I was going to add some witful comment for my democratic comrades (Liz&Mike1947) but I see Jon is holding his own.
Jon - 13 years ago
Elizabeth, we are indeed closer than people like Comrade Mike might think! (Bet that ticks him off!)
I agree, "too big to fail" is a farce. Let them fail, be it a bank, a car company or anything else. Failure brings out the strongest. Bailouts only reward failure and support the weak. The weak should not, and must not be allowed to survive.
That is especially true for this weak (and incompetent) Presidency!
Unfortunately, 'compromise' in Washington means Republicans cave and give Dems everything they want. That strategy has never worked out to anyone's (except the Dems) best interest.
Again this morning, we see that the Republicans in Congress are starting to cave! So what if the deadline isn't met? Will it be the end of the world, or another Y2K ? (Nothing!)
My bet is that nothing would happen at all! After all, if I were to apply for a second mortgage to add an addition, and were declined, I would still continue to pay my first mortgage! Same with the country. Only obama and the Dems think you get to stop paying your debts if you are declined for (even higher) debt limit.
The only thing that will ever force Washington to change it's spending habit is a balanced budget amendment. Unfortunately, it looks like that requirement is one of the fatalities of the this mornings negotiations. Funny how Dems simply refuse to limit their spending!
As for the flat tax, I'm all for it, if for no other reason than to see what the Dems come up with as their next whiny talking point, once "unfair" tax rates are no longer an issue. One thing for sure, whatever they come up with will be inventive, ridiculous, and wrong!
Ah, the humor of desperate Liberals loosing power! I love it!!
Besides, ya' just gotta laugh. It's just too nice a day not to! Besides, every new day is a day closer to November 2012!
elizabeth - 13 years ago
Frankly Jon, I agree with you that Obama has definitely harmed the economy. I think we should have let Wall Street, big banks and maybe even the big 3 automakers simply fail. The banks certainly aren't helping out main street Americans with their mortgages, why should we have helped them? I also think the stimulus package was WAAY too much and has not done much of anything. However, I think the current debt ceiling problem needs compromise from BOTH sides~ Dems with their Medicaid/ Medicare and Republicans with some fair tax increases for fat corporate America. I think the flat tax IS the only fair way to go and if someone runs on that for 2012 and enough challengers for the Congress are on board with it, so am I. We need sweeping change and I hope we finally get it in 2012.
Jon - 13 years ago
Okay Elizabeth, this is for you and your comrade, Mike - When Clinton left office we had a (meager) surplus. Then we were ruthlessly attacked! (Remember that?) After two terms of Bush, the surplus had turned into a deficit. Thankfully, we elected a guy who based his campaign on ending the wars we were engaged in. How has that worked out for ya'? Can you say LIBYA? (Sorry Mike, no italics, have to suffice with capitals! Love the fact it offends you!)
So, where are we now? Two failed stimulus fiascoes! Failure to end the 2 wars! The start of yet another war! An unconstitutional healthcare scam guaranteed to bankrupt the country! Failed domestic policy! Failed foreign policy! Tripling of the debt left by Bush! The rapid and intentional decline of America into a third-world country! The inability to show even the smallest amount of leadership! In short, a totally failed Presidency!
I can look in the mirror all day, but I will never see the person responsible for our current state of affairs! And since I didn't vote for this clown, or any of his adoring minion, you certainly can't shift the blame to me, or any Conservatives. It's certainly not OUR fault this disappointment hasn't lived up to his promises or hyperbole.
I don't even blame you and Mike for falling for it! He was very convincing, in a sleazy, used car salesman sort of way. A lot of innocent (read - easily duped) people were impressed with his smoke and mirror side-show!
So, to be fair (I know how important fairness is to Libs), in the grand scheme of time, the Dems alone didn't get us here. But they certainly are responsible for the current situation!
After all, in the last 2.5 years they could have done many things differently. They chose not to! They chose the path of maximum destruction. So be it. obama promised to "fundamentally change America" and is living up to that promise! (One of the few!)
So my suggestion is that you embrace the change. We have all been fed the line about how change is good.
I agree. Especially the change that will be coming in 2012! And do I regret the recent disastrous Democrat control over Washington? No, not really! Every now and then, Americans need a refresher as to why NOT to vote for Dems. Each refresher usually ushers in a long period of Republican control. When that comes, and it WILL come, that will truly be a breath of fresh air!
Unless, like Mike, you prefer failure and malaise! In which case you should be very happy with things now! We certainly have plenty of both, along with unsustainable debt and $4.00 gas! Yup, gotta love them Dems!
Mike1947 - 13 years ago
Elizabeth: Thanks for the breath of fresh air.
elizabeth - 13 years ago
Jon, be fair! When Clinton left office we had a surplus in this country, 2 terms of Bush and 2 wars later where are we?? Don't blame the Dems! Look in the mirror!
Mike1947 - 13 years ago
Jon: Your need to express yourself by capitalizing a lot of your words during your rather bizarre rantings shows you are probably a person with limited intelligence ,and because of this, you also have anger issues when it comes to dealing with people who's opinions differ from yours. Talk about "whiney"!
Jon - 13 years ago
Oh good comeback Mike! I love the way you worked in 'partisan' and 'ignorant', both Liberal talking points! Your leaders must be so proud of you!
Please be so kind as to point out exactly where I said that ALL Republicans in congress are Conservative. Without doubt we have our disappointments (like Snowe, Collins & McCain), just as the Democrats do (every one of them).
Am I partisan? You bet your winy Liberal ass I am! Am I Conservative? YES! I have to be. See, I have a fully functional brain. All those with fully functional brains are, by definition, Conservative.
If you would try engaging your entire brain your would see that. If you need help with this exercise, let me know.
(No disrespect intended to those whom, by no fault of their own, have limited cognitive abilities.)
To those whom make the CONSCIOUS DECISION to limit their cognitive ability, think with only half a brain, their heart, or any combination of the two, then much disrespect intended! (Um, that would include you Mike, in case you hadn't figured that out.)
Mike 1947 - 13 years ago
Jon: You obviously are so partisan in your political views that you have no use for real facts. Anyone who believes that the Republicans in congress are really consevative is either partisan or ignorant. I think I have a sense of what you are. I think your both.
Jon - 13 years ago
Mike 1947 - Your analogy of buying a car only helps prove my point of the dysfunctional Liberal thought process. Thank you!
It would be closer to: You spend more on a car that you already know you can not possibly afford. Then when you see your first payment, you know you can't possibly pay that much with you meager salary. So rather than give up the car, or get one you can afford, you take out YET ANOTHER loan to make up the difference! Now instead of one loan you can't pay, you have two you can't pay!
That is what Conservatives call IRRESPONSIBLE!
But fear not, I don't expect you to understand it.
Jon - 13 years ago
The results of the poll show that not only is Congress divided, but so is the country! On the one hand you have fiscally responsible individuals and Legislators that understand that it is unsustainable to spend more than you bring in. We call such patriotic Americans - 'Conservatives'.
On the other hand, you have have those in and out of Government that simply can't help spending every single dime they get their grubby hands on. When the latter overspend (as they have done for the last 2 1/2 years!), then they must create yet another crisis atmosphere in order to scare the populace into raising the debt limit, in order to continue their irresponsible spending addiction. We call those dolts - 'Democrats/Liberals'.
Unfortunately for all the little people, part of that addiction includes the inability to know fact from their own delusional fiction, their inability to work constructively with the rational side of the isle, and their steadfast refusal to stop (or even slow) the very spending that bolsters their voter base! Ah yes, how truly pathetic Democrats are!
Now, once again, Harry Reid has proven just how impotent a Legislator he really is! How that imbecile got re-elected is beyond me! (Makes you wonder about the intelligence of Nevada voters!) But I do understand, he simple can't help himself. He's an idiot. He's also obama's yappy little lapdog. And obama, in turn, is the yappy little lapdog of people like Soros. So it would seem that all Democrats are dependent on someone else to do their thinking for them. Lord knows they are incapable of thinking for themselves!
And that leads us to the current Democrat-caused situation! Republicans know that Democrats are incapable of fiscal responsibility (or any other form of responsible behavior, for that matter!). They must spend money to shore up their voter base. Without bribes, payoffs and assorted graph, no one with a functional brain would ever vote Democrat!
Spending monstrous sums of money is what Democrats exist for. It's who they are, it's all they know, it's what they do.
Fortunately, America is waking up to the fact that obama, and his minions like Reid and Pelosi, have been a disastrous mistake for this country. But while responsible Legislators and active citizens begin the disinfecting process, we will have to deal with the pathetic behavior of Democrats loosing their grip on power.
On the bright side, there is nothing funnier than a Democrat/Liberal going apoplectic as they see their power slipping away! We see it every time obama makes yet another of his winy tele-speeches. Or when Reid whispers one of his incoherent ramblings in front of a camera, any camera, EVERY camera!
Change is inevitable. This time around, CHANGE will be welcomed as America rejoices in a responsible, competent, and intelligent Commander-in-Chief!
In the mean time, sit back, relax and enjoy the show! Call it, "The Last Desperate March of the Liberal Buffoons".
Mike 1947 - 13 years ago
Herman 1940: I'm not sure that a lot of people understand that raising the debt limit is needed to pay for money that congress has already spent. It's not a matter of giving someone more money to spend it's a matter of paying for the bills that have already been authorized by both parties in congress. It would be like you and I borrowing money for a new home or car and then after receiving them saying we weren't going to pay for them. Lets be honest and admit that most of us can't afford to buy big ticket items with cash on hand so when times are good and we know we have the means to borrow money and make payments to pay that loan back. The US does have the means to pay their creditors like we always have but the political reality is what used to be routine has now become political gamesmanship. We do have a spending and a revenue problem but we do Not have a Debt Crises. This charade is nothing more than a distraction to skirt the real issue of a Job Crises. The real job creators in this country has always been people like us who ,when we are working, spend our money at businesses that provide us with goods and services. Most of these small businesses are in business to make money, not to create jobs. If you and I and people like us are able to spend enough money at different places it may get them thinking they need to expand to keep up with demand then they may hire. One more thing to note is that most major economists agree that the Cap,Cut and Balance bill the Republicans are purposing would create the greatest hardship in our country's history on the middle class and poor and as hated as the Paul Ryan budget bill was because of it's attack on Social Security and Medicare, the Cap,Cut, and Balance bill would be much worse. I am retired and I will be able to sign up for Medicare this fall. I have to purchase Insurance for my wife but I am lucky that I can take advantage of my veterans benefits and go to the VA clinic. Getting on Medicare will be a blessing for me. I am not in favor of anyone who wants to cut the benefits I've helped pay for all my life so they can help their big money donors accumulate more wealth.
Elizabeth - 13 years ago
This wonderful Nation is in dire straits and not one of our Legislators, nor Administrators, and yes that means the President too... is doing anything to stop it! They continue to play the blame game while we, the ever more poor citizens of the USA struggle to survive. While the career politicians are too busy campaigning for the next election, our beloved Country is being sold down the river to every loan holder on the planet! We only have ourselves to blame though. There is nary a sign of protest or uprising to show our gross discontent of this horrendous situation... have we all gotten so morbidly obese, complacent and apathetic that we can't muster the energy to protest the undoing of the greatest Nation on the planet??? Has anyone else written the President, or their Legislators to state the level of disgust at their poor job performance? Has anyone called those same offices to request inquiries into the legitimacy of this President? Have we all forgotten the words to the song "This land is your land"? (God knows if they even allow it to be sung in schools any longer...)
If you haven't already done so, I suggest you utilize what is left of your civil liberties and pick up your phones and make those calls! All the Legislator's contact info is on the internet or available at your town offices. Do something, anything, but don't just stand by and WATCH the train wreck as it happens! They work for us. Hold them accountable!
And by the way, after living in Ireland for 18 months and seeing how their tax system works, I am convinced that a Flat Tax system is the only fair way to pay taxes for everyone involved; rich and poor. Our tax system is grossly unfair and favors those who have the most to tax.
We need to demand fair systems, and non career politicians to support those systems. Politicians need to have more strict term limits and their benefits changed willy nilly because of costs. See how they like being career politicians then... Perhaps then, we would have people representing the Country because it is a vocation and not a vacation!
Herman 1940 - 13 years ago
We all have our own opinions Mike 1947 and you and I just have different ones. I find that if I spend more than I am taking in then I get in trouble. The same principle applies to our government. They should not call on us to keep giving more and more just so they can keep on spending. That just causes us to over spend our budgets through taxes. The viscious circle just keeps going around and around. They have more to spend and we have less. Time to draw a line in the sand and stop the nonsense and the spending!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike1947 - 13 years ago
For all you people who think we need to send a new crew to Washington to get something done I have to ask you if you are ignoring the fact that it is the 80 or so new Tea Party members that are putting our country in jeopardy. They have refused to allow any talks on revenue increases to help solve our problems but they are more than willing to take away our Social Security and Medicare benefits. I would like one of you to explain to me why you think our tax dollars should be given to Exxon, who is making approximately 5 million dollars an hour, at the expense of the middle class and working poor. Anyone who thinks we only have a spending problem and not a revenue problem also is not being honest with themselves or anyone else. Tea Party congressman Joe Walsh has been putting his mug on TV a lot lately ranting about not putting anymore debt on the backs of his children and grandchildren and it turns out that he is so concerned about that that he owes his ex-wife and children $117,400 in back child support. He's certainly not broke because he loaned his own campaign $35,000 and takes his girlfriend on expensive getaways. Is this the kind of change some of you voted for? He would be a good fit for the LePage administration. Sorry Herman 1940,I couldn't help myself.
B A Hughes - 13 years ago
Yes, but not a good one!
Herman 1940 - 13 years ago
It is politics as usual. We didn't elect enough new members of the houses to get the job done. The few that we did send to washington are trying but the old dug in cronies are still trying to play the political game. They are also trying to corrupt the new members.
Sure they will make up something the last minute and claim that is all they could do. I tend to agree with Alan. We need to send all new members to the Oval office, senate and congress with a CLEAR MESSAGE ! TAKE CARE OF THE PEOPLES BUSINESS.
Make an amendment to the constitution that if the budget isn't balanced, in a timely manner, the first to get cut would be the salaries and perks of the President and legislators. Nothing would get their attention like hitting them in the wallet.
We can put a man on the moon, and you are telling us you can't put a stop to the fraud and waste of federal spending. Give us a break!!!!!!!!! I believe there is a lot of palms being greased and pockets being lined. How else can a person go from a humble lifestyle to having more money than the law allows in a relativly short period of time without creating something. Sure looks suspicious to me and I bet that I am not alone. Money is not evil and dose not corrupt, But the love of it surely dose.
GO LEPAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alan Campbell - 13 years ago
The two party system is totally disfunctional as is .We need to elect all new people to arrive at a sustainable government.
JACKIE - 13 years ago
I sure hope they come to an agreement-they have to or the president will have to invoke the 14th amendment-it would shut down the whole country if they don't-
I was going to add some witful comment for my democratic comrades (Liz&Mike1947) but I see Jon is holding his own.
Elizabeth, we are indeed closer than people like Comrade Mike might think! (Bet that ticks him off!)
I agree, "too big to fail" is a farce. Let them fail, be it a bank, a car company or anything else. Failure brings out the strongest. Bailouts only reward failure and support the weak. The weak should not, and must not be allowed to survive.
That is especially true for this weak (and incompetent) Presidency!
Unfortunately, 'compromise' in Washington means Republicans cave and give Dems everything they want. That strategy has never worked out to anyone's (except the Dems) best interest.
Again this morning, we see that the Republicans in Congress are starting to cave! So what if the deadline isn't met? Will it be the end of the world, or another Y2K ? (Nothing!)
My bet is that nothing would happen at all! After all, if I were to apply for a second mortgage to add an addition, and were declined, I would still continue to pay my first mortgage! Same with the country. Only obama and the Dems think you get to stop paying your debts if you are declined for (even higher) debt limit.
The only thing that will ever force Washington to change it's spending habit is a balanced budget amendment. Unfortunately, it looks like that requirement is one of the fatalities of the this mornings negotiations. Funny how Dems simply refuse to limit their spending!
As for the flat tax, I'm all for it, if for no other reason than to see what the Dems come up with as their next whiny talking point, once "unfair" tax rates are no longer an issue. One thing for sure, whatever they come up with will be inventive, ridiculous, and wrong!
Ah, the humor of desperate Liberals loosing power! I love it!!
Besides, ya' just gotta laugh. It's just too nice a day not to! Besides, every new day is a day closer to November 2012!
Frankly Jon, I agree with you that Obama has definitely harmed the economy. I think we should have let Wall Street, big banks and maybe even the big 3 automakers simply fail. The banks certainly aren't helping out main street Americans with their mortgages, why should we have helped them? I also think the stimulus package was WAAY too much and has not done much of anything. However, I think the current debt ceiling problem needs compromise from BOTH sides~ Dems with their Medicaid/ Medicare and Republicans with some fair tax increases for fat corporate America. I think the flat tax IS the only fair way to go and if someone runs on that for 2012 and enough challengers for the Congress are on board with it, so am I. We need sweeping change and I hope we finally get it in 2012.
Okay Elizabeth, this is for you and your comrade, Mike - When Clinton left office we had a (meager) surplus. Then we were ruthlessly attacked! (Remember that?) After two terms of Bush, the surplus had turned into a deficit. Thankfully, we elected a guy who based his campaign on ending the wars we were engaged in. How has that worked out for ya'? Can you say LIBYA? (Sorry Mike, no italics, have to suffice with capitals! Love the fact it offends you!)
So, where are we now? Two failed stimulus fiascoes! Failure to end the 2 wars! The start of yet another war! An unconstitutional healthcare scam guaranteed to bankrupt the country! Failed domestic policy! Failed foreign policy! Tripling of the debt left by Bush! The rapid and intentional decline of America into a third-world country! The inability to show even the smallest amount of leadership! In short, a totally failed Presidency!
I can look in the mirror all day, but I will never see the person responsible for our current state of affairs! And since I didn't vote for this clown, or any of his adoring minion, you certainly can't shift the blame to me, or any Conservatives. It's certainly not OUR fault this disappointment hasn't lived up to his promises or hyperbole.
I don't even blame you and Mike for falling for it! He was very convincing, in a sleazy, used car salesman sort of way. A lot of innocent (read - easily duped) people were impressed with his smoke and mirror side-show!
So, to be fair (I know how important fairness is to Libs), in the grand scheme of time, the Dems alone didn't get us here. But they certainly are responsible for the current situation!
After all, in the last 2.5 years they could have done many things differently. They chose not to! They chose the path of maximum destruction. So be it. obama promised to "fundamentally change America" and is living up to that promise! (One of the few!)
So my suggestion is that you embrace the change. We have all been fed the line about how change is good.
I agree. Especially the change that will be coming in 2012! And do I regret the recent disastrous Democrat control over Washington? No, not really! Every now and then, Americans need a refresher as to why NOT to vote for Dems. Each refresher usually ushers in a long period of Republican control. When that comes, and it WILL come, that will truly be a breath of fresh air!
Unless, like Mike, you prefer failure and malaise! In which case you should be very happy with things now! We certainly have plenty of both, along with unsustainable debt and $4.00 gas! Yup, gotta love them Dems!
Elizabeth: Thanks for the breath of fresh air.
Jon, be fair! When Clinton left office we had a surplus in this country, 2 terms of Bush and 2 wars later where are we?? Don't blame the Dems! Look in the mirror!
Jon: Your need to express yourself by capitalizing a lot of your words during your rather bizarre rantings shows you are probably a person with limited intelligence ,and because of this, you also have anger issues when it comes to dealing with people who's opinions differ from yours. Talk about "whiney"!
Oh good comeback Mike! I love the way you worked in 'partisan' and 'ignorant', both Liberal talking points! Your leaders must be so proud of you!
Please be so kind as to point out exactly where I said that ALL Republicans in congress are Conservative. Without doubt we have our disappointments (like Snowe, Collins & McCain), just as the Democrats do (every one of them).
Am I partisan? You bet your winy Liberal ass I am! Am I Conservative? YES! I have to be. See, I have a fully functional brain. All those with fully functional brains are, by definition, Conservative.
If you would try engaging your entire brain your would see that. If you need help with this exercise, let me know.
(No disrespect intended to those whom, by no fault of their own, have limited cognitive abilities.)
To those whom make the CONSCIOUS DECISION to limit their cognitive ability, think with only half a brain, their heart, or any combination of the two, then much disrespect intended! (Um, that would include you Mike, in case you hadn't figured that out.)
Jon: You obviously are so partisan in your political views that you have no use for real facts. Anyone who believes that the Republicans in congress are really consevative is either partisan or ignorant. I think I have a sense of what you are. I think your both.
Mike 1947 - Your analogy of buying a car only helps prove my point of the dysfunctional Liberal thought process. Thank you!
It would be closer to: You spend more on a car that you already know you can not possibly afford. Then when you see your first payment, you know you can't possibly pay that much with you meager salary. So rather than give up the car, or get one you can afford, you take out YET ANOTHER loan to make up the difference! Now instead of one loan you can't pay, you have two you can't pay!
That is what Conservatives call IRRESPONSIBLE!
But fear not, I don't expect you to understand it.
The results of the poll show that not only is Congress divided, but so is the country! On the one hand you have fiscally responsible individuals and Legislators that understand that it is unsustainable to spend more than you bring in. We call such patriotic Americans - 'Conservatives'.
On the other hand, you have have those in and out of Government that simply can't help spending every single dime they get their grubby hands on. When the latter overspend (as they have done for the last 2 1/2 years!), then they must create yet another crisis atmosphere in order to scare the populace into raising the debt limit, in order to continue their irresponsible spending addiction. We call those dolts - 'Democrats/Liberals'.
Unfortunately for all the little people, part of that addiction includes the inability to know fact from their own delusional fiction, their inability to work constructively with the rational side of the isle, and their steadfast refusal to stop (or even slow) the very spending that bolsters their voter base! Ah yes, how truly pathetic Democrats are!
Now, once again, Harry Reid has proven just how impotent a Legislator he really is! How that imbecile got re-elected is beyond me! (Makes you wonder about the intelligence of Nevada voters!) But I do understand, he simple can't help himself. He's an idiot. He's also obama's yappy little lapdog. And obama, in turn, is the yappy little lapdog of people like Soros. So it would seem that all Democrats are dependent on someone else to do their thinking for them. Lord knows they are incapable of thinking for themselves!
And that leads us to the current Democrat-caused situation! Republicans know that Democrats are incapable of fiscal responsibility (or any other form of responsible behavior, for that matter!). They must spend money to shore up their voter base. Without bribes, payoffs and assorted graph, no one with a functional brain would ever vote Democrat!
Spending monstrous sums of money is what Democrats exist for. It's who they are, it's all they know, it's what they do.
Fortunately, America is waking up to the fact that obama, and his minions like Reid and Pelosi, have been a disastrous mistake for this country. But while responsible Legislators and active citizens begin the disinfecting process, we will have to deal with the pathetic behavior of Democrats loosing their grip on power.
On the bright side, there is nothing funnier than a Democrat/Liberal going apoplectic as they see their power slipping away! We see it every time obama makes yet another of his winy tele-speeches. Or when Reid whispers one of his incoherent ramblings in front of a camera, any camera, EVERY camera!
Change is inevitable. This time around, CHANGE will be welcomed as America rejoices in a responsible, competent, and intelligent Commander-in-Chief!
In the mean time, sit back, relax and enjoy the show! Call it, "The Last Desperate March of the Liberal Buffoons".
Herman 1940: I'm not sure that a lot of people understand that raising the debt limit is needed to pay for money that congress has already spent. It's not a matter of giving someone more money to spend it's a matter of paying for the bills that have already been authorized by both parties in congress. It would be like you and I borrowing money for a new home or car and then after receiving them saying we weren't going to pay for them. Lets be honest and admit that most of us can't afford to buy big ticket items with cash on hand so when times are good and we know we have the means to borrow money and make payments to pay that loan back. The US does have the means to pay their creditors like we always have but the political reality is what used to be routine has now become political gamesmanship. We do have a spending and a revenue problem but we do Not have a Debt Crises. This charade is nothing more than a distraction to skirt the real issue of a Job Crises. The real job creators in this country has always been people like us who ,when we are working, spend our money at businesses that provide us with goods and services. Most of these small businesses are in business to make money, not to create jobs. If you and I and people like us are able to spend enough money at different places it may get them thinking they need to expand to keep up with demand then they may hire. One more thing to note is that most major economists agree that the Cap,Cut and Balance bill the Republicans are purposing would create the greatest hardship in our country's history on the middle class and poor and as hated as the Paul Ryan budget bill was because of it's attack on Social Security and Medicare, the Cap,Cut, and Balance bill would be much worse. I am retired and I will be able to sign up for Medicare this fall. I have to purchase Insurance for my wife but I am lucky that I can take advantage of my veterans benefits and go to the VA clinic. Getting on Medicare will be a blessing for me. I am not in favor of anyone who wants to cut the benefits I've helped pay for all my life so they can help their big money donors accumulate more wealth.
This wonderful Nation is in dire straits and not one of our Legislators, nor Administrators, and yes that means the President too... is doing anything to stop it! They continue to play the blame game while we, the ever more poor citizens of the USA struggle to survive. While the career politicians are too busy campaigning for the next election, our beloved Country is being sold down the river to every loan holder on the planet! We only have ourselves to blame though. There is nary a sign of protest or uprising to show our gross discontent of this horrendous situation... have we all gotten so morbidly obese, complacent and apathetic that we can't muster the energy to protest the undoing of the greatest Nation on the planet??? Has anyone else written the President, or their Legislators to state the level of disgust at their poor job performance? Has anyone called those same offices to request inquiries into the legitimacy of this President? Have we all forgotten the words to the song "This land is your land"? (God knows if they even allow it to be sung in schools any longer...)
If you haven't already done so, I suggest you utilize what is left of your civil liberties and pick up your phones and make those calls! All the Legislator's contact info is on the internet or available at your town offices. Do something, anything, but don't just stand by and WATCH the train wreck as it happens! They work for us. Hold them accountable!
And by the way, after living in Ireland for 18 months and seeing how their tax system works, I am convinced that a Flat Tax system is the only fair way to pay taxes for everyone involved; rich and poor. Our tax system is grossly unfair and favors those who have the most to tax.
We need to demand fair systems, and non career politicians to support those systems. Politicians need to have more strict term limits and their benefits changed willy nilly because of costs. See how they like being career politicians then... Perhaps then, we would have people representing the Country because it is a vocation and not a vacation!
We all have our own opinions Mike 1947 and you and I just have different ones. I find that if I spend more than I am taking in then I get in trouble. The same principle applies to our government. They should not call on us to keep giving more and more just so they can keep on spending. That just causes us to over spend our budgets through taxes. The viscious circle just keeps going around and around. They have more to spend and we have less. Time to draw a line in the sand and stop the nonsense and the spending!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For all you people who think we need to send a new crew to Washington to get something done I have to ask you if you are ignoring the fact that it is the 80 or so new Tea Party members that are putting our country in jeopardy. They have refused to allow any talks on revenue increases to help solve our problems but they are more than willing to take away our Social Security and Medicare benefits. I would like one of you to explain to me why you think our tax dollars should be given to Exxon, who is making approximately 5 million dollars an hour, at the expense of the middle class and working poor. Anyone who thinks we only have a spending problem and not a revenue problem also is not being honest with themselves or anyone else. Tea Party congressman Joe Walsh has been putting his mug on TV a lot lately ranting about not putting anymore debt on the backs of his children and grandchildren and it turns out that he is so concerned about that that he owes his ex-wife and children $117,400 in back child support. He's certainly not broke because he loaned his own campaign $35,000 and takes his girlfriend on expensive getaways. Is this the kind of change some of you voted for? He would be a good fit for the LePage administration. Sorry Herman 1940,I couldn't help myself.
Yes, but not a good one!
It is politics as usual. We didn't elect enough new members of the houses to get the job done. The few that we did send to washington are trying but the old dug in cronies are still trying to play the political game. They are also trying to corrupt the new members.
Sure they will make up something the last minute and claim that is all they could do. I tend to agree with Alan. We need to send all new members to the Oval office, senate and congress with a CLEAR MESSAGE ! TAKE CARE OF THE PEOPLES BUSINESS.
Make an amendment to the constitution that if the budget isn't balanced, in a timely manner, the first to get cut would be the salaries and perks of the President and legislators. Nothing would get their attention like hitting them in the wallet.
We can put a man on the moon, and you are telling us you can't put a stop to the fraud and waste of federal spending. Give us a break!!!!!!!!! I believe there is a lot of palms being greased and pockets being lined. How else can a person go from a humble lifestyle to having more money than the law allows in a relativly short period of time without creating something. Sure looks suspicious to me and I bet that I am not alone. Money is not evil and dose not corrupt, But the love of it surely dose.
GO LEPAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The two party system is totally disfunctional as is .We need to elect all new people to arrive at a sustainable government.
I sure hope they come to an agreement-they have to or the president will have to invoke the 14th amendment-it would shut down the whole country if they don't-