keepthefaith

It'll take a new bill passed in both houses to do that. Tough to do in this environment if it excludes some people. Republicans likely won't support more increases on the upper earners. How do people define "middle class" now?

Guess that makes me a preacher.

So if pot is legal we'll have to come up with laws to restrict driving under the influence of pot. New laws, new testing procedures, etc. What's all that gonna cost and what would we forecast for the death toll?

Yes. Profitable corporations pay Federal income taxes. In some states, like here in Illinois, corporations pay taxes at higher rates. We have a 3% flat personal income tax rate in this state. If you are an LLC or "S" corporation you pay an additional 1.5% tax so as a business owner I get to pay 50% more in state income tax than an employee pays. Larger corporations pay 7.3% income tax in Illinois.

The amount of income not subjected to tax can be debated. Personally I feel everyone should pay some Federal income tax. The current scenario (nearly half not paying Fed income tax) simply creates a class of people that don't have any regard for how the Federal Government spends tax dollars because they don't pay income tax into the system. It also creates a big political divide and an entitlement mentality for the same reasons. The left, of course, likes it this way. Everyone shares in the basic benefits that the Fed government provides (military protection and many others) and we should (with few exceptions) all pay for that IMO. Since we all have the right to vote (with very few exceptions), we should all share the perspective of being subject to Federal income tax.

Jeez, I leave the country for a week only to return and find you are still complaining about this?

Obama is proving to be unworthy and unqualified to be President but his citizenship has nothing to do with it.

The events and news of the past 15 months are nothing short of astounding.

This gem from last year says it all - "Kaminsky field"

I'm sure our moderator will call you an idiot for doing that.

I think Obama bamboozled the insurance companies. Congress will ultimately tell them who to cover, what to cover and how much they can charge to cover. The insurance companies will just push the paper at a thin profit margin.

You crack me up. Not deamonizing anyone. I simply feel that everyone should pay federal income taxes and have skin in the game. We should have more than 57% of the people in this country worrying about how their federal income tax dollars are spent. As for the rich, it is talent and risk taking that creates jobs and the resulting success makes some people "rich".

Of course. Everybody with income should pay at least some income tax IMO.

About 43% of the population http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/15/...in4945874.shtml

"State disenfranchisement laws disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minorities," the bill itself states. "Eight percent of the African-American population, or 2,000,000 African-Americans, are disenfranchised. Given current rates of incarceration, approximately one in three of the next generation of African-American men will be disenfranchised at some point during their lifetime. Hispanic citizens are also disproportionately disenfranchised based upon their disproportionate representation in the criminal justice system." You gotta love this kind of thinking. Once again, the minorities are victims.

Agree, and frankly those that pay zero in federal tax should not be allowed to vote in federal elections. No skin in the game, no vote.

Exactly. As for Ann, I think she'd be a blast to hang out with for an evening.

Liability insurance only is mandatory. That protects other motoroists. Insurance to protect your own car is optional. See the parallel...... Insure your own car in the event of damage or theft = optional Insure your own health in the event of sickness or accident = optional (until now).

Oh please. The tea party movement is simply based on fiscal responsibility. Take a look at some numbers (Federal spending, deficits, debt, interest on the debt and a history of entitlement costs). It's a worthy cause, the numbers don't lie. Taxpayers, by the way, don't pay for emergency room visits. Hospitals write off the bad debt they can't collect just like any other business. Don't take my comments as a vote for the staus quo. Reform was needed. Smart, common sense reform. We didn't get that. Our country was also founded on the principles of personal responsibility and self sufficiency. This bill is a further drift away from that.

Not at all. Reform was a good idea poorly executed by the Dems. All of you that support what was passed have this attitude that it was this or nothing, that no other alternative was available. A number of good ideas and real concerns were expressed in this process, but none were acted upon. Look back to Obama's "summit" with both parties. If you saw any of the highlights, you would have seen several reasonible concerns aired. Obama's response (along with Pelosi)was to push forward regardless of those concerns, concerns aired by citizens. There is a better way and most people feel that way. We elect people to get it right. They haven't.

Most were in favor of reforming to the health care system. I would wager heavily that any reasonible person (even you) that studied the challenges we faced in reforming health care would never have come up with a solution that looks like what we've now adopted after taking into consideration the interests of everyone and the desired results.

Very well said.

Yeah, it'll be tough to get it through the Senate I think, but there are always deals that can be cut with the Snow's and collins's of the world. Personally I feel that everyone should pay some taxes, everybody should have skin in the game. We have 40% + in this country that pay no Federal tax. Obama's comments and treatment of the upper wage earners really show the animosity he has toward financially successful people. He is a liberal's dream come true.

Yes, but his budget has to be approved in both the house and the senate, correct or just the house?

So if he allows the cuts to expire, about half of Americans get a tax increase including the middle class. That'll piss off a lot of voters.