Can one of you just give me one reason why obama should be president and I dont want to see any bumper sticker replies. "Obama stands for Change" or crap like that.

For the peeps out there who believe that big business should be taxed more think about this... If taxes which are now 40% for the top income bracket was to go up 5% wouldnt you think they would pass the buck to you the customer. Gas which is 3 bucks would go up to 3.15 just because of the tax increase. Milk, up 5% eggs, 5%, Burgers, 5%, Beer, 5%, etc you get the point.

ExxonMobil had the highest profits this year in the history of money making of almost 11 billion dollars but what you dont know is that they paid about 30 billion dollars in taxes to the US Govt. Think about how much you could have saved this last year if taxes werent so high for big business. And no Im not rich Im a student who barely breaks 30k a year.

 

If you honestly think that they would "pass the savings on" from not having to pay so many taxes, you're high off your ___. This is just more trickle-down economic bull____.

Where are you getting this 11 billion figure? Their operating income for 2007 was $70 billion, and after taxes etc was $40 billion.

EDIT: Okay, they paid $30 billion in taxes, we can agree on that. Lets say we give big business a tax cut of 5%, and in turn, they lower their prices on consumer goods (in this case, pump gasoline) by 5%, like in your example.

Their taxes are eased by $1.5 billion dollars, so they only pay $28.5 billion in taxes now. $3.00 pump gas goes down to $2.85... which also means the $404 billion in revenue they got from that pump gas is reduced 5%, or $20.2 billion. So, in effect, saving them $1.5 billion in taxes actually costs them $18.7 billion in the end using your "pass on the savings" theory.

REVENGE OF THE EDIT: Pump gas prices could only be reduced by 0.37% for them to actually see a profit come directly from the reduction in taxes, which would put your new lower gas price at $2.989. Would you really trade a $0.01 reduction in your gas price for the government not getting $1.5 billion worth of funding?

 

It's too bad that you have so little faith in your own views that you need to create a new screen name just to post that, but whatever.

Reasons I'm voting democrat: (I'm not really voting for Obama per se, he was near the bottom of my list of choices during the primary season. But he's our guy and I think he's OK.)

Foreign Policy: Look how far we've fallen. Used to be respected and admired by most of the world. Everyone rallied around us post 9/11, even Iran to some degree. In the past 7 years we've lost so much support around the world. I like that Obama actually wants to talk to our enemies instead of bombing them. Seems like a better way to turn them into friends. He got dissed by jealous republicans for the very warm welcome he got on his recent "world tour." I kinda like the idea of our president being received that way instead of mass protests. Iraq has been a scam from the very beginning and now the right is treating it exactly like Vietnam, wanting to keep the damn thing going for no other reason than to "win" to prove some kind of point out of vanity.

Economics: First of all, I'll trot out my graph:
CEOs' pay as a multiple of the average worker's pay

The rich in the country are doing JUST DANDY, while the middle class is quickly sliding down. I'm for capitalism and think that competition is essential, but I also think that it can't be left to just run wild.

Social Issues: I'm pro-civil rights pretty much across the board, including lots of stuff that conservatives oppose, like ___ rights, immigration reform, pro-choice, ending drug prohibition, equal pay. I'm also atheist so the fact that the right panders to the religious fringe and their dreams of some kind American Taliban christian theocracy end times fantasy really bothers me.

About the only thing republicans have going for them IN THEORY in my opinion is smaller government and fiscal responsibility. Who wouldn't want that? Wow, they've done a pretty miserable job of delivering on that ideal haven't they? We now live in something rapidly approaching a police state, with the worst deficit ever. They only people that get less gov't interference and lower taxes from the republicans are those who pay for the favor.

So those are some of my thoughts on why I'm voting for the democrat and against the republican. Please read my post on page 7 for more! LOL

 

D1G1T4L, I'm not really supportive of either of these candidates but If you're trying to prove that CEO pay is higher (or that that's a bad thing) because of republicans your graph isn't helping. If you'll look at it the major climb is from around 1993 till 2000 with the highest spike in that year. If I remember correctly and I may be wrong cause i hardly remember the 90's but wasn't a dude named Clinton the president then? And wasn't he a democrat? Just sayin it doesn't make a good argument to me. And please don't get all mad and run to cry in a corner like jsa3mm. I did call him an ignorant jackass though which was kind of mean of me. Anyway lemme know what you think.

 

Oh and Supabox, How did a company pay almost three times more taxes than earnings? maybe $11b is just a typo. at least i hope so cause if that's the truth i think someone got screwed on their taxes.

 

This is a good point, and I wish more people were behind this line of thinking. People attribute taxing the upper-class more and the middle and lower-classes less as dirty, awful "socialism"; they see it as making everyone equal.

It's not. It's making what is right now a sharply exponential curve of "how well off we are between classes" more linear. It's trying to fix the steep income inequality between the middle and upper class, not eliminate it entirely.

I guess my question to opponents of this "socialist line of thinking" is this; how much of the nation's wealth do you think the top 1% of America, which is the generally accepted percentage for being "upper class", should have? How much of a divide should there be between the lower, middle, and upper classes?

 

I know people in that top 1% and every one of them that I've talked to about this has always said that they don't really mind it. Well of course they don't wanna pay so much but they always say "I make plenty of money and I understand why I have to pay more". Those are the people I know though. I'm sure there are a lot out there that think differently. Me I'm all for it. The only think I wish we had that was socialized and isn't is Health-Care. That's the main reason I can't call myself a Republican. But the US can't even afford the programs it has now let alone health care for the entire nation.

 

x2
It’s time for a change eight is enough !!

 

That's a valid point and I agree that Clinton was no saint. But I'm more concerned about trying to improve the situation. Both parties are corrupt but at least the dems will acknowledge that the expanding class divide is a problem. So I find them more encouraging at least.

Don't you worry! I can deal with a little debate-action. It's edumacationalistic!

I'm glad you're supportive for that, I think it's badly needed. A friend of mine who is a moderate republican made the "we can't afford" it argument also, and in my opinion it doesn't fly. We are already paying for it. We are paying insurance companies for our healthcare PLUS their profits. Plus when more people can go in for preventative care, it saves a lot of money down the line. And not having to hear stories about little girls dying from a tooth infection because mom doesn't have dental coverage... that will be nice too.

 

^ I agree with the Preventative care part....

 

I can't believe that this old and boring topic is still going strong...

Anyways..........................Obama FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

OBAMA WINS!

Deal with it....
keep him, and all of Washington, accountable!!

 

well lets just hope things will change for the better now

 

Enjoying this popcorn! Not even in office and there's already a scandal. He's beating Bill by a long shot!

 

If you're referring to the Blago thing, then just stfu already. Obama threw him under the bus long ago.

 

I have been seeing random people wanting Clinton back as well...lets not forget about NAFTA, that Clinton signed into act that has now helped lead us into to highest unemployment rate in over 30+ years, so yeah bring back Clinton, bring back the corrunption, bring back the scandal and lets define "it" all over again...Hopefully Obama can bring about the change to overturn/help correct the mistakes of not only the past eight years but hopefully some of them from years before as well.../rant

 

Clinton...lol...nah...I was just making a comparison. At least Bil was in office before we heard about all of his scandals.

 

^lol...