OT - How is your tea?

[DreamStalker]

This Tea Party silliness is well, silly. Don't get me wrong. I'm all against the bailouts and have been ever since they were initiated ... you do remember who initiated them right? ... and I'm very much against continuing them.

I just did my tax forms this past weekend and e-filed (I procrastinated this year for first time in over 10 years). Turns out that our adjusted gross income went up from 2007 to 2008 by about 4% but our "effective" tax rate went down by 1% ... thus explaining our unexpected increase in our refund amount this year. The tax rate for 2009 is expected to be lowered even more except for those making over $250K who can expect an increase in their tax rate (not us). In any case, we are not hurting like so many others around the country (relatively speaking) ... I mean we don't have any retirement savings but we have our jobs and we are not on the verge of losing our home or having to file for bankruptcy. So I just don't understand all these folks I see protesting on TV, most of whom look like they make much less than $250K and thinking that their taxes have suddenly gone up.

Again, I do realize that a day of reckoning will come and someone will have to pay for these bailouts but the message from these Tea Party protesters seems a bit off in that unless they make over $250K, their taxes are more likely to have actually gone down. I don't like paying taxes either but the other thing to keep in mind is that among the tax rates of coutries around the world, check out where the US ranks ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_rates_around_the_world

Finally, a bit of trivia ... the first to levy a US income tax (after the Boston Tea Party mind you) was none other than the founding father of the "modern" Repblican Party, President Lincoln (oh the irony of it all) ... not sure if "modern" has anything to do with current GOP (prolly not ... but the GOP and Fox seem to be behind the marketing this Tea Party silliness).

[Babette]

I was ready to bean you, then I read your post. Good on you, DS! Ridiculous doesn't begin to cover my feelings on this.

Cheers,
B.

[roster]

....... (prolly not ... but the GOP and Fox seem to be behind the marketing this Tea Party silliness).

I do agree it is silliness.

I don't give the people showing up at the rallies much credit for anything.

But on the local TV there was one lad in front of the camera who said, "The Democrats and Republicans together are ruining the country's finances. We need all of them replaced in Washington."

The reporter asked him if his taxes were higher (he did not appear to be a high-income type). His reply was, "No. I am concerned that Washington is destroying the future economy for everyone by overspending."

I will occasionally watch Fox TV because they do have libertarians on at times. But I am not going to sit through an inferior news source waiting to see a favorite speaker.

BTW, check the CSPAN stations' weekend schedule if you want to see some good libertarian discussions.

[alnhwrd]

Personally, I am always in favor of the exercise of free speech and assembly, even when I disagree with it.

I think the feeling of these people is that while federal income taxes have not yet risen, spending has increased a LOT, whether you call it stimulus or redistributing wealth or whatever. Logic follows that if the government spends more, the money for it must come from somewhere, and the middle class taxpayer's name has always been "somewhere". There are only so many "rich" people to tax. Also, regardless of what happens at the federal level, every state and local government is raising taxes on everything right and left, at least here in Oregon. And the only reason given for the increase is that "taxes on ______ haven't been raised in ten years" or "taxes in the rest of the country on _______ are higher".

The concept is that 28% federal income tax and 10% state income tax and 12% Social Security tax and 7% sales tax and $3000/yr in property tax and and $21/gallon liquor tax and $1.50 per pack cig tax and now they want to add a mileage tax to my car because it doesn't use enough gas to keep the government happy is just too much. And it goes on, and on, and on. If they can't increase your taxes they increase the fees for the services that you already paid taxes for. But they are laying off police, closing prisons and teachers have to take a cut in pay. So the Taxed Enough Already folks seem to have a point.

BTW, I am not going to any rally and don't watch much Fox, except their financial guy!

[roster]

....... don't watch much Fox, except their financial guy!

I don't know who that is. Is he any good? Did he warn about the financial meltdown in advance?

[DreamStalker]

....... don't watch much Fox, except their financial guy!

I don't know who that is. Is he any good? Did he warn about the financial meltdown in advance?

That was Ron Paul and his advisor Peter Schiff silly ... nobody on Fox.

I watch the Saturday morning Fox financial shows too though

... and I agree that free speech and assembly is a great thing even if it is silly protest. Heck, many on this forum will vouch for me when it comes to being silly, as I often rank pretty high up there.

[Eureka]

My tea was great. I'm sorry that you think I am "silly" and that the meeting on the steps of the capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky was "silly."
I don't come to this forum to be told I am "silly" -- I come to receive help for my therapy, and when able to contribute a little to help someone else. It doesn't help for any of us to call the other "silly." We are all flawed people seeking to help and be helped.

[The Texan]

I don't think these "tea parties" were silly, I think they were outright unpatriotic. All they promote is dissent, not anything constructive. When these people can come up with something constructive I might listen, until then, I will give them the infamous salute.

[roster]

My tea was great. I'm sorry that you think I am "silly" and that the meeting on the steps of the capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky was "silly."
I don't come to this forum to be told I am "silly" -- I come to receive help for my therapy, and when able to contribute a little to help someone else. It doesn't help for any of us to call the other "silly." We are all flawed people seeking to help and be helped.

You might want to develop a tougher skin than that if you are going to protest anything on the steps of the capitol.

If you are only interested in help with CPAP from this site, then stay out of topics marked "OT". It is short for Off-Topic.

I would encourage you to join in the political discussion here if you can desensitize yourself to the crap we throw around. Varying points of view help me to learn (or at least invent new arguments to address them ). Your experience in Frankfort would be interesting to me.

You are welcome in any threads, CPAP or OT, but ultimately suit yourself!

Best regards,

[hobbs]

We covered the "Million Man March!". We also have a time machine we are not telling anyone about.

[JeffH]

Just a bunch of not very intelligent people being worked by ultra rich right wingers....again.

About the Boston Tea Party. It wasn't about HIGH TAXES

The protest movement that culminated with the Boston Tea Party was not a dispute about high taxes. The price of legally imported tea was actually reduced by the Tea Act of 1773. Protestors were instead concerned with a variety of other issues. The familiar "no taxation without representation" argument, along with the question of the extent of Parliament's authority in the colonies, remained prominent.[39] Some regarded the purpose of the tax program—to make leading officials independent of colonial influence—as a dangerous infringement of colonial rights.[40] This was especially true in Massachusetts, the only colony where the Townshend program had been fully implemented.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_tea_party

[Karla1958]

Drinking Sleepytime Tea and going to bed! Everyone else can worry about the government. They do what they want to do, they don't care about anyone... I'd rather sleep.

[roster]

This was just shown on our local TV news from the local Tea Party:

Reporter: What are you protesting?
Lady protester: The country is going to socialism.
Reporter: What is socialism?
Lady: Er, I don't really know.

[Babette]

Commie pinko bed-wetting SOCIALISTS!

LOL,
B.

[Wulfman]

< rant mode on >

I guess I'm in favor of ANYTHING that will get the attention of our elected representatives.....to tell them they can't keep doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. Borrowing (massive amounts of) money from other countries (especially those who don't have our best interests at stake) is insanity. We went from the largest creditor nation to the largest debtor nation in most of our lifetimes.
We need to vote them ALL out and keep doing it until they understand the part about "government BY the people".
Being a politician (elected representative) should NOT be a lifetime career.....nor should they be entitled to vote for all of their own (lifetime) benefits. It's long past time for term limits. They don't read the legislation they're passing but somehow all of the pork/earmarks seem to get included......but then they claim to not know what they voted on......which proves that they're corrupt and incompetent.

< rant mode off >

Den