Make your mark...spending problem or revenue problem

[kwc57]

What do you believe is the PRIMARY problem of our government's inability to stay within it's means no matter what the debt limit is?

Note - I say PRIMARY problem....it can easily be argued that it is both - but of the two - what do you believe is the greatest reason.

That was a no brainer. Spending.

 

[Foxfyre]

The appropriate option was intentionally left out of the poll... typical of extremists an idealogues...

the truth is that it is both.. .we need to increase revenues AND streamline spending.

But it's dumb as toast to cut government jobs in the midst of a fragile recovery.

but then again....

Far more dumb to raise taxes on the very people we need to turn loose of investment capital they're sitting on and start expanding and hiring again. If we can keep from increasing private sector unemployment by decreasing government jobs, that makes perfect sense. Many governmnt jobs are absolutely necessary and worth every penny, but they add nothing to the economy and only drain money from it. Non essential government jobs should be the very first to go when there isn't enough money to pay everybody.

I have to say that I don't believe it is taxes or the threat of increased taxes that is what is hindering the recovery. Employers are not as concerned about taxes going up as they are about the economic well being of this country and the uncertainty of the future.

Health Care Reform is just one of the things that have employers concerned. The convoluted way that was written and presented leaves everyone guessing as to how it is ultimately going to affect their business. Their are so many things that are going on in this country such as the collapse of the housing market, banking industry, and auto industry that employers are hesitant to do anything at all.

Right now people and business are in survival mode. They are not going to do a damned thing until things begin to look up.

Moderate increases in the tax rate are not going to hinder the recovery. What needs to happen is that people need to begin to feel secure again. Quite frankly, we need another housing bubble or dot com bubble to brighten the day.

Immie

Last year, our business, among other things, before we closed it down due to the crappy economic environment, was auditing financial records of businesses. And part of the process was asking the owner/manager for a general assessment of what he expected businesswise in the coming year.

Again and again and again I was told they would be laying off and/or would be trying to hold steady. No plans to expand or hire.

Why?

1. Because of the uncertainty of tax policy, most especially on businesses regarding Obamacare and Cap & Trade.

2. Because of the uncertainty of regulation being threatened mostly at the federal level.

3. Because of a government that thinks we can spend ourselves out of the mess we are in and there are no negative consequences to that.

These businesses are sitting on a pile of investment capital that they are not willing to risk to expand and hire when the risk is that uncertain. Give them certainty on a tax policy, regulation, and Obamacare that they can live with, and they'll be willing to begin to think about expanding, growing, and hiring again.

 

[Foxfyre]

If the government wants to fix this they will stop spending. They won't spend another dime on ANYTHING that does not absolutely have to be spent.

And then they will focus on making tax payers out of all of those who are not now tax payers.

 

[kwc57]

Far more dumb to raise taxes on the very people we need to turn loose of investment capital they're sitting on and start expanding and hiring again. If we can keep from increasing private sector unemployment by decreasing government jobs, that makes perfect sense. Many governmnt jobs are absolutely necessary and worth every penny, but they add nothing to the economy and only drain money from it. Non essential government jobs should be the very first to go when there isn't enough money to pay everybody.

I have to say that I don't believe it is taxes or the threat of increased taxes that is what is hindering the recovery. Employers are not as concerned about taxes going up as they are about the economic well being of this country and the uncertainty of the future.

Health Care Reform is just one of the things that have employers concerned. The convoluted way that was written and presented leaves everyone guessing as to how it is ultimately going to affect their business. Their are so many things that are going on in this country such as the collapse of the housing market, banking industry, and auto industry that employers are hesitant to do anything at all.

Right now people and business are in survival mode. They are not going to do a damned thing until things begin to look up.

Moderate increases in the tax rate are not going to hinder the recovery. What needs to happen is that people need to begin to feel secure again. Quite frankly, we need another housing bubble or dot com bubble to brighten the day.

Immie

Last year, our business, among other things, before we closed it down due to the crappy economic environment, was auditing financial records of businesses. And part of the process was asking the owner/manager for a general assessment of what he expected businesswise in the coming year.

Again and again and again I was told they would be laying off and/or would be trying to hold steady. No plans to expand or hire.

Why?

1. Because of the uncertainty of tax policy, most especially on businesses regarding Obamacare and Cap & Trade.

2. Because of the uncertainty of regulation being threatened mostly at the federal level.

3. Because of a government that thinks we can spend ourselves out of the mess we are in and there are no negative consequences to that.

These businesses are sitting on a pile of investment capital that they are not willing to risk to expand and hire when the risk is that uncertain. Give them certainty on a tax policy, regulation, and Obamacare that they can live with, and they'll be willing to begin to think about expanding, growing, and hiring again.

No Foxy, it's because the evil, rich jet owners are stealing the "nations" wealth and hate poor people. Didn't you know that?

 

[Foxfyre]

I have to say that I don't believe it is taxes or the threat of increased taxes that is what is hindering the recovery. Employers are not as concerned about taxes going up as they are about the economic well being of this country and the uncertainty of the future.

Health Care Reform is just one of the things that have employers concerned. The convoluted way that was written and presented leaves everyone guessing as to how it is ultimately going to affect their business. Their are so many things that are going on in this country such as the collapse of the housing market, banking industry, and auto industry that employers are hesitant to do anything at all.

Right now people and business are in survival mode. They are not going to do a damned thing until things begin to look up.

Moderate increases in the tax rate are not going to hinder the recovery. What needs to happen is that people need to begin to feel secure again. Quite frankly, we need another housing bubble or dot com bubble to brighten the day.

Immie

Last year, our business, among other things, before we closed it down due to the crappy economic environment, was auditing financial records of businesses. And part of the process was asking the owner/manager for a general assessment of what he expected businesswise in the coming year.

Again and again and again I was told they would be laying off and/or would be trying to hold steady. No plans to expand or hire.

Why?

1. Because of the uncertainty of tax policy, most especially on businesses regarding Obamacare and Cap & Trade.

2. Because of the uncertainty of regulation being threatened mostly at the federal level.

3. Because of a government that thinks we can spend ourselves out of the mess we are in and there are no negative consequences to that.

These businesses are sitting on a pile of investment capital that they are not willing to risk to expand and hire when the risk is that uncertain. Give them certainty on a tax policy, regulation, and Obamacare that they can live with, and they'll be willing to begin to think about expanding, growing, and hiring again.

No Foxy, it's because the evil, rich jet owners are stealing the "nations" wealth and hate poor people. Didn't you know that?

Well yeah, I know I'm supposed to swallow that line, but I've had it explained to me that I'm pretty dense.

The only way to increase government revenues that won't make things worse is to increase the revenues that everybody pays taxes on. Put unemployed people to work in the private sector and voila!! You have a tax payer. Get businesses growing, expanding, and spending in the USA again and Washington gets truckloads of additional cash. Put a tax on ALL earned income, including a modest tax on all working people, and voila! You have people who have no interest in staying under the 'poverty' treshhold any longer and who don't look to the other 50% of working Americans to pay their share. That will net all sorts of good things.

Make it too risky for business to turn loose of investment capital, make it more difficult to make a decent profit in this country so that doing business elsewhere looks more attractive, make it more difficult to make things here so we have to buy from others elsewhere, and make it more profitable to not work than to work . . . AND . . . continue to spend as if we were flush wish cash. . . .and you have a prescripton for a high misery index and a recession that will drag on and on and on.

 

[Foxfyre]

 

[Sky Dancer]

Let the Bush tax cuts for the rich expire, and we will be fine, economically.

 

[MaggieMae]

Free market capitalism has been a myth for a long time and has proven to be unsustainable in the long run, especially over the last 30 years.

A perfect example of the pure ignorance of liberal Marxism:

You don't need to be an economist to see how rich the middle class got by looking at all the new inventions they could suddenly afford in the last 10 years: suddenly we had plasma TV's, LCD TV's, DLP-TV's, iPods, iphones, CD's and CD players, DVDs and DVD players, Blue Ray and Blue Ray players, PCs, desk top PCs, DVRs, color printers, satellite radio, Advantium ovens, HD-TV, Playstations, X-Boxes, X-box live, X-box Konnect, broadband, satellite TV, cell/camera/video phones, digital cameras, OnStar, palm corders, Blackberries, smart phones, home theaters, SUVs, big houses, more houses per capita, TiVo, 3D movies and TV's, built in wine coolers, granite counter tops, $200 sneakers, color matched front loader washing machines, matching washer dryer combinations, McMansions, 6 burner commercial ranges, Sub Zero refridgerators, more cars than drivers, a $1 billion ring tone industry, a pet industry that just doubled to $34 billion, 10's of millions lining up to buy Apple's I-tablet, Wii, Netflix boxes, jet skis, low profile tires, aluminum/titanium rims, Harley Davidson and Japanese motorcycles. $700 Billion Christmas 2010, $10.5 billion movies 2010, 10 million ocean crusies.

The list goes on and on. I hope that helps you realize you can't just parrot the communist press and expect to make sense? They have other objectives and are merely using you to promote their point of view.

Your examples completely ignore the basic mindset of Americans for the past ten years that there could be a never-ending supply of stuff by using credit cards. I would say purchases in today's economic climate are made with a little more pre-planning by most folks. Others will set their own priorities and continue with the belief that they can have it all no matter what. It's that prevailing attitude that got us in trouble in the first place.

 

[MaggieMae]

The appropriate option was intentionally left out of the poll... typical of extremists an idealogues...

the truth is that it is both.. .we need to increase revenues AND streamline spending.

But it's dumb as toast to cut government jobs in the midst of a fragile recovery.

but then again....

The current economy is really great for the right. They're getting what they always said they wanted (public sector workers being laid off), but since they're out of power, they also get to complain about weak jobless numbers. I wonder if the public sector layoffs have any impact on that...

And it appears Grover Norquist has become the de facto leader of the pack with the "starve the beast" philosophy.

Economist's View: "Starve the Beast: Just Bull, not Good Economics"

If tax cuts starve the beast, then it logically follows that tax increases must feed the beast. This variation of STB was on full display in a Nov. 21 Wall Street Journal op-ed article by ... Republican operative Steve Moore ... and Ohio University economist Richard Vedder. The Moore-Vedder article argues strenuously that tax increases must never be considered no matter how big the deficit is. The reason, ... is that tax increases always feed the beast, leading to spending increases larger than the tax increase ...

By this logic, the tax increase enacted in 1993, which raised the top federal income tax rate to 39.6 percent from 31 percent, should have caused a massive increase in the federal budget deficit. In fact, it did not. ... And contrary to another commonly-held Republican idea — that all tax increases reduce revenue via the Laffer Curve — revenues rose from 17.5 percent of GDP in 1992 to 20.6 percent in 2000. ...

BRUCE BARTLETT'S work is informed by many years in government, including service on the staffs of Congressmen Ron Paul and Jack Kemp and Senator Roger Jepsen; as staff director of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress; senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House; and deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department during the George H.W. Bush administration.

 

[MaggieMae]

The appropriate option was intentionally left out of the poll... typical of extremists an idealogues...

the truth is that it is both.. .we need to increase revenues AND streamline spending.

But it's dumb as toast to cut government jobs in the midst of a fragile recovery.

but then again....

Far more dumb to raise taxes on the very people we need to turn loose of investment capital they're sitting on and start expanding and hiring again. If we can keep from increasing private sector unemployment by decreasing government jobs, that makes perfect sense. Many governmnt jobs are absolutely necessary and worth every penny, but they add nothing to the economy and only drain money from it. Non essential government jobs should be the very first to go when there isn't enough money to pay everybody.

The problem with that is that everybody thinks his/her job is necessary, and every agency head does too. The only way to get rid of non-essential government jobs is an across the board cut in annual funding per agency, with the requirement that they identify duplication and eliminate the fluff as a FIRST priority. That's an enormous job that would take much longer than just one budget cycle, however. There's so much overlapping of agency responsibilities that also needs to be addressed. And then there's the flip side where some agencies don't have ENOUGH staff to properly do the job. Food inspections is one that bothers me a great deal, when only 3% of all manufactured food products is inspected for contamination and it's even less for imports.

 

[MaggieMae]

The appropriate option was intentionally left out of the poll... typical of extremists an idealogues...

the truth is that it is both.. .we need to increase revenues AND streamline spending.

But it's dumb as toast to cut government jobs in the midst of a fragile recovery.

but then again....

Far more dumb to raise taxes on the very people we need to turn loose of investment capital they're sitting on and start expanding and hiring again. If we can keep from increasing private sector unemployment by decreasing government jobs, that makes perfect sense. Many governmnt jobs are absolutely necessary and worth every penny, but they add nothing to the economy and only drain money from it. Non essential government jobs should be the very first to go when there isn't enough money to pay everybody.

I have to say that I don't believe it is taxes or the threat of increased taxes that is what is hindering the recovery. Employers are not as concerned about taxes going up as they are about the economic well being of this country and the uncertainty of the future.

Health Care Reform is just one of the things that have employers concerned. The convoluted way that was written and presented leaves everyone guessing as to how it is ultimately going to affect their business. Their are so many things that are going on in this country such as the collapse of the housing market, banking industry, and auto industry that employers are hesitant to do anything at all.

Right now people and business are in survival mode. They are not going to do a damned thing until things begin to look up.

Moderate increases in the tax rate are not going to hinder the recovery. What needs to happen is that people need to begin to feel secure again. Quite frankly, we need another housing bubble or dot com bubble to brighten the day.

Immie

By now every business in the country should know how the health reform law is going to affect them. If they don't have access to CPAs, it's all clearly covered on the Internet.

 

[Foxfyre]

Far more dumb to raise taxes on the very people we need to turn loose of investment capital they're sitting on and start expanding and hiring again. If we can keep from increasing private sector unemployment by decreasing government jobs, that makes perfect sense. Many governmnt jobs are absolutely necessary and worth every penny, but they add nothing to the economy and only drain money from it. Non essential government jobs should be the very first to go when there isn't enough money to pay everybody.

I have to say that I don't believe it is taxes or the threat of increased taxes that is what is hindering the recovery. Employers are not as concerned about taxes going up as they are about the economic well being of this country and the uncertainty of the future.

Health Care Reform is just one of the things that have employers concerned. The convoluted way that was written and presented leaves everyone guessing as to how it is ultimately going to affect their business. Their are so many things that are going on in this country such as the collapse of the housing market, banking industry, and auto industry that employers are hesitant to do anything at all.

Right now people and business are in survival mode. They are not going to do a damned thing until things begin to look up.

Moderate increases in the tax rate are not going to hinder the recovery. What needs to happen is that people need to begin to feel secure again. Quite frankly, we need another housing bubble or dot com bubble to brighten the day.

Immie

By now every business in the country should know how the health reform law is going to affect them. If they don't have access to CPAs, it's all clearly covered on the Internet.

Really Maggie? My CPA says he doesn't have a clue. They haven't finished writing the regulation on it. They won't even write most of the regulation until after the 2012 election so that it won't hurt Obama's election chances.

But since you know exactly how Obamacare would affect my business or that of others in my family who also don't have a clue any more than anyone else, please enlighten us. We've all been waiting for some brilliant soul to explain it.

So explain please.

 

[MaggieMae]

Far more dumb to raise taxes on the very people we need to turn loose of investment capital they're sitting on and start expanding and hiring again. If we can keep from increasing private sector unemployment by decreasing government jobs, that makes perfect sense. Many governmnt jobs are absolutely necessary and worth every penny, but they add nothing to the economy and only drain money from it. Non essential government jobs should be the very first to go when there isn't enough money to pay everybody.

I have to say that I don't believe it is taxes or the threat of increased taxes that is what is hindering the recovery. Employers are not as concerned about taxes going up as they are about the economic well being of this country and the uncertainty of the future.

Health Care Reform is just one of the things that have employers concerned. The convoluted way that was written and presented leaves everyone guessing as to how it is ultimately going to affect their business. Their are so many things that are going on in this country such as the collapse of the housing market, banking industry, and auto industry that employers are hesitant to do anything at all.

Right now people and business are in survival mode. They are not going to do a damned thing until things begin to look up.

Moderate increases in the tax rate are not going to hinder the recovery. What needs to happen is that people need to begin to feel secure again. Quite frankly, we need another housing bubble or dot com bubble to brighten the day.

Immie

Have to agree Immie, except that part about moderate tax rate increases. First, it's a step in the wrong direction if you want to incentivize US and foreign investors to create or expand businesses here. Sure, there's a bunch of other factors: housing, heathcare costs, over regulations, energy, and a poisonous climate in Washington, one just doesn't know what they'll do next. People are going to have to begin to feel better about these issues and what we're doing about it.

I've said it many times, money flows to places where it gets the best return on ivestment. And the tax rate influences that decision, raising rates sends the wrong signal.

What will they invest in? We can't get alternative energy projects off the ground, none of them wants to take on the massive infrastructure modernization and/or repairs that are needed (because once it's done, then what?), there's only so much competition to go around when it comes to developing new IT toys, etc.

You're right, money flows to places where it gets the best return on investment, and investing in America doesn't seem to be a priority anymore.

Terrifying Truth: American Business No Longer Needs American Workers : Sierra Voices

 

[MaggieMae]

Far more dumb to raise taxes on the very people we need to turn loose of investment capital they're sitting on and start expanding and hiring again. If we can keep from increasing private sector unemployment by decreasing government jobs, that makes perfect sense. Many governmnt jobs are absolutely necessary and worth every penny, but they add nothing to the economy and only drain money from it. Non essential government jobs should be the very first to go when there isn't enough money to pay everybody.

I have to say that I don't believe it is taxes or the threat of increased taxes that is what is hindering the recovery. Employers are not as concerned about taxes going up as they are about the economic well being of this country and the uncertainty of the future.

Health Care Reform is just one of the things that have employers concerned. The convoluted way that was written and presented leaves everyone guessing as to how it is ultimately going to affect their business. Their are so many things that are going on in this country such as the collapse of the housing market, banking industry, and auto industry that employers are hesitant to do anything at all.

Right now people and business are in survival mode. They are not going to do a damned thing until things begin to look up.

Moderate increases in the tax rate are not going to hinder the recovery. What needs to happen is that people need to begin to feel secure again. Quite frankly, we need another housing bubble or dot com bubble to brighten the day.

Immie

Last year, our business, among other things, before we closed it down due to the crappy economic environment, was auditing financial records of businesses. And part of the process was asking the owner/manager for a general assessment of what he expected businesswise in the coming year.

Again and again and again I was told they would be laying off and/or would be trying to hold steady. No plans to expand or hire.

Why?

1. Because of the uncertainty of tax policy, most especially on businesses regarding Obamacare and Cap & Trade.

2. Because of the uncertainty of regulation being threatened mostly at the federal level.

3. Because of a government that thinks we can spend ourselves out of the mess we are in and there are no negative consequences to that.

These businesses are sitting on a pile of investment capital that they are not willing to risk to expand and hire when the risk is that uncertain. Give them certainty on a tax policy, regulation, and Obamacare that they can live with, and they'll be willing to begin to think about expanding, growing, and hiring again.

So I'll ask the same question (never answered) that I've asked many many times before. Where were they when none of that was a threat to their businesses? Why didn't the business and industry segments expand during a time of deregulation and tax windfalls? Why was it so many operated so close to the edge that when the credit crunch came, they found they couldn't make it and had to lay off or close up shop completely?

 

[MaggieMae]

If the government wants to fix this they will stop spending. They won't spend another dime on ANYTHING that does not absolutely have to be spent.

And then they will focus on making tax payers out of all of those who are not now tax payers.

If you add the first two, it amounts to more than 100%. There's something wrong with that picture, Rush.

 

[MaggieMae]

I have to say that I don't believe it is taxes or the threat of increased taxes that is what is hindering the recovery. Employers are not as concerned about taxes going up as they are about the economic well being of this country and the uncertainty of the future.

Health Care Reform is just one of the things that have employers concerned. The convoluted way that was written and presented leaves everyone guessing as to how it is ultimately going to affect their business. Their are so many things that are going on in this country such as the collapse of the housing market, banking industry, and auto industry that employers are hesitant to do anything at all.

Right now people and business are in survival mode. They are not going to do a damned thing until things begin to look up.

Moderate increases in the tax rate are not going to hinder the recovery. What needs to happen is that people need to begin to feel secure again. Quite frankly, we need another housing bubble or dot com bubble to brighten the day.

Immie

Last year, our business, among other things, before we closed it down due to the crappy economic environment, was auditing financial records of businesses. And part of the process was asking the owner/manager for a general assessment of what he expected businesswise in the coming year.

Again and again and again I was told they would be laying off and/or would be trying to hold steady. No plans to expand or hire.

Why?

1. Because of the uncertainty of tax policy, most especially on businesses regarding Obamacare and Cap & Trade.

2. Because of the uncertainty of regulation being threatened mostly at the federal level.

3. Because of a government that thinks we can spend ourselves out of the mess we are in and there are no negative consequences to that.

These businesses are sitting on a pile of investment capital that they are not willing to risk to expand and hire when the risk is that uncertain. Give them certainty on a tax policy, regulation, and Obamacare that they can live with, and they'll be willing to begin to think about expanding, growing, and hiring again.

No Foxy, it's because the evil, rich jet owners are stealing the "nations" wealth and hate poor people. Didn't you know that?

I don't think they hate poor people. They just love their own wealth more. After all, who would service those jets and clean their penthouse offices if not the, shall we say, less affluent?

 

[MaggieMae]

Last year, our business, among other things, before we closed it down due to the crappy economic environment, was auditing financial records of businesses. And part of the process was asking the owner/manager for a general assessment of what he expected businesswise in the coming year.

Again and again and again I was told they would be laying off and/or would be trying to hold steady. No plans to expand or hire.

Why?

1. Because of the uncertainty of tax policy, most especially on businesses regarding Obamacare and Cap & Trade.

2. Because of the uncertainty of regulation being threatened mostly at the federal level.

3. Because of a government that thinks we can spend ourselves out of the mess we are in and there are no negative consequences to that.

These businesses are sitting on a pile of investment capital that they are not willing to risk to expand and hire when the risk is that uncertain. Give them certainty on a tax policy, regulation, and Obamacare that they can live with, and they'll be willing to begin to think about expanding, growing, and hiring again.

No Foxy, it's because the evil, rich jet owners are stealing the "nations" wealth and hate poor people. Didn't you know that?

Well yeah, I know I'm supposed to swallow that line, but I've had it explained to me that I'm pretty dense.

The only way to increase government revenues that won't make things worse is to increase the revenues that everybody pays taxes on. Put unemployed people to work in the private sector and voila!! You have a tax payer. Get businesses growing, expanding, and spending in the USA again and Washington gets truckloads of additional cash. Put a tax on ALL earned income, including a modest tax on all working people, and voila! You have people who have no interest in staying under the 'poverty' treshhold any longer and who don't look to the other 50% of working Americans to pay their share. That will net all sorts of good things.

Make it too risky for business to turn loose of investment capital, make it more difficult to make a decent profit in this country so that doing business elsewhere looks more attractive, make it more difficult to make things here so we have to buy from others elsewhere, and make it more profitable to not work than to work . . . AND . . . continue to spend as if we were flush wish cash. . . .and you have a prescripton for a high misery index and a recession that will drag on and on and on.

Well sure, that's the formula, if only the Republicans would agree to the second paragraph.

 

[Foxfyre]

If the government wants to fix this they will stop spending. They won't spend another dime on ANYTHING that does not absolutely have to be spent.

And then they will focus on making tax payers out of all of those who are not now tax payers.

If you add the first two, it amounts to more than 100%. There's something wrong with that picture, Rush.

No dear. The graph is fine. There might be something wrong with your math skills, however. (Hint, the top 5% is included in the top 10%)

 

[MaggieMae]

I have to say that I don't believe it is taxes or the threat of increased taxes that is what is hindering the recovery. Employers are not as concerned about taxes going up as they are about the economic well being of this country and the uncertainty of the future.

Health Care Reform is just one of the things that have employers concerned. The convoluted way that was written and presented leaves everyone guessing as to how it is ultimately going to affect their business. Their are so many things that are going on in this country such as the collapse of the housing market, banking industry, and auto industry that employers are hesitant to do anything at all.

Right now people and business are in survival mode. They are not going to do a damned thing until things begin to look up.

Moderate increases in the tax rate are not going to hinder the recovery. What needs to happen is that people need to begin to feel secure again. Quite frankly, we need another housing bubble or dot com bubble to brighten the day.

Immie

By now every business in the country should know how the health reform law is going to affect them. If they don't have access to CPAs, it's all clearly covered on the Internet.

Really Maggie? My CPA says he doesn't have a clue. They haven't finished writing the regulation on it. They won't even write most of the regulation until after the 2012 election so that it won't hurt Obama's election chances.

But since you know exactly how Obamacare would affect my business or that of others in my family who also don't have a clue any more than anyone else, please enlighten us. We've all been waiting for some brilliant soul to explain it.

So explain please.

There are some basic nuts and bolts here:

What Obama's Health Care Reform Means for Small Businesses

And a comprehensive FAQ prepared by Blue Cross here:

Blue Cross Blue Shield

 

[MaggieMae]

If the government wants to fix this they will stop spending. They won't spend another dime on ANYTHING that does not absolutely have to be spent.

And then they will focus on making tax payers out of all of those who are not now tax payers.

If you add the first two, it amounts to more than 100%. There's something wrong with that picture, Rush.

No dear. The graph is fine. There might be something wrong with your math skills, however. (Hint, the top 5% is included in the top 10%)

I knew that. I'm just playing with you. However, pictures really don't tell the entire story, of course. People on the low-income scale do not have the luxury of endless cash flow, so if, say, and across the board 10% were levied on EVERYONE, the top tier would have no problem, while the bottom tier would have a serious problem. It's really that simple.