Thats the media for you.

1st U S Income Tax
 

Actually Lincoln, during the Civil War instituted the 1st U S Income Tax to finance the war.

Consumption taxes have gotten crazy with some state sales taxes nearing 10%. If the feds started one it could well be over 25%.

I had a friend in England who thought the VAT Tax was the worst thing ever.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_Act_of_1861

I love the current system. I get half of the real estate taxes back on my house each year just because I'm physically disabled.

Yep, and once the emergency of the war was over....so was income tax because it was unconstitutional to have a permanent income tax until Congress wrote the 16th ammendment making it constitutional.

LOL :1orglaugh Exactly!

Nice! :1orglaugh

What "rut" is the middle class in? LOL. We are are walking around with thousand dollar mini computers in our pockets, sixty-five inch flat screen TVs in our living rooms, our houses keep getting bigger and bigger, and a BMW or Mercedes in every other garage.

But clearly we need change. The country has gone to hell. The unemployment rate is unacceptable, the cost of gas is too high, the economy is in the gutter, and the current administration has gotten us stuck in two wars with no end.

Gekko for VP!! :1orglaugh

He could do, but no one would buy them. And there's the;

http://www.asset1.net/tv/pictures/mo...atch-22-tc.jpg

It would mean people would have to buy less, a lot less. This would effect the retail sector of the economy.

I remember the time when the UK was an exporting industrial country. We bought a lot less, things had to last longer.

Because wages were never enough to buy the goods like we do today. If wages rise, so does the costs of the goods. And before you know it, that new widescreen TV, latest laptop, iPad, phone, etc. Are beyond your reach. You will have to use the one you have until it no longer works well enough.

Bit like 99% of the people did pre 1980.

That's what a billionaire doesn't understand. Until he finds his workers are on strike for 20% pay increase to keep up with rising prices, and bills for all the TVs, lights, electrical sockets, beds, sheets, mattresses, bathroom fittings, table, chairs, etc. In the hotels quadruple.

Unless he does understand and hopes you don't.

Sales taxes on non essential items, leaving out things like food. Is sensible.

The problem is spending/taxing. Do you want a country that has Justice, Health, Education, Transport, Defense, etc. That runs properly. Do you want laws made, roads built, protection of the environment, and everything else the Government pays for? Then pay taxes. Or do without them.

People can nit pick over certain spending, so long as it's spent in the country where the tax is raised. It's only moving the money around inside the system. But goods from overseas, fight wars, etc. Loses money our of the system.

As for the belief that wages will rise to fund the more expensive goods. Look around you and see what was made in the US. Then calculate how much more you will need to earn to buy those products. Don't forget these.

Now think of your market. how many of your customers are going to have less to spend on porn?

The only way is forcing these countries to buy our goods and services, then taxing the excess imports.

The problem with sales taxes is that the state becomes interested in higher prices. The higher price, the more taxes got paid, if you lower price you reduce state revenue. With taxes on profit it works slightly different, as the profits and taxes can be increased by cost reduction through, for example, innovations.
It does not mean the govt will actively push retailers to raise the prices, but one way or anoither it will affect the policies of the state.

the problem is already that it is a state thing

mostly everywhere else the sales tax (VAT) is handled on federal level, 1 rate all over the country, included in the prices already so you don't even notice you are paying it

also mostly everywhere you have at least 2 rates - a low one for basic things like food, books etc and a higher one for the rest

and in case it's a business expense, you get the VAT reimbursed

makes sense to me in general

Bernie Sanders doesn't play "Gotcha" and he sticks to the issues..

I never said Sanders played "gotcha"...I said the media does when they ask the questions. They don't ask about the issues the majority of the time, they are too busy playing "gotcha" with the candidates.

And yes, they will do the same to Sanders. They will hunt down something he wrote or said 40 years ago that might be contrary to what he believes today to try and make him look bad...instead of just asking the man the questions that are pertinent to what he will do as President in the future.

I always thought that was such a weird thing. The whole "flip-flop."

Why would you want someone that has the same exact opinion that they had 30 years ago and never grows based on new knowledge? It's one thing to change your opinion just to appease someone, it's another thing to change your opinion because of something that happened or new knowledge etc.

I constantly look at things I did only a few months ago and wonder "WTF was I thinking?" The world is changing quickly. Thoughts and ideas need to keep pace.

The problem with Bernie Sanders is that this is now a name game and a popularity contest. There are two big well known names - Trump and Clinton - and everyone knows everything about them. (Three if you add in Jeb.) I couldn't tell you the first thing about Bernie Sanders. Or his policies or thoughts.

I know about Scott Walker, but only because Minte was pushing him hard.

the race to become president has always been a popularity contest.

I wonder if Scott Walker has a water fountain.

remember the Minte!

a legend and class act in this business.

I agree. I don't really care what Bernie Sanders may have thought or did when he was a young man.

The media talking heads try to dress it up and say that it shows a person's background and how their thought processes work.
I say it doesn't show a damn thing.

I have different views in 2015 than I did in 1985 or even in 2010. I would expect that everyone does. If they ever find a candidate who doesn't live and learn from experience...then they have a robot on their hands. lol

You sound like Sarah Palin who spent her interview with trump complaining about her "gotcha" questions :1orglaugh

Sarah Palin couldn't handle them because she's two-thirds to a retard. Sanders and Trump will have no problem with it, specially not Trump. and these kind of questions do serve a purpose.

What purpose do you think the "gotcha" questions really serve?

At the debate for instance...they had a very limited time to speak. And yet the moderators kept asking "gotcha" questions and trying to provoke fights amongst the candidates instead of asking questions that had to do with the real issues.

They literally provoked fights between Rand Paul and Chris Christie for example.
And then they did it again with Bush and Trump.

Or when Megyn Kelly goes into her long "question" (diatribe was more like it) about Trump's freakin' Twitter feed.

All of that was just for ratings and pure entertainment.

The media wasted precious time in the "debate" (and no, they aren't even "debates"...but more like glorified question and answer sessions).

We got very little questions that gave us substance and a lot of entertaining nonsense questions.

I personally would like to hear the moderators ask some questions that actually affect the American people and let ALL of the candidates answer the questions.

Like:
Why is gasoline still over $3 a gallon when the price of oil is lower than it has EVER been? Will you, as President, investigate this?

What will you do about the NSA spying on us?

What will you do about the military budget and the U.S. over-involvement in foreign countries?

What is your stance on the "War On Drugs" and the fact that the U.S. has more of it's own citizens in prison than any other country in history?

That's the kind of thing I'd like to hear from the candidates. I don't give a shit whether Trump had a Twitter fight with Rosie or not. Or whether Rand Paul and Chris Christie don't like each other.

I'm sick of brain-dead politicians using "gotcha" questions as something bad. What does "gotcha" really mean? It means you got caught knowing nothing about what you are talking about, or you got caught lying.

Here is that fucking idiot train wreck Sarah Paling being asked very simple question, and her completely gibberish word-salad bullshit non-answer



This fucking dumbnut the nerve to coin the term "gotcha question".

Political hopefuls running for seats in any section of government need to know the answers to both the simple AND the complex questions, and the media has to stop accepting stupid catch-phrases as real answers.

Right now, Donald Trump is doing nothing but spew out bigoted opinions and one-liners about what he will do if elected. One day soon he will be forced to give proper answers to tough questions at which time he will just fall apart. This is why I think he will lose to Hillary, Bernie, Joe, or any democrat he eventually faces-off with.

You think he will make it that far?

who gives a shit what magazines palin read? **********.

I want to know the person I'm going to vote for President has mental agility, see the way they react when they are caught wrong footed. Many didn't like the way Trump replied to Megyn Kelly but many others did, it showed consistency with his way of being.

Sarah Palin to this day keeps complaining about "gotcha" questions but when she said she read loads of magazines and couldn't name one it showed she couldn't have a discussion beyond her brief. That she'd draw a blank in front of a head of state and that she had no interest in current affairs.

These candidates won't have that problem but it should still be a mix of questions you don't want them to recite their policies one after the other there will be plenty of time for that :2 cents:

that's not at all what it means.

for instance when Guliani claimed Obama doesn't love America, gotcha media used that statement to try and gotcha other politicians.

Sarah Palin is a fucking idiot and not too many people argue otherwise. Catching her in a lie about whether or not she reads a newspaper is not that great of an achievement.

What are some other worthy examples where a gotcha is more beneficial than a real question? People have been crying that Trump can't backup any of his crazy claims. While he could do that on his own, he hasn't, why not use these debate situations to dig into something like that as opposed to whether or not he called a woman disgusting?

If he can't back it up and you call him out isn't that a "gotcha" question? Guess it's the quality of the "gotchas" that bothers you... nobody will disagree there :2 cents:

i recall when Obama got gotcha'd over his not wearing a lapel flag pin. serious issue about BO not knowing what he's talking about eh.

hah, but it's wrong when it happens to BO

Campbell Concurs: Obama Flag Pin Issue 'Nonsensical, Ridiculous'

Depends what you get caught for. I thought that would be obvious.

right, what fucking magazines you read is crucial shit for a VP.

and lay off the fucking personal bullfuckingshit, else i'll fucking chime in.

Patriotism
 

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel

Worked well for Hitler

Triumph of the Will (1935) - IMDb

Yes, it is fucking crucial. It's fucking crucial to at least NAME one. TIME magazine, The Economist... whatever. Someone who wants to be VP should at least be able to do what a 16 y.o with a passing interest in politics can do. What is even more crucial is that they don't start making nonsensical noises and blabbering when caught off guard, that they can come up with an answer, any answer.

As for personal, there was nothing personal in what I wrote, you however are already making threats.

right, it doesn't take a fucking rocket scientist to understand what a comment like "i thought that was obvious" means. i'll spell it out for you, it's an insinuation that i'm not capable of grasping the obvious, but guess fucking what einstein, i got your obvious bullshit.

gofuckyourself

and you're the one uptight about what rags a VP reads while she's taking a shit.

BO didn't get your fucking memo on the important gotcha questions.

"My patriotism speaks for itself," Obama launched into a long explanation of his decision-making process: "The truth is that right after 9/11, I had a pin. Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we're talking about the Iraq war, that became a substitute for, I think, true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security," Obama said in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest. Instead I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe what will make this country great and hopefully that will be a testimony to my patriotism."


gofuckyourself

BO on gotcha journalism:

"I have never said that I don't wear flag pins or refuse to wear flag pins," Obama explained. "This is the kind of manufactured issue that our politics has become obsessed with and, once again, distracts us from what should be my job when I'm commander-in-chief, which is going to be figuring out how we get our troops out of Iraq and how we actually make our economy better for the American people."

gofuckyourself

MaDalton was right about arguing with you. Pointless.

And you still don't get it. I don't care that she doesn't read them.

I care that she can't name one. But more than anything, I care that she goes completely blank. Trump, Obama, Carson... whofuckinever... will come up with something, everybody might not like it, but they can land on their feet, they have the mental agility not to go blank like a 12 y.o who forgot their recitation.

Can't believe anybody would argue otherwise in 2015. Unbelievable. Have Fun.

:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

umm, no, madalton makes drive-by insults filled with misinformation about my 28000 posts then when i correct him on that he wildly exclaims all i do is argue.

and all you need to fucking do is read this very fucking thread you are in to see how well i can debate the issues with others who do not make personal insults.

you're the one who went there not me, so gofuckyourpunkass because you are exactly like madalton.

and yup i don't get you and am very happy about that.

and fill us all in, just what the fuck is madalton right about, explain to the fucking class the point of arguing on GFY.

gofuckyourself.

Referring to the quality of the gotchas someone saying "I thought it'd be obvious" is enough for you to be go post crazy with gofuckyourselfs at every post. You have self esteem issues man :2 cents: Looks like a boy's hurt pride...

MaDalton's post about being pointless to argue was at least a year ago. I remembered it, it was good advise.

when pointing out that you keep arguing with people and keep calling people names is insulting to you, i apologize for doing so.

And another gfy psychologist making yet another personal insult. Way to prove you weren't attempting to insult with your bullshit "obvious" comment on a gotcha question BO certainly took seriously but that doesn't fit in with your bullshit. It's funny watching you get your panties twisted up over the word fuck.

I told you to knock it off, you kept going and now you're making even worse personal attacks.

I don't start that bullshit, I finish it. And I have no idea what you are trying to apologize for.

That's what you always do :2 cents:

Get all worked up, go on a posting spree repeating the same stuff, then accuse others of "getting their panties twisted" when everybody was calm all along, everybody except you.

Again, I made it very clear to you there was no need for you to make comnents like I can't grasp the obvious. Since then I've said fuck a lot while you've made character assassinations about me.

Robbie is always a good read, doesn't mean I always agree with what he writes, but I'm interested in knowing his opinion. He reads replies and makes a point.

With you it's straight up lashing out, like everything is a personal insult and you need to get out on top. Sorry if it's not who you are but that's how it comes across.