Obama's Redistribution
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I haven't seen much posted in here about it, so can I assume, for those of you who've heard snippets from Obama's 2001 interview on NPR, that you're OK with his desire to see further redistribution of wealth by the federal government? That you're OK with socialism to this degree happening in this country?
I am against redistribution by fiat of the government. The basis for most all we've accomplished in this country is a result of the private ownership of property and the right to part with that property by our own desires.
Does this further evidence (after the "Joe the plumber" admission) of Obama's desire to lead this country down the socialist road at all concern you?
-snakelips
I am against redistribution by fiat of the government. The basis for most all we've accomplished in this country is a result of the private ownership of property and the right to part with that property by our own desires.
Does this further evidence (after the "Joe the plumber" admission) of Obama's desire to lead this country down the socialist road at all concern you?
-snakelips
Capitalism serves us perfectly well and our constitution provides that Congress shall have the power to REGULATE commerce. If excercised properly this is sufficient to ensure that monopolies are busted up, minimum safety levels are met, and fraud and discrimination are prevented...WITHOUT the need for gov't ownership in companies.
-snakelips
"As it happens, we have already had a revolution that redistributed the wealth. Bush's big tax overhaul redistributed it to the already rich, so they could be richer yet already."
"The income tax is the way we been doing our civic business off and on for nearly 150 years and fulltime for nearly 100. If Obama is a socialist for proposing to reassert its pre-Bush progressivity, then unless McCain means to repeal the income tax he is a socialist, too. He's just squabbling with Obama, not about some grand difference of economic philosophy, but only about how much the wealthy should pay."
It is ridiculous to interpret allowing the rich to keep more of the money they earn as a redistribution of wealth from the middle class.
I don't care about McCain or his plans or what you want to call him. I don't like him and he's only a slightly better choice than Obama...but not much.
-snakelips
How so? I was laid off by IBM in 6/02 and the follwing January, Sam Palmisano (CEO) got a $6M bonus. There were over 30,000 IBM employees laid off that year in three waves. How did capitalism serve those jobless? It sure as heck served Palmisano!
Loudmouthed morons like Levin and Hannity talk about the myth that is being created about class warfare in our country. It's very easy to sit there with millions in the bank, more coming in all the time, and tell us there is no class warfare.
So, am I ready for the government to step in and take measures to ensure that companies who create jobs in THIS country, GOOD-paying jobs, not minimum wage jobs, should be rewarded and those who send jobs out of the country should be penalized. You bet I am. If you think that it is sufficient that government simply regulate the workplace environment to ensure safety, that monopolies are busted up and that fraud and discrimination are policed, then you are trolling on the wrong party blog.
Should we own pieces of corporations? That depends. Are you willing to see our entire retirement system take out the life savings of tens of millions of people who are past retirement age? In THIS case, I see it as having been unavoidable that those corporations had to be bailed out. BUT! I am not willing to see the top management of those corporations who are taking help be allowed to run off with multi-millions as a reward for screwing up BIG time. So, how do we prevent that? We take a piece of the control for the corporation and WE call the shots. It is NOT right that those companies receiving assistance be allowed to draw funds that they will be using to gobble up other companies, either.
I am personally very happy for the re-balancing, even though I know that we will never be able to recoup the loss of our $10+trillion dollars that has been the largest transfer of wealth in the history of this country
We got SOMETHING in exchange for those billions whether oil or lead painted kids toys. AND that exchange was mutually agreed upon.
So are you concerned?
-snakelips
I was told that we would get more jobs----
have you noticed how many jobs were created by those big tax breaks?
Maybe if the REAL small business owners had gotten that huge redistribution, we would have gotten more jobs that were actually given to Americans who live in this country----
and then they could have bought more stuff from the Walmarts.
what did I get for what my kids paid for the redistribution of their little bit of wealth into the military complex and private armies?-----except for a dead best friend.
Gov't should not be in the business of "creating jobs". That is not its role. It IS its role to defend this country. And THAT is a proper expenditure of collected taxes. I'm sorry for your kids' friend and I honor his/her service. I'm sure though that they knew the risks and still volunteered proudly.
-snakelips
Don't confuse the benefits of a free people CHOOSING to join a communal activity with the federal gov't FORCING all to give something they would otherwise choose not to.
So, is electing Obama starting to concern you? If so, there's no need to vote Rep if it goes against your grain. Choose Libertarian, and your conscience will be clear.
-snakelips
That seems like a good example of a socialist idea that has gone wrong. They definitely had their place, but now it seems that they are an artificial crutch that workers (who are practically forced to join) use to ensure wages and benefits. How hard someone works or how well someone performs is not used as to properly compensate them, but rather it is based on the deal negotiated for them by the union.
Labor unions concern me.
-snakelips
The program was about civil rights/society and the courts place, not the economy.
C'mon Snake, you can do better than this.
And viewed in parallel with his comments to Joe the plumber, it's pretty obvious his intentions. Doesn't that concern you?
C'mon Shop. Who's really been drinking the Kool-Aid? Obama really is NOT the second coming of Christ, you know?
-snakelips
-snakelips
This Socialist/Communist/Terrorist/ innuendo is just that, innuendo. It's also dishonorable campaigning IMHO.
You and I have had this conversation before. I'm happy to pay my fair share. "Tax and Spend" is how supposed 'conservatives' put it. If a person accepts that premise they must further admit that it is infinitely superior to 'borrow and spend' which is what the GOP has done to plunge America into the largest debt EVER!
As for me personally, I have spent many dollars in the past that have saved me many more in the future. That's what I want from my Govt. Wise expenditures of our dollars.
Both parties are guilty to varying degrees, I choose to pay for my children and grandchildren and make their chances better, not burden them with my debt.
A wise investment now, pays off in the future.
No, trying to paint Obama as some kind of Socialist does not concern me. If he wants (presuming he gets elected) to get elected for another term, he will need to govern from the center, not from some Socialist left field as the McCain campaign is trying to paint.
p.s. no matter who gets elected will have a hard time getting reelected because the policies of 'barrow and spend' have hamstrung the next admin no matter who gets elected.
Unless you oppose these, you are a socialist too.
I have wanted a more progressive tax code and universal health care for decades now. Other civilized nations have survived and propspered for decades with a better social safety net than ours.
To answer your question, I am not only OK with it, but I believe it is long overdue, given the massive shift of wealth toward fewer individuals.
Too many struggle while too few enjoy financial security. IMHO, a great nation has the obligation to see that its wealth is shared more broadly among its citizens. The disparity is truly alarming.
Do you not see the danger in shifting the wealth to those who did not earn it? Why would someone work harder? Why would someone try to find a better, more efficient way to do things? Why wouldn't we all just kick back and rely on others for our needs? Can you truly not see how that is not sustainable in the long term?
-snakelips
Why are you so enthusiastic about Bible Spice when she is obviously a socialist?
Hey, I'm not a Republican water toter! There are a lot of things I don't like about the party and I'm only a member because it's the lesser of two evils in my opinion.
I'm not opposed to Palin because she doesn't want to make it WORSE. She (and McCain) are not my ideal. They are just slightly to the right of Obama.
-snakelips
So, does that concern you?
-snakelips
The rich took their Bush tax cut and used it to gamble on Wall Street pyramid schemes. Have we seen anyone who supposedly got a great good-paying job from the resulting trickle down come forward to thank McCain for insisting that it continues?
My question? When are the wealthy going to invest in America again? Do they even consider themselves citizens of this country? When are they going to quit looking out for multinational interests and put OUR Country First?
This is not a meaningless Republican slogan. It's important to the survival of this republic and it's continued military and economic strength.
If the top 2% won't act responsible, it's the duty of the middle to clip their wings till they can demonstrate that they know how to fly without crashing....just like McCain and Bush done so often in the past.
The wealthy invest in America every day by creating business and employing people. If we want to keep jobs here we should adjust the tax code so that business are either required to pay the same tax whether their goods are produced overseas or here, or better yet, CUT corporate taxes altogether because ultimately people pay taxes, not corporate entities.
OUR country does come first, but we have to start thinking logically and incorporating human nature and reason into our policies. It is illogical to tax people more simply because they make more. That is punishing success. And it is human nature to not work hard if someone else is providing for your needs. We are making some fundamental mistakes and they need to be corrected. And my fear is that Obama want to lead us further in the wrong direction.
And gov't would be wise to allow people to fail just as much as they allow them to succeed.
-snakelips