Thank a Republican

Yesterday the Huffington Post reported that a survey of economists found that 56% preferred spending cuts over tax increases, while 37% said they favor equal parts of spending cuts and tax increases. The remaining 7% believe it should be done only or mostly through tax increases.

As for how to reduce the deficit: Nearly 40% said the best way would be to contain Medicare and Medicaid costs. Nearly 25% recommended overhauling the tax system and simplifying tax rates and exemptions, and about 15% said the government should enact tough spending caps and cut discretionary spending.

The majority of those economists say it's better to tax the rich less and cut spending on the poor...but wait a minute...isn't that The Republican Plan?

And we've seen how "smart" all these "economists" were in the past, haven't we? It's a guessing game, and it's partisan as well - it usually just depends on who's in office at the time. And just like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Congressional Budget Office, they tend to be biased, depending who their bosses are at the time. It's political, where ideologies can influence the results of the numbers and manipulate the statistics in such a way that sets policies and affects real people's daily lives.

Mark Twain on statistics, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Cash/fiat currency (like oil, gold, wheat, pork bellies, etc.) is a commodity. If a small group of individuals own/control the majority of a commodity, they hold a monopoly. With $2 trillion* in cash already "sitting on the sidelines" (hoarded away in off-shore bank accounts), more tax cuts would only be hoarded away, not circulated into the economy.

* On August 2nd the Senate passed, and President Obama signed, legislation to cut spending by more than $2 trillion. Coincidence? How much tax revenue did we lose with the Bush tax cuts? Was it $2 trillion?

Corporations exist for one reason only - to earn profits. It doesn't matter what their tax rate is, they will do everything possible to earn a profit, whether it be a 1% profit or a 50% profit. If there was money to be made in the current economy, that $2 trillion (or a portion thereof) would have already been invested (circulated within the economy, creating jobs, and earning profits). Large sums of cash are being invested in U.S. treasuries (paying a VERY low rate of interest) because there is nowhere else to invest. More tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations would only equate into more buying of these bonds...or perhaps, investments in precious metals such as gold and silver.

More tax breaks are NOT going to induce large corporations to build factories in America and hire U.S. citizens paying a living wage. The rich will just buy more gold. Those "economists" are just plain silly. We have budget shortfalls because of an unfair tax code.

Over the last 40 years our population rose from 200 million to 300 million, but instead of keeping an even balance with the tax revenues, we've allowed the hoarding of our money supply by a small group of individuals. According to 2007 tax returns, about 200,000 Americans earn over million a year, and of those, about 8,000 are defined as the uber-rich...and they ALL pay a lower tax rate than you do. For that, you can thank the Republicans.

Republican Paul Ryan, who wants to cut your Medicare and Social Security, says "We're talking about keeping revenues where they are, but having a better tax system to collect those revenues with an eye on economic growth and job creation. You have to remember, the people in the top tax brackets are the ones who enjoy most of the loopholes and deductions."

But yet, if look at Paul Ryan's record since he was elected to Congress in 1998, it shows that he has tried to create an array of special tax loopholes for his top campaign contributors. As always, it's the usual political hypocrisy by ambitious congressmen who are more concerned about their own $174,000-a-year job than they are about everyone else's. Republicans are ALL evil and corrupted pieces of $hit. They are not the humble servants of the people, they are all just greedy opportunists (such as Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin, who travel around the country in those fancy buses on their book tours, while almost everyone else is slaving away at low-paying jobs that they most probably hate.)

Closing tax loopholes and taxing the rich - - - WOW! - - - What a concept! We could even get Democrats like Charlie "Tax Cheat" Rangel and John "Heinz Ketchup" Kerry to contribute more to the U.S. Treasury...but the Republicans refuse to raise their taxes. But political shysters like Paul Ryan wills always talk the talk to get ignorant people to vote for them, but they never walk the walk...because they're all just scummy lying hypocritical ambitious politicians who only care about themselves and their families. They offer YOU a path to austerity while THEY travel the path to prosperity.

In a NBC interview with Tom Brokaw, Warren Buffett bet $1 million against any of “his fellow rich guys” who might choose to challenge him, that all the billionaires on the annual Forbes 400 list were paying, on average, less of their incomes in federal taxes than were their receptionists. No billionaire in the Forbes 400 ever took Buffett up on that bet. But yet those "economists" don't think they should be taxed more.

And the Republicans want to raise YOUR taxes! They are totally against temporarily extending cuts to payroll taxes for those earning less than $100,000 a year, but the Republicans have no problem what-so-ever asking for permanent tax breaks for those earning over $1 million a year. Go figure. For that, you can thank the Republicans. Yet there are still millions of "Joe 6-pack" taxpayers that keep voting for Republicans! WHY???

The majority of those brilliant NABE "economists" must also believe that those same 8,000 uber-rich people should have all the damn money, and that all the old and poor people shouldn't have any damn money at all....to "better balance the budget". My survey found that only 7% of economists don't believe that 8,000 people out of a population of 308 million should control (hoard) 90% of the money supply.

The Republicans like to use the catch phrase "create a business environment that is conducive to job growth", and they want you to believe that by taxing the rich less, spending less on Medicare and Social Security, and regulating the banks less, will fix everything for the average working and unemployed American. (I also used to believe in the Tooth Fairy.)

As an aside: Republican Presidential hopeful and mega-multi-millionaire Mitt Romney, who owns many homes, is tearing down a 3,000 square-foot beachfront home worth $12 million to build an 11,000 square-foot home in its place, saying the smaller one wasn't "adequate" enough for his family's needs. What are those "needs"? I live in someone's 9 square-foot room and my only "need" is food stamps to eat. But instead of raising taxes on people like Mitt Romney to balance the budget, the Republicans want to LOWER his taxes and eliminate my food stamps to accomplish this. The Republican's theory is, that by lowering Mitt Romney's taxes even MORE than the Bush tax cuts did, he will become a "job creator" and hire someone like me to get me off food stamps. (Are you still waiting for Mitt's phone call? Have you applied at Taco Bell lately?)

Also, Google recently announced it's buying Motorola’s mobile phone operation for $12.5 billion. But just two weeks before the Google blockbuster announcement, Motorola’s board of directors conveniently filed a new severance plan for chief executive Jha. On his exit from Motorola Mobility’s CEO perch, Jha now stands to walk off with $90 million.

So I say: Give them ALL more tax breaks, but be sure to cut off my damn food stamps too...so that way we can "balance the budget". (I used to believe in the Easter Bunny too.)

One of the major reasons we have a Great Recession today is because of the Republican-sponsored Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that was passed in 1999 (just before the Republican-sponsored Bush tax cuts for the rich in 2001 and 2003). It repealed part of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933, opening up the market among banking companies (i.g. Goldman Sachs), securities companies (i.g. Enron) and insurance companies (i.g. AIG). The Glass–Steagall Act had prohibited any one institution from acting as any combination of an investment bank, a commercial bank, and an insurance company. For that, you can thank the Republicans.

Just remember, the next time you get hidden charges in your phone bill, or excessive late fees on your credit card, or a home foreclosure, or an auto repossession, or outrageous over-draft charges, or higher ATM fees, THOSE are the people that the Republicans represent. When heating oil and gas prices go up, THOSE are the people that the Republicans represent. When food prices and your electric bill go through the roof, THOSE are the people that the Republicans represent. If you get laid off from your job and your unemployment benefits or food stamps are cut off, thank a Republican. If you don't see Medicare or Social Security when you get old, thank a Republican. If you are sick and lose your healthcare insurance, thank a Republican. If you are poor and can't get Medicaid, thank a Republican. If you like paying taxes to subsidize the oil and tobacco companies, thank a Republican. And if your job goes to China, you can usually thank a Republican for that too, because of their trade agreements and the corporations they represent.

So tell me, how's that "trickle-down" economy workin' out for ya? Did the rising tide lift your boat? If so, then thank a Republican. And if not, and you earn less than a million dollars a year, then why in the hell did you ever vote for a Republican?