News American Election

[anthony]

Yer... was just watching CNN have called it, and now Obama has tweeted, 'four more years.' Seems like the US is at a stalemate though, with parties not compromising to fix the issue that is going to impact the world. Listening to economy experts, they have stated that without a doubt the US will be in recession 2013 due primarily to the Republican parties failure to compromise with the Democrats on raising taxes against the rich, and cutting back a lot of spending. They simply refuse to be rationale it seems. I just don't get it. Republicans want to put their own country into recession... which reminds me of an ex Prime Minister here, Paul Keating, who stated 'this is the recession we had to have' to all Australians, with interest rates around 17% for home loans and people losing homes and businesses by the truck loads. He drove the country into the ground and prospered his own interests, then disappeared when kicked out a short time later... rarely sticking his head out nowadays because of the crap he caused.

 

[DharmaGirl]

I'm still happy.

 

[anthony]

Found the tax thing: [DLMURL]http://www.atr.org/taxpayer-protection-pledge[/DLMURL]

The Americans for Tax Reform Pledge, which was pushed onto all Republicans to sign. It seems this comes up for renewal soon, and I was reading news that there is some commonsense in some circles of elected Republicans, in that news is citing elected officials refusing to renew the pledge, and even asking other party members not to, for the simple reason that it is biting the country in the arse by having nowhere to go but down with taxes, when the economy currently dictates the rich are getting richer and the middle class are getting poorer. That is a very unstable economy made, which some are agreeing they made a mistake in signing it.

Interesting. There are lots of elected officials making comments in news results.

 

[Loveneverfails]

I honestly would pay a cent more to the dollar in taxes to support the right cause. People pay nearly 4 dollars a gallon in gas still and stopped complaining a long time ago. But ask to pay more to support a vital cause and the majority votes it down. This is why a democracy can sometimes fail entirely.

"Democracy is nothing more than mob rule where 51% of the people may take away the rights of the other 49." -Thomas Jefferson.

But enough with politics for this forum member. We dodged a huge bullet imho...I will sleep easier.

 

[anthony]

Not sure if the US, or the effected countries, have dodged anything just yet... to be perfectly honest.

Obama has put into effect some tough policies... of which weren't liked at the time, yet it seems many Americans are starting to see the positive effect of them now. Unfortunately, that is the way fiscal economics works... in that an act takes time for the reaction to truly show the end game. If you can envisage the end game, no worries. If not... you struggle to accept and support it. It seems his end game is showing positively.

Problem though... the biggest issue is that Republicans still have the house, which I was watching statements by some saying they would block Obama at any turn because they refused to budge on this raising taxes for the rich, to help balance the economy for the middle and poorer class.

A strategist for the Republicans just said some very interesting things... in that he said the party is going to have to really fight it out for what conservatism today is, as it's just not electable the way it stands using 1960's / 1980's values. Gay marriage, immigration, multiculturalism, etc etc... these are big issues in America, and other Western countries with high immigration.

Seems they need to sort their party direction and values, and hopefully that assists them to compromise with the Democrats to fix the US fiscal issues.

 

[Whitneys story]

Romney to concede just now!

 

[intothelight]

I am not happy that Obama won, nor would I have been happy if Romney won. See it just would have meant the same Washington status quo that isn't working and hasn't been working. My candidate, Gary Johnson, didn't stand a chance, as the "two party machine" is so entrenched in American politics that to call ourselves a democracy ("government" by the people) is a joke. We are a government of dollars, special interests, lobbyists, labor, and any other faction that has enough money to influence and line the pockets of of "elected" officials. When government is SO BIG, it no longer represents the "people" but becomes an entity unto itself!

There is a third party in this country called the Libertarian Party, and it stands on a platform of minimal government and maximum personal freedom. Seems there is a lot of talk about increasing taxes...personally I don't think we should have income taxes or just a flat tax where all (except the very poor) are taxed equally. Doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, you just pay the same percentage. What!!!! Sounds unfair? What about a consumption tax where individuals pay for what they use? What !!! Unfair! Both are more fair as they level the playing field and are equal. Actually the consumption tax is probably the most fair as those that have disposable income tend to consume more and the tax would be directly related to their INDIVIDUAL lifestyle choices.

I am sick of hearing about raising taxes when Washington and the states engage in unfettered spending. We are not the world's policeman nor the rescuers of the world. The only obligation in our Constitution is to have enough armed forces to protect our own country. If I want to help the world, I will make voluntary donations to those cause I support. Again, INDIVIDUAL choice and not forced down my throat by Washington policy makers!!!

I don't care who you sleep with, your orientation, religious affiliation, or any individual choice as this should have NO bearing on your right to employment, the ownership of property, the pursuit of life, or happiness. Government needs to STAY OUT of our individual lives.

 

[piratelady]

I think there is hope for the coming year. They were just saying on the news that some of the hard-core conservative Republicans were not re-elected. It may take time, but I think they will take the hint and we will make progress; but it will take some time.

 

[intothelight]

Oh, by the way, a lot of my family and friends discuss politics and I have remained quiet. This year I voted for who and what I believed in. I was told my vote was "wasted". Interesting....but at least I voted on what I believed.

 

[user17231]

Thank you, intothelight, I was hoping that while I read this someone would agree with me. I don't support increasing or decreasing taxes on the "rich", because that's classism. Why should they suffer because of their success?* Instead, put a flat tax on consumption. People with money will naturally buy more things (consuming) and thus, pay more taxes. But it's on their terms and they have the freedom. In addition, that increases take home pay for everyone, allowing people to save and invest and bring themselves out of poverty, or for the very impoverished help keep food on the table.

I personally find the idea disgusting that a single mother earning minimum wage at multiple jobs has to lose 10 (soon 15) percent of those earning when she does nothing with them but by food and provisions for her family.

A consumption tax could be implemented to remove the federal income tax and generate the same revenue today. As the economy grows, that revenue goes up.

* Yes, there are a few greedy and disgustingly wealthy individuals we'd all love to see suffer a bit. However, for the other million millionaire households in America that pay 36% of their incomes and 15% of their invested (already taxed) dollars, it's just not a fair system. Tax on the consumption side is a fair assessment of luxury spending.

Speaking of Liberty, and Libertarianism, I really enjoy a website called Learn Liberty (I can't post URLs yet because I'm new here, but you can Google it if you like). They have a myriad of 3-5 minute videos on concepts of Liberty, fiscal conservatism and general economics.

 

[JustBe]

Come to think of it... both parties need to be slapped into a room and not let out...

Funny you should say that Anthony because for months I've been wishing we could elect both men as Co-Presidents, lock then in the Oval Office and not let them out until they learn to " play nice"! :P

 

[Whitneys story]

Elections are not won by voters, the Electoral College count is how they win.