What is happening to the USA??? Give us your input.

[zenoonez]

Raising anything is out of question tax wise, the spending is the source of the problem. The goverment spends more then they take in. We have to ask our selves what is the scope of the federal goverment, what is it's job? Protecting our personla liberties, borders, and DEFENDING our country. Goverment is to BIG is the problem. We operate 900 bases outside of our borders in 136 countries, we are nation building, no different than the nazis. We are raping and pillaging, growing enimies by the masses from operational blowback. Fuck making the top pay, just get the top out of the pockets of politics. Give the country back to the people.

Income tax rates for high income earners are the lowest they have been in almost 20 years... We need reform of the tax code as a whole. There is no doubt that we have to cut spending and reform Medicare, Social Security, defense spending, and subsidies but that can't happen politically without raising taxes. We need to reform the tax code and broaden the taxable base. I think we need to completely reform our tax system personally. Broadening the base of taxable individuals is only one step. We must encourage the growth of the middle class and the upper middle/lower upper class as well.

 

[FunkBomb]

The word everyone is looking for is collapse. Civilizations of the past have done it, so why wouldn't ours do it as well? I suggest reading Jared Diamond's book called Collapse.

Unless we stop bullshitting ourselves with the infinite growth paradigm, we are just preparing to repeat history. We are way too far down the rabbit hole and the rope isn't long enough.

-Funk

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Revenues as a whole are the lowest in 60 years. 68% of US corporations pay no tax. IMO, all these companies need to pay their way.

IMO, a 4.% increase on the top rate isn't unreasonable. Even at 39.5%, the top still made money in the 1990s and we collected enough revenues for sustained surpluses. Those gains didn't come without substantial cuts to the military and welfare.

Problem... Clinton's military cuts turned into W's private contractor bonanza. Now we pay double for the same services.

 

[PuReKnOwLeDgE]

Sure the big corporations should pay their share, but I am not a fan of raising anything anywhere. I would rather see the complete dismantling of the tax system. Take away the federal income tax and replace it with nothing. I am not liking this "sheriff of Nottignham" shit. Federal income taxes were propesed after the great depression to help pay some debt, they were to last for only 2 years I do believe. Here we are today with it blown out of proportion and growing. The BIG goverment has a hunger now for our money.

 

[Puffaluffagus]

It's going down soon brothers. One way or another.

No it's not.
Modern Warfare 3 comes out next month, nobody wants to miss that by being out at some protest.
Breaking bad has a new season coming.
My smart TV is incredible, I never want to leave the house, and I know I'm not the only one.
We've been lulled into complacency.
We all know it's bad, but most of us are comfortable enough to just sit back and bitch online about it, and nothing more.

 

[Hermanthegerman]

</SPAN>Hello americanos,
I think the american downwardspiral began with Ronald Regan, under his presidency the old indutries gonna be closed and what does america produce today? Not much where the world is waiting for. A little ironic, exept military things like arms, planes and such things, movies, nobody want buy something from the us. No steel, ships, cars. The american economy is dealing mostly with things you can´t touch and that´s not healthy.(sorry for my bad english)
In europe, specially germany we came good out of the economy crisis, we have a healthy mix of the old industries and the new.

A lot of you may shout socialism but in europe we got a good balance beetween the capitalists and the unions. Than we´ve got the welfare state systhem, different in every country but if you re not a total fool you can´t fall so deep like in the states.

I image there must be a strong pressure for the american citizens, we must give our best too everyday but in america you´re always one step far from total poverty. If you´re gonna come sick and your insurance doesn´t pays it could be over, with house, car or money for the kids to go to college/university.

I don´t know if you heard about the haymarket riots in Chicago 1886, after that date the press in the states wrote that all socialist or union things are devlish and the history of the workingclass spread in europe and the usa. For an european it seems sometimes hysteric, the McCarthy years too.

Please no misunderstandings, I love america there are so much nice people and a lot of good things but america seem to me like a papertiger, a giant on fragile legs.

But america is always good for a suprise, 1st. black president (who disapointed me), occupy wallstreet movement and this morning I read in the papers on nov. 5th a lot of people want take their money from the big banks and put the money to little cooperative banks.

I wish you all the best!

 

[GP73LPC]

this morning I read in the papers on nov. 5th a lot of people want take their money from the big banks and put the money to little cooperative banks.

that's a great idea, first i have heard of it...




EDIT: just google 'november 5th banks'. it's an occupy wall street thing. if everyone participates, we could really hurt some big banks... i say fuck em...

 

[dread]

What is happening to the USA??? Give us your input.

it is digging it's own grave...
just like the rest of the world...
grtz
D

 

[Dudesome]

Nice. Another thread of a kind. As I've mention before these are just starting to pop.

Anyway. Great replies, guys! A lot of good stuff said.

The only thing I can disagree with is the common idea that were are taking a deflationary path to global depression. They also call it the Greater Depression.

Imho, it's not the case. Yup we are having a shortterm deflation.

But we need to think in terms of cui bono

As some here have mentioned this whole scheme was created by a design.

In my opinion, the design is to print money without significant consiquences. Yet there always are consequences. The more money they print, the more they will need to print.

It took us 200 years or so to get a debt of 1$ trillion by 1988 iirc
Another 8 years to get to 2 trillions by the year 1996
Today's debt is above 15 trillion.
Expotential growth at work here.
Depression? Cmon now. With all that paper our there and so much more to come?

 

[zenoonez]

Revenues as a whole are the lowest in 60 years. 68% of US corporations pay no tax. IMO, all these companies need to pay their way.

IMO, a 4.% increase on the top rate isn't unreasonable. Even at 39.5%, the top still made money in the 1990s and we collected enough revenues for sustained surpluses. Those gains didn't come without substantial cuts to the military and welfare.

Problem... Clinton's military cuts turned into W's private contractor bonanza. Now we pay double for the same services.

Very true. The fact that over half of Americans didn't pay taxes last year is shocking. It means that most Americans make very little money or they have very good lawyers, I am of the group that thinks it is more the former than the latter. As to the paradox of the Clinton cuts leading to the Bush excesses, I agree however that is a result of poor management in the military. I mean seriously, we spent 2 billion in Libya, if we had been fighting this sort of war from the start maybe we wouldn't have spent so much money. I mean hell we destroyed the Taliban with 100 cia operators in country and planes... its having to participate in nation building and peace keeping that has been so costly for us.

Sure the big corporations should pay their share, but I am not a fan of raising anything anywhere. I would rather see the complete dismantling of the tax system. Take away the federal income tax and replace it with nothing. I am not liking this "sheriff of Nottignham" shit. Federal income taxes were propesed after the great depression to help pay some debt, they were to last for only 2 years I do believe. Here we are today with it blown out of proportion and growing. The BIG goverment has a hunger now for our money.

I understand this deconstructionist idea, however we depend on the government for far too many things in this country and rightly so, we have seen a complete inability of businesses to make the right decisions on everything from food safety to environmental safety to self regulation in the banking and oil industries. I mean do we want to not have federal highways? No federal funding for education? I mean we had serious disparities in wealth when we didn't have these things in place. If you are fine with that I understand but I think we are a better country with a larger middle class, a personal belief but one that simply makes sense to me. As to the origin of income taxes, I think we have had income tax all the way back to The Revenue Act of 1913.

</SPAN>Hello americanos,
I think the american downwardspiral began with Ronald Regan, under his presidency the old indutries gonna be closed and what does america produce today? Not much where the world is waiting for. A little ironic, exept military things like arms, planes and such things, movies, nobody want buy something from the us. No steel, ships, cars. The american economy is dealing mostly with things you can´t touch and that´s not healthy.(sorry for my bad english)
In europe, specially germany we came good out of the economy crisis, we have a healthy mix of the old industries and the new.

A lot of you may shout socialism but in europe we got a good balance beetween the capitalists and the unions. Than we´ve got the welfare state systhem, different in every country but if you re not a total fool you can´t fall so deep like in the states.

I image there must be a strong pressure for the american citizens, we must give our best too everyday but in america you´re always one step far from total poverty. If you´re gonna come sick and your insurance doesn´t pays it could be over, with house, car or money for the kids to go to college/university.

I don´t know if you heard about the haymarket riots in Chicago 1886, after that date the press in the states wrote that all socialist or union things are devlish and the history of the workingclass spread in europe and the usa. For an european it seems sometimes hysteric, the McCarthy years too.

Please no misunderstandings, I love america there are so much nice people and a lot of good things but america seem to me like a papertiger, a giant on clay feet.

But america is always good for a suprise, 1st. black president (who disapointed me), occupy wallstreet movement and this morning I read in the papers on nov. 5th a lot of people want take their money from the big banks and put the money to little cooperative banks.

I wish you all the best!

Very astute observations, we are indeed a paper tiger of an economy. We have decided to participate in a world economy through "Free Trade" that being said we had no idea the results of Free Trade would be the destruction of all industries upon which our country's greatness was based. The idea that we can continue to be a leader in the world based upon a service economy is laughable at best. We have to start producing things in this country again which means that we have to become more protectionist and isolationist which will spark a global trade war, not that we aren't already in the midst of one but it will be an outright trade war. That means that we will have to depend on domestic demand. However painful this would be, it would be better than having a situation currently in which we allow many countries to export anything they want to us but our access to their market is substantially smaller. We need to rebuild the industries we have exported and put Americans back to work. We need to provide disincentives for companies to ship jobs overseas instead of rewarding them as "job creators" while they outsource everything that they possibly can.

 

[sso]

with all that paper out there and so much more to come?

im not following.

 

[Dudesome]

with all that paper out there and so much more to come?

im not following.

paper being usd.

 

[Hermanthegerman]

Hello Dudesome,
very good written, "cui bono" that´s the point where about more people shall think. It´s a lesson for the whole life if you got always in mind "cui bono"!

Hello zeenonez,
thanks for posting my simple thougts. Before some weeks I watched Staffel 2 of the tv-series "The wire". The intresting part for me wasnt only the crimestorys, it was to take a little look in the habour working world in Baltimore. I´m coming from a habour city too and it was fascinating to see americans which work hard. If I see americans working in tv, they are bankers, salesman, maybe farmers but never industrial workers. Of course it was not reality.

 

[Budweiser13]

The problem is to many people are living in doom and gloom and need to think more positive. There are tons of jobs just search indeed, monster, simply hired, career builder etc. The only thing is these jobs require specialized training ex. Degree, Certifications, Previous experience and so on. Americans have become lazy and blame there misfortune on the economy. I'm so sick of hearing people blame the economy and government go to school get a job and quit bitching about it...

 

[SeaMaiden]

I for one am disturbed with the, management,so to speak of our great nation. As well as many others. Can our problems be soley directed at the president? Or are there many other things goin on in the background that we don't know. I know that we have it better here than some folks have it in other countries.BUT, there is something terribly wrong with the way our country is being managed.We are rolling downhill like a snowball headin for hell. Input???

Our biggest problem is that congress is beholden to special interests and the average Joe gets the hose. The middle class is quickly becoming the lower class. "Job creators" get tax breaks, but don't create jobs. Instead, they lay off workers, force the remaining people to work harder and pocket the profits and the tax breaks. Then the CEO gets a huge bonus for saving the company money.

People are working harder and getting less for their efforts. People are pissed and rightfully so. I got downsized nearly 3 years ago from a $60k a year job.

I can't blame the President since I lost my job the day he took office. We were in the shitter before he came along.

The real problem life squarely at our feet. We, the people are fully responsible for the government we get. We got the government we deserve. Why? Because we are The United States of Apathy, we are the United States of Amnesia. We consistently and regularly vote back in incumbents, the very same ones who are beholden to corporations. And that's only the people who even bother to vote.

Wanna see some change? Get more people to vote! Wanna see more change? Bother to run for an office yourself! Go to your local county registrar and watch an election count. Start local, see and learn what it's really all about.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

The problem is to many people are living in doom and gloom and need to think more positive. There are tons of jobs just search indeed, monster, simply hired, career builder etc. The only thing is these jobs require specialized training ex. Degree, Certifications, Previous experience and so on. Americans have become lazy and blame there misfortune on the economy. I'm so sick of hearing people blame the economy and government go to school get a job and quit bitching about it...

We don't have enough jobs to absorb 130,000 new workers entering the workforce every month. 50 million need full-time employment.

Student debt has surpassed credit card debt as more and more universities chase profit.

Our problems are more complicated than social role playing. I know we're all tired of finger pointing but the answers are in the statistics.

The idea the market will right itself if we just get our minds right has been playing out for the last 3 decades. In that time, income for the top has tripled while middle-class earnings peaked in 1973.

Ideology's great. Corporations reveal ideology in mission statements. But their bottom line floats or sinks through numbers. When ideology alone doesn't pay off, corporations apply facts, statistics and reason to their bottom lines.

IMO, it would behoove the electorate to do same.

 

[CheifnBud2]

Oh God. Is this thread for real?

Do we really need to go over all of this.

 

[motaco]

Well I may get a lot of hell for it, but honestly I think the civil war never ended. If you look at politics today you see both parties vying for this magical ten percent. The "independent" or "undecided" voters.

Its because 45% of the country think one thing, and another 45% believe almost the exact opposite, and then there is ten percent who aren't sure. Both parties know they will get the majority backing of voters just by being the party nominee, so they try to placate that ten percent. Its the tail wagging the dog.

It seems to me if half the country wants one thing, and the other half something completely different, then there is one obvious solution. Disband and make two countries. If you draw up "red party/blue party" lines on a map it looks frightening similar to the civil war division map.

There is a clash of cultures that has never been rectified, and both cause a grid lock on our political system. Both think the other is going to "destroy the country", and won't let the other get anything done.

Its true whether you are talking about ending abortions, giving everyone healthcare, or whatever. The other party will stop it.

 

[trichrider]

http://www.youtube.com/v/LdTyUvY66Mw?version=3

you guys are too long winded.
go nov 5 and withdraw your money! go put it toward ammunition and potable water, foodstocks, etc.

ammunition is to be the new currency!

just my blip on the radar.

 

[GP73LPC]

ammunition is to be the new currency!

agree