Tax Payers

How many taxpayers are there that question whether they should continue to pay taxes in light of the irresponsibility of Congress and the Bush Administration to allow the $700 billion bailout without oversight, transparency and reporting.

How can we continue to pay taxes while we watch Paulson, Congress and Bernanke throw money at AIG, the money center banks and Wall Street without limits on how it is used. Banks get bailed out but refuse to lend money. Wall Street gets bailed out and gives billionsin bonuses to its managers who caused this economic malestrom. AIG gets bailed out and throws expensive parties for its managers and directors.

Congress is also responsible for this economic disaster for allowing banks, investment companies to operate without transparency and regulation. Congress allowed the tax code to be written to favor the wealthy. The hedge funds are an example of the this favoritism; huge fees to managers without being taxed, investors accepting huge risks, and the trading practises creating huge volatility in the stockmarkets and forcing companies stock values to decline to zero through short selling.

Our roads are falling apart, bridges collapsing, schools in shambles, and the cost of attending college out of reach. Health care is only possible for government employees or the rich; credit card companies and student loan lenders forcing people into bankruptcy due to favored legislation in favor of the companies.

Who serves in the armed services and comes home wounded, and the government cuts back on veterans benefits.

Why pay taxes to cause our own demise. Its like paying someone to shoot you.

However, Bush was elected President, twice. People accepted Sarah Palin as a viable Vice Presidential candidate, a very short step into the Presidency. How stupid can we be. So its like a vicious cycle; the general population is stupid and our elected representatives blow money on bridges and highways to nowhere while our schools fail to educate the people.

So, the government is talking about raising taxes on the middle class in order to throw billions at the wealthy; the top 1% of the wealthies people in the country. Robert Rubin; getting millions to manage Citibank, then getting billions to bailout Citibank because he failed to adequately manage Citibank.

Personally, I think this country is ripe for a major social upheval. The media always talks about China's potential problems with its huge number of poor in its population. The US is becoming seriously close to severe problems because of its trade policies, tax policies, corrupt politicians and legislation slanted to favor the big companies and the wealthiest people. The clock is ticking; perhaps Obama can correct the path on which this country has been on. There is not much time left.




Mainstreet doesn't get any benefit and we pay the taxes. Business as usual in the U.S. Its time for a real change; Get rid of Wall Street, downsize the too big to fail banks, and start paying those who provide jobs, pay salaries and pay dividiends.

Who needs regulation

Isn't it amazing that the very capitalism that gave us such a high level of propsperity and living standards has also brought the U.S. so very close to a depression, has also given us irresponsible CEO's who have enriched themselves but led their companies into bankruptcy requiring tax payer bailouts.

Thank you congressmen and senators who extended your time in office by accepting contributions from the lobbyists who lobied for less regulation and more business opportunities regardless of the risk.

Thank you Office of Thrift Supervision for allowing the sub-prime mortgages to cause such economic damage world-wide.

Thank you SEC for allowing short sellers to drive companies into collapse and allowing Madof to swindle so many banks, investors, charities and businesses.

Congratulations President Bush for appointing incompetents to manage government agencies so that the country spiraled down into a complete mess.

Thank you voters for Bush who put this idiot in office and the Supreme Court which permitted the voting fraud.

Palin/McCain

I am watching Babe Buchanan on Larry King and she is as crazy as her brother Pat. The intelligent ladies on the program who are conservative republicans described the republican party I used to support. They are disgusted with the McCain/Palin tactics; the lies and the false characterizations.

There are a lot of republican women who are much more qualified than Palin. We, the citizens of the U.S. cannot take the chance that McCain would die in office and leave the country in the hands of sarah Palin. Mayor of a town of 7,000 people and govenor of a state with a population of less than 700,000. She has no clue how to run a country with such a diverse population as the U.S. and with the economic problems we have.

Palin fits in perfectly with the radical conservatives of the republican party. They have had their candidate in office for 8 years and he literally ran this country into the ground. Ronnie Reagan had little vision and was senile. He eliminated the alternative energy program that we so badly could use today. After the OPEC embargo of 1973. That was crazy and stupid.

Thr republican party now reminds as an organization resembling organized crime. They have no morals, ethics.

McCain-Bush

Mr.McCain makes light of the suggestion that if he were voted in as president, he would represent an extension of the Bush presidency in that he has attached himself to Bush in hopes of ingratiating himself to the conservative base. Mr. McCain is the wrong person at the wrong time to be be president. This country cannot afford another president like Bush. We cannot afford another hawk in the presidency.

Mr.McCain now rails against increasing taxes, and even extending Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. Prior to becoming attached to Bush's hip, he was against Bush's tax cuts. Tell me Mr. McCain; how do you plan to pay for the trillion dollar US debt amassed due to the Iraq war. If we stay there any longer, the debt will only escalate.

Most economists say that lowering the tax rate will increase revenues when tax rates are lowered from a relatively high rate. Not the case in the US where the maximum tax rate is only 35%. Albeit this seems high, but how else can we provide police protection for the wealthy families half-dozen mansions in the half-dozen different locations.

Is Obama really the agent of change

Think about it! Who has been endorsing Obama? The people in power in the democratic party. Obama is leading and they are coming in droves to endorse Obama. Is this good for change? Are we not going to have the same old arrogant politicians who are endorsing Obama looking for payback. The same old arrogant democrats who failed to pass a legitimate ethics bills and who live on and off earmarks.

Dodd and Richardson didn't garner any support when thy were running, why should their endorsement make any difference. Ted Kennedy, top of the list of fat cats should have gone to prison for the accident at Chappaquidick. He and Bush passed the ill fated "no student left behind" joke of an education bill. Real vision there! Caroline Kennedy believe's Obama's charisma is more important than anything else. Ronald Reagan had charisma and with his vision and charisma cancelled the alternative energy program after the OPEC embargo. We are still paying for his vision and charisma. And of course, George Bush, whom people say is so friendly, campaigned on his ability to get both parties to work together, which was exactly the opposite of he exercised presidential powers when he got into office. With the three predators at his side, and nutball evangelicals who only have two issues they care about, in power, our country went to hell in a hurry.

So lets no repeat this folly. McCain is a one issue president, however I like his "no earmark"stance, I just can't stomach the Iraq war and his sucking up to Bush and the religious nutballs who believe what somebody reportedly said or witnessed 10 thousand years ago.

Obama is clearly intelligent, very well spoken and has a number of great ideas. He would make a great vice president and perhaps a great president in 4 or 8 years. He needs more experience in the hot seat. Hillary, wins my vote by default. I hated Bill's pardon of Mark Rich on his last day of office. But we had a great economy during his administration. While the Republicans attacked Bill for his indiscretions in the White House, Bush's administration has been so much worse. I don't think there has been an administration as bad as George Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld and Gonzalez in the history of our country. I can't think of one thing that he did for the country; all of his actions appeared to be aimed at self interests of himself, his administration and his appointees.

I think Hillary has the most to offer at the present time. The republcans are against welfare unless they receive it. The investment banking houses like Bear Stearns give millions of dollars of commissions and incentives to their senior staff, but when they are the cause for the firm to lose all operating viability, who picks up the cost to save them. Who gets all the incoem and tax savings and who has to pay for their mistakes. So its time for Universal Health Care, its time that everyone pays for social security on all their income. Its time to allow medicare to negotiate drug costs. Its time for all citizens to buy cheaper drugs from Canada whether than allowing the US Government to allow companies to import drugs from China. I would rather buy drugs from Canada which is supplied by american pharmacies than to buy drugs and food from China that does not care about the safety of the drugs, foods or products it exports.

I would be much happier with a third party. This country needs and requires a viable third party. As I watched the debates, it was easy to see that most of the candidates, from either party had little to offer. If the voters don't quit watching the stupid TV shows and get educated of what the country needs and the candidates offer, then this country clearly has seen its best days

Politicians and Pundits are clueless

I have switched my political affiliation from Republican to independent because the republicans are still pandering to the evanjeckyl's:). They sit in church and pray and raise their hands and dance about, then forget who Jesus really was and what he was about. Bush claims he is a compassionate conservative but instead is a complete incompetent. Cheney is a dangerous man filled with greed and avarice with delusions of greatness. Republican's are wasting our funds in Iraq, gave up looking for Osama Bin Laden and want an aristocracy to control the United States. Huckleberry is a baptist jihadi who thinks he also has a direct line to God. Since Bush and Huckleberry are from the south, and both think they have direct conversations with God; is all the water in the south tainted with LSD. McCain thinks he is the embodiment of Generals Patton and MacArthur. At least they Repubs want to secure the border. Mit might be the best choice; but he has history with private equity companies which have created problems for our economy.

The demos want change but failed to enact any new serious ethics laws for the Senate or the House. They, like the repubs enjoy wealth through payments from the wealthy to enact favorable tax laws for the them; (read the book Free Lunch). Hillary and Bill are more of the same; except our economy was pretty good when he was president. His pardon of Mark Rich turned my stomach and me against the demos.

We need a 3rd political party to give us a better choice; the demos and repubs work together to enrich themselves and their big contributors. The rest of us are are paying for their greed. Unless the average american voter quits watching the tv and starts reading, we will never elect any decent representatives or senators.

We have people from the US going to different countries to ensure fair elections. Judging from the results from Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004, these people need to stay in the us and watch our elections.

Obama may be the best democrat to creat change. He has better credentials than Bush, and seems more aware of what is happening than any of the others.

Then we have the pundits; where did these clowns come from. They conduct the debates, and select the questions to be asked. But they never select the important questions and never make the candidates answer the questions. Huckleberry and Hillary crack jokes. But we don't have time for jokes.

The politicians waste money in Iraq and emarks, give huge tax breaks to the wealthy, then want to cut back on social security and medicare benefits. Simply, increase the amount of salary on which you pay social security tax.

This country has huge problems, including our trillion dollar debt to China. Thanks Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Gonzales.