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Now that Hillary has stepped out of the presidential race, Obama and McCain are making fools of themselves by testing bad ideas in the water to see if they float. Meanwhile our economy is a sinking ship and our foreign affairs are in shambles. The only things that seem to be going right is the Iraq War - our presence in the middle east is making it more secure for everyone.
Sometimes it really seems that these politicians have never taken a class in Economics. Obama's promise to tax oil companies on windfall profits has been proven only to hurt America's by making it MORE dependent on foreign oil because these taxes (as demonstrated by Carter's windfall taxes in the 70's) puts oil companies at a disadvantage to foreign competitors. The truth is oil companies make about 8.3 cents in gross profit per dollar of sales. In comparison, Microsoft's margin is 27.5 cents per dollar of sales.
Meanwhile McCain is touting a Gas Tax Holiday, taking money away from the government rather than the oil companies, that will same American minimal amounts per gallon yet encourages them to go burn more gasoline. At the same time he is criticizing oil companies for not reinvesting in 'alternative fuels'. The oil industry is already one of the nation's largest backers of wind and solar power, biofuels, lithium-ion batteries and fuel-cell technology.
Do these guys do any research before spreading these ridiculous ideas?
It's all about how things 'sound', not the actual truth.
I fear that neither candidate is qualified or able to manage our war and fix our economy and help this country prosper. These "Look at the Monkey!" politics are hurting our country and the people are too distracted by fluff issues and 'resolutions' to notice.
Politics hurts my head. I still don't know who I am going to vote for. Most likely Obama. I think all politicians are one more tap to the head away from idiocy though. I think its all about the making the lobbyists happy and the average American doesn't make enough money for politicians to care about what they have to say.
Obama has this great plan to tax the rich - remove the cap on social security contributions.
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Right now we pay about 7% of your income up to about $100k. And if you're self employed you pay the employers share as well, so you actually are paying about 13.5%.
Obama's plan is to remove all pretence of social security being "contributions" for your own retirement and simply make it a massive tax where the people who earn bigger incomes pay for the retirements of everyone else.
So, if he gets elected and you want to calculate your future tax rate, take 14% off the top, then take 38% of whats left (thats what the top rate will be reverting to, and the Dem congress has already enacted it for 2011), then take a few % for medicaid, then take your state income tax rate.
In NJ I'll be paying 64% of my income in taxes.
Meanwhile half of all Americans pay 0%. The half that vote for Obama.[/b]
Great idea, unless you are rich. They wont' miss it right? They're rich!
I don't know much about politics but I like how McCain wants to keep the taxes lower past 2010, the point when they will go back up. I fear how much more of my income I would see going away if they go back to the old rates...
That said I've always voted democrat. Now I'm on the fence to be honest with you.
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Meanwhile McCain is touting a Gas Tax Holiday, taking money away from the government rather than the oil companies, that will same American minimal amounts per gallon yet encourages them to go burn more gasoline. At the same time he is criticizing oil companies for not reinvesting in 'alternative fuels'. The oil industry is already one of the nation's largest backers of wind and solar power, biofuels, lithium-ion batteries and fuel-cell technology.[/b]
Don't know much about this either, as I said, politics are way too complicated for me....
but this tax hoilday I'm assuming is going to lower gas prices by taking the federal taxes off? Where are they going to make up the difference for doing this? Is this money that helps pay for road repairs and things?
I know in California our gas tends to be higher than the national average but thats because we get taxed at the pump to pay for new roads and stuff.
I find politics very hard to follow. You have to really dig in order to find the truth for both canidates. Plus I don't believe politicians ever really follow through on what they say will do anyway. It's like choosing between 2 car sales persons that lie. Makes it pretty tough.
Since I don't have a vote in who becomes US President, I don't know enough to really comment.
However, your statement about a candidate being more concerned about how they "sound" then the idea itself is universal and so true. You can add how they look to that statement. To me the real genius behind political leaders are their spin doctors. Like their standpoint or not, the way those folks can make any moron look acceptable or even good is incredible. It's not always about the leader themselves but the support system under them.
McCain, who everyone thinks is a 'warmonger' is now pushing political ads saying hes 'for peace'. Another of his ads says that his grandfather went to war and died the day after he came home, his dad was in a war, he was a POW for 5 years in Vietnam, and that he hates war. But he wants to Protect America. that's like saying you want to be a surgeon but you hate blood.
Obama is "for change"...but not all change is good! He needs to be more specific on what he's going to change, otherwise it's pretty pointless.
Cyndee you open a whole can of worms didn’t ya? LOL Kidding!
Here are my thoughts … I’ll be honest, I’m voting for Obama and these are my reasons.
There is no way in H.E.L.L that I could vote for someone who is against legalizing gay marriage or banning abortion rights. Voting for McCain (IMO) is voting for a backward thinker. I also believe in funding for stem cell research and I know that Barack backs funding for this as well. I also believe that we need to invest more money into green energy research, something Barack is interested in doing.
Overall, I just think that Barack is, again, a forward thinker. He is not being bogged down by his religious ideas or if he is, he is not basing his politically ideas on them. Politics are ugly, candidates are misleading. I usually have the “lesser of two evils” type thinking BUT however with Barack I feel hopeful.
BTW – I think the war is a mistake. Yikes! I know that might start some debate, but with all do respect, we should not be there any longer. We need a strategic exit plan but a strategic exit plan none-the-less. I think McCain would be a wonderful advisor to the President on how to exit Iraq in a swift and efficient manner.
jlo - I am with you that the war a mistake. America was mislead by the government on all kinds of things about the war. How about we actually fight the "war on terrorism" instead of starting wars in countries for our own profit. I think there was a good thing that came out of the war, that Sadaam Hussein is no longer a problem. And, now that we are in the war, I don't think we can just pull all our soldiers out and leave Iraq on it's own. We started it, we need to finish it.
That being said, if you disagree with me, I am fine with that and respect whatever your thoughts and feelings on this are.
Interesting thread. I usually pay more attention to politics but this year I have other things going on. That being said, I'll be voting for Obama. Although who knows if my vote will count here in Arizona, although I don't think McCain is liked here as much as he should be considering it is his own state. My best friend babysat for the McCains, well, it was about 15 years ago. She doesn't like him at all.. .thinks he's very phony. I suppose all politicians are. I just feel that a vote for McCain is a vote for things to continue down this same path. I like that Obama can speak, although he gets critized for being too polished, but after 8 years of W, it will be a refreshing change! I also like Michelle, his wife and like a President who has little ones in the office too! When I look at the issues and where they stand, I agree with Obama's policies more, such as gay marriage, environment, a women's choice and the war. So... that's it for me...
I'm not sure what to do myself. I almost don't want to vote, because IMO neither is qualified and neither will bring this country out of this state we are in. I don't know how to feel about the war either. Part of me feels like they need to end it and bring our troops home but then I fear that if they come home then America will be attacked again. Personally I don't want another 9-11 to happen. Hopefully I can make a decision before the time comes.
I don't know how to feel about the war either. Part of me feels like they need to end it and bring our troops home but then I fear that if they come home then America will be attacked again. Personally I don't want another 9-11 to happen.[/b]
Iraq is not a threat to us. No one particular country is a threat to us. The threat is an ideology and lifestyle that breeds these people. The Iraq war is doing nothing to elimnate that ideology.
Al Franken once said something that sticks in my mind. "In any conflict, the crazier of the two parties always wins. It's because if you have nothing to live for, you'll die for anything."
This is not a traditional war, and we can throw all the bombs and soldiers etc we want at it, it will make no difference. Give these people jobs, give them food, give them adaquate shelter and stable governments, and all of the sudden they'll have something to live for. Martyring for a cause will no longer seem so attractive. Right now, all they have to live for is the cause and that's what makes them so fanatical.
When it comes to oil, both candidates know that it will take years, and great lifestyle and business changes to solve the oil problem. The problem is we don't want to hear it. We want to hear that taxes will help it, that a weekend of cheap gas will help it, and not that we need to stop driving behemoths and rethink this whole "build things miles away from each other cause we can" thing we got going on. So they talk about the things that will get them votes, so that they can make the long term solutions once they are in office.
I'm a vocal Barack supporter and have been for a long time. He inspires people to want more, and I think that is the single most important thing we need in office right now. When it comes to McCain, it's not that I hate him or don't think he would be a decent president, it's that I think he has been jaded by politics and will be a president for his party, rather than a president for his people. Link
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"I love mankind, it's people I can't stand."
I'm not too impressed with either candidate, they're frustrating in different ways. I'm not sure how to choose the lesser of two evils. One thing McCain has going for him is his age. There's no way he'd be president for more than one term. He's too old to hack it for more than one round. If we go with Obama, we could very well be stuck with him for a while.
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Thanks so much for the lovely siggie Trish (mtdk454)!!!!
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I'm not too impressed with either candidate, they're frustrating in different ways. I'm not sure how to choose the lesser of two evils. One thing McCain has going for him is his age. There's no way he'd be president for more than one term. He's too old to hack it for more than one round. If we go with Obama, we could very well be stuck with him for a while.[/b]
Good point about the age thing. My FIL has commented on how people need to take a look at who his vice president would be because of mccains health.
I was thinking the same thing, McCain is only good for 4 years due to his age. Which is why I think Hillary undermined Obama so much, she knows if McCain wins she can run again in 4 years and have a better chance at winning.
I don't get too involved in politics, especially now that I have even less time to research each candidate's positions. I'm a middle of the road kind of person.
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There is no way in H.E.L.L that I could vote for someone who is against legalizing gay marriage or banning abortion rights. Voting for McCain (IMO) is voting for a backward thinker. I also believe in funding for stem cell research and I know that Barack backs funding for this as well. I also believe that we need to invest more money into green energy research, something Barack is interested in doing.[/b]
These 2 issues are the reason that I'm a Democrat. This country is all about choice, and I can't vote for someone who is in favor of controlling the choices we are allowed to make. Maybe I'm naive, but I feel that if I'm allowed to get married to the person I love, why can't gay people. Laws that ban gay marriage are making them second class citizens, and I just don't think that's fair.
As for the oil issue, I have a different view. My dad worked for a major oil company for over 30 years, and currently works for a smaller oil company. The reason for the ridiculous prices is easy: supply and demand. If we didn't drive our giant cars (and yes I'm guilty too) all over creation then gas might be a little cheaper. I'm not sure either candidate is going to come up with a perfect solution to the gas crisis.
Oliver 3-1-11 
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