Palin: Obama's Tax Plans Could Mean Nightmare Communist State

Sarah Palin had a few memorable moments during her campaign stop in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday. But the most eye-opening of them all came, it would appear, when the Alaska Governor somehow drew a connection between Barack Obama's tax policy and an encroaching, nightmarish, communist government. The Illinois Democrat, she hysterically suggested, would, through his proposals, create a country "where the people are not free."

"See, under a big government, more tax agenda, what you thought was yours would really start belonging to somebody else, to everybody else. If you thought your income, your property, your inventory, your investments were, were yours, they would really collectively belong to everybody. Obama, Barack Obama has an ideological commitment to higher taxes, and I say this based on his record... Higher taxes, more government, misusing the power to tax leads to government moving into the role of some believing that government then has to take care of us. And government kind of moving into the role as the other half of our family, making decisions for us. Now, they do this in other countries where the people are not free. Let us fight for what is right. John McCain and I, we will put our trust in you."

That yarn goes well beyond what Palin and McCain have, to this point, been comfortable asserting: mainly that Obama is proposing economic socialism. But there are a few things to keep in mind here: the McCain-Palin ticket does not oppose a progressive tax system. In fact, back in 2000, the Arizona Republican said rich people paid more in taxes because they could afford to do so.

"I think the first people who deserve a tax cut are working Americans with children that need to educate their children," he said, "and they're the ones that I would support tax cuts for first."

More importantly, Obama's tax plans are less progressive than those in place during the Clinton years. In fact, the rates that people making over $250,000 would have to pay would be the same as during the 1990s -- a time definitely not marked by the absence of freedoms.

Comments

[Syrkadian]

Why can't a candidate just come out and decide to make a flat tax that everyone pays the same percentage on? It seems to only be talked about like a pipe dream. Anyone?

[jaslyn]

Why do people argue reasonably when Palin makes outlandish statements?? 'you're property, your income, your investments would belong to everybody'???!!! She's a lying lunatic!!! Why doesn't she just say that Obama plans to enslave everyone and send them to work in the caves of Afghanistan? Are we gonna answer that reasonably as well? This woman is not entitled to any responses until she starts behaving and speaking like someone with a brain addressing real issues and stop the outlandish accusations. And knowing who her base is, they eat all this stuff up because they're so closeminded and afraid.

[Debbie1996]

Actual if you listened to the testimony held by Congress last week on changes to the 401K program you might not think it was so outlandish to bring up. George Miller and Jim McDermott listened to Teresa Ghilarducci advocate doing away with 401Ks and IRAs, requiring participant to transfer them into a government retirement account with a mandatory 5% contribution and flat $600 gov't contribution (whether you worked or not and NOT tied to income) and then you would get a guaranteed income stream at retirement. I know I am extremely confident that just like Social Security, this program will be well managed and am ready to sign over my IRA to them.

[rshrink]

You know tho, those folks from Illinois have been talkin more bout Marxism since Obama has been servin as a legeezlater, you betcha! There! SP, uh I mean RS

[feo]

"We’re set up, unlike other states in the union, where it’s collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs."

--Sarah Palin

Secret socialist?

[DMM1029]

To anyone who has actually read Marx, they know we already are much more socialist than in the past. Marx did not live long enough to see if his main theory held up. But, it appears it has. Capitalists cycle to socialists, then back to capitalists. Look at Russia. They flirt with democracy, but they are now capitalist with a large C. Same for China. Their gov. is still controlling. But many stories out of China suggest a whole lot more capitalism now. We, on the other hand, prove Marx right by things like the patriot act, homeland security and such. If you can, take an objective look and overall Marxist theory, and draw your own conclusions. Don't be led by the media morons.

Dave McGlaughli­n--Harrisb­urg, Pa.

[HighEarner]

Finally, I am financially conservative and believe we should only spend what we earn- as citizens and as a country. That means we need to raise taxes. We spend what, 10- 15 billion per month in Iraq and are spending close to a trillion to try and jump start the economy? That money has to come from somewhere, and I prefer that it not be my great grandchildren (my children are all now young) so we need to pay now. America's tax system is based on the ability to pay. Who do you think should pay? The family of 4 with a total income of $50,000? Joe the Plumber should shut up. I pay more than he does (my tax burden was six figures in 07) but am willing to pay my fair share.

[luckyrico1]

Thank you speaking up, HighEarner. I also believe in living at your means. The current administration has left our children and grandchildren with a tremendous burden. WE NEED GREATER REVENUES TO PAY FOR THE FOLLY OF IRAQ among many other things. We need to stop the loop-holes and stop subsidizing Big Oil and Agribusiness get them to pay their fair share. It's the right thing to do for future generations.

[HighEarner]

"Strong women like Gov Sarah Palin make you feel like your are less of a man? Do you still beat your wife? Just wanted to know where your hatred for women comes from. But I'm glad to see you are one of obama's groupies that will support him no matter what because he will need all the help he can get. The American people know that Obama is a strutting leftist radical.He is unpatriotic and his wife hates America.Ob­ama recently made fun of white Pennsylvan­ians..call­ing them religious,gun totting bigots.He is an elitist snob.This slime is the candidate of the sheep like black masses and liberal twerps."

Oh, where to begin.

Obama's wife hates America? Are you kidding? Did you miss the video of her as the keynote speaker at the Alaska separatist convention (her husband was and is a member) where she sat on the dais while the founder said that he is an Alaskan, not an American and will not fly the American flag because this is not his country?

CONTINUED

[Shylo]

There are a lot of people, apparently, who really, really dislike Sarah Palin. Fine. They are entitled to their opinion. But their visceral distaste obscures the fact that the public remains fascinated with the governor of Alaska. Consider:

1) Palin's speech at the Republican convention was the highest rated convention speech in history.

2) Palin's debate with Joe Biden was the most-watched of this year's presidential debates, the highest-rated veep debate in history, and drew more viewers than the 1992 three-way presidential debate between Bush 41, Clinton, and Perot.

3) Palin's appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend gave the show its highest ratings in 14 years.

Shouldn't pundits be spending less time dismissing Palin, and more time investigating the strong pull she exerts on the public?

[citizen104]

Don't understand it. I have to turn the channel whenever she's on. I try to listen, but my head starts to hurt. I guess someone else will have to explain the fascination. I do find Elizabeth Hasselbeck's imitation of Palin amusing. She does the same moue and finger waving. Guess she's got political aspirations also. I did like Elizabeth when she was doing the fashion show. She had good taste.

[luckyrico1]

Palin is hateful and sarcastic to the Democrats. That's why she has such a following. People love to hate, especially in the name of god. Her "public" is small. Her "pull" is like a bad car wreck; you don't want to look, but you have to. She is a bad car wreck and I'll be glad when it's cleaned up and moved to the side of the road.

[gadjitfreek]

"But their visceral distaste obscures the fact that the public remains fascinated with the governor of Alaska."

Slime molds fascinate me too, but are similarly repellent.

Women who love her do so because she is "just like them", and men who love her just want to have sex with her.

[LoveOverGold]

My post has been scrubbed? Why? Should I just post "wtf" and that passes? I don't know why I bother sometimes.

[luckyrico1]

I've had that happen to me as well. I don't know why it happens. Your voice does need to be heard even if there are people who don't want to listen.

[gaysofla]

Share the wealth Baby! Share the wealth! Last year I paid a much higher percentage of my income to the IRS than Sarah Palin did and she makes three times more than I do! Things are gonna change!

[Star2000dancer]

She is soooooooooo clueless & dangerous. Who & what kind of Americans can stomach listening to her except the hate groups/

[frantaylor]

A Nightmare Communist state where people get free money for sitting around and doing nothing.

Sounds like Alaska to me.

[luckyrico1]

You betcha. Take from the lower 48 and give to Alaska. Spread the wealth Republican Ted Stevens and Sarah Palin style.

[Poldolino]

You guys baffle me.

Social democracy bad? Some of you guys actually think Sweden is some kind of nightmare? How about Switzerland, I bet you think they're commies too. Gotta be the happiest commies I've ever seen, the Swedes and the Swiss.

I've never known an American who came to Europe and wasn't completely blown away by the level of public services here. Good transportation, maybe a swimming pool in your neighbourhood, well-maintained roads, health services you wouldn't believe. Enough polling places at elections that you can get in and out in a few minutes.

I wonder if Americans are so skeptical about "government" because all the government agencies there are usually miserably underfunded, ramshackle operations. It doesn't have to be that way, though.

[frantaylor]

Last time I went to Canada, I was greeted at the border by a funny young man who shouted out, "Welcome to civilization"

[Alexey]

Did she travel? I don’t believe she even knows such words - “Sweden” or “Switzerland”. I don’t think she knows how people live outside Wasilla.

[luckyrico1]

She can see Russia from Alaska and she just knows it's bad. It's the government of Ted Stevens that we all should be afraid of.

Not the government of Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, England, etc... But then, it's her "followers" that have never been out of their own counties, much less to a country whose government services are well run.

It's not the government we should be afraid of. It's the lobbyists who control the lawmakers. That is why our government is so poorly run.

[Artemis34]

Quite good.

We say "persuit of happiness" but the Danes have actually got it!

See happiest people on earth:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/14/60minutes/main3833797.shtml

A secure society, with a well funded social satety net, deserves much of the credit for the Danes' happiness. I'm glad they are so decent as to recognized that members of a civil society have obligations toward one another.

[DemoMom]

What I cannot forgive over the last many years is the way that the right-wing (with the encouragement of Limbaugh, Savage and the rest of the talking heads on the radio) have split this country and fostered so much hatred. The rantings of Shylo and Missouri22250 are an example of this - it's such an "us or them" mentality. We can agree to differ - that's what you do in a so-called Democracy - but we do not need to engage in name-calling and smear campaigns.
It is the height of hypocrisy for Palin to suggest that Obama is a "communist" when it is she and her supporters who want to limit the rights of women, gay people and anyone who is deemed to be "un-American". Her vision of America is one that I cannot embrace but please don't insult my intelligence by casting Barack Obama as a "communist". Just shows how ignorant she really is. I wish it were November 4 already - beam me up, Scotty!

[PitBullsBite]

Amen sister!

[4everdem]

Preach it girl!

[lucite]

Running out of town with your business to avoid paying taxes is UNPATRIOTIC. In time of war the Large corporate mafia, the same people whom rushed to war, left the country to avoid paying taxes. Support our troops? Or do they mean support corporate bonuses? McCain now is siding with these corporate neo-cons, it is the democracts fault that they took jobs out of the country because of tax rates. Are you saying McCain that this is OK? COUNTRY FIRST?

[Earthmover08]

Is this anything like an Ottoman administration in Washington coming to your door to take your gold for the "honor" of fighting anyone who is vilified and taking your children to serve as Janisarries? (chants of "USA, USA..."?)

I don't know what disgusts me more - to think that so many qualified Republicans were skipped over to pick Gov. Annie Oakley (you betcha there's Russians up here, like the Putin guy), the hate campaign that the RNP generated this year (the same machine that smeared McCain in South Carolina in 2000), or the Joe McCarthyist tactics of Rush and Sean - poor Joe the Plumber (McCain was the one who brought him up repeatedly then the press sharks went after him.), calling out Senator Obama using "Hussein" or "squirrel" (since they have no logical discussion of issues), ad nauseum. Freedom of speech was intended to allow discussion or protest of political ideas, not political parties, porn, slurs, smears, loose truths, and all of the other elements of the Axis of Shame (Sean and Rush).

"Let freedom ring!" should not mean "Don't tax the rich!"

Real independence means freedom from the poisonous teas that skinheads and pundits brew. Kenyans are about 80% Christian. Senator Obama's father was born as a British subject of what was then the colony of Kenya. The Muslim reference was fear-mongering, ignorant, and drew the attention or support of people who meet those criteria.

[fredfep]

Missouri22250 :

We would have fun. With illegal immigrants our farming &meat packing plants would work efficiently, yours all go under. Home schooling & disdain for modern science would make a backwards country. Being as dense as you all are, they'll force you to do things for them like fix the roads, you'll call them socialist as you never have been told the word fascist.

Your children will revolt & overthrow you, your country soon the most backwards in the world. You beg your leaders about it, they'll say "fools, we were using & manipulating you , you don't think we really believed the simplistic sophomoric stuff we fed you, do you?

Who would last longer? You sucking your thumbs, no one left to hate until your children grow up, living in the most poverty stricken lowest educated place, no more government aide, no more government? Banning gay marriage, that and 50 bucks will buy you a gallon of gas, bought from us, you won't remember how to refine it. You'll want to declare war on us, but lack infrastructure, will mean no fuel for the jets, no air traffic control, you fired all those union scum, no ports for supplies. We own most of the coasts, your ports fallen apart from lack of resources & no taxation nor civic participation except at the weekly hatred rallies.

You people should just stick to the sites where you can all rave to yourselves about communists and witches or other anachronistic nonsense