Sorting out the impact of GOP tax-reform plans
In recent weeks we’ve been confronted by a slew of tax proposals from GOP presidential candidates, ranging from Herman Cain’s “9-9-9″ plan to Rick Perry’s “Cut, Balance and Grow Plan.” For many voters, the details of those various proposals can no doubt get a little hazy and confusing.
To address that problem, I’ve been wanting to put together a comprehensive post addressing all of the plans at once. Thanks to the release of Rick Perry’s plan and a new report on household incomes released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office, I finally have the analytical data I needed to pull it all together.
Before we go further, let’s review the CBO findings:
1.) The overall federal tax system became less progressive between 1979 and 2007, thanks largely to the greater relative impact of payroll taxes.
2.) The share of federal transfer payments going to poor Americans also fell sharply, from more than 50 percent to 35 percent. According to CBO, “that shift reflects the growth in spending for programs focused on the elderly population (such as Social Security and Medicare), in which benefits are not limited to low-income households.”
3. The study also documents the ongoing concentration of national income among the richest 1 percent of U.S. households. It found that the share of after-tax income going to the lowest-income 20 percent of Americans fell between 1979 and 2007, dropping from 7 percent to 5 percent. In fact, income share fell by 2 to 3 percent for almost every income group. It rose only among the most affluent 1 percent. Their share of national income more than doubled, from 8 percent in 1979 to 17 percent in 2007.
(Although those percentage shifts may not sound like much, in real terms it is quite large. For example, the 7 percent shift in household income from the middle 60 percent of Americans to the richest 1 percent represents a shift of $539 billion a year from the 60 percent to the 1 percent. Overall, the CBO reports that income of the highest-earning 1 percent rose by 275 percent in that time frame, after inflation.)
Anyway, as promised the final exhaustive package on GOP tax-reform plans is available HERE. I’ve put it in the form of an info-graphic. Take a look and if you think I’m missing anything, or if you think of a way to make it clearer, let me know.
– Jay Bookman
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
609 comments Add your comment
pogo
October 26th, 2011
4:27 pm
The problem in a nutshell is that this country has too many “Baby B’s” who bought into the The New Deal type thing and all it promised them. And they lived their lives as they wanted, for good or bad, because they were promised the government would pick up the slack for their own shortcomings. And so it did, for a while. But now the bills for their indulgence are coming due and they are literally willing to sell out their own children and grand-children’s future to pay for their standard of living. And they follow the tired path of “the rich don’t pay enough” and they scream that this or that politician wants to cut ther medicare or SSN. What it really boils own to is that the “BB’s” don’t want to sacrifice anything. Alvin Lee had it right when he wrote, “tax the rich, feed the poor, until there are no, rich no more”. Taxing he rich won’t feed the excessive hunger of the greediest generation this country has ever known. They know that but after the rich are tapped out they would be willing to steal from their neighbors in order to maintain the lifestyle they were promised by a bunch of lying liberal politicians who only wanted to get elected. Sickening.
md
October 26th, 2011
4:27 pm
“I love how your position contradicts your efforts to create lies about Elizabeth Warren as some sort of valid claim”
Too funny……words do have meaning, and she said what she said……and she’s more than likely smart enough to know how she said it……….if not, then she has a bigger problem.
Bosch
October 26th, 2011
4:28 pm
So….isn’t there some kind of baseball tournament going on? How’s that going??
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 26th, 2011
4:29 pm
Ahhh…. yes words do have meaning, except when you get called on them…then its an interpretation, twisting, parsing or some other excuse and not your words.
straitroad
October 26th, 2011
4:32 pm
I would like to see the same graph with a few other metrics added to it such as: hours worked, years waited before having children, education level, % of income saved vs % of income spent on beer or blue tooth, % that believe 40 hours is sufficient work week, priorities of spending.
Jay, you need to do some research on cause and effect. It would help you understand how hard work and sacrifice pay off.
ty webb
October 26th, 2011
4:32 pm
Bosch,
out here, it’s the biggest thing going on…I think people are actually sleeping in their Rangers gear. Not really a fan yet…those damn “T”’s on their hats remind me too much of those damn volunteers.
md
October 26th, 2011
4:33 pm
Am……those wages are merely a reflection of cost……think GM……not sustainable without consumer support.
You still refuse to acknowledge the fall is wages mirrors the period of consumer glutiny for lower priced goods.
The demand for lower priced goods causes a corresponding drop in expenses……which includes labor.
Bosch
October 26th, 2011
4:34 pm
ty,
Whose winning?
Butch Cassidy
October 26th, 2011
4:34 pm
Bosch – “BUT AMVET!!! I thought UNIONS were the source of all evil and the reason for our declining labor force!!!”
That’s right Bosch, nothing kills a companies profits more than safety regulations, liveable wages and the inability to hire 5 year olds to make your products. If we could kill the unions, we could get this country back to some good old family values. After all, what could be more effective in bringing families together than everyone working in the same factory all day 7 days a week and then spending quality time together inside the shipping crate they call home?
ty webb
October 26th, 2011
4:34 pm
Rangers 3-2.
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
4:34 pm
% of income saved vs % of income spent on beer or blue tooth, % that believe 40 hours is sufficient work week
There’s your sign.
md
October 26th, 2011
4:35 pm
“Ahhh…. yes words do have meaning, except when you get called on them…then its an interpretation, twisting, parsing or some other excuse and not your words”
Once again…..I stand by what I said……it was not I that read it in some other context………
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
4:37 pm
You still refuse to acknowledge the fall is wages mirrors the period of consumer glutiny[sic} for lower priced goods.
It also mirrors the fall in interest rates.
straitroad
October 26th, 2011
4:38 pm
Kam,
Please explain…I’m a little slow.
md
October 26th, 2011
4:39 pm
Butch…….nice little diatribe, but not close to reality.
The reality is that consumers are setting the wages…..and right now, the global market is setting the pace. It will not change until we as consumers dictate that change through our buying habits……
We continue to buy the cheap stuff from China, India, etc, then we best start thinking how to live on less, because that is what we will have……….
Butch Cassidy
October 26th, 2011
4:40 pm
Kamchack – “It also mirrors the fall in interest rates.”
Does the study also show the decline in IQ points that lead people to belive that the Herman Cains and Rick Perrys of the world are actually viable candidates for the office of POTUS?
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
4:41 pm
Please explain…I’m a little slow.
40 hours a week is a sufficient amount of time to dedicate to a job.
md
October 26th, 2011
4:43 pm
“It also mirrors the fall in interest rates.”
Which made everything cheaper, to include those dastardly imports……of which we continue to buy at alarming rates.
Want to pay more to the guy at GM…..buy their products…..don’t make Hyundai the leading seller across the nation.
Butch Cassidy
October 26th, 2011
4:43 pm
md – “We continue to buy the cheap stuff from China, India, etc, then we best start thinking how to live on less, because that is what we will have……….”
What’s this we stuff? I understand that not everything I buy can be made in the U.S.. But on the other hand, if more people avoided Wal Mart, K-Mart and Target like I do, then they might actually make a dent.
Ol' Timer
October 26th, 2011
4:43 pm
As a percentage of GDP, taxes are at the lowest level in 60 years.
Could that be why we’re running such deficits?
Take away tax breaks for the weathiest 1% and the Republican/Tea Party has no platform to run on and the middle-class keeps supporting them — they just keep bending over. I don’t understand it!
Butch Cassidy
October 26th, 2011
4:45 pm
md – “Want to pay more to the guy at GM…..buy their products”
I drive a 2010 Camaro. Of course the downside is that it was actually made in Canada and shipped across the lake.
larry
October 26th, 2011
4:46 pm
Want to pay more to the guy at GM…..buy their products. I actually do that
But the problem remains for every time we step into a Wal mart , Target, K mart etc.. etc.,
You have no choice when you step in to those stores.
md
October 26th, 2011
4:47 pm
“What’s this we stuff? I understand that not everything I buy can be made in the U.S.. But on the other hand, if more people avoided Wal Mart, K-Mart and Target like I do, then they might actually make a dent.”
That “we” would be “We the people of the USA” as a collective……..and “we” best start acting as one if “we” want to see those wages increase…….or go to work for a corp doing business overseas…….
AmVet
October 26th, 2011
4:48 pm
Ladies and germs, let’s get one thing straight, OK?
Elizabeth Warren is a genius.
Especially compared to the combined intellect of all of the GOP’s current candidates.
The woman’s track record is as good as theirs is bad…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wK1MOMKZ8BI
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
4:49 pm
Does the study also show the decline in IQ points that lead people to belive that the Herman Cains and Rick Perrys of the world are actually viable candidates for the office of POTUS?
I think you’re doing a disservice to Cain and Perry supporters, and to a further extent, conservatives in general. This period in time (1979 to present) also defines a generation that was weaned on talk-radio. Even intelligent people can be programmed if they listen to the same message day in and day out.
Are Cain and Perry viable candidates for president?
Not in my definition of the word “viable.”
md
October 26th, 2011
4:50 pm
“You have no choice when you step in to those stores.”
The choice is to not step into those stores……..or let those stores know you prefer US goods….but one has to speak with their wallet.
Until “we” do that, nothing will change.
Aquagirl
October 26th, 2011
4:50 pm
40 hours a week is a sufficient amount of time to dedicate to a job.
You’d think all these “family values” nuts would understand working 12 hour days isn’t doing much for families.
That Black guy
October 26th, 2011
4:51 pm
Bosch
October 26th, 2011
2:06 pm
Paul,
Yes, I am always in awe of the arrogance of people who sit there and sanctimoniously judge other people.
Those are usually the same people who will quote you a Bible verse or two, but then will turn around with their hypocritical selves and forget that the very foundation of their belief system is that all men are valued and deemed worthy of redemption and grace.
Bosch, where did Gordon judge ANYONE? He axed a question. How do you tackle a situation without knowing the cause of the problem? Some people (poor because of luck) need access to opportunities and assistance. Some people (poor because of behavour) need incentives and disincentives to curtail that behavour. Trying to help group 1 using remidies designed for group 2 will not work. That is what I think Gordon was trying to get to.
BTW, you do realize YOU judged HIM, right?
That Black guy
October 26th, 2011
4:51 pm
I meant to spell “axed” that way.
saywhat?
October 26th, 2011
4:53 pm
“the 7 percent shift in household income from the middle 60 percent of Americans to the richest 1 percent represents a shift of $539 billion a year”
Jay, that sentence is the key. That $539 billion, if it was still going to the middle 60% of Americans, would be all the stimulus the economy needs, because the bulk of that money would be spent on goods and services here in the U.S. Instead that money is hoarded, or worse yet, invested in paper profit Wall Street financial schemes which produce nothing but liabilities for the average taxpayer.
Butch Cassidy
October 26th, 2011
4:54 pm
Kamchack – “Not in my definition of the word “viable.”
Wouldn’t it be great to have the ability to see what a debate between Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, George Bush 1, Rick Perry and Herman would look like? 3 Candidates with lengthy military and political backgrounds up against 999 and Ponzi scheme. God, I would give anything to see that!
md
October 26th, 2011
4:55 pm
The power we hold as consumers:
“Delta says it’s no longer outsourcing reservation calls to India.
Why? The move was made in response to years of complaints by American customers who say they sometimes have a tremendous amount of difficulty understanding the foreign telephone workers.
Richard Anderson, the airline’s chief executive, told employees in a recorded message Thursday night that Delta had stopped forwarding calls to India in the first quarter and would be bringing the function back in-house in the United States.
“The customer acceptance of call centers in foreign countries is low and our customers were not shy about letting us have that feedback,” he said.
Delta employed about 4,500 call-center workers in the United States after it ended its outsourcing operations in India, said Kent Landers, a Delta spokesman, in an e-mail.
While it has closed shop in India, the carrier will maintain its centers in Jamaica and South Africa, Landers said.
Delta’s retrenchment comes about two months after United said it would pull 165 call-center jobs back to the United States to improve customer service.”
blue_unicorn
October 26th, 2011
4:55 pm
“I drive a 2010 Camaro.”
The truth is out. Butch Cassidy is a yankee redneck.
David
October 26th, 2011
4:56 pm
Sometimes even I am amazed by how big of an @$$ Jay Bookman can be. I hate the whole who gets what who doesn’t get what BS that both parties use. Here are some basic facts that unless you are a complete moron you can’t argue with. 1) The government does not control, no should they control how much money a person can earn. Yes I know it seems unfair that 1% can get a bigger income than you but there are reason some fair and some unfair, but as they say life is not fair and government doesn’t control this. 2) There are some definate basic functions of life that government needs to do 3) Payroll taxes go to paying Social Security and are not for general funds (or at least that is what we are told so we will hold to it) 4) the Top Money earners already pay 60% of taxes and 49% of the country pay 0% income tax. With all of this information and data that are facts here is the truth if you change the tax code to balance it out (it have more people paying taxes) those that are currently paying the largest percentage will pay a lower percentage and those paying 0% will pay more. Here is the good news, people with lots of money tend to like to make their money work for them so the will end up investing more, perhaps spending more, creating jobs, etc. which will inturn raise the waters for those on the lower end of the scale. Also when you are paying taxes you start to care how the money is being spent so you have an increase in government accountability to the people.
Butch Cassidy
October 26th, 2011
4:57 pm
blue_unicorn – “The truth is out. Butch Cassidy is a yankee redneck”
Yeah, but it only costs me $450 a month to park it in Manhattan.
SwedeAtlanta
October 26th, 2011
4:57 pm
The end result of continued concentration of wealth will be a society very different from that in which most of us grew up.
At some point you will have the wealthy all living in compounds surrounded by fences and protected by armed guards. They will do this because the proverty and lack of opportunity among the rest of the population will increase the level of lawless violence. This will go well beyond the level of violence we see in our country today.
The “have nots” will not be able to purchase many of the goods produced by overseas factories owned and controlled by the “haves”. They will have to find new markets for their goods as American purchasing power continues to decline.
That is not the America into which I was born and for which my parents worked so hard and saved.
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
5:00 pm
…people with lots of money tend to like to make their money work for them so the will end up investing more, perhaps spending more, creating jobs, etc.
Ah yes, the trickle-on, phlogiston Econ101 argument.
Trouble is, thirty years of history has proven that to be false.
Soothsayer
October 26th, 2011
5:02 pm
Jay, you got me on the graphic! Ha! Ha!
Anyway, what it seems to me like is going on that the rich want to profit wildly from supplying materiel for “wars to nowhere,” yet they don’t want to have to pay any tax on that income. Does that sound about right?
godless heathen
October 26th, 2011
5:02 pm
Interesting side point about the Income Tax. It was instituted to facilitate Prohibition. The federal gov depended on revenue from alcohol sales and could not afford to ban alcohol sales without an Income Tax. (According to the Ken Burns special on Prohibition.)
But when Prohibition was repealed, the Income Tax wasn’t repealed, the Government just used that money also.
md
October 26th, 2011
5:02 pm
“the 7 percent shift in household income from the middle 60 percent of Americans to the richest 1 percent represents a shift of $539 billion a year”
Misleading info…….once again folks, we do not live in a closed economy…..so numbers like that are tiny snapshots of wealth at a single given point in time.
In reality, much of that money from the middle class is going to folks overseas……like the Toyota workers, and the Honda workers, and now the Hyundai workers……..
And they thank you for it while you chase the mythical bad guy over here.
AmVet
October 26th, 2011
5:03 pm
Kam, @5:00.
Normal sized that one up perfectly this morning…
http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2009/11/7/129021008687645509.jpg
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
5:06 pm
Missed that one, brother AmVet.
Thanks.
Soothsayer
October 26th, 2011
5:07 pm
How on Earth anyone could vote Republican is beyond me.Great photo AmVet!
pogo
October 26th, 2011
5:07 pm
You gotta love it. On one hand Obama announces he supports the Occupy Wall Street crowd (whose only central motivation, as far as anyone can deduce, is their hatred for Wall Street) while hiring an ex-wall street lobbyist to a leadership role in his re-election campaign. I have to give Obama one thing, he is smart enough to know that his base too damned stupid or greedy to know or care what he is really doing and he knows that they will vote for him no matter how corrupt he is. Jay is a fine example of this. Never have I seen Jay print one criticism of Obama. Never. This pretty much makes him a tool to be used for a cause, because he certainly is not a journalist. A true journalist will find fault with any poltician because a true journalist knows that every politician at one point or the other lies and cheats. But not Jay. No, old Jay is propagandist, and nothing more.
Proud to be me!
October 26th, 2011
5:08 pm
Life is not fair . . never has been . . never will be. I’m far from rich but am ever so thankful for what I have. I don’t envy rich people and I don’t expect them to pity me or give me any of their money. The individuals that I truly loathe are not the Wall Street (which is regulated by our government) nor the rich people but rather our Congressional leaders and our President and his administration. And the individuals who use the term “poor” . . . “the poor” this and “the poor” that. There are so many resources available through government programs, non-profit organizations, professional sports players, churches and community organizations for “the poor” and yet all we hear is more and more for the “poor” Free cellphones, food stamps, health care, computers!!!! For goodness sake!
md
October 26th, 2011
5:08 pm
“They will have to find new markets for their goods as American purchasing power continues to decline.”
They did……a few places on the other side of the globe called China and India…….we sent them all enough money to start buying stuff on their own…….and their economies are growing at double digit paces……….
“China grew by 10.3% last year, a punishing pace to beat. India, according to the advance estimate by its Central Statistics Office (CSO), grew by 8.6%. Fast, but not fast enough. But today a colleague pointed me to the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook (Table 1.1), released earlier this week. It says that India grew by 10.4% in 2010.”
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
5:09 pm
How on Earth anyone could vote Republican is beyond me.
Wedgie issues.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 26th, 2011
5:19 pm
So when you buy that Kia made in Georgia you are supporting who? That iPhone made in China supports who? That Mercedes made in Alamaba supports who? That Toyota assembled in Kentucky?
Again, Buy American is a nice bumper sticker….but in reality very difficult to put into practice as many have found out.
AmVet
October 26th, 2011
5:20 pm
…Wall Street (which is regulated by our government)…
For the most part, true.
Up until thirty years ago.
1980 – Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act PL 96-221
1980 – Motor Carrier Act PL 96-296
1980 – Regulatory Flexibility Act PL 96-354
1980 – Staggers Rail Act PL 96-448
1982 – Garn–St. Germain Depository Institutions Act PL 97-320
1982 – Bus Regulatory Reform Act PL 97-261
1989 – Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act PL 101-60
1992 – National Energy Policy Act PL 102-486
1996 – Telecommunications Act PL 104-104
1999 – Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act PL 106-102
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
5:22 pm
Today, it is glaringly obvious to a wide range of Americans that the wealth of the top 1% is the byproduct not of risk-taking entrepreneurship, but of corrupted control of our legal and political systems. Thanks to this control, they can write laws that have no purpose than to abolish the few limits that still constrain them, as happened during the Wall Street deregulation orgy of the 1990s. They can retroactively immunize themselves for crimes they deliberately committed for profit, as happened when the 2008 Congress shielded the nation’s telecom giants for their role in Bush’s domestic warrantless eavesdropping program.
It is equally obvious that they are using that power not to lift the boats of ordinary Americans but to sink them. In short, Americans are now well aware of what the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, Illinois’s Dick Durbin, blurted out in 2009 about the body in which he serves: the banks “frankly own the place.”
[...]
The tide that was supposed to lift all ships has, in fact, left startling numbers of Americans underwater. In the process, we lost any sense that a common set of rules applies to everyone, and so there is no longer a legitimizing anchor for the vast income and wealth inequalities that plague the nation.
Yeah, what Glenn Greenwald said.
AmVet
October 26th, 2011
5:23 pm
…the Occupy Wall Street crowd (whose only central motivation, as far as anyone can deduce, is their hatred for Wall Street)…
Close, but you left out one VERY important word at the end, pogo.
Malfeasance.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 26th, 2011
5:25 pm
Pogo: Never have I seen Jay print one criticism of Obama. Never
Blowhardiness gets in the way of reality…..Soylndra bankruptcy an embarrasment to Obama I am sure there are other examples…
Does the real tool know how to apologize to Bookman?
md
October 26th, 2011
5:27 pm
“So when you buy that Kia made in Georgia you are supporting who? That iPhone made in China supports who? That Mercedes made in Alamaba supports who? That Toyota assembled in Kentucky?
Again, Buy American is a nice bumper sticker….but in reality very difficult to put into practice as many have found out.”
There is an American connection to all of them……importers, franchise owners, etc etc…..but, a good bit of that money goes back to the mother ship……..
It took decades to get away from US goods……it won’t happen over night, and it will be painful for some…….but to continue on this path will be painful for many more…….
I could care less if one labels it “bumper sticker”…..it is what it is.
“We” control our own destiny……as to what that destiny is is up to us. Some buying US goods while the rest are buying cheap imports will only ensure that the money continues to go off-shore.
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
5:29 pm
…..it is what it is.
And …………….. repetition …………. is ………………… repetition.
josef
October 26th, 2011
5:30 pm
Bosch…
SoCo/Brosephus checks in at Kyle’s on occasion, him and Hillbilly…
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 26th, 2011
5:34 pm
Again, nice bumper sticker but no explanation of what is our “choice” to “control our own destiny” to “buy US goods”. Saying we contraol our own destiny and we need to create a matter-anti-matter drive doe NOT create one. You still need to outline the plans and build it. Show me precisely how I determine what products I encounter every single day are US or not? Can you do more than chant a bumper sticker, md? You going with the “good bit of money goes back to the mother ship” test that isn’t really a test?
pogo
October 26th, 2011
5:34 pm
The EU is in shambles. Decades of socialism and progressivism have finally caught up with them. And now they are begging China to help them to continue to finance their socialist dreams. The US is far ahead of the curve on them on one hand and behind them on the other. We have been begging and receiving the Chinese (much to our own greedy detriment) to finance our liberal spending for years. What is perplexing is that Obama continues to want to make America into Europe. His vision of what America should be is at the very least impared and his adherence to the Keynesian dream is over and he is not smart enough to know it. There is no money to pay for the liberal utopia that Europe promised its peoples and there is not enough money to pay for what the liberals want in this country. The “holiest of holy’s” for liberal ideology is France. Many a liberal has yearned for America to be like them. But the reality is that now France is in a steady state of decline and will be joining Greece, Spain and Italy very soon in their fiscal misery. And why? They adopted the very multi-culturialist/socialist dream that the rest of Europe embraced. We thought WWII was bad but what is coming over there is going to be worse. There is about to be an extreme right turn in Europe. An extreme turn in any direction is not a good thing. But make no mistake, socialism is the culprit and that is exactly what Obama adheres to because he is not smart enough to know that there is no perfect situation in any political ideology. There is no such thing as “equal”. Politicians may promise it but they will never be able to deliver it because it simply does not exist. There will always be those that try harder, who perform better and that live way better because of their efforts than and those that do not. That is the way in nature and that is the way in mankind. Afterall, we are nothing but animals ourselves. And for anyone to promise that it will be otherwise is a total lie. And Obama is a liar.
josef
October 26th, 2011
5:35 pm
pogo
I have seen Jay criticise Obama…not often and not with a great deal of passion, but he has done it…
Aquagirl
October 26th, 2011
5:35 pm
Buy American is a nice bumper sticker….but in reality very difficult to put into practice as many have found out.
But somehow American consumers (who are getting whooped in this economy) are supposed to police the corporations—-which have the same rights as consumers (since they’re people too) but none of the responsibility. Yeah, it’s the eeeeevil consumer’s fault.
I will never understand this Republican love for self-punishment. I wish they’d just hire those hookers with the whips and chains for a few hours a week instead of projecting their fetish into politics.
JohnnyReb
October 26th, 2011
5:35 pm
getalife – I dodge in out of here because I actually do have a company in which to work. At 3 something you posted that I am an idiot. That means you have nothing of value to add to the debate.
I try to contain my derogatory remarks about fellow posters to general, accepted comments such as Moonbats, liberals, bleeding hearts, etc. You will gain more respect if you do the same.
josef
October 26th, 2011
5:37 pm
pogo
Liberals want us to be France? G-d forbid! Most of the liberals I know look at Europe as several case studies in what NOT to do…
md
October 26th, 2011
5:39 pm
Funny….some here need others to show them how to do things……..shoot, figure it out….that used to be the American way.
Or are we so dependent on others to do it for us that we can’t function?
The internet is a wonderful starting point……..one can even reference soco’s past list…..and if all else fails, read the label.
Or, if one really wants to get industrious, one can ask the company all the questions they may have…..
JohnnyReb
October 26th, 2011
5:39 pm
It was reported today the State Department has spent $70K on the Obama book Dreams of My Father placing it in embassy libraries. No prior administration has done anything similar. Just another indicator of no class and inflated ego.
Aquagirl
October 26th, 2011
5:41 pm
…So pogo gets caught saying dumb@$$ junk, and tries to hide behind a completely unconnected tl;dr block of text.
Reminds me of kids who cover their face and think they are invisible. Yeah, we didn’t see that at all.
md
October 26th, 2011
5:45 pm
“But somehow American consumers (who are getting whooped in this economy) are supposed to police the corporations—-which have the same rights as consumers (since they’re people too) but none of the responsibility. Yeah, it’s the eeeeevil consumer’s fault. ”
Let me guess…..the gov’t needs to do it?
Do you suggest isolationism? What exactly will they do for us??
I’m beginning to see the problem…….let others do it seems to be the prevailing thought around here……..
Mighty Righty
October 26th, 2011
5:45 pm
…the Occupy Wall Street crowd (whose only central motivation, as far as anyone can deduce, is their hatred for Wall Street)…
It is being reported that many of the WSO protesters are former ACORN organizers, managers and paid professional agitators. These protests are not as spontaneous as reported. In New York, organizers were going door to door collecting money for fraudulent causes. In one case saying they represented the teachers unions and were raising money for the teachers. They are paying demonstrators as much as 100 dollars a day and a minimum of 10.00 dollars per hour.
AmVet
October 26th, 2011
5:48 pm
Herman Cain in 1965 at Morehouse, when he was “too young to participate in the civil rights movement.”
http://www.ajc.com/multimedia/dynamic/01168/Herman_Cain__65_Ye_1168709l.jpg
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
5:49 pm
I wish they’d just hire those hookers with the whips and chains for a few hours a week instead of projecting their fetish into politics.
They call those “fundraisers.”
Bosch
October 26th, 2011
5:50 pm
MR
That’s being reported where?? Let me make one guess…
BOB FROM ACCOUNT TEMPS
October 26th, 2011
5:50 pm
so let me get this straight jay – when you say income shift, you imply that “someone” took money from the poor guys pay check and gave it to the rich guy, even though there was a big jump in the minimum wage during the same time period as well as tax cuts for all brackets?
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
5:51 pm
ACORN?
I got a BINGO!
Good thing I kept some of those old cards, huh?
AmVet
October 26th, 2011
5:52 pm
It is being reported that many of the WSO protesters are former ACORN organizers, managers and paid professional agitators.
It is also being reported that many of Jay Bookman’s right wing bloggers are former Communists, neo-Nazis and used car salesmen.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 26th, 2011
5:53 pm
You mean those “made in America” stickers that are not required to be put on products? Or maybe its the Buy American Act passed in 1933….yeah that did a lot to stem the tide. How well did the Buy American provision in the stim work…ask Canada how they got an exemption?
But a bumper sticker mantra is easy to say….like 9-9-9. Then start actually implementing it and it seems to have a great many holes… but its still easy to claim that its someone’s fault for not following the bumper sticker.
getalife
October 26th, 2011
5:53 pm
Yeah reb,
I post to get cons to “respect” me.
Just returning your mindless idiot comment.
I did not feel like thinking.
jm
October 26th, 2011
5:53 pm
Super committee is falling apart. Baaaaaad news.
josef
October 26th, 2011
5:54 pm
Here’s a thought…go into the bumper sticker bidness…
Paul
October 26th, 2011
5:55 pm
Bob Temp
You are describing the process.
Jay, thru the CBO, described the result.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 26th, 2011
5:56 pm
Aqua…It is shameful isn’t it.
Its still reported that James O’Keefe is a lying criminal!
md
October 26th, 2011
5:56 pm
Keep…..we are a Nation of individuals…..one can choose to do as they please.
If one chooses to take it upon themselves and buy “made in the USA”, one will do so.
Others, will choose to make excuses………..
josef
October 26th, 2011
5:56 pm
getalife
Don’t often agree with Johnny Reb on a lot of things, but I’ll tell you one thing, he’s got my respect a lot more than just about anybody posting here…
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 26th, 2011
5:56 pm
josef — All American Bumper Stickers?
josef
October 26th, 2011
5:59 pm
good fight…
Yeah, All American Bumper Stickers, and EOI Company!
getalife
October 26th, 2011
6:00 pm
Josef,
Of course, he is a rebel.
josef
October 26th, 2011
6:00 pm
md
We’re “buy American” types in this household, and it ain’t easy!
Jay
October 26th, 2011
6:02 pm
Somebody ought to post here as Johnny Yuma.
In the meantime, sheets….
Paul
October 26th, 2011
6:03 pm
josef
“We’re “buy American” types in this household, and it ain’t easy!”
Yeah, it’s getting harder and harder to smuggle in those foreigners to do the household chores….
josef
October 26th, 2011
6:03 pm
getalife
That’s not why. You may have missed it, but that straight man said what I’ve spent a lifetime waiting to hear from heterosexuals…would more of y’all were such (lower case) rebels…
And Johnny Reb….did you catch any of the CNN thingie from Anderson Cooper on bullying? Thought about you while tuning in…
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 26th, 2011
6:04 pm
md, you keep repeating the bumper sticker and then blaming people but I dont see any details on how exactly people are suppose to determine what are “American” products other than your claim to politely ask companies about their products and hope they take the time to give you all the information and invest hours into shopping for a $10 product. Seems a wise choice, right?
It would make more sense for a Made in America label requirement to be imposed by law on all companies. And even that would be difficult to monitor as the FTC has already demonstrated.
josef
October 26th, 2011
6:04 pm
IMAM
Dang! I should have made a bet…
Kamchak
October 26th, 2011
6:04 pm
Newt sheets upstairs.
TruthBe
October 26th, 2011
6:05 pm
So where are the Democrats new tax reform ideals?? Oh, they don’t have any just MORE TAX INCREASES for ALL Americans. Tax and Spend Democrats. Obama’s BS so-called jobs bill is nothing more than new tax increases.
getalife
October 26th, 2011
6:05 pm
“JohnnyReb
October 26th, 2011
3:15 pm
OMG, Bosch – Elizabeth Warren is an educated idiot.”
I jumped on him for that comment,
Aquagirl
October 26th, 2011
6:08 pm
Let me guess…..the gov’t needs to do it?
Yes, the government needs to stop passing legislation that ensures the profitability of big-box chains selling chinese crap. That means things like stop subsidizing the trucking industry. Their distribution chains are dependent on that truck that flips over on 285 during rush hour. Let McDonald’s pay for the garbage they generate, instead of passing it along to the county with subsidized landfills.
There’s plenty more, but you get the idea.
Expecting everyone to “do the right thing” and buy American is quite fanciful. Sort of like depending on voluntary contribution of taxes, that worked out so well we now live under the Constitution, not the Articles of Confederation.
People are just now figuring out how they pay for illegal aliens. As we can see in Georgia, unless we have comprehensive legislation that covers all 50 states, it’s not gonna work. It’s easy for corporations to hide their costs while collecting profits. Not all consumers have the time to research every single thing they buy. That’s insane and not based in reality.
Mighty Righty
October 26th, 2011
6:08 pm
Bosch
October 26th, 2011
5:50 pm
You read it didn’t you? Yeh, the WSO people have taken in over $500,000. Volunteers have to fill out paper work to get at it. They put the money CD’s. You want to bet they don’t have a charitable tax exemption. Let’s see, those with taxable income of more than $350,000 are part of the evil 1%!
You suppose Eric Holder and the IRS will go after them? Obama wants everyone to pay their fair share. $500,000 without any write offs would be a tax liability of more than $200,000. They better keep their records straight. Whoever made that deposit ispersonally liable. This could be a lot of fun.
md
October 26th, 2011
6:11 pm
“md, you keep repeating the bumper sticker and then blaming people but I dont see any details on how exactly people are suppose to determine what are “American” products other than your claim to politely ask companies about their products and hope they take the time to give you all the information and invest hours into shopping for a $10 product. Seems a wise choice, right? ”
Wise choice? I’d guess that would depend on the importance given to the matter by the individual.
And if you look closely in your response, you can find the excuse hiding in there.
Mighty Righty
October 26th, 2011
6:12 pm
My bad…left out the part where they actually put the money in a “Wall Street” bank account. Can anyone imagine the dummy’s we have seen interviwed on TV handling $500,000. I mean seriously.
Mighty Righty
October 26th, 2011
6:14 pm
Just to clear up some misconceptions: All imports must be lableled with country of origin. It’s the law.
md
October 26th, 2011
6:17 pm
“Yes, the government needs to stop passing legislation that ensures the profitability of big-box chains selling chinese crap. That means things like stop subsidizing the trucking industry. Their distribution chains are dependent on that truck that flips over on 285 during rush hour. Let McDonald’s pay for the garbage they generate, instead of passing it along to the county with subsidized landfills. ”
Yes, I get the idea…….but I don’t think you understand the equation. We can force them to do such and such all day long……..and each demand comes with a cost…….that is built into the cost we pay as consumers. You sound as if you have a problem with corporations, yet we are the corporations…….and we need jobs.
As for fanciful………I’m merely stating my opinion of what it will take to get this country back on track……..seeing as how it was us consumers that put us here in the first place, I don’t have a lot of hope that the masses will do what is necessary……….and in that case, many of us lose.
Mighty Righty
October 26th, 2011
6:24 pm
Acquagirl-Please explain how the government subsdises the trucking industry what Mc Donalds trash has to do with anything.
Adam
October 26th, 2011
7:52 pm
Read my lips: No New Tax Cuts!