The Age of Entitlement

[Scrapper]

YOU do?!?!
Who is REALLY making all of the donuts?!?!
Just sayin'.....

[GoCometsGo]

Hey, Simon, are you ready to talk about giving up the middle class's favorite entitlement program, the mortgage interest deduction? The same people who whine about how the poor are consuming too much of our budget are the first ones to holler if any of their programs come under scrutiny.

So, stuff it.

We should end that on second homes for sure.
also is there a Max amount that can be deducted?

There is a cap on the size of the mortgage and you can no longer claim a second home.
It is a nice perk and we have enjoyed it, but why should renters be subsiding homeowners?

This is how I would reply... some may disagree:

The ability to deduct mortgage interest is what keeps the housing market alive. Without it our country will become wall to wall apartments and rental properties. Not to mention the huge reduction in the value of homes that already exist were we to eliminate the deduction. You think that 2008 was bad? That is child's play compared to what the housing market will become if the mortgage interest deduction is lost. If it is even seriously proposed you will see a spike in the amount of homes going onto the market that will throw the supply/demand ratio way out of whack and, once again, millions of people will be upside-down on their loans.

Upkeep and maintenance is also going to suffer because, generally speaking, a landlord/tenant combo is not going to take the same pride in a rental property as would be taken were home owner-occupied.

Bottom line: People with money to spend are always looking for ways to protect it from Uncle Sam. Buying, building, or borrowing money to upgrade a primary house is one of the best ways to do so. Take that away and that market will change drastically.

[PonderThis]

Not necessarily disagreeing, but I don't suppose your employment has anything to do with the wood products industry, currently in the doldrums due to the poor housing market, might it be???

[Simon Peter]

"The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proud of the fact it is distributing the greatest amount of free meals and food stamps ever. Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us 'Please Do Not Feed the Animals.' Their stated reason for the policy is because the animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves."

[PonderThis]

I suppose during the worst recession in some 70 years this is a good time to jerk peoples food aid away. Besides, everybody knows we need military spending more anyway.

[cletus1]

I suppose during the worst recession in some 70 years this is a good time to jerk peoples food aid away. Besides, everybody knows we need military spending more anyway.

And that is exactly what Mitt Romney proposes. He will take money from the poor and middle class, give tax breaks to the rich and increase defense spending. That is also why right wing phony Christians plan to vote for Mitt. They hate the "lazy ass" poor people too and know we need lots more tanks, bombs, airplanes etc to deal with those pesky Muslims.

[Simon Peter]

Two years as prezzy with control of the House and the Senate and the only accomplishment was to raise taxes on 6 million people(so far). If it was not to be a tax, the addition of thousands of IRS agents would not have been written into 0bamacare. His holdout is to dangle a "republican made" tax cut as a carrot to make the less informed think that he is not raising taxes. His other hold out is the SS holdback that is starving a system that is already in peril saying it will give the average American 40 more dollars in his pocket(while he taxes them 1200) . The doofus has nothing to offer except promising redistribution. Socialism. All his stimulus is a failure and only put us further in debt. Nice, eh?
His foreign policy of apologizing has made America weak and we see it everywhere now even with Asia and Russia. A complete failure and yet to say this is considered racist. The only thing he has proved is that a half white person can fuck stuff up just as bad as a solid white person, only worse.

[tornado]

There's only one reason he didn't turn out white. He is full of it up to his ears. Real black folks don't care for the half-breed.

[tvguy]

There's only one reason he didn't turn out white. He is full of it up to his ears. Real black folks don't care for the half-breed.

Right so if I go look at polls they will show that Obama didn't get the black vote right??

Unless that's not true then you are the one who's full of "IT".

And just to be clear, when I say "IT", I mean shit.

[Simon Peter]

There's only one reason he didn't turn out white. He is full of it up to his ears. Real black folks don't care for the half-breed.

Right so if I go look at polls they will show that Obama didn't get the black vote right??

Unless that's not true then you are the one who's full of "IT".

And just to be clear, when I say "IT", I mean shit.

TV, you are referencing the last vote. Tornado is not and he is on the ball because the black vote has been lost for Obama. There will be those that vote for him because he is black and because he promises to keep them in service through payment (slavery). On the flip side, Obama has lost a shit load of black votes because he failed to hold true to religious freedom and because he failed in his promises. They may not vote for Mittens, but they will not vote for the false messiah again. Yeah, shit is right, Oshit.

[tvguy]

There's only one reason he didn't turn out white. He is full of it up to his ears. Real black folks don't care for the half-breed.

Right so if I go look at polls they will show that Obama didn't get the black vote right??

Unless that's not true then you are the one who's full of "IT".

And just to be clear, when I say "IT", I mean shit.

TV, you are referencing the last vote. Tornado is not and he is on the ball because the black vote has been lost for Obama. There will be those that vote for him because he is black and because he promises to keep them in service through payment (slavery). On the flip side, Obama has lost a shit load of black votes because he failed to hold true to religious freedom and because he failed in his promises. They may not vote for Mittens, but they will not vote for the false messiah again. Yeah, shit is right, Oshit.

All because you and Snorenado say so?

he failed to hold true to religious freedom

Say what?

[csrowan]

Two years as prezzy with control of the House and the Senate
Untrue. He had a majority for 2 years. But not the 60 votes needed for a filibuster-proof majority. He had that for 72 days.
http://www.thepragmaticpundit.com/2012/0...proof.html


and the only accomplishment was to raise taxes on 6 million people(so far).
Untrue. The tax penalty could affect up to 6 million people. However: "This (analysis) doesn't change the basic fact that the individual responsibility policy will only affect people who can afford health care but choose not to buy it."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19...98370.html


If it was not to be a tax, the addition of thousands of IRS agents would not have been written into 0bamacare.
Untrue x 4: "So let's go back to Gingrich's original sentence. "One of the things in the health bill is 16,000 additional IRS agents," he said. First, that's not a "thing in the health bill." It's an extrapolation from a CBO report. Second, the word "is" is wrong, as even the original GOP spin only used the word "may." Third, the number 16,000 is wrong. Fourth, the word "agents" is wrong. But if the statement gets no credit for truth, it's at least efficient: Not just anyone could pack four falsehoods into 13 words."
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-kl...ew_ag.html
http://www.factcheck.org/2010/03/irs-expansion/

According the the IRS, agents will not be involved in tax audits, or pursuing Americans without health insurance.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/...ut-health/


His holdout is to dangle a "republican made" tax cut as a carrot to make the less informed think that he is not raising taxes.
You'll have to fill me in on this one. I haven't heard about it yet.


His other hold out is the SS holdback that is starving a system that is already in peril saying it will give the average American 40 more dollars in his pocket(while he taxes them 1200).
Again, you'll need to fill me in more. The only information I found on $40 and Obama is when the House Republicans refused to pass a 2 month extension on the payroll tax cut, which the Senate overwhelmingly passed in a bipartisan effort to permit more time for negotiation of a lengthier extension.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/president-oba...t-remarks/


The doofus
Calling him names does nothing to further your argument.


has nothing to offer except promising redistribution.
Untrue. You may not like what he offers, but that doesn't mean that all he has to offer is redistribution. It only means you don't like what he offers.
http://silverchips.mbhs.edu/story/11712
http://www.barackobama.com/issues

Socialism.
Untrue. Redistribution does not equal socialism. Socialism is "any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods."
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/socialism

Simpler definition: "a way of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by the government rather than by individual people and companies."
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/socialism


All his stimulus is a failure and only put us further in debt. Nice, eh?
We can't judge if it was a failure, without knowing what would have happened had we not had a the stimulus. There are both pros and cons, nicely listed here:
http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/policy...ilure.html

Did it put us further in debt? Yes. Did it save us from an even worse financial crisis? In my opinion, yes. In yours, no.


His foreign policy of apologizing
Untrue. He hasn't apologized. He's been carefully diplomatic.
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/0...a-apology/


has made America weak
How so?


and we see it everywhere now even with Asia and Russia.
Again, you'll have to fill me in. I am not aware of what you're referring to, and I can't find anything related on Google News with the vague search terms of 'Obama, Asia, Russia'.


A complete failure and yet to say this is considered racist.
No. It's considered an opinion. It would be considered racist if you said that he was a complete failure because of the color of his skin.


The only thing he has proved is that a half white person can fuck stuff up just as bad as a solid white person, only worse.
Now that is a racist remark, despite the smiley face.

Whew. That was quite a workout. Took me two hours, trying to see if anything you said was correct. I don't have the time to do that every time you post something, so you'll forgive me if I dismiss what you have to say unless you start providing sources.

[Simon Peter]

Whew. That was quite a workout. Took me two hours, trying to see if anything you said was correct. I don't have the time to do that every time you post something, so you'll forgive me if I dismiss what you have to say unless you start providing sources.

You will forgive me also, I am sure, when I say your links are BS and that you are just a schill for progressives. You spent hours just to find out that I speak true. Sucks to be you.

[Chris]

csrowan, you will never be compensated for the two hours you spent attempting to engage in rational discourse with Simon and Tornado.

The total of their iqs is 250. Since we already know that Tornado's is 190, well... you do the math.

Racism is learned behavior, and for Tornado and Simon, it is the only class they both received the grade of "A".

[csrowan]

csrowan, you will never be compensated for the two hours you spent attempting to engage in rational discourse with Simon and Tornado.

The total of their iqs is 250. Since we already know that Tornado's is 190, well... you do the math.

Racism is learned behavior, and for Tornado and Simon, it is the only class they both received the grade of "A".

Actually, I was compensated to a degree. I now have more knowledge than I had before. I am better able to hold a discussion with someone who feels that there may be merits to Simon's claims, and who, unlike Simon, is willing to discuss it.

And Simon? If my links are BS, you are welcome to prove it. If you can...

[Simon Peter]

There's only one reason he didn't turn out white. He is full of it up to his ears. Real black folks don't care for the half-breed.

Right so if I go look at polls they will show that Obama didn't get the black vote right??

Unless that's not true then you are the one who's full of "IT".

And just to be clear, when I say "IT", I mean shit.

TV, you are referencing the last vote. Tornado is not and he is on the ball because the black vote has been lost for Obama. There will be those that vote for him because he is black and because he promises to keep them in service through payment (slavery). On the flip side, Obama has lost a shit load of black votes because he failed to hold true to religious freedom and because he failed in his promises. They may not vote for Mittens, but they will not vote for the false messiah again. Yeah, shit is right, Oshit.

All because you and Snorenado say so?

he failed to hold true to religious freedom

Say what?

There have been articles about black pastors encouraging their flocks not to vote for Obama. That does not mean they will vote for Mittens, but it is still a lot of lost votes, a large portion of the black vote. This apparently has to do with Obama's support of gay marriage. The religious freedom refers to the ACA's contraception mandate and how it infringes on the religious liberties of Catholics.
I'll try better to not speak in "code".

EDIT: This is the latest I saw on the subject:

Some black pastors are telling their flocks to stay home Election Day

Some black clergy see no good presidential choice between a Mormon candidate and one who supports gay marriage, so they are telling their flocks to stay home on Election Day. That's a worrisome message for the nation's first African-American president, who can't afford to lose any voters from his base in a tight race.

[PonderThis]

There have been articles about black pastors encouraging their flocks not to vote for Obama. That does not mean they will vote for Mittens, but it is still a lot of lost votes, a large portion of the black vote.

Because you saw an article someplace that means Obama is losing a "large portion of the black vote?"

First off, this article was probably in one of your (racist) right wing news sources, as I doubt any serious amount of "black pastors" encourage their flocks to vote one way or another (it would violate law if they did), and for you to then decide that means blacks will abandon the Democratic choice (which traditionally receives something like 88% of the black vote) sounds like delusional wishful thinking to me.

If only you had influence over some real blacks somewhere.

[Simon Peter]

Report: Number of ‘Able-Bodied’ Adults on Food Stamps Has Exploded With Suspension of Welfare Requirement

In case you haven’t heard, President Barack Obama has been accused of trying to “gut” the landmark 1996 welfare reform law (a claim some on the left have dismissed as “racist“). By granting states waivers to redefine the work requirements for welfare recipients, his critics argue, the president has created a situation where people will be tempted to remain on government assistance.

But is this true? Well, considering the increase in the number of “able-bodied” Americans on food-stamps, a new report from the Washington Examiner argues the Obama administration has already done this with its 2009 suspension of a separate welfare requirement.

“In addition to the broader work requirement that has become a contentious issue in the presidential race, the 1996 welfare reform law included a separate rule encouraging able-bodied adults without dependents to work by limiting the amount of time they could receive food stamps,” writes the Examiner’s Philip Klein (of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz wrongly accused him of misquoting her fame).

“President Obama suspended that rule when he signed his economic stimulus legislation into law, and the number of these adults on food stamps doubled, from 1.9 million in 2008 to 3.9 million in 2010,” he adds.

[PonderThis]

You expect food stamp recipients to work for their benefits now? During the worst depression in 70 years? My God you are hard-hearted.

[Simon Peter]