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Our Dickensian Economy
Wall Street Jounal ^ | 12/17/2010 | Alan Blinder

Posted on 12/19/2010 7:48:14 AM PST by Michael Tergent

Season's greetings. And while I'm on the subject, this is a good time for us "haves" to start thinking more about America's "have nots."

The national unemployment rate stands at a horrifying 9.8%. But unemployment is 15.7% among high-school dropouts, and an astonishing 42% of all unemployed workers have been jobless for more than six months. At press time, Congress appeared poised to pass a package of tax cuts that offers 19% of its benefits to the richest 1% of taxpayers. Earlier this month, the president's deficit commission proposed a comprehensive deficit-reduction plan with many virtues. But it included, among ...

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; History; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: economy; fairness; productivity; taxes
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To compare payroll taxes to income taxes, and to say that the rich are not contributing enough is absurd. Am I the only one that understands that these people are supposedly paying into a benefit plan. Why not compare income taxes to 401k contributions!
1 posted on 12/19/2010 7:48:18 AM PST by Michael Tergent
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To: Michael Tergent

It is SPENDING stupid, not taxes.

While the tax system is certainly not efficient and could be restructured, until they control spending and debt and stupid policies, we will continue to have economic problems.

Just look at policies that have contributed to the welfare state that have destroyed families, the loss of manufacturing jobs, lack of energy production by stopping the drilling, preventing nuclear power and over regulation of coal, etc.

2010 was the first step, but we need to eliminate/ minimize the Liberal Progressive policy and regulation.


2 posted on 12/19/2010 7:59:17 AM PST by ADSUM (Democracy works when citizens get involved and keep government honest.)
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To: Michael Tergent

Shock Therapy for Jobs

http://townhall.com/content/f5f33334-1207-4bd1-8a9c-75fdb5b365f4


3 posted on 12/19/2010 8:09:12 AM PST by Ev Reeman
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To: Michael Tergent

I wonder if this author means the 1% of the population that pays 40% of ALL TAXES

yeah... that’s ‘fair’


4 posted on 12/19/2010 8:09:15 AM PST by Mr. K ('Profiling' you is worse than grabbing your balls)
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Comment #5 Removed by Moderator

To: Michael Tergent

Foreclosure process ‘must be fixed,’ Treasury official says

By Brady Dennis

A top Treasury Department official said Tuesday that federal investigators looking into problems with mortgage foreclosures throughout the country have found widespread and “inexcusable” breakdowns in basic controls in the foreclosure process.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/23/AR2010112305480.html?referrer=emailarticle

Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/emailafriend?contentId=AR2010112305480&sent=no&referrer=emailarticle


6 posted on 12/19/2010 8:11:49 AM PST by Ev Reeman
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To: Michael Tergent

November federal budget deficit highest on record - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101210/ap_on_bi_ge/us_budget_deficit


7 posted on 12/19/2010 8:13:00 AM PST by Ev Reeman
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To: Michael Tergent
This is from the WSJ? Sounds more like the NYT.

Americans (and the planet, frankly) will continue sliding toward deeper barbarity until we can universally and genuinely state this phrase out loud:

"I don't care how much you make. It's none of my business, or anyone else's".

Until then, we're a race of retarded cannibals.


Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

8 posted on 12/19/2010 8:22:13 AM PST by The Comedian (Government: Saving people from freedom since time immemorial.)
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To: Michael Tergent

Exactly. It really annoys me when they call SS an “entitlement,” because I have been paying into it as a benefit plan all of my life. In fact, I’m self employed, so for the last 20 years, I have been paying 16+% of my gross income into it. And now I’m supposed to feel guilty about expecting to get something back?

Congress squandered this money. If they had invested it, we’d have a huge retirement fund. But they put it into the general fund and burned through it. And now the payors are supposed to feel guilty??? Gimme a break.


9 posted on 12/19/2010 8:24:37 AM PST by livius
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To: The Comedian

It’s an opinion piece, not the WSJ editorial page.


10 posted on 12/19/2010 8:27:28 AM PST by nascarnation
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To: ADSUM
It is SPENDING stupid, not taxes.

I tried to point this out to a friend the other day...to no avail.

He's always been "the rich don't pay their share" and "they have all the money".

A couple of weeks ago I looked up the Forbes Top 400 and added their estimated WORTH. This was for ALL the US BILLIONAIRES. Their accumulated estimated WORTH is about $1.38 Trillion, about the same as this years deficit.

Trying to explain to him that even if we took ALL their current WORTH, it would only match the deficit for THIS YEAR. It would do nothing for the deficit next year or the current debt.

That once their WORTH was taken, they would not have income from that worth the following years.

I tried also to explain, that taking their WORTH away means eliminating all the businesses they own or hold stock in. That would eliminate 100's of thousands of jobs, thus lowering income tax revenues further.

Some people only see what they CHOOSE to see in life. Its easier to look at a small picture, than it is a HUGE panorama with all its details. Its easier to look at a small snapshot and see a rich person and all his wealth. Its more difficult to look at a large picture of the same rich man, and see all the fine details, and appreciate the ENTIRE picture.

11 posted on 12/19/2010 8:39:21 AM PST by mountn man (The pleasure you get from life, is equal to the attitude you put into it.)
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To: Michael Tergent
haves...have-nots...

tih has stated elsewhere that economies have a way of rolling on; what changes is the demographic makeup of the "winners and losers," and this is the consequence of politics.

Redistributionists always force the middle class into "have-not" status, increasing that class while concentrating wealth into ever fewer and more compliant hands.

The author only thinks he was being clever.

12 posted on 12/19/2010 8:41:10 AM PST by the invisib1e hand (oy. Again I say, oy.)
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

To: Michael Tergent
Congress appeared poised to pass a package of tax cuts that offers 19% of its benefits to the richest 1% of taxpayers.

Notice how NOT taking some of your income has now become a "benefit."

Apparently all of your money is the government's and they grant you the "benefit" of keeping some of it.

14 posted on 12/19/2010 9:44:59 AM PST by rmh47 (Go Kats! - Got Seven? [NRA Life Member])
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To: nascarnation
It’s an opinion piece, not the WSJ editorial page.

I know. Doesn't change a thing.


Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

15 posted on 12/19/2010 9:46:38 AM PST by The Comedian (Government: Saving people from freedom since time immemorial.)
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To: livius

I hear that my husband and I both paid in over 40 years yet some people think we have no right to be paid back. I don’t care if they want to end the program as long as they return the money stolen from us.

If they mean entitlement as in we are entitled to get back that which we paid thats true it would be outright theft to do otherwise, but many act as if this is a welfare entitlement program to which we contributed nothing and that is a lie.

The real culprits here are our Politicians they spent our money and now are trying to convince the younger people it’s the Seniors who are who blame.


16 posted on 12/19/2010 10:59:37 AM PST by FromLori (FromLori)
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To: mountn man

It is like Men are from Mars and women from...

Conservatives deal with logic and reason and what works.

Liberals/Progressives deal with emotions and the talking points that are drummed into them.

How can the Democrats expect any job recovery when they shut down drilling, don’t allow the building of nucelear power plants, coal plants, etc without going through all the regulations of the enviro whackos?

They are either stupid or want failure. I voted for both.


17 posted on 12/19/2010 12:57:28 PM PST by ADSUM (Democracy works when citizens get involved and keep government honest.)
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To: ADSUM

“They are either stupid or want failure. I voted for both.”

I think that the leaders are very smart, and want failure. Their followers (including voters) are stupid.


18 posted on 12/19/2010 1:01:36 PM PST by 21twelve ( You can go from boom to bust, from dreams to a bowl of dust ... another lost generation.)
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To: Michael Tergent
Season's greetings. And while I'm on the subject, this is a good time for us "haves" to start thinking more about America's "have nots."

Merry Christmas. And while I'm on the subject, this is a good time to tell Alan Blinder to take a hike.
I'm sick up to here with the "have nots."

19 posted on 12/19/2010 1:03:47 PM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: livius

“And now I’m supposed to feel guilty about expecting to get something back?”

I’m in the same boat in business for myself. The only difference is, I don’t expect to see ANY of it by the time I can start collecting.


20 posted on 12/19/2010 1:04:52 PM PST by 21twelve ( You can go from boom to bust, from dreams to a bowl of dust ... another lost generation.)
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