate tax? How much is enough? I mean when you can own everything you ever want in your lifetime, what’s wrong with giving back to the country where it all became possible?”

Nothing wrong with giving back – if one chooses to do so. It boils down to freedom vs tyranny – one should have the freedom to choose what to do with what they have, not have a group of misfits decide what they deem as worthy.

Their is nothing stopping Gates, Buffet, etc from giving everything they own to others – but I find it interesting they choose not to.

So, you may want to ask them the definition of “enough”, as they don’t seem to want to part with it.

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Agreed md.

“Millions for charity but not one penny for tribute”.

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If you take out the rhetoric of ‘the unemployed are lazy free loaders’ what rationale is there for not extending benefits?
If people can’t pay the mortgage, they lose the house, the bank get its, losing money, losing taxes to the city/state, and lowering the value of the neighbors houses. Who benefits here?
If people can’t afford ‘luxuries’ like eating out, groceries, clothes, they don’t buy them or anything at all, businesses lose customers, taxes aren’t taken out, maybe stores start to go out of business, creating more unemployed, and the cycle continues. Who benefits here?

Our economy is largely based on the purchasing power of the people, if you create a new class of unemployed, homeless, unable to buy anything people, I don’t see them or the economy ever recovering.

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Md-
Prior to an estate tax, has the estate already not been taxed on capital gains??

No…capital gains are only taxed when realized…when it is transferred…its realized on the step up basis so it hadn’t been taxed.

Put it this way..if you owned stock in a company in 2000 at 100k..the stock price rose to 3mill in 01…you are only tax on the part that is sold..if you didn’t sell anything, its unrealized gain that isnt taxed. If in from 2001 to 2010 the investment fell from 3 mill to 110k, when transferred to you, it is valued at 110k. thats your basis, you are taxed on the 10k difference.

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Jay, Why don’t you pick on the people who have caused this mess. 99 weeks of extension already. If jobs were actually created – - – instead of doling out $$$; the employed would be paying taxes and paying for their own needs. How long would you keep up your own relatives because they don’t have a job from your own salary, savings, etc.? A lot of somebodies are going to have to pay this money back. You must blame the job makers for not doing their job. You are right that the diagnosis of the situation is that unemployed need temporary money to survive – - – but the main prognosis is that this is a slow death for the individual and nation if jobs are not created for the real cure.

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The biggest obsticle to companies is the Obama and the Democratic congress. American businesses are sitting in 1.4 TRILLION dollars in CASH. The reason they aren’t using that money to hire people is because they fear the costs of Obamacare, Cap & Trade, Card Check, New Taxes, and whatever else Obama and the Congress can dream up. 1.4 Trillion Dollars could create a lot of jobs in the private sector.

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Some People are stupid … first of all what “tax cuts” are you referring to? Secondly, PERMANENT tax cuts would stimulate economic activity as taxpayers kept more of their earned income and spent or invested it as they saw fit. The reason tax cuts are often not permanent is because politicians can’t stop spending money to buy votes. I see Washington as one party with two names.

To your other point, government spending creates government borrowing which “crowds out” private
sector borrowing and raises the cost of borrowed capital (i) for private sector companies.

Hope you were taking notes.

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The State of Georgia can recover 4 times the money needed for Medicaid/Medicare that isn’t being provided by the federal government!

Simply remove illegal aliens and their children! Each child of an illegal alien costs the local taxpayers $10,000 for K-12 educations! There are more than 30,000 such students in the state of Georgia. That math totals $300 million dollars each year.

Add in the costs of courts and court translators and document translations…add in the same for hospitals and public clinics, add in incarceration costs…well we are talking some REAL money here! Obama and the Democrats and state officials have done NOTHING that solves a long standing problem! What are they doing to earn the voters confidence that elected them?

Illegal aliens cost the state of Georgia $1 Billion each year. Note: that includes their “anchor” babies.

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Both parties are to blame and the one percent sold your jobs overseas to increase their profits. They are not coming back and this experiment of capitalism has failed and so have the people.

Divided we failed.

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md,

Through pure luck, against all odds, and through no actual work, a minimum-wage putz wins the lottery and is heavily taxed. Hey, why not? He didn’t work for those millions, after all.

Through pure luck, against all odds, and through no actual work, a child is born to a billionaire oil-exec and inherits a cool $Bil. Why not tax it? He didn’t work for it, after all.

Middle class Mommy toils in gray, over-air-conditioned cublicle owned by foreign holding company for decades on a salary that does not keep up with the increasing cost of everything, and is understandably GRATEFUL to have a job in this ecomony. Mommy is taxed like a m—-r eff-r at every turn, and wonders why lucky fetus should get to skip the taxes on his cool $Bil he DIDN’T work for…

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dog, Matti, et al – Please explain the difference between the debt and deficit due to off budget war expense vs in budget war expense.

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Jay, they didn’t have the votes for Obama Care either, but they seemed to be able to get that done. How about you stop blaming R’s for the complete failure of your majority in both houses D’s and hold them accountable for getting something done for a change. Pathetic. Everything is either Bush’s fault or R’s fault and the people in charge are blameless. Unbelievable.

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“Please explain the difference between the debt and deficit due to off budget war expense vs in budget war expense”

Bottom line? There isn’t one. Above that, an off-budget expense makes the budget LOOK smaller than it really is…which is WHY the wars were kept off-budget in the first place.

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Doggone/GA @ 11.55,

I had the same thought as soon as I read it

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USinUK

June 30th, 2010
11:42 am

“the Dems SHOULD be raising a stink about the country being held hostage.”

lil far reaching there wouldn’t you say.

Is it really holding the country hostage if they don’t just let the dems have everything they want? That is part of politics, getting people to go along with your ideas through compromise. Is there something illegal that the GOP is doing or are they jsut playing by the rules allowed?

Hostage would be passing a Health Care Bill that the people as a majority were firmly against without any help from the other party. For the Dems so far it has either been their way or no-way. i have not seen much compromise from either side but certainly more concessions have been made by the rep. what have the dems conceded, and still passed a bill?

But we voted them into office to do so I suppose.

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obama did kick some ass. The unemployed are getting their asses kicked everyday.

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Jay,

Once again Liberals just not “getting it.”

Listen, I know it is a tough job market right now, but we can’t just keep extending benefits time and time again. Liberals love to say how welfare really doesn’t cost the US that much. However, it’s not just welfare people are getting, its Medicaid, food stamps, section8 housing. When you add up all of these, it is a pretty astonishing number how much money 1 person can “receive” from the government.

As much as Jay and Cynthia are trying really, really hard to make Republicans look bad, it won’t and isn’t working. Most Americans are waking up to the disaster that is Obama and this DEMOCRATIC controlled Congress. You can try to spin numbers and facts all you want…our control is eroding quickly, and Obama and his nut job advisors, czars, judges are only furthering it. We can only pray some of the damage can be undone

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“The unemployed are getting their asses kicked everyday.”

yeah. because unemployment only started growing after 21 Jan 2009.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

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JCB @ 11.50, thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank you.

(I admit a particular fondness for “Briefly Tempting.”)

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Illegal aliens cost the state of Georgia $1 Billion each year. Note: that includes their “anchor” babies.

Until you get Congress and the American public to repeal the 14th Amendment, those “anchor” babies are US citizens and granted all rights and privileges thereof.

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The reason tax cuts are often not permanent is because politicians can’t stop spending money to buy votes.

In the case of the Bush tax cuts that are about to expire, they aren’t permanent because the Republican Congress bypassed a filibuster by using the budget reconciliation process in the Senate to pass them, just like the Democrats used reconciliation in the Senate to pass the healthcare law.

Here’s the kicker: anything passed by reconciliation has an automatic 10-year sunset provision. That’s why the Bush tax cuts expire on December 31. Their ten years are up.

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Even though I am a Republican, I am not one of these who thinks if we cut taxes right now everything would be rosy and great. However, I have talked to several small business owners (its part of my job), and the thing they are most worried/freaked out/scared about is future tax increases. While they haven’t gone up yet, it is almost a certainty that they are going up sometime soon…

Unlike Obama and the idiots in the White House who have ZERO real world business experience, business owners understand that you can’t just keep borrowing money and hoping things get better. Most business owners are hoarding cash expecting the large tax increases. Until Obama shows COURAGE to actually make cuts and start trying to fix the defecit, business owners will continue to not hire.

Can I ask some of you who voted for Obama, how did you vote for someone to have the most powerful job in the world that had absolutely no experience? The man’s experience consisted of community organizing. You couldn’t get a job making $40,000 a year with that kind of experience

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Yesterday in light of the Kos/research 2000 flareup, I learned that polls were bogus, only fools pay attention to them.

Today:

Hostage would be passing a Health Care Bill that the people as a majority were firmly against without any help from the other party.

Anyone else lose count of how many time the GOPers informed us that a “solid. Majority! are. against! this.” based on polling?

I guess it all makes sense, somehow.

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As an Obama supporter, I have to agree with the GOP on this one. Our country’s debt has gotten way out of control, and we simply can’t afford another extension. I do agree that there are tax credits that should be repealed, but we can’t keep extending aid to the unemployed at the cost of our nation’s fiscal future. Maybe if Ga could repeal that tax credit to seniors making over 100,000 a year, that could go to our state’s unemployed…

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Folks need to understand it is all about perception. It is perceived that Barry’s policies will be detrimental to business – hc costs, card check, cap and trade, huge debt, etc.

As mentioned, the bad times will continue until businesses perceive a better environment for them to conduct business in – so no time soon, unfortunately.

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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

What I would like to know, is how that if the Republicans won the Presidency, how would they have handled this Great Recession that the nation is faced with? How would they have prevented 8 million jobs being lost? If they could not prevent the job being lost, then how would they have handled millions of American Tax Paying citizens being unemployed for more than 99 weeks? Would they still spend $30 billion dollars on the War and not spend the same amount of money on the American People? How would they have handled the fall-out of the Financial Firms on Wall Street? Would they have left millions of Americans that are struggling to find work, and provide food, shelter and helath care to their families out in the cold without any support?
Senators make $170,000 a year, why do they not consider taking a pay cut to decrease the National Deficit? Let’s say decrease the annual pay of every U.S. Senator by $100,000 for the next 10 years to help reduce the National Deficit, now this would make a big impact on the national deficit. Moreover, let’s decrease the Defense Spending by at least 40% for the next 10 years, this would bring the National Deficit back into the Green.

What do you think about this?

Von’Victor Valentino Rosenchild
http://www.cloudapproval.wordpress.com

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Yes I did payroll and taxes for 20 years. Every company pays state unemployment every 3 months based on the wages paid to employees and federal unemployment every 6 months based the same. I don’t know where anyone gets the idea that the federal unemployment is not paid by employers. It is based on the wages paid to employees so these employees are entitled to the federal unemployment as much as the state unemployment. If need be based on the cimpanies layoffs raise their federal unemployment rate.

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Okay Mr. Jay, you said “Interestingly, that concern about the deficit seems to disappear when the debate turns to extending Bush-era cuts on the capital gains and estate taxes, for example. Renewing those cuts would have a far bigger and more long-term impact on the deficit than will temporary aid to the unemployed and the sick.” Please cite the source of your statement.. and please a creditable source…
You also said, “The GOP argues that it wants the bill to be “paid for” with offsetting cuts elsewhere so that it won’t worsen the deficit by another $35 billion over 10 years.” So what is wrong with that?
Why don’t you say, “This jobs bill is really critical, let’s strip out the other items and just votes for this…. Why the “add ons” right now on this Bill…. Both the Democrats and Republicans use this tactic, and I am tired of and so should you……..

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LET’S SEE PAKASTAN HOW ABOUT A COUPLE $300,000,000 FIGHTER JETS ISREAL HERE’S 40 BILLION DOLLARS SOUTH KOREA HERE’S A FEW BILLION FOR YOU.IRAC AND AFHGANISTAN HERE IS OUR CHECK BOOK.WRITE THE CHECK FOR WHAT EVER YOU NEED.AND UNEMPLOWED HARD WORKING AMERICAN CITIZEN.” GET LOST”

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Anyone wanna see some pictures of my new baby?

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Jay and others like you want the unemployed to feed off the hard workers permanently…or better yet..see if we can just get them a non-productive governement job…America is over as we have known it…just like Jay…we all want our entitlements forever and ever…this is why America is over…Thanks leader Jay. You are a huge part of the problem. How about finding ways to help small businesses…oh that would be helping out the republicans…how about putting all the unemployed on the gulf coast and make it clear, you can pick up your check after a week of productive clean up.

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Rick

Good luck on getting the 14th repealed. I don’t think that’s ever gonna happen.

md

If businesses are making their decisions on perceived implications instead of actual, how can any administration be held at fault. People could perceive me to be a threat just by my personal appearance, but if I give them no reason to see me as such, does that make me a threat?

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Scout needs to remember that the Marines are a division of the Navy…

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If only we had voted for McCain, we could have had Phil Gramm (the father of the undercover unregulated derivative) in charge of all that ails us, economically speaking. Then again, it is his baby.

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“If businesses are making their decisions on perceived implications instead of actual, how can any administration be held at fault.”

It is all about talk and agenda – this agenda has cap and trade, card check, hc already passed, etc – none of them perceived as beneficial to business. Barry should have tabled hc and concentrated on jobs and the economy – he could have re-visited hc if/when there was a rebound. By doing it the way he did it, the perception is that his agenda is his priority, not jobs and the economy.

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Thank God President Obama was elected in ‘08, instead of ole Grandpa of the GOP — otherwise the Repubs would be trying to clean up the oil disaster in the Gulf by giving more tax-cuts to BP!

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“Why do people like bill gates, his father, and warren buffett support the estate tax? How much is enough? I mean when you can own everything you ever want in your lifetime, what’s wrong with giving back to the country where it all became possible?”

Nothing at all. If I had the billions and billions that bill gates and buffet have I might see nothing wrong with the government taking a few billion off my hands. But estate taxes have a different effect on many people, particularly small business owners and farmers. If a parent wants to leave the land or the business to their child, why should the government come around and take a huge chunk of cash out of the estate? Oftentimes the estate has very little cash (The Feds already took most of that in Income Taxes) and the business or farm must be sold to pay the estate taxes.

Mr. Gates and Mr. Buffet are free to do what they want to with their money (the government accepts donations) but they should just stfu when it comes to other people’s money.

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Well, all I knows is that onced peoples quits applying for unemployed benefitting, then the number of unemployed benefitting from being unemployed goes down and that means that things will onced again be good because people will be employed by virtue of not being counted as unemployed no more.

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Oh by the way, all these years paid into the federal unemployment by every company in the US, what did the government do with this money?

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**And you may want to check out the definition of tyranny**
tyr·an·ny
   /ˈtɪrəni/ Show Spelled[tir-uh-nee] Show IPA
–noun, plural -nies.
1.
arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority.
2.
the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler.
3.
a state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler.
4.
oppressive or unjustly severe government on the part of any ruler.

Sorry, but taxing paris hilton a few extra bucks does not constitute tyranny. Remember, we are a nation of laws and taxation is in congress domain. I would like to nominate you for corporate spokesperson for BP – they could use you.

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Why has no President or Administration since 1940 eliminated
the national debt? Why is spending out of control now?
Our gov’t has always been ahead of the curve on technological
advances. Doesn’t that take money? Was money just created
yesterday. Money seems to be something that only Democrats
spend, and Republicans replenish.

Perhaps, if we voted for Sarah “part-time” Palin, we would benefit
from her decades of military and real world experience!! Just look
at how Conservatives pay out the ass for her informed,experience
based words of wisdom.

It’s a good thing Palin was who she was, or the US
would be paying for daughter to be too big for
her britches.

Since Hispanics/immigration are still a hot button for repubs,
can we give this nation back to the Natives? Europeans
didn’t illegally acquire this land. How soon we forget!

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Big Jim- Your quote- “Money seems to be something that only Democrats
spend, and Republicans replenish”

Please go read some literature on the recent health care legislation and you’ll see that your quote above is quite true. Health care legislation will bankrupt this country and the Democrats names are all over it. They own it.

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People that recieve unemployment have to put it back into the economy, don’t they? Better than nothing.

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Jay- Why give them $330 a week? You say that like money grows on trees. They could work at a fast food restaurant and make that much on their own AND you wouldn’t be sucking my tax dollars to pay them. I’m not trying to be heartless, but I am tired of being one of the guys driving the wagon while an increasing number of folks have moved to the backseat and are now just free riders.

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We’ve wasted more money on war and corporate welfare than any paltry sum for those in need.

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And please don’t say that working at fast food restaurant is “beneath them.” The reason that these people haven’t found jobs after 99 weeks of free riding is that they view every job as “beneath them.”

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Yes Mick! Keep believing.

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Why is there so much focus on the scammers? What is the actual percentage of those gaming the system? Whatever the cost, it is vital for those who paid their dues and need something to get back on track.

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Earlier, someone insisted that he/she had paid into the unemployment fund from each paycheck and deserved to get that money back. To that I say go check the laws/rules governing the GA DOL where you will find that, in Georgia, employers pay the entire cost of unemployment insurance benefits. FUTA, the federal version, is also paid by the employer. It is like that in every other state as well as far as I know. I am sure one could argue that it is the employee who “really” pays because the employer somehow factors the cost in when determining salary, but I guess you could say that about everything from health benefits to office rent too. Just wanted to clear that up, not saying a thing about how much unemployment should be received or for how long…

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md

**Just because one is envious of another is not a reason, just an excuse.**

Greed – extreme desire for something, often more than one’s proper share.

I’d say its more closer to greed than tyranny. I got mine, didn’t you get yours?

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I managed restaurants about 15 years ago. At the time, my cooks made $10/hr. If they worked 60 hours a week, they would earn $800/wk. No diploma, no degree, just hard work. Some had two jobs like this…several made over $50K. There are jobs for those that want to work. My wife and kids are safe, even though I have a much better career now, I’m not scared to hop back if necessary.

99 weeks of sitting on your butt. You get used to it after a while.

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We will all remember this in November. We will remember how the Republicans turned their back on the backbone of our country, yet are more than willing to support the entities with the big bucks. We will remember the bank bailouts (numerous bailouts! Remember AIG!)…they act as if we, the unemployed, on the paltry amount that we are given (if any) were the one’s golfing at $6,000 a round.

Shame on the two party system. Shame on the Republicans for not being able to get over their prejudices long enough to do the job that they were elected to do. You’ve cut off this many people and you expect the economy to grow…oh that’s right the banks will have enough money to do what they want won’t they. Meanwhile our homeless population will skyrocket while millions of homes set vacant. Children will starve, because their parents can’t afford to feed them. People will lose their transportation (you know that thing that they need to even have hope to get a job), their houses will be returned to the greedy mortgage companies that lead how many thousands of people down a setup for failure path. Yes I can really see how our economy is going to rebound. The rich will still be getting richer and there will be a hell of a lot more poor folk to push around. For shame Senators, for shame Congress. When you’re paying your bills next month say a little prayer of thanks, because after November it may be you that is out of a job.

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So Mr. Bookman, I guess you are a fan of deficit spending?? The reason people stay unemployed “LONGTERM” is because of government handouts!! There are people making more money out of work. The Libtards want to blindly give money (like they have it), while piling up the deficit. I can tell you this; it’s not the GOP wanting the Obama Admin to fail. Obama has done that without any help.

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I hope there have been more cloture votes than ever. This is the MOST RADICAL AND SOCIALIST attempt at taking over this country in our history. Thank God someone is trying to stop this madness.

Captial Gains Tax? Come on Jay, surely you jest. What Capital Gains? Estate Taxes? You actually SUPPORT taxing Death? FYI Jay, if the Tax cuts expire, the economy will sink further. INcreased taxes does not equal increased revenues. What laughable yet sick on the part of you Liberals is you somehow “feel” that income is owed to the Gov’t, and you argue that a tax cut is somehow lost revenue. That’s BS, my money is my money, a tax cut doesn’t cost the Gov’t anything, they never have received the money thus it isn’t LOST revenue, they are not refunding me my money.

You failed to mention, ObamaCare will be funded with some substantial tax increases. In addition to increasing the Medicare tax, there will be a 2.8% tax on Capital Gains, the cost of employer provided medical benefits will become taxable as income to employees, and coupled with other pass down taxes and the expiration of the Bush Tax cuts, the loss of taxes and royalties from oil drilling since Obama is shutting down offshore drilling,we are all in for being butchered by the Democrats. Get ready folks, your taxes are headed skyward.

You want unemployment extended? No problem, how about paying for it by cutting something. Why not begin by cutting the National Endowment for the Arts, reduce foreign aid, research on the mating habits of various insects, birds, etc., and maybe Obama could give up a few of these White House shindigs he’s spending millions on, and Nancy Pelosi could fly commercial and stay put in her current office instead of moving to a new one at 3 times the cost to taxpayers. This isn’t Jerry Maguire, Democrats can’t continue to play “Show me the Money”

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Steve, unless you are mathematically challenged, you should know that there are not 60 Democrats in the Senate. To overcome filibusters and get anything done, at least one among the Party of No, must vote “Yes”. You know this, but you choose to ignore the fact.

mike, and once again you sound like the author of the Wrath of Sour Grapes.

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Midori, Hello!

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Sheryl,

Do you even have a clue why one party is holding out?? They aren’t against it, they just want it paid for.

Simple concept. One party wants to put it on a maxed out credit card, while the other wants to pay with “cash” (which happens to also be borrowed money). What is so hard about that??

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“Steve, unless you are mathematically challenged, you should know that there are not 60 Democrats in the Senate.”

Ahh, but there were.

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What about the stealing the country from Natives comment.
Republicans are too busy being disgusting too remember
this is a disgusting system.

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I want to understand how Liberals are always complaining about the war on terror and say how it is unjustified.

I’m sorry but if you had a wife, husband, CHILD, father, mother, in the World Trade Center, Pentagon, or one of the planes, I think your view would be a little different. Over 2,000 innocent US citizens were murdered and somehow you think it is not justified to go to war…I guess Bush should have just sat on his butt and waited for them to kill another 2,000 US citizens. Who knows, maybe it WOULD have been someone you cared about…not just some person you saw on the news..

It is astonishing the ignorance of some people

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“I think your tyranny effort falls in that category.

“What shall a man profit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?
JC – right on..”

OK, ask yourself then – would JC take it from him, or allow him to lose his soul on his own and then forgive him??

It is not for others to decide……………..

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“md, I looked at the link that you gave me on the topic of Muslims getting an exemption from mandatory participation in health care. As John McEnroe would say, “You cannot be serious!” What you printed as fact, was pure b.s. That site is a RUMOR site, is labeled as such, and you knew it.”

You may want to revisit my posts – I never said muslims exclusively, I said religions. And there is no bs whatsoever – it is irs code. I’ll be more than happy to debate anything you can point out as being untrue – just post it.

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Maybe someone should remind the Republicans that the unemployed vote!

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I am clueless:(

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Deborah,

And how many more will be unemployed if the deficit leads to bankruptcy or actions taken to avoid bankruptcy??

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Obama puts his socialist agenda before jobs, the American people, or economy!

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Veronica Policano

June 30th, 2010
1:22 pm
“Have you had to look for a job recently?”
Neither have those who are receiving unemployment checks.

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“md, people vote with their wallets, they always have. They are not going to care about anyone’s deficit or bankruptcy but there own.”

Well, there is responsible passage of this extension and irresponsible passage of this extension, why are you in favor of the later??

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**OK, ask yourself then – would JC take it from him, or allow him to lose his soul on his own and then forgive him??**

Clear case of convoluted logic..

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I am one of the unemployed…5 months and counting witout as much as an interview. anyone who thinks a person can “live” off of $330 per week is stupid. I hate this situation..all resources depleted….perfect credit gone south…behind on my mortgage and car payments. I worked in the mortgage industry and since my credit has suffered I can’t get a job at a bank doing mortgages. I am college educated and I have only had 2 jobs in the last 20 years. This is my first time being unemployed since I was 16 years old. How long should benefits last? Good question. Right now all it allows me to do is pay utilities and buy food. No one wants to live on unemployment because it isn’t possible.

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“those 5 plus million dollar wages and 100million dollar bonuses must be taxed a 95% to include rich democrats”

Just curious – how did you settle on those wage and bonus amounts as being the ones that should be taxed at 95%? And does that tax start at the first dollar (so $4.75m and $950m in taxes, respectively) or is it a progressive tax so that a person pays 95% only on amounts over that? Are you serious about this, or is it just some sort of “I don’t think anyone is worth that much money so they should have to give it to the government” thing? I ask because there seems to be a very wide swing out there in terms of what people perceive as being “rich enough to soak” and I cannot for the life of me figure out where the real line is drawn. To be honest, if they started taxing any portion of my income at 95% (or even 50%), I would have to talk to my employer about reducing my wages and hiring someone else to work with me because there is no way that I will continue to work 60+ hours per week and skip holidays and work on my vacations if I am paying to the government 95% of what I perceive I am earning by busting my hump so much. No thanks, I would rather shoot down to 40 hours per week and be with my family on holidays and vacations and receive a salary that is in line with that.

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My heart goes out to the unemployed. I know quite a few that can’t find work. they are either under qualified or over qualified. I know of a company in Norwood Ohio that moved to Kentucky because Kentucky is giving them this huge tax break to hire so many people each year for 5 years and they get this huge tax break. This would not have happened if some New York firm, they know who they are, had bought the company. Now these employees that make good money are slowly being let go so they can hire someone in KY. these employees have been there 10 to 30 years. Do you think they cryed about tax dollars when other people were unemployed? They were thankful that they had there jobs and contibuted to charities every week. How do you think they feel now that they are being dogged for drawing unemployment? Take a moment to think on that one. I also know someone that had to have surgery and when it was time for him to go back to work a couple of weeks later the plant was shut down. Think about that one. I could sit here all day and tell you so many unfair companies but I don’t have all day. Keep your mouths off the unemployed and start asking these companies what the —- they are doing.

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95% taxation?
Wow maybe the employer will stop offering those insane wages and hire more people like Dee stated. If you dont earn it then you wont be taxed. I think it is a great idea for me and America.

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VP – you and any others are always quite welcome to start your own business at any time – it is a choice.

As for the company you mention – for all we know, they moved to Ky to save more jobs than they lose – could that be a possibility??

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I’m going upstairs now.

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Stilllooking I wish you and all the others good luck and God Bless! Williebkind take a walk.

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KC-
First off you have to understand how the unfunded mandates are calculated. That’s looking at everyone in the system and projecting a one time cost. This is the first year SSI has paid out more than it has taken in.

A 19 to 21% tax rate is not a tax cut for some. That is raising the taxes on some professions that are in the lower tax brackets. So the notion of a permanent tax cut only applies to those higher than 21%.

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Its amazong how williebkind in one comment said tax at 95% then the next comment sais to stop taxing the corporation.

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Mick said: “We’ve wasted more money on war and corporate welfare than any paltry sum for those in need.”

That’s some brain dead thought. Because we have wasted money on XXX is not a reason to waste money on YYY. Sooner or later, someone has to be responsible and stop the fiscal bleeding.

Obama is not Clinton is not Carter. Bush is not Reagan. Just because one party did something in the past does not mean that they will do the same in the future. Just because one party did something in the past does not mean that the other party has a right to do whatever they want in the future. At some point, you have to look at what is being done TODAY by the people in office TODAY. The Dems in office TODAY are, at the very best, driving us towards a decades-long malaise like the one that has gripped Japan for 20 years. They are on their 13th stimulus with no turnaround in sight. At the worst, the Dems are driving us off a financial cliff. What they are doing is not justified by what Bush did, or what Clinton did, or what Reagan did. What they are doing is only justifiable by the results that they achieve…which have been very limited at best. To do something over and over again and expect a different result is stupid. Increasing unemployment beyond 99 weeks is stupid. There *may* be some value to reauthorizing up to 52 weeks. Those unemployed more than a year need to form a new plan and get off the public dole.

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SPAS wrote: “Its amazong how williebkind in one comment said tax at 95% then the next comment sais to stop taxing the corporation.”

williebkind suffers from an acute case of wealth envy. A man should not ask how much another man has, or whether he needs it or whether he deserves it. A man should only care that the conditions that allowed the man to earn his wealth is a reasonably level playing field, and that anyone with the brains and the desire to accomplish a similar feat should be allowed to do so.

Side note: To the extent that the playing field is not level… and especially if that imbalance is caused by government… it should be abolished. (Note: is very difficult for the government to remove barriers to or encourage truly free markets without creating a new barrier that shifts the imbalance somewhere else. For example: the government gives preference to electric powered vehicles, and the worker on a gas powered vehicle assembly line suffers.) Pretty soon, we end up with literally MILLIONS of pages of regulations and huge imbalances in markets (like the mortgage market in 2007) that cause more harm than good. It is a balancing act that will always contain imbalances or else be universally repressive. The wealth envy crowd prefer the system to be universally repressive… like Cuba or Venezuela… than to allow a Warren Buffet or George Soros to exist.

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The republicans are losing the battle of public opinion. Consumer confidence down, foreclosures on the rise, consumer spending waning, real estate markets tanking and 8 million jobs lost and counting.

I am an independent and judging from the comments on the left and right I would have to say that the republlican message is beginning to go on deaf ears.

This Friday’s employment numbers are going to work more against the republicans than the democrats and for once the WH has kept its mouth shut and said nothing about the projected expectation which worked against them last month.

You would think that bad employment numbers would work against the democrats and the President however it is MHO that the tide of sentiment regarding fiscal conservation is starting to swing in the opposite direction. The insensitivity regarding the unemployed by republicans is starting to win public opinion. Consumer confidence took a big hit and these same Americans are worried about job preservation and they too are viewing the republicans vote with angst. Surely those who are employed should be thankful that they have one however I do believe that many of the employed are starting to understand that they could be part of the growing unemployed and any decision against helping the unemployed could very well be seen as a move against them. These tea bagger idiots like Angle have already started to lose steam and as the economy begins to tank further Americans will begin to question why we are funding 2 wars with no win in sight. Americans are tired of the war effort and it is incredulous that we are still supporting the crook Karzi. Our economy is on the brink of double dip recession because there are no jobs. Both parties are to blame here especially considering an election year however I would have to say that republicans are working with a fractured party and haven’t had the balls to tell the right wing tea baggers to take a hike. Democrats on the other hand have a united front to work on and the republicans have killed any opportunity of winning favor with the American people for their inability to have empathy with the unemployed. Any hold up of the financial regulation bill will also be seen as obstructionist republican politics and without question republicans will not win favor with the American public for siding with big banks and WS the culprits of our economic collapse.

Lastly I will point out some eye popping numbers. G W Bush Jr. left office with negative job growth. Bill Clinton left having created 11.5 million jobs. Obama hasn’t served a full term and his numbers also show negative job creation however many Americans realize that you can not create 8 million jobs overnight and the republicans that do perhaps should be drug monitored by Senator Hatch.

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big jim

June 30th, 2010
3:31 pm

Still scratching my head trying to figure that one out!

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md

They want it paid for…maybe they should have thought about that before they bailed out the bank…no one was looking for that to be paid for…even after AIG flagrantly wasted money they still handed them more…maybe if they would stop some of the pork spending there would be enough for the people that need it. Maybe if we cut the governments salary by 50% we could afford to help out the people that have been the backbone of our country…just maybe…

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Where is the money comming from? Can you please just answer this simple question?

Stop giving all of our money to other countries and we would have plenty of money to give to people who are in need here. Moreover, stop giving money to people for doing nothing. If someone expects unemployment checks then I expect them to work for it. I don’t care what you do, pick up trash on the highway, fill in pot holes, take care of elderly people, anything but do something for the money that other people worked hard to get. Moreover, if you get unemployment money you should be forced to take a drug and alcohol test to get it. Why should we as society pay for people to take drugs and get drunk? Screw that!

I for one would rather work three different jobs flipping hamburgers than take unemployment. This atomosphere of simply giving people money for nothing has to end. We simply can’t afford it. Get off your ass people!

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Hey androyster, your comment shows complete ignorance. I bet you are some troll on this site who works for Orin Hatch.

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IT’S OFFICIAL… I AM MOVING OUT OF THE UNITED STATES… I HAVE A FRIEND WHO LIVES IN TORONTO, CANADA AND HE TELLS ME ALL THE TIME I SHOULD MOVE TO CANADA BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT BE TREATED LIKE CRAP BY YOUR OWN PEOPLE AS YOU ARE NOW BEING TREATED BY YOUR FELLOW AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. I AM STARTING THE PROCESS TO MIGRATE TO CANADA

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Are you Liberals crazy?….$13 Trillion in debt/deficit and it extending unemployment benefits would just tack on more to that total. We are mortgaging our kids and grandkids futures and they will pay for our irresponsibility. You liberals are such idealogues that you will go down with the ship before admitting this is crazy…and down with the ship we will all go. My name and email are right there for everyone to see so if anyone has a problem with my common sense, I am all ears.

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“Without people feeling the need to work to make a living, sheltered by state regulations that are excessively paternalistic and irrational, we will never stimulate a love for work,”
Raul Castro

Jobless in Cuba? Communism faces the unthinkable – By ANNE-MARIE GARCIA, Associated Press Writer Anne-marie Garcia, Associated Press Writer – Sun Jul 18, 9:06 am ET

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