Comments on: What "The American People" Really Want

By: Michale

Michale — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:03:23 +0000

I'd of liked to have seen this in 1984 :)

The book or the year? :D

Michale.....

By: akadjian

akadjian — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:27:43 +0000

How A Family Runs A Budget

I'd of liked to have seen this in 1984 :)

By: Michale

Michale — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:37:39 +0000

David,

A unionized public employee, a member of the Tea Party, and a CEO are sitting at a table. In the middle of the table there is a plate with a dozen cookies on it. The CEO reaches across and takes 11 cookies, looks at the Tea Partier and says, "look out for that union guy, he wants a piece of your cookie."

Oh, don't short yourself. That was DAMN funny!! :D

I ran across this opinion article and it explained the problem quite nicely..

How A Family Runs A Budget

First you get comfortable around the kitchen table. Second you get a piece of paper and you write down your expenses. Then you write down your revenue. Next you subtract your expenses from your revenue.

If your expenses are more than your revenue you have to cut expenses. If your revenue is more than your expenses you take the money left over and pay down debt or put money away for future expenses like your kid’s education.

How Congress Balances A Budget

First they can’t agree whether the table should be round or square. After months of deliberation they agree the table will be oval.

Second they argue what the definition of expenses is. Democrats want to call them targeted investments and Republicans want to call them reckless spending.

They finally agree to disagree on this and move on to revenue. But they can’t agree on what to do about revenue. Democrats call for revenue enhancements which Republicans decry as tax increases.

Finally after wasting a year arguing they pass a continuing resolution, or C.R., and Congress adjourns.

That sums things up perfectly. Politicians are more concerned about KEEPING their job than they are about DOING their job.

I think CW is dead on when he says that ALL politicians should h ave some kind of penalty in place if they fail to do their jobs. Sure, that's what elections are for, you will say. But we need something punitive and immediate that can't be spun a year or so later..

No balanced budget, no pay for Congress.

Michale.....

By: akadjian

akadjian — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 01:51:48 +0000

Hey Michale ... I posted this first over on Chris' HuffPo page, but thought I'd repost here for you because I thought it was kinda funny: A unionized public employee, a member of the Tea Party, and a CEO are sitting at a table. In the middle of the table there is a plate with a dozen cookies on it. The CEO reaches across and takes 11 cookies, looks at the Tea Partier and says, "look out for that union guy, he wants a piece of your cookie." Ok ... I said "kinda funny" :) I recently spoke w/ some friends of mine who I found out were Tea Party members and I mentioned a flat tax. Like you, they seemed in favor of the idea as well. They also, like you mentioned, are upset w/ the direction the newly elected officials have taken. It also seemed to surprise them that I didn't really care if they had an entire basement full of guns or not - not that I'm a gun supporter, its just the economy is much higher up on my priority list :) Our discussions here on CW.com have helped me realize that we have a lot more in common than I ever would have thought. Especially economically. So sincerely, thank you! -David p.s. And yeah ... I know we still have our differences so don't be expecting to hear these words again anytime soon :)!

By: Michale

Michale — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:28:31 +0000

The problem is that politicians from BOTH sides of the aisle have a tendency to only listen to the American People when it suits them..

Remember, 75% of Americans were against CrapCare.. But that didn't stop Democrats from ramming it down our throats, whether we wanted it or not.

If Republicans continue to act like Democrats in this regard, the next shellacking might be the GOP's...

Michale.....

By: Elizabeth Miller

Elizabeth Miller — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 06:37:21 +0000

Chris, This is a very interesting poll ... all the caveats, notwithstanding! But Obama's decision to place one big issue squarely in the middle of the 2012 campaign is looking smarter and smarter -- taxing the richest Americans. This was seen as risky when he made the deal last December to continue the Bush tax cuts for two years, since they'll expire right after the 2012 election. Meaning it'll be a major issue during the campaign. But, from the evidence (and depending on the wording), Obama has from 68 to 81 percent of the public on his side in this upcoming fight. Didn't I tell you ... I'm pretty sure I told everyone that Obama/Biden/Geithner were more than a few steps ahead of the rest of us on this one! Well, OK ... but, I realized this not too long after the legislation passed ... I think. Well, I know it now! In any event, I'm so looking forward to that fight. :) Oh, by the way ... guess what the Huffington Post just published a little while ago ...

By: dsws

dsws — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 04:52:32 +0000

By an overwhelming majority -- over eight in ten people think the best idea to cut our deficits is to slap higher taxes on millionaires. Just because there's more agreement that taxing millionaires is one of the things to do, it doesn't follow that anyone thinks it's the best idea. I'm strongly in favor of taxing millionaires, as I think I've made a abundantly clear in other comments here and on HuffPo. But the very best idea is to come up with efficient cures for a handful of common high-maintenance chronic diseases. The same three-fourths think it would be a bad idea to cut Social Security Yeah, but they were for it before they were against it. "Cut Social Security" means raise the retirement age gradually, and similar changes.