tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post1932097170266269717..comments2024-01-17T00:45:37.075-08:00Comments on Bud Meyers: War Tax for the War on ISIS (ISIL)Bud Meyershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-494515387597978462016-03-22T11:36:15.474-07:002016-03-22T11:36:15.474-07:00UPDATE (after Brussels bombing)
A study of every ...UPDATE (after Brussels bombing)<br /><br />A study of every suicide attack in the world since 1980 — over 4,600 in all — finds what 95% of all suicide attacks have in common; it's not religion, but a specific strategic motivation to respond to a military intervention. Religious fervor is not a motive unto itself. Rather, it serves as a tool for recruitment and a potent means of getting people to overcome their fear of death and natural aversion to killing innocents.<br /><br />http://www.thenation.com/article/heres-what-a-man-who-studied-every-suicide-attack-in-the-world-says-about-isiss-motives/Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-15057381573309111232015-12-08T11:50:51.484-08:002015-12-08T11:50:51.484-08:00I'm only guessing but, I believe the average A...I'm only guessing but, I believe the average American citizen is more at risk from a mass shooting by a young "Christian" white man with mental issues who legally purchased a semi-automatic assault rifle, more so than they are from a foreign Muslim pledging an allegiance to ISIS. Of course, if Iran gets a nuke, that could change. But for the time being, most Americans are more at risk from someone who is texting-while-driving. But the mainstream media is driving the ISIS fear (and playing in to the ISIS strategy) by their constant 24/7 micro-reporting of terrorism — because that drives advertising ratings. But it also gives ISIS a lot of free publicity, which only helps their recruiting efforts.Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-57546161901127471382014-10-17T20:57:33.873-07:002014-10-17T20:57:33.873-07:00Why is it that Republicans/conservatives always bl...Why is it that Republicans/conservatives always blame social welfare programs as the driver of the national debt? Why isn't the defense budget included as a cause? It, too, has risen during the past decade. In 2000 it was about $300 billion, for 2012 over $700 billion. Were defense spending and tax rates restored to the 2000 level, paying for the social programs would be a concern, but not the crisis that Republicans/conservatives now imagine. Ignoring the rapid rise in defense spending makes Republican/conservative “concerns” over the rise in Medicare and other social costs hollow and hypocritical. A genuine concern for the deficit would include concern about the growth in ALL spending AND the cuts in revenues that have added to the deficit. <br />The last Republican to balance the national budget was President Eisenhower, he of the 90% top tax bracket, who left office in 1960. Since 1961 the debt ceiling has been raised 78 times: 49 times under Republican presidents, 29 under Democrats. Ronald Reagan owns the debt ceiling raising record, raising the debt ceiling 17 times during his two terms which also coincided with the US going from world's leading creditor to world's leading debtor nation. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-66977575252532181532014-10-17T08:16:52.437-07:002014-10-17T08:16:52.437-07:00ISIS magazine promotes slavery, rape, and the murd...ISIS magazine promotes slavery, rape, and the murder of civilians -- all in God's name.<br /><br />http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/isis-propaganda-magazine-rape-slavery-murder-allah-dabiq<br /><br />Polls show more Americans say combat ground troops are needed to be deployed to take the fight to ISIS.<br /><br />http://time.com/3509160/isis-americans-poll-combat-troops-iraq-syria/<br /><br />* If so, then we'll need an excess profits tax to pay for it (since the job creators won't pay living wages.)<br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-23263340472702345162014-10-07T17:13:08.913-07:002014-10-07T17:13:08.913-07:00Pentagon: Up to $1.1 billion cost for Iraq, Syria ...Pentagon: Up to $1.1 billion cost for Iraq, Syria (That was last October, BEFORE the war on ISIS)<br /><br />http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/38d1cf0a1f79440c82f2ba189a7261d7/pentagon-11-billion-cost-iraq-syriaBud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-81163099887177803582014-10-07T10:05:48.162-07:002014-10-07T10:05:48.162-07:00Kill now, pay later? Disturbing on many levels.......Kill now, pay later? Disturbing on many levels....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-10585655000717082542014-10-07T08:31:32.161-07:002014-10-07T08:31:32.161-07:00Mark Thoma: "The Deficit" Is Not "T...Mark Thoma: "The Deficit" Is Not "The Economy":<br /><br />It's sad that so many people think the way to fix the economy, or the deficit, is to help the people who don't need it rather than helping those who do. Austerity that hurts those in need trickles up -- austerity financed tax cuts help those at the top -- but very little trickles back down again. Tax cuts for the wealthy do little to help the economy, and tax cuts certainly don't help the deficit. The claim that they somehow pay for themselves and reduce the deficit has no foundation in actual evidence, it is also 'quack mediamacro' designed to fool people into supporting policies that benefit a key GOP political contingency.<br /><br />http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2014/10/the-deficit-is-not-the-economy-where-have-i-seen-this-game-played-before-this-is-from-chris-dillow-the-economy-by-chr.html<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-67726288722571977692014-10-07T08:20:20.579-07:002014-10-07T08:20:20.579-07:00I would suggest that we raise the capital gains ta...I would suggest that we raise the capital gains tax to 39.6% (equal to the top marginal rate on regular wages) and lowering the corporate tax rate from a "statutory" 35% tax rate to a FLAT "effective" 30% tax rate (no exceptions) for companies that only invest in the U.S. — meaning, only allowing domestic costs be deductible and excluding investments overseas for multinationals — which would also mean: no longer allowing the deduction of executive compensation pay packages (e.g. stock option grants, etc.) or wages paid to overseas employees.Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.com