John Edwards Calls Bush a Crook-Coddling Pinko

Slate.com ^ | 6/20/03 | William Saletan

[DPB101]

The first lawyer elected Speaker of the House of Representatives--Jonathan Dayton--was arrested for conspiracy to commit treason. That was in 1807. Didn't take lawyers long to get in there and corrupt the system.

(the first Speaker was a minister, the second was in the oil and shipbuilding business, Dayton was the third).

[Lancey Howard]

"My money says Edwards is not nearly the liar Clinton was."

Let me clarify - - Edwards will lie as much as Clinton. Just not as well.

[Lancey Howard]

"After 4 years in the Senate, Edwards racks up a cumulative ACU score of 15, clearly identifying himself as a socialist. It's hilarious to watch him try to position himself to the right of the other dems."

Excellent, excellent post!
Edwards is indeed as phony as a three-dollar bill.
What a scumbag.

[Susannah]

"Labor is way over-taxed. Wealth is sometimes barely taxed at all"

Democrats had 8 years to modify the tax system to "tax the wealthy", and instead they gave tax cuts to major corporations, then taxed the middle class.

How is wealth barely taxed? I know one person who lives in NYC and with federal, state and local taxes he pays 62% of his income in taxes (that's just income tax).

For all the wealthy people who claim they don't want their tax cut, I'd be happy to help them with their tax with-holding and return forms so they can overpay taxes.

[buffyt]

My husband said "Get rid of the TV cable next year and don't watch the news or read the paper...." They will be so full of BS like Edward's BS! It is going to be the dirtiest campaign season ever.

[Henchster]

"How is he going to get the nomination from the Leftists of the Democratic party saying nice things about Capitalism?"

He's not. That b!tch already has it all planned to come in and "save the party" come convention time:

[NYC Republican]

Let me clarify - - Edwards will lie as much as Clinton. Just not as well.

Excellent!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Edwards on the economy:

"I think we have to get back to what worked in the 90's, you know. We know what works. What happened in the 80's and what's happening now doesn't work. You know we've learned these lessons. I think it's balanced budgets; it's fiscal discipline. I opposed the tax cut that the president got passed through the Congress in a highly partisan vote. I thought it was irresponsible. To me I go back [inaud.] commonsense. The notion that we were going to be able to predict what was going to happen not only this year or the following year but ten years from now is just comical. I mean it was ridiculous for us to be thinking like that. And we've seen -- You know over the course of the last year, during the first year of this administration, we've seen, what, $4 trillion disappear, I think its four trillion, disappear from the projected surpluses." ~ Sen. John Edwards, Remarks at House Party Chris & Kristin Sullivan's Home -Concord, NH, Feb. 2002.

See also:

How the DLC Does It  (Edwards's BIG BUSINESS pals ~>New Dems)

Edwards: Hillary’s Liberal Equal?
Edwards flunks econ

[F.J. Mitchell]

One wannabe that must never be.

[DPB101]

"Labor is way over-taxed. Wealth is sometimes barely taxed at all"

Don't get me wrong here. I'm for lower taxes for everyone. But once one has wealth, a tax deductable and/or low tax life-style is not difficult to do.

Consider a company which goes public. The insiders become millionaires on paper. No taxes are paid. "It is only paper " you say. Well, yes and no. It is collateral which can be used to create more income. While someone working at McDonald's has to pay for transportation to work with after taxed money, the new millionaires fly around in a corporate jet which is a business expenses. The invest, if they choose, in tax free munis. They form foundations and put the family to work there in a favorable tax environment.

[evad]

John Edwards Calls Bush a Crook-Coddling Pinko

When did Bush become a trial lawyer?

The dip stick powder puff probably doesn't even know what a pinko is :)

[america-rules]

"a CEO who pays himself whatever he wants can sell millions of dollars in stock and pay tax at a total rate of 15%."

Then the CEO spends 30 million building a new house that employs 70 workers who all pay taxes somewhere, spend money on food, clothing and booze etc. that brings in even more taxes.

The bottom line is the 85% in money the CEO paid really resulted in about 200% in taxes to local, state and the federal Gov't. Not a bad investment for the Gov't to only tax 15% for a 200% return !

[Toddsterpatriot]

"Middle-class families pay income tax on their earnings at a rate of up to 25%, plus another 7.65% in payroll tax. Yet under the law President Bush just signed, a CEO who pays himself whatever he wants can sell millions of dollars in stock and pay tax at a total rate of 15%."

So, you want to tax everyone at 15%? That would get my support.

By the way, stock options only became a problem when Slick stopped corporations from writing off more than $1,000,000 annual salaries.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Consider a company which goes public. The insiders become millionaires on paper. No taxes are paid.

Those insiders first had to create something which employed people and created value. Taxes are paid on both.

"It is only paper " you say. Well, yes and no. It is collateral which can be used to create more income.

So, you borrow against your "paper"? You still have to make more than you're paying in interest.

[skinkinthegrass]

A good lawyer can at least make lies look like the truth, these lies are so obvious that a retarded five year old could figure them out

...Except, most if not all, liberal voters ARE three year olds...crying little children..."MINE, MINE, MINE...etc."

[DPB101]

So, you borrow against your "paper"? You still have to make more than you're paying in interest.

Compare the cost of money.

Non taxed appreciated stock as collateral will get you loans under 10%.

A landscape gardener, working from job to job, has to expand his business off taxed income. He pays the government at least 30% on the money he needs to reinvest to continue working.

Once again, I am not taking the "soak the rich" position. I am only saying labor is taxed at a very high rate while wealth is not. Rush, who thank God has never forgotten what is it to not have capital, has spoken on this issue many times.

The founder of Price Club was an advocate years ago of taxing wealth. He suggested a point or two a year. Claimed that would encourage more productive investments by those who hold assets while relieving the burden from labor.

[Bonaparte]

"The dip stick powder puff probably doesn't even know what a pinko is."

All he has to do is look in a mirror -- a procedure I'm sure he performs many times in a day.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Non taxed appreciated stock as collateral will get you loans under 10%.

Now, all you have to do is invest that money and make more than 10%. That's easy, you just put it in the stock market, right?

Oh, wait, that hasn't worked over the last three years. I guess you could buy government bonds, oh right, they don't pay much more than 4% these days.

I am only saying labor is taxed at a very high rate while wealth is not.

The problem I have is that the wealth has already been taxed. If I invested my own money to start a business and hire workers and sell products, my workers pay taxes on their income, they and I pay Social Security taxes, people buying my products pay sales taxes and my company pays corporate income taxes.

After all this, after years of growth, my company issues stock and you're worried that I haven't paid taxes yet on my "paper" profits.

Not satisfied at the jobs and wealth I've created, you are upset that my capital gains tax will only be 15% if I sell my stock.

If labor is taxed too much, reduce labor taxes. If you mean to benefit labor by raising my taxes, I will purchase less labor.

[DPB101]

You are throwing up straw men. I'm for lower taxes for everyone. If those who get a 10% loan on stock have trouble now, the guy who has to keep his business going by using after tax money is even worse off. You refuse to admit that labor is taxed more heavily than wealth by claiming the money has already been taxed. So has the money of the laborer who reinvests his after tax income to keep afloat.

We have a Federal INCOME tax. We have PAYROLL taxes. That is how we fund most of the government. To claim wealth is taxed as much or more than labor is silly.

[okie01]

"It seems to me that he is intimating that Edwards is as phony as a three-dollar bill. Downright silly, even."

Upon reflection, you may be right.

I've never given Saletan much credit for irony, but maybe he he might have a dram or two.

Admittedly, Edwards speech possesses a truly Clintonian audacious phoniness. And it is exactly the kind of thing that so many Clintonoids took seriously...