Spokane7
59°
January 25, 2012 in Nation/World
Taxing the rich would level playing field, Obama says
Republicans criticize millionaire rate as perpetuating ‘haves, have-nots’
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama used an election-year State of the Union address Tuesday night to frame the national debate not as a referendum on him but as a pivotal decision on how to save the American dream.
He boasted that the nation’s economy has improved, albeit slowly, from the depths of the Great Recession. “The state of our Union is getting stronger,” he said.
But he said the middle class has been losing ground for decades, and he urged a new agenda of taxes and government spending to tilt the playing field away from the rich and powerful and more toward the rest of the citizenry.
Once, he said, Americans believed “the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement. The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive.”
The speech fleshed out a broad vision Obama laid out in December in a speech in Osawatomie, Kan., one modeled after a 1910 speech that Theodore Roosevelt gave in the same town laying out themes for what would become the Progressive Era.
Among his proposals: a 30 percent minimum tax on millionaires, a minimum tax on companies that ship jobs overseas coupled with tax cuts for those that keep factory jobs at home, and a $200 billion, six-year plan to build roads, bridges and railways with money saved from bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Obama opened his speech declaring victory in bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq, eliminating Osama bin Laden, and beginning to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. That enables the country, he said, to “think about the America within our reach.”
Republicans countered with a similar vision of a more prosperous America where everyone shares the bounty. But they offered a far different agenda and castigated Obama for policies they said have made things worse.
“As Republicans our first concern is for those waiting tonight to begin or resume the climb up life’s ladder,” said Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana, giving the official Republican response. “We do not accept that ours will ever be a nation of haves and have nots. We must always be a nation of haves and soon-to-haves.”
He said that Obama hurt the economy with overregulation of business, a refusal to allow domestic energy production, and proposals to raise taxes on the rich that amount to dividing the country.
Obama insisted that his agenda is what’s needed to put the country back on track.
“Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that does the same,” he said. “It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts and no cop-outs.”
Under the broad theme of helping build a fairer economy, Obama laid out proposals in four categories: helping restore U.S. manufacturing, improving U.S. energy independence, teaching workers new skills for a changing economy, and tax increases he called “a renewal of American values.”
He proposed that millionaires pay a minimum tax of 30 percent, putting a precise number to the idea he proposed last year. The proposal comes as Republicans vying for his job all have proposed cutting taxes for the wealthy, arguing they create jobs.
Obama’s proposed tax rate would double the income taxes paid by one of those candidates: Mitt Romney revealed Monday that he made $20.9 million last year and expects to pay $3.2 million in taxes. Senior administration officials said the proposed 30 percent rate was in the works for several weeks and had nothing to do with Romney.
Obama also vowed ever more oversight of Wall Street, saying he had directed Attorney General Eric Holder to create a Financial Crimes Unit to investigate and prosecute financial fraud.
To ease the enduring housing crisis, Obama said he will send Congress a new plan that would help responsible homeowners who are current on their payments save $3,000 a year by refinancing their mortgage. The program would be paid for with a new bank fee he has proposed.
To improve the country’s energy picture, he lauded the fact that the United States in 2009 became the world’s top producer of natural gas.
He said his administration will prepare “common sense” new rules to ensure safe drilling of shale natural gas on public lands, drilling he said will create 600,000 new jobs by the end of the decade. He said he will also require disclosure of the chemicals used in “fracking” operations on public lands. Fracking is the use of water and chemicals under high pressure to extract oil from shale.
Obama looked out on a Congress where Republicans control the House and have ruled out most of his proposals.
“As long as I’m president, I will work with anyone in this chamber,” Obama said. “But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place.”
In the Republican response, Daniels rejected the criticism of his party as obstructionist.
“It’s not fair and it’s not true for the president to attack Republicans in Congress as obstacles on these questions,” he said. “They and they alone have passed bills to reduce borrowing, reform entitlements and encourage new job creation, only to be shot down nearly time and again by the president and his Democrat Senate allies.”
Salmonella linked to chicken handling 
liberal_in_right_wing_land on January 25 at 12:07 a.m.
Democrats and liberals will love the speech, republicans and conservatives will hate the speech.
peacemonger on January 25 at 12:30 a.m.
liberal_ in_ right_ wing_ land, Correction: The MAJORITY of the populace will love the speech. The exception is the right wingers in Spokane, Utah and Texas. It doesn’t really matter though. WA, OR, CA, NV, MT, CO, NM, MN, WI, MI, IL, OH, PA, NY, MA, VA, and even NC will all carry Obama come election day. All key states with major electoral votes. Spokane is just in it’s own little right wing bubble. So don’t get too worked up about the conservative posts on this minor newspaper publication. Check out the Seattle Times sometime:)
greenlibertarian on January 25 at 1:07 a.m.
Well that’s a bit optimistic there, pm. Some of those states will be HARD fought…at best…
jdspokanewa on January 25 at 1:14 a.m.
Washington is not as blue as it once was, Nevada barely went blue in 2008 and is a 50/50 shot at best, Montana is never a slam dunk for either party and neither is Colorado. Ohio is one of those states that falls for slick talking Republicans on a regular basis so you cannot count on them at all.
I do think Obama will easily win in November though.
nslopeofw on January 25 at 2:10 a.m.
Well JD, bad news for you, then. The daily KOS is a liberal site, and we all can agree that the SIEU is in bed with Obama. So, a poll like this from them is devastating to you and your liberal ilk:
http://dailykos.com/weeklypolling/2012/1/19
OUCH!
nslopeofw on January 25 at 2:15 a.m.
We can expect the demo’s to vote for Obama, and the repubs to vote against Obama, so its the independents that will make the difference. With 39% for, 52% against, it isnt looking good for the messiah. Oh well, he had his 1 term, and by his own words, if he didnt make huge changes, he doesnt deserve a 2nd term.
As American citizens, we are the ones to make the biggest gains with Obama gone.
Anyone but Obama 2012!!
DHF on January 25 at 5:06 a.m.
When over 60% of the Congressman and Senators are millionaire’s. Some very wealthy. You will have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting a 30% tax. It’s not going to happen. I did not listen to his speech, but I can imagine like all the others It is all smoke and no fire. Big promises and never deliver. We need change allright and it should start with the President
jdspokanewa on January 25 at 5:46 a.m.
Marksman is right, Obama raised taxes on gasoline, beef and bacon!
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 5:56 a.m.
Bacon?! Not my bacon!
schleufer on January 25 at 6:14 a.m.
cantor and boehner need to stop blocking the stock act.
http://walz.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=378:president-calls-on-speaker-boehner-and-majority-leader-cantor-to-pass-walz-bipartisan-stock-act-&catid=7:latest-news
im sure alot of them enjoy the bennies from legalized insider trading but it needs to stop.
Diana on January 25 at 6:22 a.m.
Tammy Faye Boehner was looking especially orange last night.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 6:32 a.m.
He really needs to start using waterproof mascara:
http://estergoldberg.typepad.com/.a/6a0105349ca980970c013488b16b90970c-500wi
Orphan on January 25 at 6:42 a.m.
Once again the libs resort to 5th grade insults, so sad.
greyhound2 on January 25 at 6:47 a.m.
The Federal governments problem is that about 40 cents of each dollar spent is borrowed from China. To raise money, the:
Republicans want to cut social security, medicare, food stamps and unemployment insurance and make Bush’s giveaway special tax treatment for rich people permanent and spend more money on the military.
Democrats want to end the Bush’s temporary tax break for rich people, reduce the size of the military empire and maintain the social safety net for average Americans while rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges.
Looks like a fight.
wobble506 on January 25 at 7:17 a.m.
RE- Greyhound -
You’re right on this one, and the sad part is neither side can figure out that cuts are going to have to happen to both. Raising the taxes to 30% on the millionaires and up is not even going to come close to balancing the budget, or even make a dent in what the President has proposed in his latest request to increase the debt limit. its a fact, cuts are going to have to happen, because we can’t borrow our way out of debt. Its just a matter of how much and how deep. When both sides figure that out, and take serious steps at balancing the budget, then and only then will we get somewhere.
Orphan on January 25 at 7:21 a.m.
Just read this, that should bew enough for anyone to vote obama out. No virus attached BTW
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/under-obama-price-gas-has-jumped-83-percent-ground-beef-24-percent-bacon-22-percent
idahocity on January 25 at 7:24 a.m.
i would like to see a tobin tax and small fee or percentage tax on every security or stock trade to raise a lot of money and slow down the high frequency trading that gives the big companies a huge advantage over the little people.
rosehips on January 25 at 7:40 a.m.
Obama did a fine job as usual but we all know it’s political spin and should be taken with a grain of salt.
His call for the end of insider trading within Congress is right on. Why are Boehner and Cantor blocking the Stock Act? We should pressure all members of Congress to support ending Congressional profit-taking based on inside information. This is a no-brainer. What’s Cathy’s view on this? Anyone know?
If Obama thinks that fracking can be done without harm to our vital natural resources, he is sadly mistaken. C’mon mr president. We cannot frack our way to energy independence. If only it could be so easy…
Diana on January 25 at 7:57 a.m.
Orphan, that’s because as President of the United States, Obama personally sets the price of gasoline and bacon.
I’m sure those prices have nothing to do with the economy crashing in 2008 before the election (when the economy was bleeding 750,000 jobs a month) or with the subsequent recession or with the stock market or the do-nothing Congress. After all, the economy started over on January 20, 2009.
jddavis on January 25 at 8:51 a.m.
Instead of addressing WHY companies outsource overseas, he talks about taxing more or giving tax breaks. The tax breaks will have to be very substantial to overcome the cost of production here at home.
Tax breaks for companies to bring jobs home? Sure! We have to address the reasons they left in the first place.
Diana: “Orphan, that’s because as President of the United States, Obama personally sets the price of gasoline and bacon.”
I get and appreciate that comment Diana. Back in ‘06, Democrats were running on the premise that Bush was responsible for high gas prices and that “they would correct it” if (re) elected. The idea that the President sets gas prices is as much BS now as it was then. People need to stop looking Left or Right, and start looking straight ahead…that is where the future is.
nslopeofw on January 25 at 8:51 a.m.
Greyhound-
Problem with cutting out the Bush tax cuts is that everyone got a tax reduction. In fact, the poor to middle class got the biggest tax cut. Get rid of the Bush tax cuts, you get rid of all the tax cuts. Is that what you really want, or is it just the rich you are envious enough of that it has driven you to hate?
JBlim on January 25 at 9:02 a.m.
Gas, bacon and beef!??
Cherry-pick much? Inflation is under control. Try again, right wingers. Jeesh. . .
Orphan on January 25 at 9:17 a.m.
Diana You are correct the president does not set prices on gasoline or bacon.
The presidents policys and direction have huge effects on prices, since obama became president costs have risen on almost everything. Just look at gasoline 83% increase since obama took office.
More regulations, the threat of more taxes and what do ya get higher prices on goods and services because the people that are providing the goods and services are being charged more taxes and have to pay to comply with more regulations. The rich sure as heck are not going to eat the increases so they simply pass the additional costs down to the consumers.
On the gasoline front oil cost more because our dollar is worth less since obama took office, its not really that oli cost more its that the folks selling the oil want more per barrel because they cant buy as much with a dollar as they could before obama took office.
obama has made the economy worse not better since he took office, some of which he inherited when he took office. obama had 2 years where the Dems controled both houses and he got noting done other than a bogus unconstitutional health care bill passed.
obama has not beeen the unifier he promised to be we now have the most divided congress in recent history.
Over all obama has been a failure as president.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 9:22 a.m.
Oh quit yer whining, Orphan. The party of no would not budge on the simplest issues. It’s your party that drug this country down. Blame yourselves, not PRESIDENT OBAMA.
rosehips on January 25 at 9:27 a.m.
@jddavis, Can you explain why companies are outsourcing so many jobs? Then I’ll explain why my job was outsourced.
Marksman on January 25 at 9:29 a.m.
Blonde Squacker, so you want to play the dozens, well the dozens is a game…
Diana on January 25 at 9:29 a.m.
@Orphan, no. It is you who is a failure. Another low information voter who cherry picks and does nothing but moo the talking points that have been repeated so often, you have no choice but to believe them. You’re still using the b-b-but Dems had both houses of Congress for two years lie.
The majority only lasted 6 months. Election 2008 gave Democrats a total of 58 Democratic Senators. Spector switched parties in April, which brought the count to 59. Sen. Franken didn’t get sworn in until July 7, 2009, which is when the count went up to 60. Ted passed in August, and his replacement was named at the very end of September, and replaced with a Republican in January. That’s six months.
Yeah, I’m sure the dire straits our country was in when Obama took office have nothing to do with anything.
“Now, watch this drive.” Moo…moo…
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 9:30 a.m.
Here ya go, Coffee. Have you heard of this?
http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/fake-avg-scam-software-cops-name-and-logo-real-av-020111
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 9:34 a.m.
Marksman/Hawken:
Are you threatening me here?
Coffee on January 25 at 9:41 a.m.
Vote NO on Obama.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 9:45 a.m.
That’s your response, Coffee?
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 9:48 a.m.
I had you pegged as a tea lover all along, Coffee.
http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxx5qru3xF1qapkmyo1_400.jpg
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 9:53 a.m.
HOW HATERS THINK:
“I disagree with the stance/opinion that is valid to you. I counter your opinions with articles I have briefly skimmed and seem to support my opinion over yours. While not substantively addressing your point, I argue from a position of authority that asserts I have a level of experience that qualifies me to contradict you.
I offer no real evidence to support my position, but assert that I have information that decisively invalidates you argument or point of view. Attempts to disagree with my stance/opinion will be retorted with ad hominem attacks against your president. I will do this in order to completely discredit your position to other bloggers, thereby elevating my perceived status and strengthening my stance or opinion.”
jddavis on January 25 at 9:59 a.m.
@Rosehips—the basic reason is the cost to do business. Taxes, environmental, labor (costs above what workers are paid), regulation(s), etc. Companies cannot simply pass-on the increased cost of their product(s) to consumers because in most circumstances, consumers would be unwilling and/or unable to afford the increased cost(s). Consumers would look for a less expensive alternative, and unfortunately, that likely would originate overseas.
As a micro example, look at why Cabela’s is right across the state line instead of located in Washington. It is far cheaper for them to set up shop in Idaho than Washington.
Coffee on January 25 at 10:04 a.m.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 9:48 a.m.
You got it wrong again, I am a independent who thinks President Obama sucks as a president and I am going to vote against him.
nslopeofw on January 25 at 10:13 a.m.
Blonde-
Its not a virus, rather its called phishing, which is malware. Says you have a virus, you click the link, poof. Now its on your machine, and bugs you to buy their fix to get rid of it. Its a type of malware, and apparently your malware detection didnt stop it. Are you using AVG suite, or just the virus scanner? You might need to get a better malware scanner. Go with malwarebytes, or superantispyware. Both are free, and highly rated.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 10:14 a.m.
That’s the nice thing about living in a free country, Coffee. You can vote for whomever you choose.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 10:16 a.m.
Thanks, slope. We’ll look into that.
rosehips on January 25 at 10:17 a.m.
jd, thanks for that explanation. I agree with you in part, but let me explain what happened in my case. My company was doing very well and employees were happy. We didn’t have a union but the CEO knew that happy employees make loyal employees. The only problem was that over 90% of my company’s contracts were with Microsoft. And when Microsoft issued a directive saying that they would only contract with companies that had a worldwide workforce, my company went from 100% US workforce to over 50% overseas workforce.
My company went from a profitable corporation that treated their employees well and gave bonuses for good work to one where employees were pitted against each other and one by one were fired or laid off. It was a brutal.
nslopeofw on January 25 at 10:19 a.m.
Diana-
You reply to Orphan ” You’re still using the b-b-but Dems had both houses of Congress for two years” is rich. All we ever hear is how the bad economy is not Obama’s fault, its Bush’s. You all dont seem to have any problem throwing out that blame, but we cant talk about the truth of O’s first year? LOL You libs dont like hearing the truth about the dems owning congress and the WH and doing absolutely nothing, anymore than you like hearing the truth that Obama has had 3 years to fix stuff, and all he can say he has done is add a few jobs at the cost of about $5 trillion to the debt. WooHoo.
Dont be a hypocrite!
nslopeofw on January 25 at 10:26 a.m.
Rosehips-
You have no clue about fracing, do you. In all instances where NG was found in the drinking water, it was already present. Yes, the fracing made it worse, but it didnt start the problem, drilling the water well did. Fracing doesnt make hydrocarbons magically appear, they have to be present in the first place. All fracing does is increase the size of the channels that the gas flows through.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 10:41 a.m.
It’s “fracking”, not “fracing”.
-Just saying
Diana on January 25 at 10:54 a.m.
nwslop, then I guess like most teabaggers, you thought the economy would be an easy fix. Five trillion, yeah. Somebody had to be the adult in the room and pay for two unfunded wars, Medicare Part D, etc. Who did you think was going to pay for that and when? (Key word = think).
For those whose brains are too ill-equipped to handle more than one bumper sticker idea at a time, the crash under Bush was serious and complicated. I find your bagger rhetoric pretty useless.
“You libs…”
Drink.
JBlim on January 25 at 11:00 a.m.
Poor rightards, the economy is recovering under Obama’s steady hand. Now what will they run on? They can only hope America fails so they can blame Obama and push another one of their crack-pot, untested candidates. Party over country, why do they hate America?
stitch on January 25 at 11:00 a.m.
I fail to see how the tax breaks/loopholes for the wealthy elite have in anyway benefited our economy..Pretty much all I see is greed, and record breaking profits..It certainly has had no impact on our unemployement numbers..
On the flip side, for the VAST Majority, the payroll tax cut monies go right back into the economy..Don’t see many of US taking pictures of money hanging out of our pockets and mouths..
I appreciate Mr. Obama for at least attempting to make me feel that I am not just another SS Number..
MrNatural on January 25 at 11:02 a.m.
Personally I thought it was a very good and inspirational SOTU. I would find it very cynical for anyone not to aspire toward President Obama’s vision for this nation.
I do hope he is successful and gets reelected
nslopeofw on January 25 at 11:10 a.m.
Blonde-
No, its fracing. for fracturing, not frackturing. Its been around for at least 50 years, and i have personally been involved with a fracing unit. Most people just heard of fracing in the last year or two.
liberal_in_right_wing_land on January 25 at 11:14 a.m.
Actually, nslopeofw, Blonde is right this time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing
And this from Chesapeake Energy Corporation:
http://www.chk.com/Media/Educational-Library/Fact-Sheets/Corporate/Hydraulic_Fracturing_Fact_Sheet.pdf
nslopeofw on January 25 at 11:17 a.m.
Diana-
I find that when you libs are desperate to prove your points, even though you have nothing but your blind faith, you resort to name calling and venom. You and Blim both prove this point.
WHEN Obama is voted out this year, and the media finally doesnt have to lie anymore, you will see all the reality that your liberal handlers have kept from you. The same reality the rest of us already know. Even your hated TEA partiers. Taxed Enough Already, TEA, not the nasty definition you liberal folk think it is. You people that dont think we are taxed enough are the same ones that pay way less or nothing, and let the rest of us cover for you.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 11:20 a.m.
Fracking.
nslopeofw on January 25 at 11:22 a.m.
Ok, squawk, so its also frackturing. Freakn hard headed liberals.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 11:23 a.m.
“Fracing” isn’t even a word, slope. My brother-in-law is a natural gas company executive in West Virgina. He spells it “fracking”.
End of story.
nslopeofw on January 25 at 11:24 a.m.
In the ole patch, we’ve called it fracing for at least 20 years. So now its changed to fracking? OK, who knew?
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 11:27 a.m.
nslopeofw on January 25 at 11:10 a.m.
“Blonde-
No, its fracing. for fracturing, not frackturing. Its been around for at least 50 years, and i have personally been involved with a fracing unit. Most people just heard of fracing in the last year or two.”
The English language usually dictates a “k” after c when ending the word with “ing” or “ed”.
You wouldn’t write a certain explative without the “k”, would you?
nslopeofw on January 25 at 11:28 a.m.
Blonde-
I am an oil and gas production operator, and have worked on a fracing unit, and i really dont care what your office boy brother in law thinks. I wonder if he has ever even seen a frac unit.
http://www.slb.com/services/completions/perforating/gun_systems/hollow_carrier/frac_guns.aspx
http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/Display.cfm?Term=frac%20pump
Notice its not Frack. Hmmmm
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 11:34 a.m.
No fracking kidding? Well then, I stand corrected.
Now get back to work.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 11:37 a.m.
Fracking: means to actually do it.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 11:47 a.m.
Read it and weep, slope.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-25/obama-pushes-natural-gas-fracking-to-create-600-000-jobs.html
jdspokanewa on January 25 at 11:48 a.m.
What do gas, bacon and beef all have in common?
For starters, none of their prices are set by the president and also, all three are traded on speculation markets which is the real cause of their inflated prices.
detroitdude on January 25 at 11:48 a.m.
I dunno what is more silly, the GOP talking points about their failed economic theory and blame Obama for everything dogma or debating the spelling of frac(k)ing…
stitch on January 25 at 11:50 a.m.
Orphan: I flash back to your 6:42 am comment..”Once again the libs resort to 5th grade insults” If you would have made that Libs/Conserves, I would totally agree..
nslopeofw on January 25 at 12:02 p.m.
Squawk-
So, businessweek is correct, and the companies that actually frac are wrong? See, that’s why you liberals dont get what Obama is really doing to our economy. You choose to believe sources that dont really understand what they are talking about, and ignore the ones who do know what they are talking about.
It all makes sense now.
nslopeofw on January 25 at 12:05 p.m.
Detroit-
Well, Obama is the one who has failed economically, and Schlumberger, a company who fractures, owns fracturing units, and does frac jobs, says frac. meanwhile news sites and the all important Wikipedia say frack as in frackturing.
See why us non-libs thing libs are ignorant?
Orphan on January 25 at 12:07 p.m.
Stitch at 6:42 it was accurate, LOL
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 12:12 p.m.
Slope wrote:
“See why us non-libs thing libs are ignorant?”
What the heck is a “non-libs thing”? Is it something you fracK?
jdspokanewa on January 25 at 12:13 p.m.
nslopeofw, please stop acting like a child who cannot face the fact that you’re mistaken and own up to up.
Do a quick google search of the word “fracing” and see what comes up. Nothing, that’s what, the only thing that comes up is “did you mean ‘fracking?’” and a bunch of articles that use the word “fracking.”
I’m not singling you out because I want to attack you, I’m singling you out because you are taking over this topic because you refuse to accept that English is a difficult language.
detroitdude on January 25 at 12:13 p.m.
It must really stick in the craw of conservatives that the economy is recovering, albeit slowly, no thanks to the obstructionism of Boehner a Co.
Nslopeofw: I said it was silly because it is silly to argue over the spelling of it lol. I don’t really care which way it is spelled, and who has the correct spelling. We know what the procedure entails, isn’t that enough? I wasn’t directing the comment at you alone, it also goes for your sparring partner BlondSquawker as well.
stitch on January 25 at 12:17 p.m.
Orphan: Gotcha with that slider, was actually talking about many of the posts today from both sides of the isle..
Orphan on January 25 at 12:30 p.m.
Diana from 9:29 LOL I am not a failure, I am quite successful both profesionally and privately as a matter of fact. I got that way by making smart decisions and being able to think for myself. How about you Diana how successful are you?
On to you point or as you said my talking points since when did facts become talking points? Oh YEAH thats right when you dont agree with them they are talking points. How about you try, I know it will be hard for you, refuting my statements with facts and logic instead of calling names and hurling what you think are insults.
Show me some facts that prove gasoline did not go up 83% while obama has been in office. I will listen if you can give me facts. If there are no facts to back up yur statements I will continue to be entertained by your posts rather than really listen to you, just like usual.
Diana on January 25 at 12:36 p.m.
“WHEN Obama is voted out this year, and the media finally doesnt have to lie anymore, you will see all the reality that your liberal handlers have kept from you.”
1) Ooh! A conspiracy theory! Tell more.
2) Counting the votes before the election makes you look silly.
3) “You libs…”
4) Drink.
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 12:36 p.m.
Orphan on January 25 at 12:30 p.m.
“Diana from 9:29 LOL I am not a failure, I am quite successful both profesionally and privately as a matter of fact. I got that way by making smart decisions and being able to think for myself. How about you Diana how successful are you?”
Dude, take a grammar lesson. You may find it will bring you even more success in time. I hate to think of what’s passed you by in life because you can’t write a simple paragraph correctly.
jdspokanewa on January 25 at 12:37 p.m.
Orphan, you’re cherry picking data to prove your talking point. If you take the real average price of gasoline spread out over a year and compare year by year, you’re absolutely wrong but if you pick a specific point in time and compare it to another specific point in time then you can achieve your talking point but no statistical data is ever compared in such a way in reality, only when someone wishes to twist data to prove their theory.
During 2008, the price of gasoline dropped quite a bit but the average over the past few years has stayed rather steady.
Here is a quick site, select the six year link and tell me if it shows conclusively that gas prices have risen consistently by 80% since Obama took office.
http://gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx
Diana on January 25 at 12:39 p.m.
“Show me some facts that prove gasoline did not go up 83% while obama has been in office.”
B-b-but, Obama!
See jdspokanewa’s post at 11:48.
jdspokanewa on January 25 at 12:40 p.m.
To clarify even further, one could say that Obama has lowered the price of gasoline because the average price of gasoline in around June 2008 was over $4.00/gallon but today it is around $3.35/gallon so using your cherry picking style of data manipulation, Obama has lowered the price of gasoline since taking office..
nslopeofw on January 25 at 12:48 p.m.
OK, i’ll stop.
nslopeofw on January 25 at 12:49 p.m.
But, it does take more than one to argue. I notice the liberal got a free ride. What a surprise.
nslopeofw on January 25 at 12:50 p.m.
B-b-b-but its all Bush’s fault………
nslopeofw on January 25 at 12:53 p.m.
Why would we want to level the playing field, unless we are a nation of petty, jealous, wannabee’s?
misjustice on January 25 at 1:05 p.m.
Holy smokes, what a crappy thread…skimmed most of it - glad that I didn’t miss this - From Mr. Natch, who doesn’t contribute to these threads much anymore, most likely because of how outta control, bitter, and angry many of the contributions have gotten to be…
“Personally I thought it was a very good and inspirational SOTU. I would find it very cynical for anyone not to aspire toward President Obama’s vision for this nation.
I do hope he is successful and gets reelected.”
I agree, Mr. Natch, the speech was very inspirational. I especially liked his reference to the flag.
; )
stitch on January 25 at 1:08 p.m.
Orphan: Christ, not you to..Maybe Det-Dude explained it better than me..”5th grade insults”..Listen to your own words..With ones opinion there has to be the ability to accept criticism without allowing it to deflate you..A recent response to one of my comments was “Feed the Troll”, I laughed..He got me, it wasn’t 1 of my brighter statements..SO WHAT.. BlondeSquwker, not everyone is blessed, as you, to possess perfect grammer..It doesn’t take away from what Orphan is saying..I find your comments to her to be……Of course thats your opinion, and your entitled to it..Enjoy your nap, it’s well overdue..
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 1:27 p.m.
stitch: I really don’t appreciate broken cryptic gibberish. Too much gets lost in translation, much like your above post. It seems the people who most want English to be the official language of the USA could at least learn to use it better.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 25 at 1:38 p.m.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2012/01/25/warren-buffetts-secretary-likely-makes-between-200000-and-500000year/
Poor thing. Buffet and Obama didn’t give the full story about the poor secretary’s taxes or her salary. They wanted you all to think she was getting an UNFAIR shake with her taxes.
And this is what you will always get from this Administration. Lies and partial truths. I suppose her tax rate IS different from Buffet’s. She was used as an example of “unfairness” in the tax code. Hardly unfair…and hardly a vicitm.
Obama gave the same vision last night as he did in the beginning. He needs to go. I hope he does. Poor thing….nothing new…just a vision …a very impossible and impractical vision. Unjust to those who make lots of money…the same ones who drive the economy and give jobs. Class warfare from Obama continues…
stitch on January 25 at 1:40 p.m.
BlondeSquawker: In the event you didn’t understand my translation, it went like this..You are a very rude and uncaring person..You have no tolerance for those who don’t express themselves to your standards..Much of what you have said today is also “cryptic gibberish”..I will continue to respect your opinion as long as you respect others..Is there a problem with that??
SMARTGUY on January 25 at 1:41 p.m.
Wow NSLOPEOFW you must be a millionaire oil and gas operator to have so much free time on his hands. Posted at 2;10 AM, 2;15 AM, 8;51 AM, anger caused by lack of sleep? 10;19 AM, 10;26 AM, 11;10 AM, 11;17 AM, 11;22 AM, 11;24 AM 11;28 AM. 12;02 PM, 12;05 PM, 12;48 PM and 12;50 and thats just on this thread. You would think a millionaire would have better things to do LOL Maybe you and blondesqawker should get together and see if you can’t find something more interesting to do then bicker. A little stress reduction might be just what you need ; )
jdspokanewa on January 25 at 1:45 p.m.
Dazzeetrader11, that is the point. It is not that we feel sorry for his secretary, it is that those who make millions or billions on capital gains are taxed much lower than those who draw a salary.
Thank you for pointing out the exact problem, even if you don’t get it.
If you want to talk class warfare, we can talk all day about how the deck is stacked against the little guy and how we’ve been re-distributing wealth to the wealthy for the past 30 years.
Obama has vision, the GOP has no vision and obstructs any attempt at progress.
Orphan on January 25 at 1:59 p.m.
Stitch You are correct, after days and weeks of seeing the insults hurled by the liberals I did a little of my own. I try to not do the insult thing and have chastised several others for doing it, thanks for the reminder.
Blondsquawker I reworded that paragraph, actually toned it down and did not reread it correctly, my bad. My grammar is not perfect, I hired people to take care if that for me, you know lawyers, comptrollers, project managers.
But I will make an effort to improve my grammar.
jdspokanwa I will stick by my stats thank you very much, it seems to me that you are the one that is cherry picking. I said from point to point and you want to change the method and say if you take other things into consideration my stats are wrong. Of course they will be different than yours you’re using a different set of facts than I was.
nsloapofwa You noticed that the libs can do the insult thing and no one gets after them, strange I have seen the exact same thing. BTW I worked around frac units in the early 70s as well and I know what RONG means too LOL. I am assuming SWS still uses that term.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 25 at 2:02 p.m.
Oh I get it alright. She was the original poster child for unfairness…..poor dear. Harly does the example hold up under scrutiny though.
Nobdoy has the same tax rate as Buffet. His is finely tuned to take advantage of every nook and cranny of the tax code he criticized as unfair. NOBDY has his tax code. But to hold out his poor downtrodden secretary as an example of unfairness is just deceitful.
And I do expect this type of deceit from everything Obama says. She’s not a victim of unfairness even though she was held out to be. Obama knew how well this gal is doing…but he led everyone to believe it was unfair to the poor dear.
Nothing is unfair about this example. Wanna see her house?
Quite the mansion. She’s done very well by the tax code Buffet criticised. Just lies and deceit. NO I didn’t miss the point. I think it’s YOU who did. Your jd isn’t helping you…lolol
Diana on January 25 at 2:15 p.m.
B-b-ut the economy crashed on Little Georgie’s watch!
“Wall Street got drunk.”. First TARP under Bush. 750,000 jobs a month disappeared under Bush. Two undunded wars under Bush. So, yeah, I blame Bush.
How short the bagger memory is.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 25 at 2:21 p.m.
Compared to Bush, the jobs situation was also incorrectly depicted by Obama last night. He said he’s generated or saved (lolol) 3.1 million jobs. Well the data shows that under him no such thing has happened. He’s lost 4.3 million jobs.
Just full of lust for re-election Obowow is. Say anything and do anything for his old vision as a community organiser.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 25 at 2:23 p.m.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-25/geithner-doesn-t-expect-obama-to-ask-him-to-stay-if-he-wins-re-election.html
I’d run away too.
The_Seer on January 25 at 2:25 p.m.
greyhound2 lied: (again) “The Federal governments problem is that about 40 cents of each dollar spent is borrowed from China.”
Most of the U.S. debt is held by U.S. citizens and corporations. About 90% of it. China is a small and insignificant holder of U.S. debt. Quit spreading an easily refutable lie.
U.S. securities have been one of the hottest investment items during the great recession. Individuals, corporations and nations have been flocking to purchase U.S. debt. You know why? Because we always pay it back, with interest. When most of our debt is held domestically, as it is, it’s not really an issue. The reason we don’t hear this is because politicians like to treat us as children who can’t handle the truth instead of adults who can have facts explained to them.
jdspokanewa on January 25 at 2:38 p.m.
Well orphan, since we ARE cherry picking, it is a FACT that Obama has LOWERED gas prices substantially since he has been President and President-elect, FACT.
jdspokanewa on January 25 at 2:41 p.m.
Again Dazzeetrader11, you’re proving the point that the tax code is wrong but somehow you think liberals are upset because wage earning millionaires pay too much tax? No, it is that millionaires and billionaires do not pay enough, especially those who make their income as capital gains!
Diana on January 25 at 2:47 p.m.
Re insults, I’ll stop calling you teabaggers when Daisy stops calling President Obama “Obowow”.
Hey, baggers, if the shoe fits.
JBlim on January 25 at 3:04 p.m.
Slope say “Well, Obama is the one who has failed economically…”
The economy is recovering nicely, the stock market is way up. Failed? Are you kidding? The economy was a falling knife when Obama took over. You guys can only criticize Obama for not calling the plunge in unemployment accurately enough, or, having caused a big mess, criticized him for not cleaning it up fast enough. Come on. The Republicans under Bush showed us all what economic failure was all about. And before you say it, I’m not “blaming Bush.” Obama started with what he had and has done remarkably well.
drywitt99 on January 25 at 3:07 p.m.
You had me JBlim until you declined to “blame Bush.”
stitch on January 25 at 3:18 p.m.
GW ran out of the White House like a whupped puppy with tail between his legs..Laughed all the way to the bank, yellin back good luck suckers, you gotta lot of crap to deal with in my wake….
JBlim on January 25 at 3:26 p.m.
Obviously the economy Obama inherited was Bush’s fault. But taking that out of the equation for the sake of argument, Obama has performed well. That is, here’s a disaster economy, and an antagonistic Congress, see what you can do. He did awesome.
stitch on January 25 at 3:38 p.m.
JBlim: No argument here..
drywitt99 on January 25 at 3:44 p.m.
Imagine if Mitt had won in ‘08…..GM and Chrysler would be owned by guys speaking Mandarin….and Bain would have made tens-of-millions handling the transfers!!!!
drywitt99 on January 25 at 3:54 p.m.
2008 vs 2012
US losing 800,000 jobs per month vs ADDING 200,000 per month!
GM from oblivion to #1 in the world!
Bin Laden and Ghaddafi ALIVE spreading terror throughout the world….vs DEAD!!
ALL of this WITHOUT any Republican support in Congress!!
Just IMAGINE if the Republican-baggers had been just a little
PATRIOTIC!!!!
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 4:47 p.m.
stitch says:
“You are a very rude and uncaring person”
I may be rude but I am not uncaring. I grow food in my yard all summer for the local senior center and orphanage. My husband and I pick tree fruit from abandoned orchards and empty lots, filling the refrigerators for the food bank patrons. (not Spokane)
I buy fresh vegetables and citrus fruits for the YCWA shelter in the winter months. I take in stray animals and board them until I can find them homes. I volunteer to deliver meals on wheels. I’ve even been known to bring complete strangers into my home when they had no where to go after being beaten by a spouse or boyfriend.
I am also a Democrat and proud of it.
What have you done for your fellow man/woman lately, stitch.
Pigrobin on January 25 at 5:42 p.m.
“I am also a Democrat and proud of it.”
Oops!! There goes your credibility.
stitch on January 25 at 6:19 p.m.
BlondeSquawker: I applaud your efforts ..I only meant to defend because you chose to offend..Spent my entire working career meeting the emotional and physical needs of my clients..Currently retired, but still enjoy 2 days a week in an Assisted Living Environment..Can’t tell you how much enjoyment this has brought to all involved..So see, were not that much different,we both care about others..Take care friend..
BlondeSquawker on January 25 at 6:53 p.m.
That’s awesome, stitch. Have a good night. I’m sorry for offending you.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 25 at 7:17 p.m.
Sure……
stitch on January 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Dazz: You have this way of spoiling the moment..Ditto BlondeS..
misjustice on January 25 at 8:36 p.m.
From President Barack Hussein Obama’s speech last night:
“So it is with America. Each time I look at that flag, I’m reminded
that our destiny is stitched together like those fifty stars and those
thirteen stripes. No one built this country on their own. This
Nation is great because we built it together. This Nation is great
because we worked as a team. This Nation is great because we get each
other’s backs.”
stitch on January 25 at 8:52 p.m.
MSJ: Perfect way to conclude this..Sleep well..
misjustice on January 25 at 9:07 p.m.
@ Stitch, that was the part of the speech that really stayed with me…and it kinda makes me tear up…it is the crux of the issue, IMO…no matter how we may feel about each other, or how we may approach things politically, we ARE stitched together…
Sweet dreams!
; )
greenlibertarian on January 25 at 9:48 p.m.
Among the many half-truths, cockamamie ideas, and outright laughable fabrications on this ugly thread was the claim that it is somehow Obama’s fault that gasoline prices have increased so much since the start of his presidency.
There are quite plausible CAPITALIST ECONOMIC reasons for the surge in gas and oil prices since late in 2008.
In mid and late 2008, the entire world economy was in a DEEP recession, with more than a few folks wondering just how much worse it might get. One of the price components of oil is raw demand, which was way down back then because of vastly lowered economic activity. Another component of the price of oil involves speculation, and when economies are sputtering, there’s little speculative effect on the price of oil.
As the DEMAND for oil rose world-wide during 2009 and especially 2010 because the WORLD economy came out of recession, the PRICE for oil went up accordingly.
Any president does have some control over domestic production of oil, gas, etc, although 3 years is not much time to make much of a difference in actual production. Exploring yes, production takes longer.
We know domestic production of oil and gas is up significantly, particularly in the past 3 years or so, but going back about a decade as well. Obama deserves a small amount of credit for that. It really does little to affect the US consumer price for gasoline, however.
People on these boards continually make utterly bogus non-causative correlations like blaming Obama for the increase in the cost of bacon. That’s just plain stupid.
And really, people, reams of outrage and posts that amount to you say tomahto and I say tomayto?
Maybe the industry called it frac and fracing, but the BIG MONEY in the business, like Chesapeake Energy Corporation call it fracking, and without them putting GIGANTIC amounts of money into it, fracking would hardly exist, and just because someone knows what a kelly and a mousehole is doesn’t mean HE gets to define proper terms.
Please don’t feed the trolls.
nslopeofw on January 27 at 2:46 a.m.
These true facts remain:
http://www.mrconservative.com/2012/01/1019-the-obama-economic-record-scorecard/
Notice what things were when Obama took office. Then look at those same things today. The only things that have gone down are the values of peoples homes, and the US global competitiveness. Of course, because Bush has been in office these last 3 years, its still all his fault…..oh, wait………….never mind.
Sometimes it is OK to support someone to your fullest, just keep in mind that lying and covering up for someones bad job and mistakes is not OK.
You liberals that continue to deny that which is proven to you with links and data are no better than the 505 gang that continues to support and lie for Klubber Thompson. To ignore the truth and blindly scream la, la, la, la, while covering your ears and closing your eyes will not make the facts change.
greenlibertarian on January 27 at 3:26 a.m.
nslope, clearly you have no shame.
You belittle anyone who posts from some lefty site, don’t blame ya for that, and then you expect ANYONE to think some cockamamie pundit called Mr. Conservative is authoritative as to facts??? The data is sourced to the Republican Reelection Study Committee!
Laughable. Ridiculous.
No one I’ve seen here has blindly supported EVERYTHING Obama has done, CERTAINLY NOT ME. Yet you suggest such people exist and that they’re of the KKKlubber 505 supporters ilk.
That’s some sick logic. Idiotic hyperbole.
Pathetic.
nslopeofw on January 27 at 5:57 a.m.
No where near as pathetic as your hatred for those who dont believe as you do.
Talk about belittling? Read your last post. Or, is it because you are a “progressive”, so its OK for you to be a hypocrite?
You are normally smarter than this, dont become an ignoramus just because you think you are always right and i am always wrong.
nslopeofw on January 27 at 6:09 a.m.
Here is a link to an article in the daily KOS, and Uber-liberal online rag. Is it believable because its uber-lib? If it is, you can clearly see that Obama is very unpopular with the independents, which are the ones who really decided the elections, and is likely to be voted out next election. Do you buy into this site and its poll? Or is it just articles that agree with what you believe that are right, and all the rest are wrong? Chances are pretty high that you dont get your news from quite as diverse a group as i do. In showing you my news diversity, do i show you what you want, or do you just want to pick what sites i can go to and when, so as to align me with what you want me to buy into?
nslopeofw on January 27 at 6:40 a.m.
Here is the link:
http://dailykos.com/weeklypolling/2012/1/19
greenlibertarian on January 27 at 6:45 a.m.
One poll, is utterly meaningless. Man, you low information voters are slow.
If you don’t want to appear ignorant about polls, either follow Nate Silver at the NY Times, or use www.pollingreport.com and look around at ALL the polls, OVER TIME.
A snapshot is USELESS, means nothing.
nslopeofw on January 27 at 7:04 a.m.
More insults from the alleged tolerant party. I can show poll after poll after poll, but because they dont show what you want me to believe, the are just “snapshots”, where as your links are always just good data.
Your answer to my post is useless, and means nothing.
(sounds like i’m being negative, doesn’t it?)
If you dont want to appear ignorant, then you need to quit blindly following (in a Jim Jones like manner) the liberal propaganda machine that you erroneously believe to be honest.
I’ve seen you post things on here in the past which have led me to believe you are not a buffoon, yet your undying love for a president that has and will continue to ruin our country keeps me from putting you into the non-ignorant category, permanently.
I liked it better when i thought you were an educated, uber-liberal teacher. At least then i could understand why you think the rich need to continue to pay way more than their share of taxes in this country, while those that made poor financial decisions in their lives continue to get a free ride.
nslopeofw on January 27 at 7:06 a.m.
Another poll for you:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/01/26/poll-most-say-high-court-should-reject-health-insurance-mandate/?mod=WSJBlog&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wsj%2Fwashwire%2Ffeed+%28WSJ.com%3A+Washington+Wire%29
nslopeofw on January 27 at 7:08 a.m.
Another poll:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/72003.html
greenlibertarian on January 27 at 7:20 a.m.
You’re beyond learning anything, nslope.
You delusionally think I’m a teacher, and delusionally accuse me of posting stuff from liberal rags I never read let alone reference.
I send links from respected government databases, American Conservative Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Businessweek, and generally respected by both sides newspapers.
You can’t keep track who is who on here, yet you insult people anyway claiming they posted some pro-Obama crap.
You think the Christian Science Monitor is an “uuber liberal web-log.”
You think a link from Mr. Conservative.com contains valid, non-biased data.
You’re wrong, again.
You need to get a clue.
Good luck with that.
nslopeofw on January 27 at 10:26 p.m.
Dude, as usual your lack of any real data to back your rants results in no links, and insults. I mistook you for a teacher (mainly because of your rant about teaching our brats) and i said i was wrong and sorry. Then, i link to a vast number of polls from all walks of political life, and you claim they are all conservative. Do you really believe the daily KOS is conservative? Or is it just you lack of any data to refute what i say, so you resort to insults?
That is proof that you are a liberal. No data to back your opinions, so instead you hope insulting me will stop me from linking to all the data that proves my points.
Proof one is a fiscal conservative is ALL of the data from both sides of the fence proving what i am saying.
SO,
Me=links, and data to prove a point
you=insults and no data
BlondeSquawker on January 28 at 12:05 a.m.
Please shut up, slope. You’ve proven yourself here a rabid pitbull. Go away now, you fracing menace.
nslopeofw on January 28 at 12:52 a.m.
Now Blonde, Dont join the ranks of liberal attackers, that fight their battles using insults instead of facts and data. It doesnt make libs look very intelligent when they cant come up with any data to back their rants, so they think if they just attack the person providing the data, maybe they will go away and quit proving their points with fact.
A good case in point is the ridiculous attacks on a group of Americans that are exercising their rights as citizens of this great country to protest paying too much tax, all the while backing another group of citizens also using their rights to protest for demanding financial equality (communism). Its either you back that right, or you dont. You dont get to say its OK for the OWS gang to protest and demand to have taxpayers pay off the debts they ran up, all the while claiming the TEA party doesn’t have that right to protest paying high taxes to pay for said no-works debts. And, then when that doesnt work, calling the TEA party racists, hoping that will shut them up.
Do you see how that makes “progressives” look like they are jealous of success, and hateful of anyone who doesn’t think like they do?