Looks like an Obama landslide. He gives a good speech and is handsome. I personally like him but abhor his ultra left wing thinking. Oh well! Anyone dug into what exactly Barack stands for as he won't really say on his campaign other than he is not Bush? He is as far left as Bush is right wing, way out of the mainstream. I'll make one prediction though, no tax cuts for anyone who pays income taxes. Probably credits for non income taxpayers. A Democrat cutting taxes is quite a funny one to me! The last Democrat to cut taxes was Kennedy and clearly the highest marginal rates were beyond excessive at 70 or 90% back in 1960. Give me just one example of a Democrat who cut them or even voted to cut them after Kennedy. Funny he says he'll cut taxes for 95% of Americans when only 65% pay taxes with the top 5% paying 60% of all taxes. It is highly unlikely he will get much more out of the top 5% no matter how much he and the Democrat congress raises rates. The law of unintended tax consequences, raise taxes and bring in less. Cut taxes and bring in more revenue.

I will make one prediction though, he won't get any more capital gains taxes out of me when he raises them, I'll wait it out until reasonableness returns.

Bush Jr. actually gave a big tax breaks for people earning in the $millions at the sacrifice of the middle class. Now with Obama, those ritzy rich will be taxed heavily once more, and unfortunately, the middle class will still remain with the same taxes. The middle classes those earning $250,000 and below will have the same tax under Obama, so really no break, but Obama will restore tremendous tax burdens on those earning over, and that is what some of the Joe plumber debates have stated forth.

McCain or Obama, I will pay the same taxes. After winning the presidency, most likely, Obama and the democratic senate and congress will rubber stamp to tax the middle class after they can't get enough from the ritzy and ruling classes. That will be a couple of years down. Already, he is assured of winning and trying to brainwash everybody that recession is too deep to recover from, and so he will surely increase taxes on everyone.

If anyone deserves a tax break it is the so called "ritzy rich". It is the rich who by far pays the vast majority of the taxes in the US, not the middle class. I don't like playing the Beggar thy neighbor game the Democrats continually play (putting one class against another). I don't know about others, but as for me, the last 8 years have been good years. Even though the liberal press keeps trying to tell me differently. - Millet

Democratanomics is tax the "rich." However, what they don't tell you is that the "rich" includes you the college graduate making a very modest salary. I experienced tax the "rich" me when I was a new college graduate circa 1977 making $16,500 in California the land of the lefties(and fruits and nuts). The lefties in California and Washington took 60% of any raise I got. Where is the incentive to work harder and give 60% to taxes? I do not exaggerate either, the top incremental tax rate on a single person in California was 11%. Federal incremental was 49%. Those kind of tax rates are socialistic by any measure. I partially solved that problem by moving out of California to Texas. At least in Texas the lefties only got 49% of any raise I got leaving me at least more than half. Now after taxes being cut as the lefties howled at the injustice of it, they take only 35% of any raise I get. That ratio is a lot better to me. Take from the "rich" and give to the politically correct poor as determined by the lefties. It is a national disgrace that the top 5% pay 60% of the income taxes and the bottom 40% pay nothing! Now Obama wants the top 5% to pay more and raise the pay-nothings to 60%. The bottom should pay something, not nothing. Now he wants to start refunding them their Social Security taxes. I hate the Social Security system but at least the Social Security system forces even the lowest paid worker to pay at least something however minimal at 8.25% of wages. How I hope the top 5% don't get too discouraged by bearing any more tax burden. The lefties will then raise them on me, a member of the top 10%. The result of the bottom 40% paying nothing is that the politicians that get elected are the ones that offer the bottom 40% the most. What a way to run a country. Here comes the war on poverty again from the 60s. However, this time will be different of course The last time we had a war on poverty, poverty won. Ponder this before voting for a Democrat, to paraphrase and corrupt the old cowboy sage Will Rogers saying, "The Democrats never met a tax they didn't like!"

When I was a grad student in California, earning about $36 grand per year, my tax was less than $2 grand and got a refund from state of California. I have many legal tax deductions including all tuition and other fees. Of course I was married and have kids, so I also got earned income and child care tax credits. When my daughter got very sick and almost died, the government paid for all expenses at the hospital, and my daughter recovered, and we didn't pay a single penny.

When I graduated and went to work at Silicon Valley, I was more than happy to pay my fair share of taxes, which was almost equal to what I used to earn annually as a student. I am more than happy to pay taxes knowing that at least somewhere, it might be put to good use, like what happened to us, in times of great financial needs.

As far as I'm concerned, anything other than a flat tax is stealing. The money that the rich have is theirs not mine. The money that the government spends should be taken equally from all Americans not only to avoid what I consider thievery, but so that the politicians are equally accountable to every American. For a politician to say that they are only going to cut taxes on the poor and middle class while raising taxes on the rich is nothing more than a pathetic bribe to buy votes. If a politician was standing on a street corner handing out $5 bills from his wallet to buy votes from people walking by, most people would think that was unscrupulous. Yet when a politician uses other peoples money and passes out $1000's, people somehow think that's noble.

Now on the flip side, when a candidate claims that they will lower taxes, that too is a pathetic bribe to buy votes. You never hear a candidate say that they are going to leave taxes alone. Then again, bribery is all that works anymore. Just wait until there's no money left to bribe anyone. . . . then again, lies will always work also. I'll run for President in 4 years and give everyone a $100,000 tax rebate and a free dwarf citrus tree. I also have a plan to cure cancer and greening disease. Elect Phillip Dauben for President.

Phillip

A big problem for California is that a full 85 percent of the state's budget are entitlement programs. This means that only 15 percent of the budget can be adjusted up or down. Entitlement programs (generally give away programs) never go away. With such a high percentage of budge fixation, how is California going to improve their situation? The people of California voted these entitlement programs in, now they have to live with the annual cost. I cannot feel sorry for them. They made their bed, now it time to..........- Millet

I think the main difference between the parties can be summed up in the answer to the question; Who is ultimately responsible the government or the individual person? For me the answer is the individual person. People should take care of one’s self, one’s family (close then distant), fellow church members, if one is the owner or decision maker of a business need to take care of his workers, others. I do believe people are very charitable, if given the chance. The government should not be a charity organization.

I do not mind paying taxes but it should be spent properly. I like the idea of a flat tax anything over the poverty line is taxed the same rate. Then if politicians want to have a tax break they just raise the poverty line from 40k to 50k and everyone benefits. I also like the idea of consumptions tax. If you use or buy something one should pay for it. This may encourage more savings. I would be OK with an urban gas tax, as long as the majority of the tax improves public transportation. This would help reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Everyone should pay Social Security. But SS is a mandatory savings program run by the government for retirement. Young individuals should be allowed to opt partially out of SS. There would still be a mandatory saving program but with a little more individual responsibility (IRA, 401). Before there was SS what did people do? They had to rely on other, mostly family member. Should this still be the case? Parents took care of us, we should be happy to take care of them. It should not be looked on as a burden but as a privilege. My grandparents took care of a distant relative that never got married.

Government should take care of the thing the individual cannot do; such as national defense.

It is not the government’s responsibility to give healthcare to everyone. But it should encourage employers to offer it and help the others get it. Tax breaks, HSA. I do believe the healthy should pay less for healthcare, but the ill should not pay excessive amounts for it and they should be able to find some and not be excluded. The government can help with that somehow. For example a healthy person should pay ¼ that of a sick person or said in another way a sick person should not pay more than 4 times that of a health person. The insurance companies would then figure out their minimum price for a healthy person. The premiums of five people cover the cost of all five.

The government should help healthcare to be save through licensing of doctors, so they have been educated, trained, and keeping up.
It is not the government’s responsibility to give everyone a place to live. But it should make sure the place one lives is safe. Building codes, fire inspections. If a family member needs a place to stay help them out, if hunger feed them.

The government should encourage education; there should be standards that are met, national standards. Government funded, locally run (public school or vouchers). The only way to test this is through test. Colleges require standard test for admission ACT, SAT, medical school-MCAT, dental school-DAT, law school- LSAT, and many other (GMAT, TOEFL). So why not have standard test for progression to the next grade or to graduate. There are special needs children, I myself was one, and there are ways to deal with them.

Sex education should be done by the parents. If they want to teach abstinence then if their child becomes a parent, they need to take care of the new family member. It is not the government’s role to mandate safe sex education, and/or practices.

The government should not make us eat healthy but what we eat is safe to eat.

I believe .....The least government is the best government. (Thomas Jefferson) .

I believe....That government is best which governs least (Thomas Paine)

I believe..... The government "should not' waste the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. (Thomas Jefferson)

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There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters." (In a year or two you fill in a name)

Millet

I hate to tell the truth, but Social Security is transfer payment from the young to the old, not a savings plan. Transfer payment = welfare payment. All the money ever collected has been spent in the year collected. Last I checked spending 100% of what you take in is not a way to save money. All the excess not paid out as Social Security payments has been spent as general revenue. It is just the question of when the amount collected is not enough to pay out Social Security payments. The pile of IOUs that have been being written to continue on with the illusion that there is a Trust Fund are worth just exactly the paper they are written on, exactly nothing.

In this day and age, what purpose does it serve for government payments to retirees who are not destitute other than to make more people recipients of government checks?

I would have $$ millions and no need to work or for government handouts when retired had I invested the $300,000+ me and my company to the tune of 16.5% of wages have chucked down the Social Security rathole in the last 31 years of my adult working life.

Social Security will continue on until it bankrupts the country or more likely the benefits of the non-destitute are taxed away to nothing, something I expect in my lifetime and it has already started in that 50% of benefits over a small amount are now taxed (I am 54 years old this year). Far too many have been brainwashed that a government transfer payment is deserved by all. The same has happened in several South American countries in the last 20 years. Guess what? When given the choice, over 80% opted out of socialism. Now the latest is the South American politicians are wanting to nationalize the savings of the people who opted out!

More Democratonoics as usual! Rob from the productive and give to the unproductive.

Yes, I know that it is not a true “saving plan”. When it was enacted, payments went out, no time for saving. The collective youth or working stiffs pay for the retirees. But it would be nice to convert it to a mandatory “savings plan” and away from a tax.

Doesn't SSI (supplimentary security income or Soc. Sec. Income?) come from our Soc.Sec.? There are many disabled ppl collecting this - as is my crazy, lazy neighbor. And, he got extra $$ for wife & each of his kids under 18. I KNOW he is capable of working. Can crazy ppl be "disabled" (if so, I'm applying!)? He knows about all the freebies out there...food stamps, fuel assistance & whatever else is there. They eat better than me & have nicer clothes, and spend their time watching me & thinking of ways to get more free stuff.
And then there was Reagan who decided to label drug addicts & alcoholics as "disabled" & they get SSI. That lasted several years & then got reversed--different pres. We are still supporting them though.
There are disabled ppl who need help, but I get angry with ppl collecting who are able to work.