I’ve been wrestling with how I feel about this and it really is something that shows exactly the problem we have in Washington. I’m not posting this to get into a REP vs DEM fight since I have been solidly pushed to an Independent stance. I want what is best for this country, not the upper crust who make money on the backs of us. I see what has happened the last two years as one side fighting for the rich and winning and one side fighting for the rest of us and falling short.

First off, I voted for Obama and agreed (and still do) with the proposed changes he promised and (says) is still trying to do. That being said, he’s fallen way short of where we all thought he would be in terms of implementing those changes. Considering how slow the push from Dems has been in terms of allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military, how ineffective they were in getting honest change in our health care system and how we’re still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, how can we expect ANYTHING of worth to be accomplished? They can’t get their shit together enough to pass wildly popular bills let alone anything that’s a tough sell. Because of this spineless/corruption /fucking joke, they have to pander to their opponents, the GOP in a desperate attempt to get anything done so they don’t look like they just sat in office with their collective thumbs lodged in their asses. Queue the ghost of George Washington’s face palm.

Turning now to the GOP. There was a time when I respected certain Republicans…..but honey you all have let yourselves go. I mean it’s so bad that I don’t need to give examples…but I will. Palin, Birthers, Fox News, Tea Parties, …oh fuck it. Desperate to get in the way of anything the Dems propose in fear that the country will like them for the improvements, they stand in lock step and act like a giant hair ball in the drain of Washington’s pipes. Saying no to ANYTHING (even an anti-rape bill…look it up) the Dems wanted to pass, they have the interest of their party in mind at all times and the concern for Americans (particularly the 98% of us without life coaches and limos) in some dusty box in their attic.

Now they have stood in the way again to get tax cuts for billionaires extended while turning their back on America. Polls show Americans want the tax cuts to remain for those under a certain income but to remain for the rich, Dems support this 70% and it seems the only people who overwhelmingly support extending cuts to uber-wealthy are the GOP. So in a “Democracy”, how is it that our system is allowing the minority to get their way? From DADT to tax cuts, the minority is getting what they want instead of the representatives of the people passing what those who elected them wanted.

So who do I blame? All of them. Democrats are a group of increasingly ineffective head cases. They can’t deliver their promises and compromise to the point of outrage with the minority. Is it ALL their fault? No. How do you pass anything when your opponent (who clearly doesn’t want you to look good) has a system set up where they can simply not act…and then win? Republicans have essentially taken American policy hostage these last two years. They got what they wanted too. They know Americans are fickle and with the help of Fox News telling all of us how the Dems haven’t done anything to improve this country since they took office, thus proving the GOP is the better option, the American people voted in their favor in the mid-term elections. Now the GOP is blatantly turning its back on us in favor of the 2% of Americans with money….and they are getting away with it. I’m talking about hard working, honest Americans here who seem to have no one looking out for their interests. Maybe I’m jaded or overreacting, but our government has failed us in my opinion.

I have no suggestions for improvement, I’m just frustrated. I also want to know if I’m the only one here that is pissed off about this shit. I'm tired of working my ass off while I struggle to pay my bills. My friends and family in the military fight in wars that were started on lies and continued on fear while their familes are concidered poverty level. They fight for a government who has turned their backs on its people but they don't question or slow in their integrity. The assholes who fucked up our economy are LOADED rich and I can't afford to go to a better college. I can't afford a trip home to see my sick Greandmother. My son wonders why he can't go to the movies or get new toys. My belt is so fucking tight that I'm having a hard time paying the bills but I turn around and see the elites who bombed on Wallstreet and got bailed out making a nation's GDP in profits. What the fuck?

Keep in mind also before you post that we can disagree without being dickfaces.

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Winning vs. losing in this economy? How about just representing the people that elected you. Not the ones that financed you.

I want to research the Exxon-Mobil fact (earned 19bil, and then got 150mil tax refund). It makes no sense.

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You're not the only one pissed off DF. The democraps and Obama have completed failed me in most every way they could have. The only group even more worthless is the GOP, which has only the interests of the uber-rich in mind, like you say. If I had any faith in our two-party system to begin with in 2008, I'd have lost it by now.

Warrants research, but probably true. I know some of the perfectly legal accounting methods that my company uses to reduce our tax burden, and I can only imagine what those scale to at the mega-corporate level.

Well written though DF. I agree with almost most of it. I'm almost to the point where I just don't want to pay any attention to what goes on anymore because it's just so distasteful, no matter what party is making the decisions.

Never wait and wish for Washington to fix things or do the right thing.

The government will never be the solution to our problems.
Make as much money as you can and keep as much of it out of the control of politicians as you can.

Take care of yourself and your own, give to charity when you can.
Don't expect or even wish for social justice or equality...they're fucking unicorns.

That's the only way to be happy.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

What I dont understand is the poor white trash who somehow believes the GOP is 'their' party. Because they throw out some hollow bullshit about jesus, and values, and dammit dont let those faggots get married!

Fuck us (collectively)...we deserve this steaming pile of shit.

Really well put.

@Squanto: I guess I'm not doubting that it is true, it's just, you know, frustrating.

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That senator said a lot of "feel-good" things, but they're also pie-in-the-sky things; we'll never get manufacturing jobs back from China without some sort of government stipend to companies that do so.

You want to get some money back? Cut back on DoD funding. No, I'm not saying make the military smaller, cut wages, or anything like that.

Cut off the contractors. My company makes 1.5mil/yr on the contract I work on. Total operating cost of this operation is under 750k/yr. IMO, it's a HUGE waste - the government could easily hire the same number of individuals we have on staff (if not more) for that 750k.

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Well, the manufacturing problem is Clinton's dark legacy.
NAFTA and giving China most favored nation status are the biggest crimes against the American worker in the last century.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

This times infinity + 1

I have a former business contact that left his job, about the same time I did, who now works for a top fortune 500 company in their accounting dept. He is a brilliant financial, and accounting mind. And he was saying that some of the top level accountants for these firms, if they do it right, and hide nearly a billion dollars in perfectly legal ways, and avoid being taxed on these dollars. Imagine if you could hide 5% of your income for 5-10 years, have it never be taxed, never be seen by the government. How much more would you have? Now just put it on a larger scale.

To me the problem isn't giving tax cuts to the wealthy individuals in this country, it's the fact the government doesn't fix these loop holes that probably equate out to nearly 500 Billion dollars a year by these companies, who are simply just hiding and hording this money, without paying the proper tax on it.

Just my two cents, but it's pretty fucked up that I pay tax on every cent I make, and X&Y Corp that makes 150,000 times more than I do, can hide about 5% of their yearly revenues come tax time.

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

You want to fix the loopholes?
Ditch the income and corporate tax code and implement a flat consumption tax across the board.

I bet revenues would skyrocket.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

You got my vote XC...too bad you'd never be able to get that to pass in congress, those that would be hurt most by it, are also those who A. Contribute the most to Political Campaigns, or B. Those that get out and vote.

IE The Billionaires, and the borderline poverty level class

This exclues Senior Citizens, because they always vote, doesn't matter what it is. Dog Catcher gets a 15% senior citizen population turn out.

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

Everything is run by money and it has all but destroyed the "American Dream" for most people

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I'll always contend the flat tax should satisfy everyone.
The left can party because the "rich" would pay more.
The right can party because the income tax would be abolished.
Everyone can party because we'd be collecting tax revenue on the black market (drugs and prostitution mainly).

Much of the power centered in Washington revolves around those in control of the tax code.
"If you give me a fat campaign contribution I'll write you your very own loophole"

That's how assholes like Charlie Rangel bread their butter.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

DP, don't take offense but just offering my observation - you don't sound independent. You sound like you're so far left that the only reason you don't like Dems is because they aren't left enough or able to push their left agenda far enough.

You make many typical criticisms toward the GOP that are re-hashed and repeated but not necessarily thought out. The only one that gets me too much is about taxes. Polls show that most approve of a tax increase for wealthy because, well, quite obviously the wealthy are a very small percentage of the population. Of course polls will show against them.

So what if they are a minority though? Should minorities just get shafted because, "sorry, you don't have the numbers and we do so you're fucked"??? The wealthy already pay taxes through the farking roof. Believe it or not, most of them worked for it. They are people like Pegula that turned a quality upbringing and work ethic into success...then get shafted at tax time. I'm a fan of a fair tax and consumer tax, but that's a whole other topic.

Otherwise, corruption is on both sides of the aisle. Eventually (someday decades from now) we won't have to choose between Rep and Dem, and politicians will be forced to define themsleves based on their own character and ideology, rather than tow a party line, get hemmed into litmus test topics like abortion, gay rights, and all that other crap that doesn't effect our economy and where our future ultimately lies.

Yes, the extremely wealthy did work for their money and they deserve every penny. What I don't like about the super rich is the fact that you can get to a certain point where you literally have more money than you can physically use. What happens to it? Well it gets moved down the family line, and little Billy Gates jr. and little Stevie Jobs jr. will be born into a life where they can buy their way into a career that they're not qualified for.

As someone trying to break into a very difficult career field (writing), it annoying the ever loving shit out of me that there are people who are afforded the opportunity to sit and write for years because their family has money, and they have the opportunity to either score a book deal through wealthy contacts, or spend the thousands of dollars it costs to self publish and distribute to mainstream retailers when there are hundreds of better writers out there (and I'm not even talking about myself) that never get to contribute literature because they don't have those luxuries. It's kind of a subtle monarchy, be born with the right name, and you're set for life. So I don't have an issue with the wealthy being taxed more.

I also don't think that social issues such as abortion, and gay rights are crap. I think it's important that we continue to define and better ourselves as a society. Was the struggle for womens' rights crap? Was the struggle for minority rights crap? I hardly think so.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

I'm not offended Sabres Fan. Being left and being a Democrat however are not the same thing. Like I said in my post, I believe in the things the Democrats campaigned on. That being said, I can't get behind a party of spineless B-teamers. Yes I am pro-choice but I like to kill and eat as many deer as I can every fall. I'm an artist but I aslo fought MMA for years (until my lung collapsed). I think of myself as a mix. I'm not some soft meterosexual liberal in a city loft but I'm also not a bible thumping homophobe. I think we need to get our asses out of the Middle East but I served in the Air Force and am married to an active duty SSGT. It's an odd political system we have. Basically there is an either or choice the media tries to make us fall into but just because you support say...gun regulations, it doesn't mean your a yellow belly liberal and on the flip side, just cause you believe in say....a ban on same sex marriage, it doesn't mean you're some home schooled fundementalist. When I say I'm an independent, I mean that I don't choose an affiliation to a party. Maybe that doesn't fit pre-formed definitions of a Washington independent but that's how I see it. Hell maybe it's more of a reflection of the Dems base washing away...who knows.

What upsets me about the Dems isn't the fact that they aren't far enough to the left, it's that they don't get any of their proposals through. They controlled Washington for two years and for some reason felt they needed to play reactionary politics with the GOP. It's bullshit.

As for the rich tax, it boils down for me to one simple idea. This country's economy is burning and at the end of the day, millionaires will still be rich if they are taxed and the middle class might not make it if they are. Someone has to be taxed and the reality of it is that only those with money can afford it right now. Also, this is a return to pre-Bush taxes for the rich, not some brand new Democratic hike to "socialize" the country. There have been times under both Dem and Rep Presidents where tax rates were much higher for the rich than they would be if the Bush tax cuts were to run out.

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CV, someone who becomes rich through their own work usually is smart enough to pass that money down the family line. That's how it's always been regardless of the economic system. If Jr. takes that money and blows it on booze and hookers it's still his money, and ultimately he can do whatever the hell he wants with it. Just because it's not right or not fair doesn't mean the gov't has the right to tax it more. Maybe you have more of an issue with capitalism, because that's what allows people to get rich and buy things like time and opportunity.

Social issues are not crap, but they often become litmus tests for both politicians and voters. Those litmus tests (abortion, gun rights) are crap that distracts from equally or more important issues like economy, defense, taxes.

DP, I wouldn't peg you as any of those stereotypes you mentioned in the first paragraph. I'm a hodge-podge of different values that some would consider contradictory (a conservative atheist for example). Dems did pass a rather large portion, if not the holy grail of their agenda with the health care legislation. Voters seem to be focused more on fiscal responsibility and the perception so far is that the health care bill is gov't waste, so they lost their next two years to push forward. I'd agree that you're not in the pre-formed definition of independant...more like thoroughly pissed off. That's a good thing because more people should be fed up.

I know taxes have been higher before, but I just have a different view on taxes altogether. When gov't stop wasting money with stupid salaries and life-long pensions and health care for free, million dollar offices and cars and staff all paid for by us schmucks, I'll be in line with the rich paying a little more. A consumer tax would do the same thing since the rich have more spending money.

I agree with that. When I talk about taxes for the the rich, I'm not saying it is a magic fix all by any stretch. There are many many other steps that need to be taken to get us back on track but right now on the barrel head is the question of taxes. Right now when we are teetering on the edge financially as a country, I believe what needs to be done is to roll back to pre-Bush taxes. Forever? No. The rich don't fight for our country on the battle feild so make them fight for it financially. Hundreds of thousands of men and women of the lowest tax brackets put their lives on the line each day for America so I don't get all bent out of shape if a handful of mega rich pay more taxes from the comfort of their imported Persian, back friendly, vegan made, gold encrusted office lounge chairs.

Cutting back military spending in terms of bullshit war spending needs to be accomplished, addressing tax codes for companies taking business overseas needs to be done, politician spending, pork gobbling, etc etc all need to be done to get things on track but right now I think the rich need to stop bitching and put their greed int he back seat for a few years. Our economy has been prison raped by a lot of the greedy 1% of this country, and frankly I don't cry a single tear when they make one million less a year than they did before the tax cuts ran out. My dad worked for Grief Brother Steel in Niagara Falls for decades and then when they realized that they could use loop holes and shifty math to make a profit by essembling their barrels over seas, they fired everyone and fucked them out of their pensions. Fuck the greedy elite. Our working class needs a break and something to help them get back on their feet because without a thriving middle class, we're all going down. I think the uber-wealthy should think of this as an investment. If they right the ship, increase the middle class and get the economy running again, their pocket books will be rewarded when spending starts getting back to normal.

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