This week, Rick Perry closed out his presidential run while Newt Gingrich's second ex-wife claimed he'd wanted an open marriage -- and President Obama brought down the house at the Apollo by revealing his heretofore hidden inner-Al Green. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney, unable to counter the hardening narrative that he's a tone deaf, out of touch mega-millionaire, didn't help matters with his response to being asked about his tax returns. When you are being booed for lack of financial transparency by a GOP debate crowd, odds are you've probably royally screwed up. It's never a good idea -- and especially not this year -- to be seen as completely out of touch with the economic concerns of ordinary Americans. Perhaps as he hobbles into Florida, he'll be helped by a shadowy new super PAC, Rich Kids for Romney (see the group's first ad here).
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Rick Perry drops his presidential bid - Political Hotsheet - CBS News
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Rick Perry drops his presidential bid - Political Hotsheet - CBS News
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There isn't any truth that a President can fix anything at all. It is a fallacy that “their way” is the only "American" way. It is tantamount to putting blinders on the voters. To do take them off, we need to really see the facts, not political opinions . Why leave the facts to those who finally are fed up and go out onto the streets and protest?
What if we take a serious look at how one popular retail store has altered it's "profits" to their employees. Show us what the CEO's of any well known retail store (for instance) once were paid, then to now;. Tell us what the people on down the line earned from then to now. What benefits changed and to which category of employee, from then to now. What opportunity to work up to and through middle management, from then to now. What full time jobs within the company from then to now. What profit margins changed and if all the employees circumstances changed or just some. (showing how the % changed)
If we only know that Congress obstruction isn't working.
When Obama took office the debt was around $9-$10.5 Trillion depending on whom you believe and at that time projected to hit 67% of GDP and $15 Trillion by 2020. We are now over 100% of GDP and $16.1 Trillion for 2012 - 8 years earlier than expected. 100% of GDP is the tipping as Euroland discovered.
Not only 50% more debt in just 4 years, the scale of the numbers are nothing we have ever seen.
Yet the top 1% already pay 37% of all federal tax. Obama's budget was voted down by the Senate 97-0, yet he still spends like it was approved. 3+ years, still no budget.
In addition the current administrations new estimate for 2020 is around $25 Trillion in debt along justified with an amazing 4+ annual GDP growth rate. Since government is growing as a % of GDP the private sector core, which, conversely is shrinking, must to grow far faster than those ridiculously rosy numbers.
Obama asked Jobs what it would take to bring Apple manufacturing jobs back to America, Jobs said those jobs will never return. The reason had nothing to do with Salary. Ability for management to execute its vision was key.
A slo-mo train wreck until we prism every decision on net private sector job impact.
The only way to reverse that trend is to prevent corporations from racing to the bottom and/or give them more incentives to stay here and/or allow conditions to get so bad worldwide that a revolt against naked capitalism gains international momentum to reverse this trend in an international manner -- common working conditions, etc. that make international trade more fair with respect to service and product input costs.
As far as the 15% rate goes, ordinary income already got taxed at the full rate before any investment and gain can occur. (One must make money at some point, paying the higher rate). The rate is lower to encourage investment. Remember this is the rate Clinton lowered.
That is why comparing investment income tax to ordinary income tax like salary is disingenuous. Even Buffet knows that. In addition lowering the payroll tax is defunding an already underfunded Social Security system. Payroll tax is part of your retirement. This is another particularly disingenuous point. Indeed a teacher and a firefighter in the NY area with a home could take home as little as 40% of what they make, between state, local, real estate. This occurs not because of what is fair, but because government knows that with the debt they have they must hit the middle class. Obama knows that. $12 to cross a bridge, lotteries, etc points to a spending problem.
In the end one must understand that income inequality cannot be fixed with government as the middle man. A revenue neutral tax reform is called for.
Can anyone spare an extra $25 Trillion?
The President is now faced with economic Phase 2-we’ve recovered, are heading down the more positive economic trends road, but now long term solutions need to be addressed-debt, revenue deficiencies, infrastructure, US jobs, resurrection of the US manufacturing sector, fair taxation, a level global trade playing field, etc. This is the message that the President is going to have to powerfully and objectively address in this SOTU address.
IMO there’s no better dissertation about what voters really want/demand going forward than what Thomas Friedman described in his excellent NYT editorial today entitled, “American Voters: Still Up for Grabs. ” If the President wants a summary of what his SOTU address should be about, he should probably read Tom's editorial. Americans all know the political generalities, but they demand to hear specific, tangible solutions regarding current challenges going forward, followed by action.
President Obama has to work with that, or accomplish nothing at all. That is a very slender tightrope to walk and the President has done well. If he had a Congress that would put the nation first, but make vows that prevent it, he could be doing much better, no doubt about it.
What we can see from the Republican candidates is that they are owned by their Republican leaders. We can measure that by the flip-flops and condoning of the candidates bad behavior in spite of the Party's political "standards".
Party platforms are opinions only and not sure fire. History proves that.
IMPO.........Mr. Gingrich's hypocrisy knows no bounds.
When all of this madness has pasted I wonder if there will even be a legitimate GOP in the future. The clown show is coming to an end..
http://signon.org/sign/citizen-imposed-congressiona?source=c.fwd&r_by=462982
Then there's Obama, who this week accomplished... singing a song. Brilliant.
AND a millionaire 3 time philanderer who was driven out of office, fined over 300,ooo
for ethics violations , is a current lobbyist, a proven liar who is pretty much universally reviled by those who worked with him.
Ladies & Gentelmen, the next President of the United States.....?
Way to go GOP, you have already lost the forthcoming election.