There is no reason to raise taxes. We need to CUT SPENDING! That is common sense.

Our government admits that it is a poor steward of our money. Now during tough times, rather then eliminate the waste and becoming more efficient first, before it ask for more taxes , the government would rather collect more in taxes and not mention anything about eliminating wasteful spending practices. How about telling our government to get better control of the way it spends our money before we pony up any more money? But if you feel the need to pay more in taxes to a government that still seems to show little regard in the way it blows it, then kick in another check when you pay your taxes.

There is no reason to raise taxes. We need to CUT SPENDING! That is common sense.

No, that's actually a misunderstanding of our current financial situation and the extent to which we depend on public spending...and by 'we' I mean our economy and our society.

What we need are both spending cuts and tax increases. Your "common sense" is simply not, because around 70% of the population agrees with me and disagrees with you.

...unless you your term "common sense" is a rhetorical attempt to attain some kind of hegemony over the vast majority of people. If so, you're late to the party, and that genie is not going back into the bottle.

It's a good day for democracy and democratic values. It's a bad day for you...finally. People are not as dumb as Republicans need them to be. I'll admit I'm relieved. For a while there I was wondering, but now I know that not even tough economic times are enough to allow the Republican party to trick enough people into voting against their own interests. I guess it's a case of "you can fool some of the people some of the time..."

Andrew - good post.

The thought about occupying the White House or the Capitol is amusing.

But why not got to the source of the problem - lobbyists. How about "Occupy K St."?

I guess it is common sense for us "taxpayers" that we should not pay any more for the free loaders. I wonder how many government programs you are on Andrew547? The goal of the Democratic Party is to get as many people on the welfare rolls as possible in order to ensure zombie like behavior out of their constituents.

"We’re not mad at the bankers… The Tea Party is mad at our politicians, our government"

HELLO ... our politicians are OWNED by the BANKERS!!!

If you are going to be mad at the puppets rather than the puppeteers ... you are in fact puppets yourselves .... and here lies the problem .....

AND ... the Tea Party should be mad at FOX for filling heads with nonsense and hate ....

The rich people in this country are desperately trying to convince the middle class that it is the poor people who are the real problem. Tea Party folks are just extremely naive.

Time for a real 3rd party.

A 3rd party that will make unfounded and ridiculous claims against another party ... is truly not in the best interest of the country!

It didn't lose its way; it got hijacked.

There is no reason to raise taxes. We need to CUT SPENDING! That is common sense.

Yes .. we need to cut spending. I'm not denying that in the least. But we also need to collect more. We can start by closing the loopholes that allow corporations to pay NO taxes. And then we also need to fix it so that EVERYONE pays at least a tiny bit. EVERYONE needs to contribute. There should be NO ONE in this country, unless they are retired or too disabled (really disabled) to work, that should not contribute at least a tiny portion to the running of this country.

Then we need to cut ... the GAO hands out lists every year of wasted money ... let's start there.

We just need the 1% to pay their fare share of taxes. What's wrong with that? Do you actually think that will cause them turn away from creating jobs? Well if so, so be it because they are not creating jobs as now at their current tax %. Are we still under the Bush tax cuts? Somebody let me know.

If John McCain would have been run by the Republicans and elected instead of Bush the first time McCain ran.

If the economy had not already tanked.

If the housing industry wasn’t collapsed.

If the Banking industry wasn’t busted, broken and run by traitorous criminals.

If millions of US workers were not out of work.

If the United States had not have attacked Iraq.

If Big Oil wasn’t out of control.

If the Republicans would have done even one of their current talking points when Dick Cheney via Bush was in charge for 8 solid years.

If we had a time machine and could go back 11 years to a time where fine tuning a growing working economy was possible, MAYBE what the Republican-Tea Party is trying would have worked … MAYBE.

I liken the Tea party ideas to having your butt whipped so bad that you end up on life support; have to go through physical therapy for years to walk again, waking up bankrupt from the medical bills, out of work, and no longer able to do the work you used to do … then deciding to take a self defense class to protect your self from the bullies who kicked your butt.

You’re behind the curve by 11 years, and no amount of pent up anger feed dogma is going sooth your cracked skull, or pay your medical bills, or get you a job …

You got screwed, and you are crying like you were the only one, well look around the rest of the country took the same butt whipping, the difference is we have gotten back up, dusted our selves off and are moving on.

We picked someone else almost 3 years ago and if not for your toe dragging, it’s all about me … get in the way … wishful lets go back in time before the butt whipping policies the entire country would be at least attempting to do something about the bullies, and get a job, and pay down some of the medical cost.

We need new ideas, not the same corporate greed agenda driven by the bullies who busted your butt.

What I see is the GOP-Tea Party saying “If you can’t beat them join them” to the bullies, when the rest of us a want to take baseball bats to them.

"We’re not mad at the bankers… The Tea Party is mad at our politicians, our government"

This was the constant message the tea partiers above stated, and what I find horrifically ironic and sad about it, is that they seem to have no clue who OWNS and OPERATES our govt - Bankers, Big Business and the Wealthy.

So it appears, the OWS movement is a tad smarter than the TP movement, in that we are going straight to the source of the problem.

When top tier taxes are at 70% after the first million someone earns, the rich have far less money with which to BUY our elected officials, and instead have all the more reason to take that money and truly invest it in their own businesses, or new businesses, and truly CREATE JOBS.

When taxes are at historic lows like they have been since Reagan...The Wealthy gamble their money on wall street, and invest much of it in owning politicians who'll then write favorable laws and regulations that will benefit their business over others - and thats how they keep making their money.

Note, in this way...jobs arent being created, just the opposite.

Im sick and tired of referring to wealthy people as "JOB CREATORS" - they dont create any jobs, and most of them eliminate jobs in order to create their wealth...the people who create jobs are the middle class, through their spending power.

Want proof? SEE CHINA'S EMERGING MIDDLE CLASS AND HOW ALL OUR BUSINESSES ARE FOCUSING ON HOW TO SELL THEIR PRODUCTS TO THE CHINESE.

Thats all the proof one needs if they really care about job creation. When people have money, the spend it...and when people spend money, businesses hire more workers to address their customers needs...it has ALWAYS worked this way. Rich people dont hire people, simply because they have lower taxes to pay.

No guys the tea party is no more than your parents generation incarnate. They just stick to the ideals of the 50's and like, the by gone religions of, yesteryear try to force their ideals upon your rights of free speech and assembly. Like a poster said earlier 70% of the country is centrist/ liberal. Thank the heavens for some sanity, even in Mississippi...Peace

Lobbyist congregate at capitol hill likes moth to a flame for a reason. That reason is that congress is peddling influence. Turn off the light and the moths will go away. Strip the federal government of its power to do things it has no constutional business doing and the lobbyist will go away. And by lobbyists lets not kid ourselves, they are unions, the AARP, corporations, NAACP, the people who brought you the ADA, Amber alerts etc.

Everyone loves their lobbyists and special interest groups, its the other guys that is the problem.

I agree that we need to cut spending. Raising taxes wouldn't be necessary if we ended duplicate entitlement programs and loopholes for the corporations. How about taxing church property? Of all religions, by the way.

The problem with saying we need to cut spending and raise taxes is that we've already seen time and again, when big government says this is what they are going to do, what they ACTUALLY do is raise taxes NOW and promise to cut spending LATER. Of course, the tax increases happen but the spending cuts never quite do. So any time I hare a politician say they want to do both, I know they are playing this "now and later" game again.

I would have no problem with raising taxes and cutting spending if both were done at the same time, but congressmen in reality have no stomach for cutting any spending because at the end of the day, spending cuts alienate voters.

taxes have never been lower in this country, and yet the clowns on the right wing side think lowering them some more will solve problem,s.. That will only cause more.

I here people on the right wing side of things talk about cutting entitlements.. Well screw you I pay into those systems and therefore they are not entitlements...

I do agree we should be eliminating BLATANT fraud from our social programs, but yuo don't here a single right winger talking about that.. It's nothing but gut, cut and repeal with these clowns.. That won't make this country better, all that will do is make us a slave to the big money that wil get to make all the decisions through over zealous monetary influence.

Who was responsible for overturning Citizens United and giving us Super_PACS.. that all you right wingers..

Tea partiers say one thing but their actions scream something else...

I think we should all make the same amount of money no matter what job we do , 50% goes to the govt. we all live in the same type of house given to us by the govt. Stop all foreign aid, stop all immigration eliminate two party system. Three strikes and you're out of here lessen over crowding in prisons, do away with wall street nobody likes them anyway,put the constitution in a museum exhibit no one pays attention to it anyway outlaw whining . He who spends the most before dying wins. Same BS different day!

Andrew - ditto.

Did anyone else catch this lil' tidbit?

"Rep. Todd Rokita . . . treated the entire clan to a four-day trip to Washington, D.C., flying them to the capital in his private plane."

That seems a fitting symbol for the Tea Party's politics...exclusive, elite, and wretchedly excessive.

How someone who owns a private plane could be representing my interests in a representative government has yet to be explained.

When the Occupy movement began, I agreed with some of it. The banks have abused the system. But, that was allowed by bought and paid for congressmen on both sides.

The ensuing takeover of the Occupy movement by disgruntled 20somethings is misplaced. What they don't realize or admit is that it isn't about the banks that loaned the money to go to college...it's about the amount they needed to take in loans to go to college.

I have yet to hear one politician address the issue of skyrocketing costs of education. Why is it not mentioned that colleges and university have raised their rates by more than twice the inflation rate? Where is that money going?

the tea party is no more than your parents generation incarnate

Hogwash.

Our parent's generation PAID for what they bought, unlike the teapublicans who want everything for free. Our parent's generation knew that paying taxes is a civic duty. Our parent's generation demanded, and got, good government, instead of blaming the government, the minorities, the immigrants, the foreigners, the school children and their teachers, etc. for all the problems of the world.

Our parents generation didn't whine and blame the boggeyman. Our parent's generation SOLVeD PROBLEMS.

At one point, a MAJORITY of teapublicans expressed belief that the President of the United States was a foreigner, not a US citizen, and a Muslim. Our parents were never that stupid.

Wow give it a rest. You sound like an old 60's anti welfare hard hat. It's 2011 not 1971. This false notion that anyone or anything the democrats do is just for freeloaders and lazy welfare takers, that's just not a fact anymore, but those old stereotypes don't die, especially with a black president. The biggest welfare or government transfer I ever saw in my lifetime was the bail out of the financial industry as a result of their insane risk taking with other peoples money. Then big daddy, (the government), had to come in for the rescue. And don't give us that crap that we should have let them all fail. If there were padlocks on the doors of Citibank and Chase and Wells Fargo and BOA, etc. and no one could get their money out for weeks or even months you and I would not be posting on this board because there would have been no power, no internet, no a lot of things that us spoiled Americans take for granted. You don't realize how close we came to Armageddon. The courts would have not been able to handle it like a lot of you Tea Partiers think, judges wouldn't have gotten paid, no court security. Think harder, don't be a puppet

The wealthiest 1% of Americans may pay 28% of all Federal income taxes, but they own 38% of the wealth, so it seems they are getting a substantial discount.

They pay less than 1% of Social Security and Medicare taxes, but they own 38% of the wealth.

They pay sales taxes, too, but not on corporate jets, and certainly nowhere near 38% of all sales taxes.

Those ganafs are getting a free ride.

The 400 wealthiest households in America pay an average of 16.1% of their income in income, social security, and Medicare taxes. The poor pay 15.6% of their income in social security and medicare alone. The middle class pay 15.6 in SS and Medicare, plus another 5% to 15% in income taxes, for a total of 20% to 30%, which is far more than the wealthy pay!

Give it a rest: The 1% pay 28% AND own 50% of the country's wealth. Honest 1%'ers know they're paying less than they should. Only the wacko's in the GOP congressional caucus think otherwise and those are the ones that need to go for us to get our country back.

Boy, the Tea Party people are some of the most DELUDED people in America. I am frightened and sad for them. They are governed by unreasoning fear. You can see it in their posts and everything they do. The Tea Party is ruining America one election at a time.

The only "puppets" are those who want more and more from the fewer and fewer taxpayers.

How about taxing church property? Of all religions, by the way.

I support this and allowing them to write off charitable contributions from their taxes. Isn't that what the social-conservatives keep saying? Let the Churches fix you up.... maybe now they actually will.

So funny that the Tea Party was angry at the same people to start with: The Bailout for the BANKS! Then, the Right Wing of the Repub Party co-oped the Tea Party so it began to take on the same issues that the right wing has always pushed--low govt spending, no taxes for the rich, anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage.

Reading what these supposed Tea Party members believe, there is NO MORE Tea Party. It's just the Right Wing speaking.

Although well-meaning, the people being quoted in this article are frighteningly naive. They believe Cain ISN'T a politician? He was chairman of the National Restaurant Association and, as such, interacted with government on behalf of the restaurant industry (Read: Lobbyist). Additionally he was an adviser to the Federal Reserve System; he worked for the Federal Reserve Banking System as an adviser promoting corporate America's needs (not the individual Citizen's needs). He was then appointed Chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank; this is only one step below the chairmanship of the entire Federal Reserve System (the top banking position in the country). Herman Cain is one of them; the power-brokers. He is not interested in what would be best for the Citizens of this country. He wants to allow the rich to become richer and keep the majority of us (the working people) paying the bills; just like the rest of his ilk he promotes economic slavery.

Yes, we need change in America. The system has been badly damaged by self-serving politicians who are controlled by big money rather than conscience, but it is important to remember to research the facts - not simply follow blindly behind whatever TV "news" show yells the loudest or plays to your beliefs while twisting the truth for the benefit of their backers.

What America needs, more than anything else, are people who can think rather than simply regurgitate the opinions of manipulators.

Yes, let's have the bankers run the country.............what a great idea (sarcasm noted)

How gullible can these teapartiers be?

Anyone who sits there and says that one party is better than another is an IDIOT. its two sides of the same coin. you really think that one side cares about you more than other does? its not in the person you elect, its in congress as a whole, as a system. in order to correct the problem, all of congress would have to be replaced simultaneously in order to assure no corruption. If we are to achieve true repairation of our country, we need to unite and take pride in who we are as americans, because i see people slander their own country's traditions and values quite frequently here and its no way to feel about your home. stand up america, and stop treating eachother like garbage

Reading what these supposed Tea Party members believe, there is NO MORE Tea Party. It's just the Right Wing speaking.

You're right - I at first supported the tea-party's economic and 'smaller gov't' sort of ideals. Then out came Palin, who I at first tried to like but realized quickly was a dimwit. Don't even get me started on Bachmann.

They've been by-in-large hijacked by social conservative "Moral Majority" (aka Xtian Taliban). I would like to support their 'primary' ideals very much, but that's not possible now. If you mix sh*t with chocolate, you get sh*tty chocolate.

Jessica@1.19: great comments! And there's many other great comments as well.

W.R.T. some of the Tea Partier comments about the unruly occupiers: You need to quit watching so much Fox where they cherry pick the videos to find the few that show the protesters as unruly, and then just play them over and over again.

its gonna be a long year

Jessica-1170252

they seem to have no clue who OWNS and OPERATES our govt - Bankers, Big Business and the Wealthy.

So, you and the OWS think you’re somehow magically going to change the minds of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people to NOT influence 535 politicians? REALLY? How? With more regulations that the politicians are responsible for creating? You realize there are 145,816 pages of Federal Regulations, right? How many of these are responsible for the financial, corporate and wealthy sectors? I would guess most are. How many more do you need? Who will enforce them? The government? The same government, the SEC, who was too busy watching porn while at work during the housing bubble being created and not doing anything? The same government, the MMS (now known as BOEMRE) that was responsible for monitoring the Deepwater Horizon but were too busy watching porn? The same government that creates more and more legislation like Gramm-Leach-Bliley and Sarbanes-Oxley that allegedly would control industries but rather opened the door to allow massive corruption and fraud?

So it appears, the OWS movement is a tad smarter than the TP movement, in that we are going straight to the source of the problem.

I don’t see the “smartness”, do you?

When top tier taxes are at 70% after the first million someone earns, the rich have far less money with which to BUY our elected officials, and instead have all the more reason to take that money and truly invest it in their own businesses, or new businesses, and truly CREATE JOBS

Hmmmm, I don’t understand. If they’re taxed at 70% that money is gone into the black hole of government waste, fraud and abuse. Either way the politicians still end up with the money. The “rich” don’t have that money anymore to create jobs. How will they do that?

When taxes are at historic lows like they have been since Reagan...

You realize that according to the Office of Management and Budget, even with the Bush tax cuts, revenues reached and even exceeded pre-Clinton recession and 9/11 levels, don’t you? The problem is NOT revenue, it's spending!

The Wealthy gamble their money on wall street, and invest much of it in owning politicians who'll then write favorable laws and regulations that will benefit their business over others - and thats how they keep making their money.

Once again, you’re chasing the wealthy rather than the criminal politicians. The politicians have a Constitutional and fiduciary responsibility to perform within the mandates set by the Constitution. The private sector has an economic responsibility to its shareholders and investors.

the people who create jobs are the middle class, through their spending power.

NO, NO, NO, NO!!!! Businesses create commerce. Commerce creates jobs. Jobs create wealth. Wealth creates consumption. The problem is you have been duped into believing government creates jobs. All government does is consume wealth. Waste, fraud and abuse is rampant in our corrupt government. $700 Billion dollars in waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid. $200 Billion dollars in waste, fraud and abuse in government redundancy. Billions lost in government malinvestment, subsidies, irrational regulations and criminal progressive taxation.

SEE CHINA'S EMERGING MIDDLE CLASS AND HOW ALL OUR BUSINESSES ARE FOCUSING ON HOW TO SELL THEIR PRODUCTS TO THE CHINESE.

What businesses? We are an 80% consumption/service sector economy. In 1960 our economy was based on 53% domestic exportable manufacturing industries. Today it is 9%. The primary engine of our economy that used to recover, after previous recessions, has been outsourced. We don’t build anything here anymore. The only way we can ever restore our once envied economy is by bringing back industries that build widgets, gizmos and gadgets that we then sell abroad to emerging markets and bring in new revenue. Revenue we need to repay our massive entitlement and social program consumed budget. No amount of infrastructure spending, stimulus, quantitative easing or other hocus-pocus will ever create the wealth, prosperity and standard of living we are accustomed to.

We The People have a Duty to eliminate government that exceeds its Enumerated Powers. Until we do that no amount of private sector intrusion will fix anything. The results will either be further corruption in our government or a total collapse of the greatest economy in history. Fix government and the rest will follow.

Its getting so hard for me to believe that tp's now and their followers. The followers are just blind, brainwashed people that think they are doing something good, when they're just cutting their own throats. How they can believe everything the tp's and repubs say without using their own brains to see for themselves what is really going on is beyond me. If they would just read or even listen to a smart person talk instead of the tp's they should be able to see the difference. Ok, no new taxes? Really? Do they really think its possible to cut deficit without raising the taxes on the rich. Hmmmm, if they would listen to the very wealthy they would understand as they do that they need to raise the taxes on themselves. They agree to it themselves. Then theres the tp's saying no new taxes? I just can't understand them and how did they get so brainwashed? Obama did a lot of good for this country since getting into office but they all want to slam him and insult him. 6 months after Obama got into office and the wars and everything was added up from the last administration, this country was in real bad shape. Obama got it under control and its going to take a lot longer to fix that, maybe another 7 yrs. But if the repubs and tp's get into office thats all going to go straight into the toilet. All that hard work and sacrifice will just be flushed right down the toilet because the tp's can't wait and think that it should of already been fixed and things should be like when Clinton was in office and its just impossible for it to be like that yet. Then the tp's make no effort what so ever to make things right and its going to take even longer to make it right now. The stubborn and insane tp's need voted out, for this country to continue in the right direction. Then what do they do, vote another repub into office, what a shame, they can't think for themself. At least listen to someone thats smart enough to show you whats right for now, what a shame how this country has ended up because of people like the tp's. And repubs too. Thank you Gw, you did this country well, just don't go to South America Gw because they will make you stand trial as a war criminal.

I like how you can be a tea party member talking about smaller govt. when they are living off govt. spending like the retired police officer above or the mom who works part time at the local school. How can you take resources from something you are against. Just like tea partiers who are on social security and medicare...look at yourself before you wish for change cause you may get what you wish for...no benefits or employment

Tea baggers are a bunch right wing nut bags. Go Occupy!

the people who create jobs are the middle class, through their spending power.

NO, NO, NO, NO!!!! Businesses create commerce. Commerce creates jobs. Jobs create wealth. Wealth creates consumption. The problem is you have been duped into believing government creates jobs.

Ummmm, read much? He just said that it's people who create jobs. He didn't say anything about the government creating jobs. Most anyone would agree with you that Government is an inefficient user of funding. Lately though, major corporations haven't proven to be much better though, amirite?

To go about your little A=B and B=C thus A=C argument is a logical fallacy, called "post-hoc ergo propter hoc" --- Yet regardless I'd like to ask then, who created Businesses? Should mega-corporations even be considered businesses anymore? Do they even engage in any real form of commerce? You seem to have this ideal image of 'business' in your mind trapped in some past Century - I'm sorry, but that's no longer the case in reali

salmonline--We need more money in the treasury, and we aim to get it. Crack-pots like you not withstanding. Get out of the way of our country and things will go a lot more smoothly for you. Thank you.

The country is mostly center-right. The leftists are, fortunately in the minority. George Soros and other anti-Americans pay trolls to fill sites like this one with their leftist garbage and vote for other leftist posts to create the illusion that they have the majority. They don't.

It's time for us to FIGHT the commie scum bags in our midst. If the leftists want a socialistic country, let them secede and create their own Marxist "utopia". We will have to build a great wall between the socialist states and the free states and heavily guard the border to keep the masses from the socialist side from jumping the wall into the free states once they learn that they are all equally impoverished, have no hope, no motivation and no freedom.

Once the leftists have their own country, they can raise the taxes on "the rich" as high as they want and take their land and assets for redistribution. They can subsidize their poor populations to continue to produce 5 or 6 offspring that need to be supported by the taxpayers as their populations soar. They can allow as many foreign nationals as they want to invade their land. Finally then all of the useful idiots who supported socialism will get what they deserve and live their lives in shame and impoverished in the land they fought so hard to ruin..

just concerned, every comment from you is 100% rightwing propaganda talking points that have been debunked long ago. I'm on a break, so i don't have time to go through your comments line by line with facts that prove your propaganda for what it is,propaganda. hopefully someone does,because i'm tired of seeing the same lies propagated on here day after day, lies that have been proven false over and over again. my freind you've been sipping the tea.

Someone really needs to have an unguarded and unbiased listen at one of these "tea party" rallies, meetings, whatever one calls them. The Cosgray family may be different, but I doubt it. Last year I attended 2. One was held at a home, the other, some 3 months later at a church. I went to these on the pretense of positive interest, and even tendered small donations at both events. One was in the southeast, the other in the southwest. The only differences in the tirades were the people and locations. These were membership drives being held by original members. No official political officeholder, at least, that I knew about was present. Truthfully, I have never been witness to a gathering of such wrong headed, misdirected, biased, bigoted, extremism, all twisted together to form a political dictum of lunacy, presented with almost ecstatic vitriol, then attached to each accepting participant through a common web of shared ignorance and/or prejudice. I am, by nature, skeptical of most things of which I am not familiar. These gatherings galvanized my skepticism. There is much, much more, none of it with a sensible basis, I could relate here, but there really is no need. The shame of it all, at least for me is, the goddamn sorry politicians and money mongers who have knowingly exploited the tender ignorance of many good people, and additionally fanned the fires of bigotry among the naturally hateful.

Chris Matthews did an extensive special report on the teabaggers some time ago when many people thought , amoung other things, that these teabagger folks were simply gun toting, card carrying racist, anti-government, anti-tax, selfish, selfcentered low information, anti-social safety nets, anti -immigration, anti-choice, anti -eproductive privacy, anti-abortion, anti-union, anti-collective bargaining, anti- public employees, anti- healthcare as a right not a priviledge, nonsensical rhetoric sprouting, birthers, anti-taxing of the rich/corporate entities and who seem to be incapable of realizing that trickle down economics never worked, who believed that the financial crash was caused by poor (code word for black) people buying homes they could not afford, and who did not realize that they too were the poor or would soon be poor or jobless, uninsured like the many other people out there, etc etc etc and that the corporate astroturfers were using them for their own questionable purpose through their mouthpieces on faux etc blinding these teabaggers to the fact that they were going/acting/voting against their own best interest etc....... LOL

Seems they have not changed....LOL They seem to believe that they are amoung the 1-10%.... LOL

From their statements you can extrapulate where they get their information from. Still getting it from the conservative blowhards and other fauxer talking heads.... LOL

The part where one noted that the OWS protesters were supposedly defecating on the hood of cars, taking drugs and being violent, having sex (if I am not mistaken) injuring the police etc was telling...... LOL

Best yet the fact that some think that Cain could beat President Obama.... is LOLLLLL ahem.. sorry....LOLLLLL.... And that Cain's plan could work? How about nein nein nein.... They do not seem to realize that that old flat tax thingy would more negatively impact the poor and middleclass than the 1-10%. And that old ...all we need to do is to cut spending and the size of government... says it all. LOL Twats

Anyhoo, what is amazing is that they -the teabaggers- are still being given such high visability by the main stream media/ internet etc even with their shrinking numbers, while the OWS protesters who are increasing in numbers are marginalized etc, unworthy of such a front page spread or have their progress being reported on by the mainstream media outlets unless there is some violence at a march even when it is the marchers/protesters who are attacked and injured, to where they (MSM) blamed the protestors or spin it to blame the protestors for their own injury and unprovoked intense police action. LOL

Couple of days ago I was watching Keith Olbermann's Countdown program on Current TV, where another protestor was shot by the police and hit with a rubber bullet for no reason. The guy was just filming the march or the standstill.... It would be laughable if it was not serious as the guy filming was badly injured. Imagine the police firing and hitting a guy filming.... and the guy filming as he is hit with the rubber bullet crying out in pain and falling to the ground in agony, and who now seem to be having difficulty walking as the area where he was hit is extremely swollen and bruised. LOL

This plus 2 soldiers previously injured.... 1 with a head injury, and the other beaten so badly by the police, thrown in jail and did not receive medical attention for 18 hours... who was finally taken to the hospital where it was found that he had a ruptured spleen etc..... Amazing....

Who knows perhaps the lightbulb will sudden light up in the brains of these teabagger groups and they will realize that it is not the present administration stopping the banks from refinancing their homeloans, or making the banks jack up their credit card interest rate, or trying to come up with some new bank fees. LOL

If it was not for the OWS protestors nationwide and now worldwide there would not be any acknowledgement by the republicanconservateabaggerdinos of the real problems in this country although they have no interest in solving/addressing the need for raising taxes and closing the tax loopholes on/of the 1-10%, need for job cration, infrastructure repair or the continued outsourcing of jobs/industries overseas, the questionable trade agreements, or the student loans burden, fracking, that pipeline from Canada across this country, etc, the poor air quality, food inspection, the need for investigation of the financial meltdown and who is at fault for same...etc in this country. Which is the pity.....

Where are the jobs Mr Boehner, Cantor, Paul Ryan, McConnell, Ron/Rand Paul etc......?

Where are the jobs Mr Romney, Cain, Perry, Mrs Bachmann etc.....?

Where are the jobs republican conservative teabagger dinos?

Where are the jobs you 1-10%ers say you would create if you kept your Bush era tax breaks for you rich/corporation supposed job creators?...er...job creation in the USA....

The problem is money in politics. If we want our so-called representatives to speak for us and in the best interest of the nation's future, we need campaign finance reformed.

Politicians are far too dependent upon big money special interests to get elected/reelected (especially in the House where elections are every 2 years!), therefore they are not really free or able to represent We The People...

Here's something that could be a real solution... take ALL private money out of campaign finance, and use limited public funds instead. You might cringe at the idea of using public funds, but it's the only way to eliminate special interests, big and small, and it will pay for itself many times over in the form of a gov't that WORKS!

http://getmoneyout.com

I find that I have an easier time understand the intentions of people if I take a moment to step into their shoes, so here's a thought experiment:

As the top 1% paying 28% of the taxes and owning 38% or 50% of the wealth (depending on whose statistic you choose to use), I might think that I have a certain right to a greater voice or at least a small right to some influence over how the money I have earned gets spent, but I would definitely know that having money affords me the opportunity to exert influence. I might think that my personal success was indicative of my ability and perhaps even my intellect, so I would probably be of the opinion that people should want to listen to me or at least to view me and my work as an example for their future work. I would probably think that it was a bit nefarious of those who did not work as hard to gain the same status as I have in my life to claim that I owe them more when I'm already supporting them so much in the first place. And I would probably believe that others claiming I should have to pay more do not realize that by forcing me to pay more from my earnings, they are not redistributing wealth that belongs to everyone but are in actuality devaluing my work--downgrading my pay. I would probably be offended.

Why are the evil "they" so successful?

Certainly a small percentage happen in to their wealth through lawsuits (luck, bad timing and a good lawyer), insurance settlements (planning for the inevitable), birthright (luck, good timing and a little mood lighting), etc. However, more often than not, I imagine it is hard work and ingenuity that takes a person into that 1% at the top, and more hard work and ingenuity keeps them there. I can't imagine that it's easy, though they definitely have the advantage once they get into that top 1%. They take advantages of loopholes not because they are criminal-minded (though some must be, I'm sure) or because they are shirking responsibility to society (though some undoubtedly are glad to) but because it goes against common sense not to take advantage of the loopholes provided. They send jobs overseas not because they want to impose suffering on those they leave jobless or because they lack the morals to recognize slavery when they see it (here ten dollars a day sounds like nothing, but in some places that ten dollars a day makes you rich), but because it goes against common sense not to take advantage of cheaper labor when available. They curry favor with politicians not because they are elitists that believe they are better (though I know some do and some probably are better if we're being quite honest), but because they have ideas and money and ideas and money together make progress happen, whether it's in the business world or in the political world.

I think if the 1% were honest, and turned on some of that audacity that got them to the top in order to address the problems we face now as a nation, they would all say we don't need more taxes or even to cut spending. What we need is more ideas. Taking from people who have and giving to people who don't have isn't justice. It not only devalues the hard work (or luck, good/bad timing, lawyer's work, mood lighting, and proper pre-planning) of those who have but also provides incentive to those who don't have to remain in that position until a better opportunity comes along. The reality is right now the better opportunities aren't coming along because there's a dearth of ideas.

Increasing taxation works the same as the fed with its printing press. The fed can print all the money the government wants. The down side is that printing devalues the dollar and increases inflation. We're living with that right now and the negative effects of distributing that money through bailouts and cash-for-clunkers type programs when there were no ideas for fixing the actual problems facing our nation. It would not matter whose hands we put that money in, it would merely be a temporary influx of dollars that would not buy as much as it used to. Yes, handing money to the poor means it will get spent, go right back to the businesses and eventually up to the 1-percenters to be taxed, taxed, taxed at every step. But it would not improve the jobs market (except maybe through employment of more government employees, which means more government spending, and more people we can't fire for fear of revolt), eventually the money would be spent, and the price of bread and circuses will have risen to the point that what a poor man could afford before that influx is now unattainable. In the end the result is a constant need to take more from some other source, whether it is borrowed from China (or levied, as some say will be our saving grace but will fail as well) or taken from Buffet and Gates and the likes.

We've been in this cycle for decades, and we will remain in this cycle until we have a fundamental change of ideals. Absolutely there is a need for a certain level of social programs for those with true need. Yes, there are criminals of every class of human out there gaming the system and taking advantage, and there always will be, so we must police them as best we can. We're failing right now because we haven't found the right balance of private-busines-to-necessary-government. We were temporarily relieved of the collapse in the 90's and early 00's with internet business booming, but that bubble burst and the march of our industrial jobs going overseas was soon followed by the march of any job that can be done by telecommunication.

A theme of OWS is Jobs. The whole of America is shouting for jobs right now, and absolutely that is the answer to all of our problems. With more jobs, we have a productive increase in monetary flow that is sustainable, increases revenues at the government level, brings people out of their financial troubles with reliable income streams, and jumpstarts the whole system. Everyone understands the benefits of jobs, but everyone seems to fail in understanding that those jobs are not an entitlement--it isn't someone else's obligation or even the government's responsibility to create them. The people in the top 1% came up with their ideas, worked hard to build up companies (in some cases from which everyone on the planet has benefited in the form of products, improvements to their lives and even massive charitable efforts), and are where they are at today not because they needed a job and were entitled to one, but because they had an idea and they ran with it.

We are not going to bring back our jobs from overseas. The market for cheaply manufactured goods produced en masse is cornered. Some products could be manufactured here at liveable wages for the workers and sold at comparable prices to foreign goods, but the companies would have to accept very limited profits. It is undeniably time to come up with new ideas.

1. Start companies that make products that stress quality over quantity; at the same time be willing to buy a US made chair that will last 100 years for $300 over a Chinese made chair that will last 5 to 10 years for $50.

2. Look to meed needs within your own communities, open bakeries, butchers (with organic meat, please! I'll totally shop there), places for teenagers to hang out; at the same time be willing to shop locally.

3. Come up with the next cheap quantity product idea, find a manufacturer in India or Pakistan or China and start cranking them out because most people will continue to buy cheap and there is really nothing at all wrong with YOU being in the top 1% too.

4. If you don't have funding and need a loan but can't get one, go ahead and build your idea on paper as much as possible and talk with other people in your community who are like-minded, pool your resources, ask for loans from your neighbors, whatever you can do to re-employ the community around you; at the same time be

That bottom part is meant to read:

;at the same time be willing to look for areas where you can invest whatever money you have locally, because 10% interest earned on a business loan to your neighbor where you can see your money at work, is much more profitable than any money invested in stocks or banks.

TXVET48- Frank Zappa said:

"Tax the churches and the businesses run by the churches". And this was in 1981!

Too bad he died so young!

How someone who owns a private plane could be representing my interests in a representative government has yet to be explained.

Owning an airplane hardly qualifies one as being rich. If you look up Todd Rokita in the FAA database, he has a commercial pilot license and is rated to fly a single or multi-engine plane. He likely owns a small plane and if you check the classifieds, they aren't all a million dollars. It's very possible to plop down $20k (less than a new car) and be a "fat cat with a private plane". Many businessmen have their pilot licenses and small planes to allow them to fly where they want to when they want to.

Obama is out there spewing this class warfare venom that somehow everyone who has worked hard and chooses to spend part of their OWN money on a private plane is evil and should be forced to give their money to those of us who haven't earned it. I can tell you that private planes employ a LOT of Americans, from those who build them, to those who maintain them (check sometime what a licensed A&P mechanic makes, and all work on aircraft MUST be done by them), to those who maintain the smalll airports they fly into and out of. I say if you can afford a plane and want one, then buy it, fly it, and enjoy it. And don't feel the least bit guilty about it!

Shuklack

You seem to have this ideal image of 'business' in your mind trapped in some past Century - I'm sorry, but that's no longer the case in reali

ROTFLMAO!

Yes, I confess, I DO have this ideal image of business in my mind. I sit on the Board of 3 companies I created, built and sold over the past 35 years. We employ over 2,700 people. We are in the health, energy and retail sectors of commerce. We have attrition rates below 3%, one of the lowest in all of these industries. We maintain a high level of delayering to improve our efficiency and costs. We, as have many other industries, have decentralized with revenue gains in double digit percentages for the past 12 years.

Through the past 2 recessions, prior to our current recession, we hired. Today we are in a 22 month hiring freeze. Regulatory and tax uncertainty has forced us to sit on revenue profits. Profits have begun shrinking due to recent regulatory changes from the current administration and effects of the Bush administration changes. Estimates of increased overhead costs of more than 12% due to these possible government actions have caused it all. We retain 3 accounting, legal and consulting firms to manage the morass of regulatory and tax changes that happen literally on a daily basis. The cost of expanding this and other overhead costs have forced us to stop any possible growth.

Although we are a large business we are still small compared to the real "mega-corporations" as you like to call them. I'm sure you use many of those mega corporations out of necessity and also convenience. The free-market gives you this benefit, but remember, your use of them is reason for their expansion. Walmart, GE, Ford, AT&T and others only respond to market forces, as do we. These market forces are being intruded more and more by government. One recent regulatory change in our energy sector has created a potential cost of over $3 million dollars with no benefit to our revenue stream or to the environmental concern the regulation supposedly affects. Who do you think will bear the brunt of that expense? I can guarantee you it won't be our company or our employees. It will be you, the consumer. As always, increased costs will be trickled-down to our customers. If there is no profit in the regulatory change we can't increase our profit-sharing, or ROI to investors, but we are forced to maintain our payrolls. The net gain is zero with increased cost to the consumer.

I can go on but I think you understand, I hope. As to your question of who creates business? I do. Businessmen do. Entrepreneurs do. Investors do. My kids do. Your obvious fear or disdain of mega corporations is typical of the OWS mentality. Remember, Ford Motor Company didn't always have 160,000 employees. He started with about $30,000 and a handful of investors. Sam Walton’s first store in Bentonville did not employ 2.1 million people in 1962. Both these men responded to market forces that allowed expansion and profit either by innovation or strategic marketing. Yes, they are businesses. Yes they create commerce. One in manufacturing (auto production) and the other in service (retail). They both bring revenue from domestic and international profits.

Do you think most businessmen, investors or entrepreneur’s dream of creating a business that is barely solvent or a multinational conglomerate? Either way, they have to have a pathway to allow them to simply begin their business. When government intrudes that pathway is much more difficult. In a recent interview with former Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus he explained it brilliantly. He was asked if he could build his company today as he did in 1978? His answer was, "Today, a CEO cannot make a decision without having groups of lawyers helping him make the decision". This is the problem. I doubt you or anyone else can create a new Home Depot or Lowe’s. But you should be able to.

So yes, I do have an ideal image of business. One where I don't have to pore over pages of regulations that are redundancies, excesses or outdated. One where I don't have to hire an army of tax consultants, accountants, lawyers and advisors. One where I don't have to worry about Sarbanes-Oxley. One where I can create more jobs, more wealth and more prosperity.

Get the government and all their special interests, rules and regulations off our backs and we will create jobs. Until then we will be forced to sit on our profits until we know what next surprise Washington decides to drop in our lap.

Lu-1328381

Excellent post!

As the top 1% paying 28% of the taxes and owning 38% or 50% of the wealth

This is where most of the Liberals, Progressives and OWS mob get confused. Taxation occurs on income or capital gains. Wealth is the result of accumulating homes, belongings and investment vehicles. Total wealth is not taxable. You don't get taxed on a mink coat or a pair of jeans just because you own them. If they think wealth should be taxed then their own wealth needs to be taxed also. This is idiocy.

I do disagree somewhat with your statement:

We are not going to bring back our jobs from overseas.

We can't bring them all back, but we can bring back a significant portion if our hands were untied from the restraints of our government. When virtually every decision I make in my businesses has to be cleared through a mass of accountants, lawyers, consultants and others the cost of business goes through the ceiling.

BTW, It's amazing how few people understand the concept of Bread and Circuses, isn't it?

We can't bring them all back, but we can bring back a significant portion if our hands were untied from the restraints of our government.

JC, please explain to me what industry we've sent overseas that can be brought back and exactly how that will be done? It seems to me we've lost industries due to labor costs being so much less in foreign countries. Are you saying we need to reduce wages in America to those in third-world countires?

PEEL LAYER - that was the most intellegent comment I have ever read, Wow you must be a writter for a living.

Peggy K- as an life long okie please find another state to live in since we are the best state in the country and there are many who will accept another liberal like yourself. Oklahoma is the envy of every state a this time since we have a great economy and low unemployeement. So find a liberal state that makes you feel good to live in.

Sandy- Deluded people? please explain this statement. I have never heard it used like this before.

For all of you on here please read the history books that the Republicans were against the whole bailout of banks but Democrats were behind it all since the banks are liberals too. One day liberals may find out they are being taken by their leaders. But don't tell a liberal this information.

Hey "Give it a Rest", you say:

Did you know that the "1%" actually DO pay their fair share in taxes. The top 1% according to FactCheck.org pay 28% of Federal taxes. The rest of us (the 99%) pay the remaining 72%.

That's funny. Did YOU know that the top 1% own 40% of the wealth in this country?

Tell me how owning 40% of the wealth while paying 28% of federal taxes is "their fair share"?

Further, do you not have any concern that 1% of the people own nearly half of all national resources? Think about the implications of that.

For Just Concerned: You don't get taxed on a mink coat or a pair of jeans just because you own them.

Apparently you live in a state that doesn't have sales tax?

zombiesahead

I said,,,

You don't get taxed on a mink coat or a pair of jeans just because you own them.

You don't get taxed on a mink or jeans a year after you buy them as part of your calculated wealth. Just as you don't get taxed on your car after you pay it off or any other commodity you own.

JustConcerned,

Mink coats and jeans are a tiny fraction of the top 1%'s wealth...as are cars, boats, or other durable and non-durable goods.

Most of their wealth is in the form of investments that bring income - including capital gains which are taxed anywhere from 10% to 35% depending on what they are and how long you own them.

So, if I am a billionaire and invest most of my wealth, my gains are taxed at a lower rate than income earned by the hard work of the 99% of Americans. Potentially at a much lower rate.

That savings will buy a lot of mink coats, on which I'm perfectly happy to pay the piddly sales tax.

Andrew547

Tell me how owning 40% of the wealth while paying 28% of federal taxes is "their fair share"?

Andrew, PULEEEEEZ tell me you're not comparing wealth and income as both being taxable, are you?

Wealth--All goods and resources having value in terms of exchange or use.

This includes your homes value, furnishings, clothes, cars, etc. I hope you're not carrying the class warfare to the point of wealth accumulation vs. wages or income. If you make $50,000 a year and your wealth is $200,000 (home, car, investments, etc) you only pay 25% in taxes (plus capital gains if applicable), is this fair?

@ Bruce, #1.57:

Obama is out there spewing this class warfare venom that somehow everyone who has worked hard and chooses to spend part of their OWN money on a private plane is evil and should be forced to give their money to those of us who haven't earned it.

I don't begrudge anyone with an idle $20,000.00 for buying a private plane. (You neglected to mention that's just acquisition cost. Complete the equation with insurance, hangar/tiedown fees, overhaul/maintenance, fuel, etc.). I don't begrudge anyone who has the money for opening a $500,000.00 line of credit at Tiffany's. Nor do I begrudge anyone who has $45,000.00 spare cash laying around for spending it to settle sexual harassment claims. Hell, what one does with their money is their business.

Unless and until they run for office.

No one's asking you to share your Private Plane. Just don't wrap your arm around me, chuck me on the chin, gimme a noogie, and tell me you're just like me.

That's not "class warfare." That's someone pissing down my back and telling me it's a gentle rain.

No, I am not just like you (and we are probably both thankful!) :o)

the quote is from the story, fwiw

as was my response, to the story

yeah it's hard to recognize quotes in this format

SteveH, I agree... the whole message of the Tea Party is being distorted by the media! And the OWS protesters are being glorified, despite all the stories and photos of protester defecating on the American flag, the drug dealing, and the filth. At Tea Party rally's there's none of those problems and the TP keeps themselves and the area of the rally clean, lol! Something's wrong with this picture!

Mark

Do us all a favor and keep your opinions to yourself......

move all your members to Texas and succeed

Do us a favor and learn how to spell!

Mark, even people like you are entitled to their opinion, may I suggest you go to OWS bum a joint and chill out.

I suggest YOU go to an Occupy rally (any city) and see for yourself what is really going on. I am a 64 year old woman, work full time, pay all of my taxes, a registered Independent and have voted in every election since I was 18.

If I'm bumming anything, it's usually a cup of hot tea and an Aleve from the medical tent for my aching back.

Question - when you watch and read the news, do you simply choose only those commentators and publications that agree with your opinion? If so, I suggest you broaden your horizons because you're clearly getting incorrect information about OWS and those of us who support it.

Who you talking too?