You guys are under the assumption that people making over 250,000 are paying what they should. With tax loopholes and offshore tax havens, the truth is a fairly large % don't pay what they should.
You guys are under the assumption that people making over 250,000 are paying what they should. With tax loopholes and offshore tax havens, the truth is a fairly large % don't pay what they should.
I'm not under any such assumption and I already addressed this briefly.
There are all sorts of legal ways to avoid paying "what they should," whatever that means. And of course there are also standard deductions which few people ever question the fairness of - like the deduction for children, which effectively means childless people are subsidizing breeders. Or the fact that there's a federal deduction for mortgage interest but no equivalent deduction for renters.
Wait - Laserwolf didn't realize that we have a progressive tax structure?
I'm confused.
I was under the impression if you were in the 2nd tier, you paid that rate. 3rd, you paid that rate...
Turns out I was wrong. I knew the phrase but not how it worked.
That is why I pay someone to do my taxes.
Wait - Laserwolf didn't realize that we have a progressive tax structure?
I'm confused.
I was under the impression if you were in the 2nd tier, you paid that rate. 3rd, you paid that rate...
Turns out I was wrong. I knew the phrase but not how it worked.
That is why I pay someone to do my taxes.
It's not an unusual misconception, which is why I brought it up. I think most people hold it, though I don't know of any studies/polls that show that's the case.
Our President is one of the best public speakers of my lifetime.
He said some very important things tonight and pissed off just about everyone in that room at one point or another.
He extended olive branches and called bullshit on a bunch of folks.
He tapdanced through a few topics and dropped bombshells on others.
Overall lofty goals, positive vibes and what a redneck down here might call a "Come to Jesus meeting" for folks to get their shit together.
And there was plenty of partisan shit on the floor....but the one thing they all stood and cheered for was Obama said "We can't continue to spend more than we take in".....hey, all you idiots standing and cheering....YOU'RE THE ONES DOING THE OVERSPENDING!!!
Joe Biden is a character and may have his own sitcom someday.
Now that I have completely embarrassed myself about my ignorance on our tax structure, some thoughts on the state of the union.
I thought this was a good political speech.
The non-partisan stuff comes naturally to Obama. To the frustration of many Ds.
I think there was a lot of BS.
We are going to cut the deficit. We are going to invest in the future. Most likely we will do neither, we certainly wont do both.
I will veto any bill with earmarks. :NO:
I don't remember hearing the 'no more subsidies for oil companies' line before.
Any subsidy he can take from them would be a big win for the country. Let's start with aid to Saudi Arabia.
In the past he has been compared to Reagan in his ability to deliver this kind of speech.
Reagan was the master of the poignant anecdote. He introduced the ploy of telling the story of an ordinary American then pointing them out in the gallery. Clinton was great at this as well. GW wasn't bad.
The last 2 times Obama addressed Congress he was terrible at it. This time was much better. BUT, as my mom pointed out, he failed to introduce the First Lady or mention her achievements. Is there a presidential couch where he can sleep?
His defense of health care was strong. The defense of the stimulus could have been better.
He made a great case for passing the DreamAct. But then never mentioned it, or any other legislation.
The empty chair for Gabriel Gifford was nice.
Like many of these speeches, we heard a lot about the future, and that is good.
I would like to hear a State of the Union that address the State or the Union.
All in all, I don't rank it very high in terms of a plan for the future, or for style.
As a political speech it was very good. We got a lot of catch phrases (Invest In The Future, Freeze Spending...) that he will hammer for the next 2 years to good effect.
As far a I am concerned Corporations can lobby all they want . As long as they are not allowed to make campaign contributions (and given a level playing field I would accept the same for unions). Shit is straight up bribery. If we had publicly funded elections it would be interesting to watch what would happen to all of these special interests freaking out.
As for teachers unions, they do in fact protect bad teachers through the tenure system. (bad) Teachers get placed in schools all the time. Last year we had a recently displaced high school gym teacher who hated having to work at our k-8. Dude spent the year sulking in his office. Nothing our principal could do. Seniority. The teachers union here in my town is very powerful. The fact is I don't think bad teachers is the biggest problem. The lack of great teachers coming into the profession is much more concerning. Teachers are woefully unprepared to handle the classroom responsibility coming out grad school and we are nowhere near the level of sophistication we need when it comes to learning the best techniques for improving teacher skill sets. that an education model that hasn't changed in 80 years is killing us right now. We need to start getting kids involved with the world as "it is" not sitting around reading shitty text books. here's an idea I can get behind:
In Portland, we are about to vote on a 500 million 6 year bond measure to rebuild our schools. We are proposing that all of the contractors doing this massive amount of work be required to involved school kids in their work processes. Imagine what a kid could learn about art, math, history and politics from helping redesign their high school from the ground up. The superintendent is actually taking the idea seriously. For gods sake were spending the money already.
I thought Obama's speech was brilliant from a political perspective. Super light on specifics and very olive branchy throughout. Rock (educated swing voter) is his target audience and look how gushing his review was. Obama has the GOP pretty well handcuffed right now. They look more angry and unreasonable each week. Boehner, a fairly moderate Repub, is probably grinding his teeth everyday with wackos trying to enact radical policy measures like not raising the debt ceiling. Bachman staring at camera 2 isn't helping matters for the Tea Party. Anyway, let the 2 year stand off begin.
last thing. Rich people get massive write offs. In addition, much of their income is taxed at the lowly rate of 15% which is where the capital gains rate stands currently. Warren Buffet on a percentage basis pays less taxes than his secretary. Even Warren thinks that is crazy.
As far a I am concerned Corporations can lobby all they want . As long as they are not allowed to make campaign contributions (and given a level playing field I would accept the same for unions). Shit is straight up bribery. If we had publicly funded elections it would be interesting to watch what would happen to all of these special interests freaking out.
As for teachers unions, they do in fact protect bad teachers through the tenure system. (bad) Teachers get placed in schools all the time. Last year we had a recently displaced high school gym teacher who hated having to work at our k-8. Dude spent the year sulking in his office. Nothing our principal could do. Seniority. The teachers union here in my town is very powerful. The fact is I don't think bad teachers is the biggest problem. The lack of great teachers coming into the profession is much more concerning. Teachers are woefully unprepared to handle the classroom responsibility coming out grad school and we are nowhere near the level of sophistication we need when it comes to learning the best techniques for improving teacher skill sets. that an education model that hasn't changed in 80 years is killing us right now. We need to start getting kids involved with the world as "it is" not sitting around reading shitty text books. here's an idea I can get behind:
In Portland, we are about to vote on a 500 million 6 year bond measure to rebuild our schools. We are proposing that all of the contractors doing this massive amount of work be required to involved school kids in their work processes. Imagine what a kid could learn about art, math, history and politics from helping redesign their high school from the ground up. The superintendent is actually taking the idea seriously. For gods sake were spending the money already.
I thought Obama's speech was brilliant from a political perspective. Super light on specifics and very olive branchy throughout. Rock (educated swing voter) is his target audience and look how gushing his review was. Obama has the GOP pretty well handcuffed right now. They look more angry and unreasonable each week. Boehner, a fairly moderate Repub, is probably grinding his teeth everyday with wackos trying to enact radical policy measures like not raising the debt ceiling. Bachman staring at camera 2 isn't helping matters for the Tea Party. Anyway, let the 2 year stand off begin.
last thing. Rich people get massive write offs. In addition, much of their income is taxed at the lowly rate of 15% which is where the capital gains rate stands currently. Warren Buffet on a percentage basis pays less taxes than his secretary. Even Warren thinks that is crazy.
Good post. I agree.
"Last year we had a recently displaced high school gym teacher who hated having to work at our k-8."
How displaced? Was a high school principle able to get rid of him? Seniority allowed him to come into your school. Now it is your principles job to make clear his responsibilities and make sure he carries them out.
In Portland's weird 3 stage hiring system employees with seniority get to pick and choose the best jobs.
Savvy principles avoid this by lining up who they want, then not advertising the post until hiring enters the 3rd stage.
That's a simplified explanation, but there is a way of gaming the system, I have seen it done.
As far a I am concerned Corporations can lobby all they want . As long as they are not allowed to make campaign contributions (and given a level playing field I would accept the same for unions). Shit is straight up bribery.
When I used the term 'lobbying' before I was including the contributions etc. In modern lobbying it seems like you won't get a seat at the table until you come across with the $$$ first.
I'm guessing a lot fewer people watched the speech last night.
I thought it was a much better speech.
After watching the R presidential hopefuls for the last few months I can't see where any of them have a chance against him, at this time.
And I am one who has argued that high unemployment could mean the end of his presidency.
After last night and the last few months I am beginning to think he has a good chance at reelection.
Last year his catch phrase (investing in the future IIRC) was hammered in his speech.
This year I didn't hear one catch phrase, but economic fairness had a bigger place in the speech.
Back to the Rs. Last year Bachmann was previewed, signaling her as the likely presidential candidate.
This year it was Mitch McDaniels (who some, including me, thought might get the nod at a brokered convention).
Did was flat, lame, creepy and disappointing. I see no future for them there.
Which leaves them Jeb Bush and Chris Christie. A sad state of affairs for the gop.
Comments
I'm not under any such assumption and I already addressed this briefly.
There are all sorts of legal ways to avoid paying "what they should," whatever that means. And of course there are also standard deductions which few people ever question the fairness of - like the deduction for children, which effectively means childless people are subsidizing breeders. Or the fact that there's a federal deduction for mortgage interest but no equivalent deduction for renters.
::ducks, runs for cover::
I'm confused.
I was under the impression if you were in the 2nd tier, you paid that rate. 3rd, you paid that rate...
Turns out I was wrong. I knew the phrase but not how it worked.
That is why I pay someone to do my taxes.
It's not an unusual misconception, which is why I brought it up. I think most people hold it, though I don't know of any studies/polls that show that's the case.
Now that I have completely embarrassed myself about my ignorance on our tax structure, some thoughts on the state of the union.
I thought this was a good political speech.
The non-partisan stuff comes naturally to Obama. To the frustration of many Ds.
I think there was a lot of BS.
We are going to cut the deficit. We are going to invest in the future. Most likely we will do neither, we certainly wont do both.
I will veto any bill with earmarks. :NO:
I don't remember hearing the 'no more subsidies for oil companies' line before.
Any subsidy he can take from them would be a big win for the country. Let's start with aid to Saudi Arabia.
In the past he has been compared to Reagan in his ability to deliver this kind of speech.
Reagan was the master of the poignant anecdote. He introduced the ploy of telling the story of an ordinary American then pointing them out in the gallery. Clinton was great at this as well. GW wasn't bad.
The last 2 times Obama addressed Congress he was terrible at it. This time was much better. BUT, as my mom pointed out, he failed to introduce the First Lady or mention her achievements. Is there a presidential couch where he can sleep?
His defense of health care was strong. The defense of the stimulus could have been better.
He made a great case for passing the DreamAct. But then never mentioned it, or any other legislation.
The empty chair for Gabriel Gifford was nice.
Like many of these speeches, we heard a lot about the future, and that is good.
I would like to hear a State of the Union that address the State or the Union.
All in all, I don't rank it very high in terms of a plan for the future, or for style.
As a political speech it was very good. We got a lot of catch phrases (Invest In The Future, Freeze Spending...) that he will hammer for the next 2 years to good effect.
As for teachers unions, they do in fact protect bad teachers through the tenure system. (bad) Teachers get placed in schools all the time. Last year we had a recently displaced high school gym teacher who hated having to work at our k-8. Dude spent the year sulking in his office. Nothing our principal could do. Seniority. The teachers union here in my town is very powerful. The fact is I don't think bad teachers is the biggest problem. The lack of great teachers coming into the profession is much more concerning. Teachers are woefully unprepared to handle the classroom responsibility coming out grad school and we are nowhere near the level of sophistication we need when it comes to learning the best techniques for improving teacher skill sets. that an education model that hasn't changed in 80 years is killing us right now. We need to start getting kids involved with the world as "it is" not sitting around reading shitty text books. here's an idea I can get behind:
In Portland, we are about to vote on a 500 million 6 year bond measure to rebuild our schools. We are proposing that all of the contractors doing this massive amount of work be required to involved school kids in their work processes. Imagine what a kid could learn about art, math, history and politics from helping redesign their high school from the ground up. The superintendent is actually taking the idea seriously. For gods sake were spending the money already.
I thought Obama's speech was brilliant from a political perspective. Super light on specifics and very olive branchy throughout. Rock (educated swing voter) is his target audience and look how gushing his review was. Obama has the GOP pretty well handcuffed right now. They look more angry and unreasonable each week. Boehner, a fairly moderate Repub, is probably grinding his teeth everyday with wackos trying to enact radical policy measures like not raising the debt ceiling. Bachman staring at camera 2 isn't helping matters for the Tea Party. Anyway, let the 2 year stand off begin.
last thing. Rich people get massive write offs. In addition, much of their income is taxed at the lowly rate of 15% which is where the capital gains rate stands currently. Warren Buffet on a percentage basis pays less taxes than his secretary. Even Warren thinks that is crazy.
Good post. I agree.
"Last year we had a recently displaced high school gym teacher who hated having to work at our k-8."
How displaced? Was a high school principle able to get rid of him? Seniority allowed him to come into your school. Now it is your principles job to make clear his responsibilities and make sure he carries them out.
In Portland's weird 3 stage hiring system employees with seniority get to pick and choose the best jobs.
Savvy principles avoid this by lining up who they want, then not advertising the post until hiring enters the 3rd stage.
That's a simplified explanation, but there is a way of gaming the system, I have seen it done.
When I used the term 'lobbying' before I was including the contributions etc. In modern lobbying it seems like you won't get a seat at the table until you come across with the $$$ first.
I thought it was a much better speech.
After watching the R presidential hopefuls for the last few months I can't see where any of them have a chance against him, at this time.
And I am one who has argued that high unemployment could mean the end of his presidency.
After last night and the last few months I am beginning to think he has a good chance at reelection.
Last year his catch phrase (investing in the future IIRC) was hammered in his speech.
This year I didn't hear one catch phrase, but economic fairness had a bigger place in the speech.
Back to the Rs. Last year Bachmann was previewed, signaling her as the likely presidential candidate.
This year it was Mitch McDaniels (who some, including me, thought might get the nod at a brokered convention).
Did was flat, lame, creepy and disappointing. I see no future for them there.
Which leaves them Jeb Bush and Chris Christie. A sad state of affairs for the gop.
KEITHVANHORN, PICTURED AT CENTER, MEETS PRESIDENT OBAMA AT LOCAL EVENT