..........I’m a proud to be right wing 49 yr old black democrat... i.e. an American born, loving, feeling, angry, sad, liberal(socially) who love's the USA and its military.

Just a couple of rants of my own about where we're all at here in the good ol USA:

I follow history somewhat and believe in general we’ll all be okay

We need more Virginia’s & F-22’s

I love IL2-1946 & SH4

I pay taxes, I figure around 29% total when rounding out fed-state-ssec and misc local extras they pile on.

I don’t like paying but I’ve been doing it since my 1st job 33 yrs ago, funny huh, I’m used to it. I would like to think I’m getting my moneys worth but depending on the day of week or what or who i come across during the day, changes my opinion.

I make about 45k, own a home, have a wife & kids and a 401k from work and that’s about the extent of my financial knowledge.

I believe we’ll be okay, I not leaving or quitting

I got debt but my heads above water.

My money doesn’t go as far as it did 10 years ago, is that real or not, I’m not sure but it seem that I pay more for less, ( have you looked at a cereal box lately?)

Liberals aren’t the end of the world
conserv's aren’t the end of the world

I believe we’ll be okay, I not leaving or quitting

Obama isn’t satan just like Bush wasn’t, they're just men, possibly good men
Bush wasn’t satan just like Obama isn’t, they’re just men, possibly good men

Its the intolenerce, hate, bitching, complaining, I’m leaving, its somebody else’s fault and problem, I wont do it, I wont pay it, you cant make me, you cant stop me, get out of my way, what’s taking so long, I don’t want it, why cant I have it.............creed that’s poisoned our county against ourselves.

We blame welfare chiselers, tea baggers, defense industry workers, professors at college, Nancy p, Michelle B, Rush and big Ed Schultz, its bull*$*$, blame ourselves.

I believe we’ll be okay, I not leaving or quitting

We don’t like to look in the mirror though, at least very long anywise.

Have you noticed the crappy roads? But nobody wants to pay

Were told our schools suck but, cut funding to balance budgets

Don’t throw money at it, spend it where it will do the best for all of us

Have you noticed the seeming lack of good earn a living, middle of the road, Jobs available so you can save a little and buy a car or house.

I believe we’ll be okay, I not leaving or quitting

I recall Unions being blamed for a lot of Business\labor’s ills years ago but it seems there aren’t enough around, on average, now to blame, here and now

After a little sacrifice we used to be able to get ahead with determination and hard work.
We still can.

We never hear about what we can do, we only talk about what cant-wont-hate.

Our parents\grandparents came back from some pretty bad times\wars and decided that they could and would do what it takes to work, start a business, raise a family, and yes Pay TAXES.

All of the bitterness between us is selfish and destructive.

Nothing will ever get accomplish if we continue down this route

I believe we’ll be okay, I not leaving or quitting

You can’t cut taxes and spending and make a prosperous nation in our current situation
You can’t raise taxes and spending and make a prosperous nation in our current situation.

We need to band together and meet in the mighty middle, with both right and left solving problems for the middle majority.

Neither can do it alone.

Stop hating on each other

I’m not leaving, I’m still going to work tomorrow and bring home .70 of my dollar earned, turn on my PC, scope out this forum, check my email, see what’s going on in the world, suck down a 2 finger scotch, and when the wife goes to bed, start another mission.

It’s great to be an American, despite the high and probably going higher taxes

I believe we’ll be okay, I not leaving or quitting

Out!
Spence

P.S. I guess that was more than a couple of rants, sorry

And a pretty small population.;)

Nicely said Spence :salute:

Spence - welcome aboard - and well said.

While in the details of why things have gone south I suspect we might disagree on some, I suspect we would agree on others.

Your right in that no one group is "evil", though the path to hell is often paved with good intentions. And that applies to all sides in the discussion.

I personally don't hate anyone, though I can despise the ACTIONS of those who do harm even if they can't see recognize it.

Ultimately it is the differences we have that make us strong, because we have the ability to meet in the middle. What is unfortunate is that both sides of the political spectrum want to play off the other, while labeling the other side as "extreme (left/right) wing", and yet bending every important principle they have as soon as they hit the DC city limits.

Your "average" democrat and republican agree on alot more than most people realize. If we get rid of the labels, and start talking substance instead of party affiliation, issues instead of letters beside people's names, we could actually solve some of the obstacles that we face.

Ban all political parties. Let individuals run for office and let individuals vote for the one they think will do the best job of representing them and their communities.

You made some great points, Spence.

Mothballs, be sure to take your brother's advice. Travel, stay a few weeks somewhere other than the USA. There are some really big adjustments you have to make. Not saying other countries are lame, but remember, we are used to this system, and it's no accident that this is ground zero for the world's motivated immigrants.

I'm sure the top happiest countries in that list, there are several with high tax rates. Is that what makes them happy? I dunno, but it would be a great place to retire on a pension and let their social services take care of you.

I think I have a pretty good suggestion for you Mothballs, that will also cost the less:

Come here to Spain for some months and watch how it all goes here. After that, you'll be dying to return to the US and give all the money in your wallet to Obama, trust me :har:

@ spenceMac: WELCOME ABOARD!:sunny:

Now that's a good reason. :D
Besides, the US is a country with not so many taxes.
Here in Spain, I just suffered TAX myself. Due to a measure implemented by our "presi", everyone in the country got elegible for a 400 euros tax refund. But they made it so messy, that now it's coming after us. Essentially, what they made was lower the paycheck taxes (in my case, at 9% of total), supposedly to make the families spend more money, all in pro of consumism so the wheel keeps spinning. But now, in this damn economical breakdown, the government has decided that they have to cut expenses, so the measure is off, and my paycheck tax has raised to 12%, which has taken me -24 euros monthly (and everyone I know says they got less money as well).
More taxes... apart from my income tax, I have discounts in my paycheck to pay Social Security expenses, which also get their cut. Also, VAT was already at 16% in its general index, which now rises to 18 or 19%, and even more in the "deluxe" articles index (first necessity stuff stays in the reduced index though). I also have to pay taxes on gasoline (don't know what percentage, but it's always been said that taxes are the reason why gasoline is so expensive), spending about 20 euros a week now that I have to endure half-hour of car travel since they changed my workplace.

Also, our "presi" also says that the official retirement age must be delayed. It's currently at 65, but now we will retire older than that (I think it was 67), and that comes with the calculation period (the years used to determine the amount of money you'll get while retired) being heightened from 15 years to 25, which means that if you didn't work on those years, or had a lower paycheck, you'll end up with less money than those not affected (by currently being beyond the application limit).

Jobs are payed like crap, contracts are rubbish (in my case, I've been renewed twice, and both times, with a temporary contract), and if you want your own home to form a family, you'll just have to get a +30 years mortgage, provided they authorize it first, which has people of 30 y.o. still living with their parents.

The US ain't the only place in the world where crap happens... it's all around the globe.

Take your time.
Be careful.
And do your homework, Mothballs.

Leaving one country is NOT the difficult part of relocation.
Finding another that will allow you to reside and work within it's borders is.

Consideration number 1: Language. (This can narrow things down a-bit).

Consideration number 2: Employment, or source of income.

Consideration number 3: Cost of goods versus income.
(Check both Income AND Sales Tax rates. You may be very surprised).

To me, a love for the people, land, and culture of your intended new motherland is MANDATORY. (Nobody likes immigrants that come to exploit their country).

98 million all together you smartass.:woot: