So… Paul Ryan, I guess?
Mitt Romney has supposedly chosen Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential nominee, though this has yet to be confirmed by Romney. Ryan, a Wisconsin representative, is best known for his enthusiasm for vague, mathematically implausible budgets and his plan to dismantle the existing Medicare system. The fact that some will consider the demonstrable facts in the previous paragraph to be partisan attacks is an indication of how divorced from empirical reality this campaign has gotten. But for whatever reason, Romney has decided to double down on the faintly-creepy rich white guy thing. Presumably Mr. Burns from The Simpsons and Mr. Potter from It’s A Wonderful Life were unavailable.
Do you think this choice will revitalize Romney’s flagging campaign, or has he just conceded the election? Let us know in comments.
Let’s start with the facts, Kennedy, Reagon, Bush Sr. And Bush all cut taxes, and in all cases unemployment went down, moneys into the treasury went up, home ownership went up and wealth went up. You suggest Romney is not one of the people with experience, would you suggest that Obama even with nearly 4 years on the job is qualified? President Obama’s success include higher debt, more people on food stamps, more people in poverty than in any time in history, more home foreclosures than any time in history, longest time of unemployment over 8%, largest drop in mortgage… Read more »
They terrify you why? Because you might have to work? Because your neighbors friends and family might actually be able to have a job? Maybe it’s because our economy will start growing? Maybe it’s because with more people working there will be more home owners and home prices will rise? Obama is the worst president in history including Carter. More than half of Americans pay no Fedral taxes, more people on welfare than at any time in history, more people on food stamps than any time in history. The longest time of unemployment in history over 8%. Obama said Bush… Read more »
“It’s time to move on to a person qualified to be president.”
Who do you suggest, Jason? We’ve got less than five people in the country with any experience in the job, and Romney sure isn’t one of them.
By the way: good luck selling the notion that tax cuts for the rich will grow the economy and ‘trickle down’ jobs to the rest of us. America fell for that once already, and we already know it doesn’t work that way.
I completely agree with elimination of loopholes in every class of taxes, personal and corporate. Earned Income, child, educational, and medical deductions only. A realistic 3 or 4 tiers of taxes and automate the whole mess with real penalties for tax evasion. Corporate taxes are a disaster, but then again they successfully lobbied to get all the sweet deals. At least they are paying somebody, too bad its going into re-election campaigns and under the table instead of into the general coffers. I believe both sides are equally guilty in the voter discrimination game. Republicans would love to keep minority… Read more »
Collin.
You didn’t get the memo, apparently.
Quote me some Limbaugh making racist statements. Keep in mind that normal people don’t define racist as something which annoys Collin.
Actually, with regard to NPR and PP, the defunding is to stop them doing what they’re doing, not to save money. You’re right that it’s insigniicant. It’s so insignificant that their supporters can no doubt make up the difference voluntarily by switching from Starbucks to Folgers.
Only Germany and Australia have higher capital gains tax rates (of first world economies Chile’s is higher too)
Only Japan has a higher corporate tax rate than the US.
Most first world economies have a value added (national sales) tax of between 7 and 25 percent.
By global standards, we should cut both capital gains and corporate tax rates and institute a VAT.
Our effective corporate tax rate is also one of the lowest. I’m all for cutting the tax rate if we get rid of all the loopholes. Cut it to 25% but slash all the loopholes so Exxon isn’t paying 3% and is instead paying 25%. Income from corporate taxes are at historic lows even though corporate profits are at record highs.
Collin. There are two tax rates that bring in no revenue, 0% and 100%. Someplace in there is the optimum. Any way of proving we’re not at the optimum? Too high? Too low? You think that the Obama’s promoted increase will bring in more than eight days’ federal expenses? Is there a down side to taxes? Is there a practical limit to services the government should or can provide? I discovered there’s an underground economy in food stamps. You can swap them for seventy cents on the dollar. First heard of it in Flint twenty years ago. Last fall, heard… Read more »
Actually yes there is a way of determining the optimum if we’re talking about maximizing revenue. The optimal top tax rate is around 71% if we’re talking about getting the most revenue for the treasury. I find it hysterical that you right wingers object to raising taxes because it will only bring in a little bit but you’re all for defunding NPR and withdrawing funding for planned parenthood that would provide an hours worth of funding for the government. Capital gains should be taxed as regular income and the top income tax rate should move to mid 40’s at the… Read more »
I should have specified “federal income taxes.”
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/02/19/chart-of-the-week-nearly-half-of-all-americans-dont-pay-income-taxes/
Romney paid an average of just over 3 million a year in 2010 and 2011. The rate is around 13% because most of the income was capital gains. If people don’t like the capital gains rate, vote Obama, he’ll likely try to raise it in a second term.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/24/mitt-romney-tax-returns-released_n_1225247.html
Most responsible Dems have distanced themselves from Reid’s unsubstantiated claim that Romney paid no taxes for ten years.
Yeah, but you intentionally didn’t say federal income taxes just like every other republican. You leave that out because you want to make it sound like they pay nothing, when they probably pay more of their income in taxes than Romney. Nice try though. The capital gains rate should be raised, and it would have been raised if not for republican obstruction. As for Reid’s claim about Romney’s taxes, if Romney isn’t going to release them he is very clearly hiding something and that something could be that he paid no taxes. We don’t really know what exactly he is… Read more »
Do you feel the same way about Obamas college transcrips? Are they sealed because he is hiding something? Who cares, consider the last 4 years and what a dismal failure Obama and his policies have been for this country. That should be enough to vote him out. The only experience Obama has throughout his entire carreer besides actually getting elected is complete failure and dishonesty.
The more conservative in my orbit are pleased with the choice, and the moderate right is spinning a happy face on the decision. I don’t have a problem with Ryan, but was hoping for Condoleeza Rice for obvious reasons (she’s African American and female). Ryan will help consolidate the Tea Partiers and staunch members of the base, but Romney probably needs more than them to win. His only hope is that enough Independents see the fiscal crisis on the horizon, and believe that the fix now will be less painful than the fix in the future, i.e. extreme austerity, because… Read more »
Your last paragraph is simply untrue. Almost half pay no federal income taxes, but that isn’t even close to the same thing as paying no taxes. Someone on the lower end of the spectrum pays more in taxes than many at the top. I pay more in taxes than Mitt Romney. Also, the reason the top pays such a large percentage of federal income tax is because inequality has become so great. Extreme austerity doesn’t fix anything. The simple fact of that matter is that we need more revenue to support a larger government. You can either have low taxes… Read more »
You are what is wrong with this country. It’s not the wealthy that is the problem, it is our out of control government and individuals that have learned to depend soley on the government rather than take responibility for themselves. Why is it that liberals blame others for their shortcomings? We need to go back to the days where when you saw your neighbor with a great home or car you aspired to be as successful as them through hard work instead of demonizing and blaming them for your lack of success. There will always be winners and losers you… Read more »
We already did–but to be fair, Bush’s time in office was endinig anyway.
Meanwhile, Ryan seems a well matched choice for Romney. Now we have TWO insider-trading robber barons running on the GOP ticket, with an explicit plan to favor the rich and screw everybody else, if not dismantle the welfare state entirely. Should make Obama’s re-election much easier.
Neither of these gentlemen are as evil as the current administration wants you to believe. Romney and Ryan are heads of the fiscal wing of the Republican Party. I doubt the prospects of evangelicals ever voting for a Mormon let alone an Ayn Rand Objectivist, but Mitt Romney made the responsible choice.
Ultimately this will cost him the election.
What the hell Noah? Mr. Burns & Mr Potter…?
Neither of these gentlemen are as evil as the current administration wants you to believe they are. Romney and Ryan are heads of the fiscal wing of the Republican Party. I doubt the prospects of evangelicals ever voting for a Mormon let alone an Ayn Rand Objectivist, but Mitt Romney made the responsible choice.
Ultimately this will cost him the election.
You had me until you brought race into it. Leftist race baiting is just one more way to polarize us. Rich white guy? Imagine i said poor black, or smart asian etc. Ryan is a poor choice because he hasnt a clue. he graduated from some second class university and has absolutely no experience int he private sector. The fact he wants to impose a 10% Sales tax on everything so he can drop corporate tax rates to below 25% is what makes him unsuitable. race baiting is old. by the way im asian with nary a horse in this… Read more »
Hey Jack, you state Ryan has “no experience in the private sector”. Sort of reminds me of the guy living in the White House now!
Hey Bob, True. the current administration is utterly shambolic but they can get away with it! theyre diverse!!!!
Jack: What you call “Leftist race baiting” will become invalid only after rich white dudes stop running the world. Not looking for that to happen anytime soon.
Honestly, I don’t know what Romney is thinking at this point. I take solace in the fact that it looks like he’s pretty much already lost this election… because his policies utterly terrify me.
Mr. Romney wouldn’t have gotten your vote any way.
BTW “Leftist race baiting” is as rudimentary to politics as the left jab is to boxing.
When republicans stop actively trying to discriminate based on race, the left will stop making claims about race. If you want to prevent blacks and latinos from voting and you pass legislation which is designed for the sole purpose of preventing minorities to vote, you are making race an issue. Let’s call a spade a spade. The Republican party has a history of systematically trying to institutionalize racism and deprive minorities of their rights. I’m not some crazy left-wing feminist either. I am, for example, staunchly against affirmative action.
Collin, In 2004 I was living on the South Side of Chicago. One day several vans appeared and Democrat organizers got out and began knocking on doors. Their message was simple: do you like receiving checks from the government? If so then vote for this list of people (and a list was then handed out). There was no legitimate policy discussion, no real explanations of platforms, big picture issues, or even an explanation of why these candidates over others. I was literally watching votes being purchased. The entire message was just: Want food stamps? Then vote this way. I will… Read more »
There’s a difference between telling people to vote for their own interests and trying to deprive them of a constitutionally guaranteed right. Also, I imagine that your portrayal of that is not even remotely close to reality.
Collin,
I can assure you it is not only the reality, it is not unusual. I now live in San Francisco, and during the last election, low income residents of Chinstown were subjected to the same treatment. The crazy thing is that it wasn’t even Republicans complaining, it was other democrats (it is San Francisco, after all, all the candidates were democrats).
You can read about it here:
http://www.baycitizen.org/sf-mayoral-race/story/mayor-ed-lees-campaign-supporters-1/
Collin, I have always assumed you write in good faith. It would be nice if you could also assume good faith on the part of others.
The problem is that Republicans have squandered all the good faith they may have had. I live in a world of facts, and when your worldview involves the rejection of reality, you don’t deserve good faith.
Collin,
I have provided you with specific examples, complete with a link to an openly liberal newspaper. At a certain point it’s not your opponents who are “rejecting reality.”
Jack, After 4 years of COMPLETE failure, we need to change the direction our country is going. Obama has blamed everyone but himself for his miserable record. He needs to go as well as any other person that pushes government dependency. We need a leader that will help business thrive. If businesses thrive they will hire, if they hire people wil have jobs so they can purchase homes, cars and their beer, whatever makes them happy. I am tired of Obama and the Democrats demonizing the rich, business, our military and people of faith. I want my daughter to work… Read more »
Government is not a business; it’s government. The idea that government should be run like a business is 180-degrees away from correctm and the prospect of putting a ‘successful businessman’ in charge of things like law enforcement, military operations, and societal welfare should frighten anyone with a brain.