Finally! After Decades of Trying, We have Sanity in Our Health Care System

Why is it just the $200K And Up Club paying. Certainly those making less can contribute, and should want to contribute, to this great benefit to our society. Those making $50K to $200K can easily afford to give .9% And, frankly, anyone with any investment income at all can absolutely afford to pony up 2.9% of it. Why do politicians not give everyone the responsibility of pulling their weight?

 

Well, my guess would be that those over 200k are, and have been reaping the benefits of this most fortunate of societies. Those folks over 200k are quite simply "living high on the hog" so to speak. They are the ones that can most easily afford to contribute to our great society that makes the wealthy more wealthy. Those lesser folks are already pulling enough weight trying to survive, building and fueling their yachts, their Mercedes Benz's, their private jets, trying to live within their means while the wealthy rape and strip the rest of society for it's personal amusement and excesses.

 

Someone making $100K is just trying to survive? I don't believe it for a minute. Even someone making $50K is not on the endangered list. Either could afford to be a part of this wonderful benefit to those less fortunate.

 

100k is debatable, depending what section of the country you live in an how many folks you are trying to support. 200k, unless you've got 18 kids and live in New York or some parts of California, for example, is indeed "more" than the average family needs, hence the reason they are first in line for taxes. The needs of the many should always outweight the needs of the few. Our society is bass akwards though. Our delusion as a nation will be our undoing.

 

But that is why it is called a percentage. You mean to tell me that someone making 50K a year cannot afford to chip in $450 a year for this? or that someone making $100K cannot afford $900 a year? I think that is totally ridiculous.

And I stick by the statement that anyone who is wealthy enough to have any investment income can afford a 3.9% contribution to the cause.

 

Unintended consequences?

http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...on-charge-on-health-care-reform-update1-.html

 

True some percentage of folks at those lower levels could technically afford to contribute. Granted. But the fatter, more wealthy corporate tycoons could better afford it, because, well, they're wealthy. They have much MORE than they need, whether they will admit it (NOT). I wouldn't be so much against the wealthiest of America is they weren't so damn greedy, had some morals, knew when to draw the line. But they don't. MORE..MORE. That's all we get from them and their "business" capitalistic greedsters, is MORE. The word "enough" doesn't exist in the corporate world (except when heading up slave labor pools...then they somehow understand it perfectly. CEO bonuses are explained by saying something like "seeking out the best, blah, blah, blah"). MORE just for the sake of more is sick, as is our society and it's corporate defenders.

 

Well now they have another convienent excuse to merge, downsize, or further elevate it's wealthiest of profiteers. Personally, I'd say AT&T is just some foreign held, outsourced company anyway. Good riddence. Hit the road. Merge. Eat up somebody else. It's inevitable anyway in our elitist halls of "capitalism".

You think companies like AT&T aren't going to eventually dispense with the labor costs that may still be left in America anyway? It's already being done. Like somehow yielding to them via NOT enforcing associated health care costs was going to help anybody anyway. Just keep poking along America and HOPE that the corporate fat cats will keep you in mind. (Pssst...they won't). You're the first thing they look to cut, their biggest expense. But bend over and kiss their behinds and imagine that they'll keep you on because they really give a crap about you. You butt kissing, management types, and the like., you'll be next. Enjoy.

 

Hey there, artful dodger, who should determine what's "enough" and how shouldt hey go about determining it?

 

BO has a lot of support around the world:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Cuban-leader-applauds-US-apf-124808403.html?x=0&.v=1

 

Well certainly not the foxes guarding the henhouse. AKA..the corporate elite.

 

I agree that the top 1.5% (in the case of this tax) can afford to pay the percentage. But I am also convinced that another > 50+% of the people can pitch in too. I think that is a problem in this country. The sacred cow of the 'Middle Class' - which seems to be anywhere from 50 to 90% of Americans the way the politicians define it - aren't required to pitch in a few hundred bucks to help this historical legislation that is going to give a major benefit to a portion of our population that certainly needs it.

I think it sends the message to people that they don't need to worry about what is actually in any legislation. They don't have a real stake in it. "We are adding this great benefit to the poorest of your fellow citizens and adding a new right to the population - the right of healthcare...but, don't you folks worry your pretty little heads about if it is the best we could do. You guys aren't paying for it. 'They' are. Not 'Us'. Just trust us, sit back down on the couch, eat your cheetos and watch some more TV."

 

By the same token, how much is enough? When does the greed stop? As Teddy Kennedy asked so often and never got an answer. It's not like the wealth is trending in the direction of the less wealthy but it has certainly been trending in the direction of the wealthy. How much more do they really need? It is just as valid as your, or should I say Midas' question. You tell me how much is enough and I'll tell you and I'll how much is too much.

The real question to be asking is who owns this country? Do we all own it or are some more owners than others? Do you remember the line from Orwell's Animal Farm? "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". The corporate elite of this country want to go back to the days when land owners were the only ones allowed to vote. There is even a Republican House member that has made such a proposal and several Republicans have also made the case for some having more privileges than others due to their wealth. I believe in the equality of all Americans regardless of their economic class. This doesn't mean that we all must live equally or have the same level of income but that is how the Right wingers overstate the position of the Left everytime the wealthy have to actually kick in something while using the bulk of our commons. I'm not anti-wealth, I'm anti-greed and there is a greed in this country their Jesus would be repulsed by.

 

Correction. "IS" (not 'would be') "repulsed by."

But what exactly is greed? I think I could probably make a pretty good argument that the common action of calling an entitlement program a right is nothing more than greed by another name.

 

Well we've heard it said here more than once. "enough" doesn't exist. MORE IS ALL THAT MATTERS. When a corporation has enough, strike that, an ample amount, find ways to extract MORE. When profits soar and revenues triple...Merge!!! Lay off! Outsource! MORE..MORE..MORE..To hell with the people, building a better society, improving workers lives! Crush! Export! Sweat shop labor! WOOHOOO! Capitalism, baby....capitalism!!!!
(This message was approved, sponored and provided by the RNC)

Edit: Whoops...almost forgot. Payfreezes!!! Pay reductions!!! Shell game style book keeping!!! Extract!!! Rape! Pilfer! MORE!!!! More CEO bonuses!!! More bailouts!!!

 

I'm pretty sure Jesus would look at corporations and might say something like "You know...this isn't exactly what I had in mind
about not coveting thy neighbor, or thou shalt not steal" I'm also pretty sure he would turn over all the gambling tables on Wall street too.

 

Then who?

 

How much is enough? That would be for the individual to decide, wouldn't it? If I wanted to work a few extra hours or a few extra days to accomplish something, how could you possibly have a problem with that?
I always find it ironic when someone like a Kennedy asks about wealth & greed. Do you see the liberal hypocrisy in that? The mega, mega wealthy rich liberal elites...Kennedy, Kerry, Edwards, Gore, etc...believe it is their mission to tell everyone else how to live...nothing aplies to them. Kennedy asks when is enough enough while everything has been handed to him on a silver platter, no one in that family has put in a honest days work in their entire life. Edwards was watching out for the "little guy" while living in the largest private home in the country. Gore wants to control our energy usage while flying all over the world in his private jet & using more energy in his private home than the entire town in which he lives uses. Kerry? I saw where our resident clown took a shot at McCain for marrying into a wealthy family? Hmmmm.

 

Meow just demonstrated that he wants socialists to dictate when "enough is enough" instead of letting the individual determine that for themselves.

In every classroom, every organization, in every situation where one is ALLOWED to do better than the next person, you will somebody that will "WIN", you will somebody that works harder and longer than their fellow associates, you will have somebody that will make smarter decisions and yes, you will haves somebody that takes a risk with their own capital in the hope and desire of improving their lives.

Meow and company are trying to destroy what made America great by dictating what should become of OTHER people's hard earned money, blood, sweat and tears. Meow wants to make everything "FAIR" when life isn't fair if you allow market forces and competition to take hold.

Instead of the individual deciding what is "enough", Meow and his fellow socialists want to bring everybody down. They are the iditots that want to dictate how much is "enough" while sucking dry this country and its future generations.

They are F--king this country!

 

It's funny that you both try to frame this as an individual accumulating wealth rather than large multinationals that are the real problem. No one individual can accumulate enough wealth to impact the rest of us but take an industry like the insurance industry that controls 1/6 of the U.S. economy and they can squeeze the hell out of the working class. You throw your trust behind people like Bernie Madoff and corporations like Enron and the countless other organizations who are only beholden to their shareholders and live in a country with lax regulation due to Republican shills for their cause and the millions they spend lobbying (buying and selling legislators) and think everything is hunky dory because your God capitalism will take care of all. Capitalism mixed with social responsibility is what our allies have and they do just fine. Laissez faire capitalism quickly devolves into an all out attack on the middle class in order to maximize profits. Money is your God not mine and I see people as coming first not the almighty buck. Greedy laissez faire capitalists like you simply can't understand. Look up from your money counting table once in a while Scrooge and see what there is to life other than your obsession with money.