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[California Girl]

Sox, you crack me up! You made your bed, now you have to lie in it!

[Lulu76]

Again..........call it what you want, BUT AT LEAST IT GOES TO ALL ALASKANS, freeloaders and hard workers alike. Or do you have some column to dispute that too?

That sounds a little bit like socialism...

[loria]

actually it is much more like socialism than Obamas tax plan is.

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[cypressgirl]

Again..........call it what you want, BUT AT LEAST IT GOES TO ALL ALASKANS, freeloaders and hard workers alike. Or do you have some column to dispute that too?

That sounds a little bit like socialism...

So your saying I'm going to get a tax cut too, just like the 100% of Alaskans? Thats the first I've heard that bit of good news. "Spreading the wealth" to make it even is socialism. I wish that every person on this planet had plenty of food and a warm home, but to elect a guy who BELIEVES it's his right to punish anyone who is remotely successful, and then to decide exactly how much is too much and takes it upon himself to take money from so many hard working people who have struggled and taken risks to achieve a snipit of the American dream, and punish them for that hard work and give it to someone to make it more "even" is not the America I know and love. That, my dear friend, is socialism. What kind of message does it send our kids........that there is no point in being a high achiever, no point in working your ass off, the government will take care of you because you deserve it. We will all end up wards of the federal government, and so many lambs are way too willing to be led to the slaughter house. It looks like I'm going to get slaughtered like the rest of you, but I'm not willing to do it without a fight. I'm not willing to sit here and let this country become a country that ties the hands of it's citizens and calls it fair. Do I like McCain? hell no. Do I trust either party? no way. Has Bush screwed up? In more ways than I can count, are both parties trying to serve their own self interests? you bet. But to put Obama in the White House with a totally democratic congress and leave us with no checks and balances is not just a really bad idea, its suicidal.

I got sucked in again, darnit.

[Lulu76]

I would like to point out that from 2000 to 2006, there was a Republican president and a Republican Congress. Some would argue that is probably why we are where we are today.

I was probably the only person in the world who didn't think Joe Biden was nuts when he said paying taxes is patriotic. Why is everyone all excited about tax cuts? NO ONE should get a tax cut! Our country is ONE TRILLION DOLLARS in the hole right now. We have a war going on that costs millions of dollars a day. Even if whichever candidate promises us tax cuts, there is NO MONEY to give us tax cuts.

Maybe I don't get it because I am right in the middle, and I won't really benefit from any of these mythical tax cuts. But honestly, the real problem is all the loop holes in our tax code. Everybody's looking for deductions and no one really pays their fair share...

[bayer40601]

Again..........call it what you want, BUT AT LEAST IT GOES TO ALL ALASKANS, freeloaders and hard workers alike. Or do you have some column to dispute that too?

OK, I will. It is a perfect example of redistribution of wealth. It is taking money from the oil companies and giving it to Alaskan citizens.

Since the Republican candidates are campaigning against "redistribution of weatlh" they need to be exposed for their own deeds.

but to elect a guy who BELIEVES it's his right to punish anyone who is remotely successful, and then to decide exactly how much is too much and takes it upon himself to take money from so many hard working people who have struggled and taken risks to achieve a snipit of the American dream, and punish them for that hard work and give it to someone to make it more "even" is not the America I know and love

This is exactly what Gov. Palin has already done in her state and yet you wish for us to vote for her. In her case we are not talking about hypotheticals. She's already done it.

[cypressgirl]

You guys are hopeless. Don't say I didn't warn you.

[bayer40601]

You warned us. I only wish you have been this vigilant in 2000.

[cypressgirl]

To quote Lulu..........

Everybody's looking for deductions and no one really pays their fair share...[/quote]

I just pulled our '06 return and we paid 241,233. in income tax. It was a really good year for us. '07 was lower and '08 will be even lower. My husband works on straight commission, so we eat what he kills. So to say we didn't or don't pay our fair share is rediculous. We pay the top rate, like many of you. I guess I'm suppose to feel guilty that my husband worked night and day building a business so he could give his family the life we enjoy (or enjoyed). If you think paying more in taxes is patriotic, knock your self out. I don't think even the more liberal leaning people on this forum would say they are not being taxed enough and they'd be happy to pay more and "feel" more patriotic.

We haven't even touched on the Nat. Security issue because the economy is in the forefront of everyones mind. We Americans have a very short memory. I just heard a result in Israel of a poll they took. McCain is ahead by 15%. I wonder who Iran would vote for.

[Lulu76]

I work 60-80 hours a week at two jobs, and it would take me six years to make what you paid in taxes for one. I'm not begrudging you, I'm just saying that I would LOVE to be in the position to pay a quarter of a million dollars in taxes. Maybe if I were I wouldn't be scrimping to save up for a house, worried that my old car is going to break down and I can't get a new auto loan or wondering if I'm going to have to use my credit card on St. John next week.

I'm not ever going to be wealthy. True, I didn't have to choose to be a writer as a living. It's just the only thing that I'm good at. I don't live above my means. I don't have fancy things, and that's OK. My trip to STJ every year is a result of a lot of hard work and the only splurge I give to myself, and even then I look for deals on villas and car rentals and cook at the villa.

Ted Kennedy is the most liberal man in the universe, and if you called him right now he'd tell you he doesn't pay enough taxes.

[flip-flop]

Thomas Friedman - I am sure some will discount him and his three pulitzer's as just a liberal ranter - wrote a very interesting oped that struck a chord with me.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/e ... ne=nyt-per

Highlights:

“Governor Palin, if paying taxes is not considered patriotic in your neighborhood, who is going to pay for the body armor that will protect your son in Iraq? Who is going to pay for the bailout you endorsed? If it isn’t from tax revenues, there are only two ways to pay for those big projects — printing more money or borrowing more money. Do you think borrowing money from China is more patriotic than raising it in taxes from Americans?” That is not putting America first. That is selling America first.

....paying taxes, while certainly no fun, was how we paid for the police and the Army, our public universities and local schools, scientific research and Medicare for the elderly. No one said it better than Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes: “I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.”

I can understand someone saying that the government has no business bailing out the financial system, but I can’t understand someone arguing that we should do that but not pay for it with taxes. I can understand someone saying we have no business in Iraq, but I can’t understand someone who advocates staying in Iraq until “victory” declaring that paying taxes to fund that is not patriotic.

And please also don’t tell me she is an “energy expert.” She is an energy expert exactly the same way the king of Saudi Arabia is an energy expert — by accident of residence. Palin happens to be governor of the Saudi Arabia of America — Alaska — and the only energy expertise she has is the same as the king of Saudi Arabia’s. It’s about how the windfall profits from the oil in their respective kingdoms should be divided between the oil companies and the people."

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[cypressgirl]

I work 60-80 hours a week at two jobs, and it would take me six years to make what you paid in taxes for one. I'm not begrudging you, I'm just saying that I would LOVE to be in the position to pay a quarter of a million dollars in taxes. Maybe if I were I wouldn't be scrimping to save up for a house, worried that my old car is going to break down and I can't get a new auto loan or wondering if I'm going to have to use my credit card on St. John next week.

I'm not ever going to be wealthy. True, I didn't have to choose to be a writer as a living. It's just the only thing that I'm good at. I don't live above my means. I don't have fancy things, and that's OK. My trip to STJ every year is a result of a lot of hard work and the only splurge I give to myself, and even then I look for deals on villas and car rentals and cook at the villa.

Ted Kennedy is the most liberal man in the universe, and if you called him right now he'd tell you he doesn't pay enough taxes.

Yeah, it just fell in our lap.........I cleaned teeth 6 days a week for years so my husband could quite his job and go into business for himself. He made hundreds of calls a week and worked until midnight most nights. He always told me that it doesn't matter if 99 doors are slammed in his face, that just means the next one will be open. I always said I couldn't sell a loaf of bread to a starving person. If I had to take that kind of rejection for that long I would have certainly given up. If it were easy, everyone would do. It's sad to me Lulu, that you think you can never be financially successful being a writer. There must be thousand of "rich" writers in this country. Barnes and Noble is full of the works of successful writers. Don't give up on yourself so easiy. This is the land of opportunity, or it used to be. Lots of people have overcome horrible circumstances to become succussful, not just financilly, but in every way that counts.

If Ted Kennedy feels that he is not paying enough in taxes, I'm sure the federal government will happily take his money. That problem is quite easy to solve.

[Lulu76]

I know you worked hard for your money. Probably a lot harder than I have for mine. That's probably why you have more, and I don't begrudge anyone financial success. The point I was trying to make -- poorly, I might add -- is that just because we are all here on a travel forum for a place that's pretty expensive doesn't mean we're all upper middle class. I'm not anywhere near that. In fact, I barely make it (and I can't imagine how I'd make it with a child), but I'm in a tax bracket that I probably shouldn't be in. But still, I think I pay my fair share. I just think there is a huge disparity in our tax system. I'm not wealthy by any means and I pay the same percentage of my income as someone who's doing quite well (I'm not starving or anything, don't worry about me), but I think that we're all footing the bill for a lot of people who don't pay their fair share. And I don't mean poor people; I mean all the people and corporations who brag that they don't pay taxes. That's not right. We need tax reform across the board, and I don't know that the Democrats or the Republicans have an answer.

I don't need to be wealthy. I would just like to not have to worry about paying medical bills or buying a new car or be sad that I can't afford to have a child. I'm a good writer, and maybe if I didn't have to have a "real" job to have health insurance (I have pre-existing conditions), then I could be the next Hemingway or someone. But, I just don't see that part of the American Dream for me. That's OK. Because of the Internet and the ability for everyone to be a writer, it's just harder and harder to find anything to pay the bills, and there are plenty of bills when a poor kid goes to a top-notch journalism school.

I don't know for sure, but I don't believe Ted Kennedy takes his Congressional salary. That helps the economy at least a little bit. You could employ six of me for one year of Ted Kennedy's pay.