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Taxes - a little blurb about them!




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Iraq war vs. New Orleans
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If taxes seem high, consider how much is being spent on the unjustified, wasteful war in Iraq. The tax buck starts and stop right there. That should make everyone angry. $250 billion to rehab New Orleans is a deal...and a better way to spend tax dollars in the US. The statements in this post make it sound like money would be handed directly to the residents. That's a totally absurd and false notion - If you take a moment to review Landreau's bill, the money would be used to repair/improve infrastructure and to provide low interest loans for folks affected by the disaster. |
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RE: Iraq war vs. New Orleans
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| Ich bin doch nicht Krosus! | ||
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RE: Iraq war vs. New Orleans
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http://www.bercasio.com/movies/dems-wmd-before-iraq.wmv Before we get too carried away with the blame game, Please watch this little blurb about the war in Iraq. |
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Excellent post BozemaniteNo31423!
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We are being taxed to death, and I really hope voters will think twice about how much more they want to pay when they choose which candidate to vote for this November. I also feel compelled to add that according to the website for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities about $590 billion — or 22% — of the budget goes to defense spending, and of that "roughly $125 billion went to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan". Senator Landrieu is requesting twice that much for New Orleans. There are many questions about whether it makes sense to rebuild an area that is below sea level, and about the misappropriation of much of the funding that has already gone to help New Orleans. BTW, 21% of the budget goes to Social Security and another 21% goes to Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP. I encourage everyone to check out the site. It's pretty interesting. http://www.cbpp.org/4-14-08tax.htm |
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Taxes
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I think we are approaching the trillion dollar mark for the total amount spent on "the war on terror" since 2003. $125 billion is the base budget. Keep in mind that there will be several congressional requests throughout the year for additional funding, just like every year. The folks in Louisiana lost their homes and livelihood. Do they not deserve assistance? What if something along the same lines happened here and people ffrom the south decided that it wasn't worth the effort to give us assistance for some reason like Montana is "too sparsely populated", or "there's no significant industry here to revive"? How would you feel? It is a shame how New Orleans has been ignored. BozemaniteNo31423 - Great quote! I haven't seen that one since college political science class. We all have to pay taxes, even though we have folks who operate like King Kroesus in our government. I don't necessarily like paying taxes either and I hate that a lot of it is wasted. However, I'd rather have it spent/wasted in the US rather than on an unjustified war. |
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RE: Taxes
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RE: “What if something along the same lines happened here and people ffrom the south decided that it wasn't worth the effort to give us assistance for some reason like Montana is ‘too sparsely populated’, or ‘there's no significant industry here to revive’? How would you feel?” Who said anything about Montana? This hypothetical scenario has nothing to do with the discussion about what actually is happening in New Orleans, and I’m not falling for it. Of course I believe New Orleans deserves assistance, and it has already received substantial aid. It has not “been ignored”. I’m no expert on New Orleans but I have read a bit about it and I was able to uncover the following with very little effort. According to the White House fact sheet titled The Federal Government is Fulfilling its Commitment to Help the People of the Gulf Coast Rebuild, as of 2007, the Federal Government has already spent $127 billion (including tax relief) on New Orleans and the Gulf region since Hurricane Katrina. That comes to $425,000 per person based on the 300,000 people living in New Orleans. (Bear in mind, the entire GDP of the state of Louisiana is $141 billion. The $250 billion that Senator Landrieu is requesting amounts to an additional $833,333. per person in New Orleans!) Highlights from the report include: “The Administration Has Provided A Total Of $16.7 Billion In Federal Funds As Part Of The Largest Housing Recovery Program In U.S. History. Of these funds, provided under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program, more than $10.4 billion has been allocated for Louisiana, of which the State has expended $3.7 billion”, and “Today, The New Orleans Area Has The Best Flood Protection In History, And Work Continues On Improvements. All damages to pre-Katrina infrastructure have been repaired, and in many places, the system is now better than before Hurricane Katrina struck”. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070829-1.html The big question is: Where did the rest of the money go? By the way, this is only Federal money and not the additional relief donated by individual citizens, groups, and privately funded charities. My question about whether it makes sense to rebuild an area that is below sea level referred to the devastated Lower 9th Ward, where only about half of the residents have returned to date. Apparently, many have chosen to resettle elsewhere. (Maybe they can read the writing on the wall.) This area lies 7-10 feet below sea level and was built upon a cypress swamp that was drained and cleared in order to extend the city. Further, in an op-ed piece for the Washington Post dated 6 September 2005, Klaus Jacob wrote, “Katrina is not even the worst-case scenario. Had the eye of the storm made landfall just west of the city (instead of to the east, as it did) the wind speeds and its associated coastal storm surge would have been higher in New Orleans (and lower in Gulfport, Miss.). The city would have flooded faster, and the loss of life would have been greater.” Jacob also stated that, due to specific scientific conditions, “Government officials and academic experts have said for years that in about 100 years, New Orleans may no longer exist. Period.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090501034.html In no way did I suggest an either/or policy of diverting assistance from New Orleans to the WOT. I simply proposed a realistic assessment and accounting of the billions of Federal relief dollars already allocated to New Orleans before sending more. I don’t want the government to merely throw more money at the problem — I want to see that the money is being spent wisely, on real solutions. |
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Point taken
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Gixa - I accept your point and you provide totally valid commentary. However, I'd like to apply your last paragraph to my point about the wasted money on the war in Iraq: "I simply propose a realistic assessment and accounting on the billions of Federal [defense] dollars already allocated to [the war in Iraq] before sending more. I don't want the government to merely throw more money at the problem - I want to see that the money is being spent wisely, on real solutions." ...Hey, what do you know - it works for my argument too! |
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SS Tax
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| Anyone else have a problem with Seniors being taxed on their Social Security checks? After all, wasn't that money grabbed through taxation to begin with? So the Government is taxing the tax. | |
