The proposed 2012 budget...

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Armistead

I keep laughing at those that think corporations are taxed too much. Sure, up front it seems they pay high taxes, but after loopholes and shelters, they pay one of the lowest rates in the world... I would have no problem lowering taxes if all the stupid loopholes were done away with. It's just the GOP's way of hiding from the left hand what the right hand is doing.

I agree. The "tax rate" is not the amount of taxes people pay, unless they can't afford tax shelters/lawyers.

I don't understand this system of everyone having a pretty high "tax rate" but then a buttload of deductions. How about getting rid of the deductions and keeping the tax rate lower? All the tax laws do is make tax lawyers rich and you can bet they don't pay anywhere near what their "tax rate" is.

Of all the things a government does, taxation should not be all that complicated.....unless deception and misdirection is the goal.

[August]

Originally Posted by Platapus

I agree. The "tax rate" is not the amount of taxes people pay, unless they can't afford tax shelters/lawyers.

I don't understand this system of everyone having a pretty high "tax rate" but then a buttload of deductions. How about getting rid of the deductions and keeping the tax rate lower? All the tax laws do is make tax lawyers rich and you can bet they don't pay anywhere near what their "tax rate" is.

Of all the things a government does, taxation should not be all that complicated.....unless deception and misdirection is the goal.

You answered your own question Brother. Income tax is a creation of Congress. Congress is made up of lawyers.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by August

You answered your own question Brother. Income tax is a creation of Congress. Congress is made up of lawyers.

And the circle goes round and round

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by DarkFish

They really want to get rid of condoms?! ZOMGOMG they're even worse than I thought

If you do the research, you'll find that the really hard-core "right to life" groups (at least here in the US) are not just anti-choice when it comes to abortion... they are anti-choice when it comes to any kind of birth control aside from complete abstinence or, for married couples, the rhythm method. Some of them will even admit that the abortion battle is just the first hurdle to be cleared in furthering their longterm agenda.

They tend to be particularly hostile to any form of birth control that can be used by a woman to prevent pregnancy without the "permission" of the father of any potential offspring, so condoms are usually somewhere further down on the list of things they want to do away with (or, rather, make impossible for the average person to obtain and use) - except when it comes to them being conveniently and cheaply available to individuals who wish to use them but who might not have the means or self-confidence to walk into a store and buy them.

At bottom it is all very much a part of the "every sperm is sacred" and "sex is for procreation only" and "you will have as many babies as God decides you will have" kind of thinking that pervades the radical religious right.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

If you do the research, you'll find that the really hard-core "right to life" groups (at least here in the US) are not just anti-choice when it comes to abortion... they are anti-choice when it comes to any kind of birth control aside from complete abstinence or, for married couples, the rhythm method. Some of them will even admit that the abortion battle is just the first hurdle to be cleared in furthering their longterm agenda.

They tend to be particularly hostile to any form of birth control that can be used by a woman to prevent pregnancy without the "permission" of the father of any potential offspring, so condoms are usually somewhere further down on the list of things they want to do away with (or, rather, make impossible for the average person to obtain and use) - except when it comes to them being conveniently and cheaply available to individuals who wish to use them but who might not have the means or self-confidence to walk into a store and buy them.

At bottom it is all very much a part of the "every sperm is sacred" and "sex is for procreation only" and "you will have as many babies as God decides you will have" kind of thinking that pervades the radical religious right.

abortion services account for about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s activities. That’s less than cancer screening and prevention (16 percent), STD testing for both men and women (35 percent), and contraception (also 35 percent). About 80 percent of Planned Parenthood’s users are over age 20, and 75 percent have incomes below 150 percent of the poverty line. Planned Parenthood itself estimates it prevents more than 620,000 unintended pregnancies each year, and 220,000 abortions. It’s also worth noting that federal law already forbids Planned Parenthood from using the funds it receives from the government for abortions.

Source.

Any lawmaker who was using Planned Parenthood as an obstacle to getting this budget passed is duplicitous lying scum.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Source.

Any lawmaker who was using Planned Parenthood as an obstacle to getting this budget passed is duplicitous lying scum.

Sometimes it almost seems like the really radical ones believe that unwanted parenthood and the possibility of life-altering or even fatal disease is the punishment someone deserves for engaging in something as "dirty" as sexual intercourse.

Except of course if you're married, in which case it's a fantasyland where disease and unwanted pregnancy never happen because all married couples were virgins on their honeymoon and remain 100% faithful to each other, and every sexual encounter is a de facto expression of the desire to make (another) baby. And if you didn't want to make a baby, then the risk of doing so is the price you have to pay for the sin of non-procreative lust.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

Sometimes it almost seems like the really radical ones believe that unwanted parenthood and the possibility of life-altering or even fatal disease is the punishment someone deserves for engaging in something as "dirty" as sexual intercourse.

Except of course if you're married, in which case it's a fantasyland where disease and unwanted pregnancy never happen because all married couples were virgins on their honeymoon and remain 100% faithful to each other, and every sexual encounter is a de facto expression of the desire to make (another) baby. And if you didn't want to make a baby, then the risk of doing so is the price you have to pay for the sin of non-procreative lust.

Surely the Duggars are the ideal everyone should aspire to.

[gimpy117]

It also seems that some of the people who are most vocal against abortion are also for small government and extensive freedoms without gov. control. Which is really ironic since telling you what you can and can't do with your body is about the ultimate invasion of your freedoms.

furthermore, I'm sure these people would be very critical of a Muslim theocracy, but are trying to get their religious beliefs incorporated into our government.

[August]

All of which has squat to do with getting federal spending under control except as a distraction from it.

[gimpy117]

Originally Posted by August

All of which has squat to do with getting federal spending under control except as a distraction from it.

but thats the thing. The GOP says it has something to do with the budget. Why? because as i said before, they are using the crisis to eliminate funding for programs they don't like. Essentially using the purse to forward partisan and religious ideas.

At bottom it is all very much a part of the "every sperm is sacred" and "sex is for procreation only" and "you will have as many babies as God decides you will have" kind of thinking that pervades the radical religious right.

[August]

Originally Posted by gimpy117

...eliminate funding for programs they don't like.

The Democrats have so many Sacred Cows it's impossible not to affect something that y'all will complain about. You're just taking this particular molehill and trying to make it into as big a political mountain as possible in order to divert attention away from the fact that all federal programs are bloated and need severe trimming.

We've already seen what happens when the Democrats are left in charge. Raising taxes and fees is the only thing they know how to do. Well that and punting the budget to the next session of Congress. Avoid the issue then criticize and complain. They're very good at that.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by August

The Democrats have so many Sacred Cows it's impossible not to affect something that y'all will complain about. You're just taking this particular molehill and trying to make it into as big a political mountain as possible in order to divert attention away from the fact that all federal programs are bloated and need severe trimming.

We've already seen what happens when the Democrats are left in charge. Raising taxes and fees is the only thing they know how to do. Well that and punting the budget to the next session of Congress. Avoid the issue then criticize and complain. They're very good at that.

Bill Maher: "The republicans run on the ticket that government doesn't work. Then they ---- it up and say, 'See?'"

[August]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Bill Maher: "The republicans run on the ticket that government doesn't work. Then they ---- it up and say, 'See?'"

Nice theory but since the Dems have controlled Congress for the past 5 years the present ---- up can hardly be blamed on the GoP.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by August

Nice theory but since the Dems have controlled Congress for the past 5 years the present ---- up can hardly be blamed on the GoP.

I thought it was kind of clever and illustrated the point that there's no real difference between the two parties.