Democrats Threaten Obama...

[travelinman67]

...DO NOT CUT ENTITLEMENTS!!!!





http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/07/07/ ... ?hpt=hp_t1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sad, but not unexpected. If we're going to cut spending everything must be on the table. I gotta wonder if the Dems learned anything in the last election, it certainly doesn't look like it based on this.

Huh?

If anything, they learned that the "Hope and Change" chicken in every pot promise buys votes!

The Dems aren't stupid...they'll GLADLY destroy long term prosperity to get that $20 increase on the October 31, 2012 welfare check.

[travelinman67]

I didn't wanna start a new thread, but I was just reading about Ancient Athens and how their tax system worked. Like the US, they had a progressive tax, but unlike the US, they didn't feel like being taxed more was annoying or wrong. In fact, it was really prestigous to them because they thought of it as doing good for the city, and it also provided them a bit of glory and recognition.

For example, the upper class would pay 50% tax, but in return, they get public buildings, bridges, fountains, parks, venues and etc. named after them. And then I thought to myself if something as crazy as this would actually work in the US to cut our deficit. Have the upper class pay way more, but in return recognize them in various ways such as naming all the public works projects after them, having concerts/dinners in their honor, and etc. Maybe if we develop that "prestige" mindset Athenians had for helping their city, this plan is wacky enough to work for the US.

And I'm not just talking super rich famous people. Our average upper class citizens would be included in this too.

Some poli out here recently suggested that...it died overnight. Being realistic (pragmatic), the majority of old-rich are no fools and can smell a boondoggle before it arrives. Unless it benefits them financially, they'll pass. Hell, look at Buffet's "estate giveaway" program that so many uber-wealthy have joined. When you look at the details...they all gain a tax advantage in some form...it's not strictly altruistic charity.
One of the keys to amassing wealth is the art of concealment. The world is full of predators sniffing out wealth.

Once ego supercedes prudence, wealth dissipates rapidly.

[BDKJMU]

I didn't wanna start a new thread, but I was just reading about Ancient Athens and how their tax system worked. Like the US, they had a progressive tax, but unlike the US, they didn't feel like being taxed more was annoying or wrong. In fact, it was really prestigous to them because they thought of it as doing good for the city, and it also provided them a bit of glory and recognition.

For example, the upper class would pay 50% tax, but in return, they get public buildings, bridges, fountains, parks, venues and etc. named after them. And then I thought to myself if something as crazy as this would actually work in the US to cut our deficit. Have the upper class pay way more, but in return recognize them in various ways such as naming all the public works projects after them, having concerts/dinners in their honor, and etc. Maybe if we develop that "prestige" mindset Athenians had for helping their city, this plan is wacky enough to work for the US.

And I'm not just talking super rich famous people. Our average upper class citizens would be included in this too.

Obviously "Current Athens", with tax evasion being a national pastime, has forgotten about "Ancient Athens".

Read a WSJ article recently which gave an interesting perspective to Greece's problems:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 66512.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rob Iola]

Obviously "Current Athens", with tax evasion being a national pastime, has forgotten about "Ancient Athens".

Read a WSJ article recently which gave an interesting perspective to Greece's problems:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 66512.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Excellent article - I particularly like this passage:

On top of misguided government spending, "we spent a very long period during which entrepreneurial activity was victimized, during which profit was seen as wrong. It's a very populist approach, to go and tell the people that the rich will pay."

Here, Mr. Coustas is not referring primarily to his rarefied breed, but to the roughly 30% of Greeks who are self-employed—the largest percentage in the OECD. "So the 'rich' is a much more general kind of thing. Anyone who wanted to make an investment here was considered a kind of bloodsucker."

Mr. Coustas recalls the early 1980s, when he was in Japan to sign a new shipbuilding contract for Danaos. He was approached by a Japanese workers' representative who "wanted to thank us for giving them work." The worker told him, "'We will do everything possible to build a good ship for you.' Can you imagine that happening here? Here, if you tried to do the same thing and place an order in the Greek shipyards, you would get protests that either you paid too little, or are trying to pressure the workers, or whatever."