Theft Knows No Discrimination

Who's minding the store? Uh, I plead the Fifth.

The longer you feed a pig, the bigger it gets. Time to take it to the market and start over.

On to top it off, Hamid Karzai is DEMANDING atleast 2 billion dollars per year after we pull out in 2014 and will probably get it.

This ridiculous waste of taxpayer's money won't stop no matter who gets in office, but at least with a Republican in office, it will slow way down.

Solyndra might have survived except the Chinese flooded the market with photo cells at less than cost, with their governments backing by the way. There were shenanigans, like the one that that guaranteed private investors got paid first. They just happened to donate to the democrats, but stuff like this has been going on forever it seems.

Comments that agree....but so curous about the comments that wouldn't agree.? How DO the people feel about having to not use their lights or heat, and cut down the grocery bill, (sometimes to pay the Prescription bill) and then see the parties given so lavishly? Really Really curious how that is defended

I'm sure they are. They don't want us to spend any of the money that they eventually want from us.

I would say true thoughts, but Brenda would toss me and delete them.

But Roy, would you defend, or agree with us?

Cause I can't in my wildest dreams imagine a GOOD defense. But would like someone to go ahead and give it a shot.

I'm sure that you were just as outraged over that trillion dollars spent in Iraq, or the money still being spent in Afghanistan. At this point, $2 billion a year would actually save us a ton of money and headache.

Now any waste is obviously undesirable, but just put it into perspective and spend your time being outraged at what is extremely outrageous. But maybe you just have a lot more outrage to go around than me.

I'm not sure what tax hikes you are refering to. Which of your taxes are now higher? Here are the taxes that have been raised under Obama:

1. The excise tax on high-value health-care insurance

2. The tax on tanning salons

3. The cigarette tax

So I guess if your a big tanner or smoker, you might have a beef.

Now what taxes has he cut?

For individuals:

1. Extended the Bush tax cuts.

2. Passed a payroll tax holiday.

3. Passed the Making Work Pay tax cut.

For small businesses:

1. A new small business health care tax credit

2. A new tax credit for hiring unemployed workers

3. Bonus depreciation tax incentives to support new investment

4. 75 percent exclusion of small business capital gains

5. Expansion of limits on small business expensing

6. Five-year carryback of net operating losses

7. Reduction of the built-in gains holding period for small businesses from 10 to 7 years to allow small business greater flexibility in their investments

8. Temporary small business estimated tax payment relief to allow small businesses to keep needed cash on hand

9. Zero capital gains taxes on key investments in small businesses

10. Raising the small business expensing to $500,000

11. An extension of 50 percent bonus depreciation

12. A new deduction for health care expenses for the self-employed

13. Tax relief and simplification for cell phone deductions

14. An increase in the deduction for entrepreneurs' start-up expenses

15. A five-year carryback of general business credits

16. Limitations on penalties for errors in tax reporting that disproportionately affect small business

So I'm not sure why you're complaining about your taxes this year on tax day, unless you have a bad accountant. Your personal taxes are probably lower than they were under the last president. And if you have a business, you're even better off.

I don't have the time to explain how the oil market works, but no president has much control over the prices of gas. I'm sure you were just as outraged when gas prices were over $4 a gallon under President Bush, which was of course something he didn't have much control over either.

Also, I'm sure you remember when Clinton and the democrats raised taxes in 1993. It sure seemed to help to fix the economy of the 90's and helped to balance the budget then. It's funny how that approach never works, even though it has before and how cutting taxes always works, even though it never has before.

So, it's OK for them to have extravagant parties..... but we are on a budget? That's really all I heard.

Here is how I think it should work.... If taxes are lowered and I can keep $50/week of MY money, then I am going to spend it on what I want. Whether it be a new pair of jeans, a nice dinner, or getting a perm, I know that MY money is being used to keep someone employed. You can see how this works if everybody does that. On the other hand, if the government gets that money, who knows what they will do with it. The audacity of an administration that demands more money from the rich, meanwhile is throwing lavish parties, is beyond belief!

As far as the $2 billion/year, we owe these people nothing! They harbored terrorist, they caused us to be there. I can understand giving them money if we are leasing a base but, if we are pulling out then they should get nada. If they don't want us back in their country, don't fly planes into buildings.

To try and justify giving money to a corrupt government (Karzai) is crazy. Especially when we have people in the U.S. sleeping in tents and losing their houses everyday.

YNS, go ahead and ignore the over 7 trillion in debt Obama and your democrats have wracked up in less than four years. Their solution to this out-of-control spending spree they've been on? To cut defense spending even more than they already have, making the military mission unsustainable, and to make the top income earners pay more taxes,which wouldn't even make a dent in the federal debt. Terrific solutions!

PLEASE......The GSA is but ISN'T part of any administration....it is divided up by regions and this is and isolated incident.This is not something you can place at this administrations door step,and both sides are saying that.I dont think either side wants to really get into this one that is why they are cooperating with each other.....you can always tell when both are guilty.The division head of that district was warned and he cared to ignore so let him pay the price.CONGRESS DOESNT WANT US TO FOCUS ON THERE PARTY'S.

KARZI......is crazy but we will do it just because we want to feel in control.There is a solution....blow his head off and leave and a leader will emerge.KT I know how you feel and they will give it to them before they give it to us,AND YES IT MAKES ME MAD.They owe us ...... I still want to know were is the oil payments from IRAQ THAT WAS SOPPOSED TO PAY FOR THERE WAR....THAT IS WHAT WE WERE TOLD.

The GSA parties are a disgrace and heads are rolling, as they should.

SW......5 trillion........and the military mission is being downsized which means we dont need the people that we increased to make the 2 surges we did.Those people were brought on board for that reason only.The plan was always to return to presurge levels.This info can be found in any reputable military publication.

TAXING the top earners will not make a dent ....true ....however they sure are not creating jobs.THAT in my book is called lack of national allegiance.I do not feel they should enjoy the tax loopholes and shelters they do because they can hire lawyers to do it and you and I cant.The republicans have just as much stake in the spending spree as the democrates,they just spent in the last administration didnt pay the bills and they are comming due now,that is if you want to look at it realistically.......SOLUTIONS.....COME TO AGREEMENTS ON HOW TO RAISE FUNDS AND HOW TO CUT SPENDING.......YOU NEED BOTH.....LATTER

SW-

To your point on debt racked up under Obama, please refer to bush tax cuts, worst recession since great depression, two unpaid wars, unpaid medicare prescription drug coverage. Which one of those was Obama's fault? Virtually nothing has been cut on defense spending in relation to their overall budget. We easily spend more on the military than the next 30 countries combined! Is this really necessary for a country in what you consider a debt crisis?

Factory jobs are already coming back. manufacturing jobs have been increasing for the first time in 10 years. In fact, they have been increasing for the last 3 years. There have been 2 million new jobs created in the last 3 years. The world was brought to it's financial knees, untold trillions of dollars in wealth lost. The world economy for the most part still sucks. And you expect miracles from one man? No, he isn't perfect, who is? Is there a massive amount of obstructionist politics going on? Without a doubt. Will the economy get better? Yes, maybe not as fast as some would like, but it will. There is a massive number of bank owned homes yet to hit the market. Until they are gone, real home building in numbers will not recover, and that has been the driver of our economy for a very long time. Don't forget this recession started in 2008 before the President took office. None of us here are old enough to remember the Great Depression, how it started. Glass-Steagall was enacted because of the financial shenanigans on Wall Street that caused the crash of 29. Graham-Rudman undid that. The Republican party undid that. They convinced everyone, oh big business would never take those kinds of risks again. We need to repeal Glass-Steagall because it would make us more competitive. Oh yea. The fat cats got fatter and everyone else ended up getting the shaft. Before Grahm-Rudman, there were no banks too big to fail. Who paid the bill for the bailouts? US. Whose feet do we lay this freaking mess at? I'll let you decide.

You want to talk theft, just look at what the banks did to everybody!

I never usually post on these comments, because the social pattern seems rather circular in nature. But one thing I'd like to point out is: If you think the latest GSA situation is a travisty, you should see the [can't put in a denominational figure because Stephen Hawking can't add this much] amount of money annually wasted by the DoD being required to use DLA. I can't drop dimes, so if you wanna know what DLA is, as Zook. Sub-par parts for twice the price, as compared to off-the-shelf competitors. It's monopolization and racketeering defined, and the tax payer bears the burden.

JOBS have been returning,factory's have been returning,the tax policy favors those who hire and return American jobs....that is the facts.There can be and attempt to deny that but that is the facts. I DONT know what you expected from the stimulous,it certainly was not designed to stop the recession in it's tracks and immediatly make us solvent and booming like nothing had or was happening.Nobody is trying to tax the rich out of existence fact ....they are paying the lowest taxes they have ever paid.....from what I hear it sounds like nobody wants to pay any taxes......NATIONS do not remain nations without them.

I understand conservative ideaology and it is ok to back that but to back something that in this case is not telling the entire truth I would think is not the way to go.THE president has made his mistakes and should take his hits for them,but a lot of things he did kept a lot of us middle class people from loosing it all.Government default could have cost you and I our retirement checks and social security,along with a lot of other people and those arn't welfare we earned them.Truthfully I dont trust the republicans to maintain those things if they feel they can find a way not to.That is my feeling.

I would like to see these folks sit down and heartfelt hammer out what needs to happen to pay our bills and maintain the houshold,just like you and I DO WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH.WE the american people are not stupid,when they get finish stand tall and say this is what we got you probally are not going to like it but there is something here for everybody, and then get on with it.

I will say this most social programs can be reined in by better administration,you dont kill food stamps you ensure those who are on it qualify and REMAIN qualified if not there gone and that is the same for all of them better administration.,Same for how official government business is conducted you do it with integrity or your gone no if ands or butts.Fraud waste and abuse extends to the executive level in all departments,they have gotten a pass and some midlevel nobody takes the fall.....the things I am talking about are across party lines nobody has a monoply on it.BUT to do it everyone has to take ownership for the faults and nobdy wants to do that.....anyhow my thoughts.....so attack i dont care......

Graham-Rudman was written by the Republicans, for the banks, and signed as part of a compromise. Darn facts. No President can repeal any law. He can only sign what crosses his desk.

What part of compromise didn't you read? He got something he wanted, the Republicans got what they wanted, and the rest of us got the shaft!

My mistake. Gramm--Leach--Bliley Act. All 3 sponsors Republicans. The full rundown on the act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm%E2%80%93Leach%E2%80%93Bliley_Act

WITH AND ALLEGIANCE THAT WILL NOT ALLOW ANY THOUGHT BUT THE PARTY LINE COMES FORTH.The only thing I care to comment on and that is professor Bell......IF fighting for black professors to have tenure at Harvard was racist I guess that equality as a whole is racist... I know he should have shut up and waited till they got around to it.Iv noticed that anyone who fights for civil rights is labed racist and antisemitic I guess unless you are blessed by the right that's the way it is.BETTER still dont you dare fight we will hand your rights out as we see fit.Like Rand Paul said we should vote on it........RIGHT

The secret service does not come under the justice dept,And nugent was way out on a limb .WHEN did it become american to threaten the presidents life subtley or otherwise?? OR JUST THIS PRESIDENT ??

I also make the assumption that the republican party has never done anything wrong.I say that because if you read the responses here that is what you get.

To keep the record straight he also bowed to EMPEROR HEROHITO OF JAPAN.

I WOULD not call a missile defense getting thrown under the bus...I know that doesnt count.

WAS NOT TALKING ABOUT CORPORATE TAX....PERSONAL TAX..... YOU WANT TO BRING UP CORPORATE.

ANYTIME there is a conversation the FILERBUSTER gets conviently left out....why???? USED MORE BY THIS CONGRESS THAN ALL THE REST COMBINED ......THAT SAYS A LOT BUT OF COURSE WE DONT TALK ABOUT THAT.

I put forth what I did to spark debate for solutions instead it is used AS A REASON TO RANT THE SAME OLD THINGS OVER AGAIN and to level new charges. DONT YOU GUYS GET TIRED OF THAT????? OR DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD?????

It is not all that hard to break down. Any person/firm/government that is in financial dire straits has two options: increase revenue or decrease expense. Preferably, we want to see minimal cost and revenues that do not cost undue burden to those paying it.

Decreasing expense, while it is a bit of no brainer is going to be difficult to execute. I wish it was not but that is life sometimes. those who stand to lose their jobs and pension have the law on their side. There are laws on the book that make a quick and dirty slashing of the expenses difficult. My only suggestion is that they start small in their cuts and let it pick up steam. If our national debt and overall financial health are ever to rebound, this will have to be done.

Yup It's true the Republicans are surrounding their wagons around the Idiot "Ted Nugent"

CHARLTON HESTON MAY HAVE BEEN YOUR PRESIDENT.....BUT HE WAS NOT THE PRESIDENT OF THE USA.I THINK THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.1 idiot with a baton is not a group, and if he was so intimadating why wasnt the police called to remove him??????

WELFARE PROS....WHAT PERCENTAGE OF WELFARE PEOPLE ARE CONSIDERED PROs ???? and to label all hispanics as on welfare that doesnt even need a comment.

DONT fool yourself lynchings have been and continue to be called for anytime a black harms a white in the south.I dont agree with this so called new black panther party.I question why do they bother you so much ???? Does the continuence of violenece by the aryan nations ,skinheads,and several other groups bother you the same ???? They are still operating in idaho and washington state to include incidents openly in the streets of couer d lane and sandpoint .How come we ignore that??? IF you ck the record there have been more unprovoked deaths by white hate groups than there have by any black hate groups.With that said that doesnt exscuse any of them,So for me there all the same and none should be tolerated.we just had one killed a black man for the fun of it,and had been beating them just for the fun of it.I have a white friend in the cour d lane area was a social worker here for a lot of years, She says we dont hear half the garbage because idaho is so aware of it they dont want anymore black eye's from it so they sweep it under the rug whenever they can.I am sure a lot is her perception but how much is not, given the incidents in the last year alone.

We keep binging up the occupy movement and incidents 95 % of the people arrested for those incidents were not part of the occupy movement,how come you never mention the truth on that ????

Bohener charges are so much garbage.WHEN THE PRESIDENT CAN SAY I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU WANT MR SPEAKER AND THEN THE NEXT DAY THE SPEAKER CHANGES HIS POSITION AND SAYS THE PRESIDENT WONT WORK WITH HIM......EXSCUSE ME WHY BOTHER????? How come you dont bring up that part of the equation.THIS president should not campaign....right....all the others did and it was ok.....but if he does it it is wrong.You should listen to yourselves.....

I by no means think this PRESIDENT is right in all things by the same token he is not wrong in all things either.....there lys the difference between sense and nonsense.

The GSA convention was a sham but it represents a bit of an outlier. If I was in Obama's ear, I would be having him cut every depts. budget by 2 to 3% by the end of 2013 and decrease subsidies to oil and agriculture by 2% every year for the next five.

It's like an addict. You have to wean them off slowly. The American public has a bit of an addiction to this perceived safety net of government spending. Our beloved Mountain Home would shrink if not for federal spending (the base). Imagine the resistance if there was serious talk of closing it.

TWIL.....I like your ideas on the cuts and they are workable without devastation and that is the key.wHEN I BROUGHT UP AGRICULTURAL subsidies right here in mtn home as examples and told them were to go to find who is getting them everyone dummied up on it.Those items need to cease now,there is no reason for them.

If THE RESISTANCE TO THE SAUDIES REACH TO HIGH A LEVEL WE WILL SHOT OURSELVES IN THE HEAD.There seems to be those who want to classifie all Arabs THE SAME.The fact that the saudies have been our allies through so much turmoil at there own risk falls on deaf ears.The base has become a training hub for the f-15....that is becoming there mission better that mission than no mission.No mission does mean up for closure and there are some who want that too.

Thanks for the suggestions.......MAYBE SOMONE IS LISTENING......CONSTRUCTIVELY.........LATTER

THAT is a good cut if every and I mean every dept is cut,2 the first year and 2 every yr there after is 10% in 5 yrs and dont forget that is compounded. 15 % if your baseline is 3 &. Your exspectation is the same as it was for the stimulous.It cannot happen over night WITHOUT damaging the nation badly as a whole.

I sincerely wish that the cuts could be higher than 2 to 3 percent. However, just think about it for a second. If a large cut (10 to 15%) was proposed, what would happen? Those who stood to lose jobs and pension would fight and drag it out in court. The politicians who stood to lose voters and probably their careers would do their best to drag it out in court or find some clever legislative way to circumvent it. In my opinion, the only way to actually to get the ball rolling is to start small and let it grow with time. Starting small and letting the public see how effective it could be would help them not relapse.

However, one promising development is that of Nevada. Following the recession which sent unemployment rates up to 15 and 16%, the new governor undertook the controversial measure of downsizing the state government. The primary targets were those involved in education, fish and wildlife, and regulatory bodies like occupational safety. Sometimes, instead of cuts they would consolidate regional offices and sell the newly vacant buildings. It was not popular with those in Las Vegas. He withstood the heat and now the unemployment rate is on its way down and the deficit is nearly gone. It could serve as an example for the nation. If Nevada, one of the most constrained states in the union, can do it why not the U.S?

RON PAUL, at least he will deal with the blowback, bring all the troops home so we can get a grip on our own problems here at home. He is the only one that wants to let the states govern what happens in there state. HE wants less government, which I thought was something that the republicans have wanted for a long time, but the so called "patriot act" doesn't sound like less government to me. VOTE THEM ALL OUT, YES. VOTE NOBODY how is that going to help anything?

What entitlements are you talking about.....be specific.The overhead roll your own is not going to get it.

TWIL..... I HAVE WATCHED the formula in nevada and it seems as though it could work, Like you said slowly with thought and reason not just pet peeves,people for the most part will understand that as long as they see the fairness of it,and it's across the board.

ZOMBIE....you might want to ck out what is going on in michigan......doesnt sound like democracy to me,but ck for your self.

I am not a fan of Harry Reid but he was the lesser of the two evils. Sharon Angle, his opponent, would have set Nevada back twenty years with her sheltered view of the world. A halfway sane opponent could have defeated Reid with ease but that was not to be. As for Nevada, the credit lies not with Reid but the Governor and the state legislators that stood by the contraction. They could have easily borrowed and perpetrated more waste. However, they did not and the results are starting to show.

Nevada has constraints that no state other than Alaska holds a candle to. The driest state in the union by a resounding margin and home to the second smallest ag sector in the union. It also has the least educated workforce. There are very few recession proof industries here. The point is that if Nevada can do it, any state or nation can.

When I speak of cuts, I am referring to all expenditures which include entitlements.

TWILL my entitlment question wasnt directed at you. I knew you were talking about across the board cuts which is the way it should be.

SHARON ANGEL was not the way to go.

For me I HAVE FELT THAT MOST SAVINGS CAN BE REAPED BY INSURING THE RESOURCES ALLOTED ARE UTILIZED AND ADMINISTERED CORRECTLY.I really have a hard time with administraors who dont do there jobs.They seem to be more intrested in making the job easy rather than making it right.YOU and I pay for that and I dont like to.

Why should REID get credit for nevada recovery,that should be on local and state officials.

This thread assumes that information is complete, uniform, and perfect across all voters. No matter the age, income, mental state, race, economic status, or geographical boundaries.

If we were to vote everybody out, what is to say that the newest breed of politicians would not do the same? This assumes that everyone would know and that the information would be black and white. I say everyone because for a large number of incumbents to lose, a large percentage of the population would have to be on the same page. To be on the same page, the information would have to be nearly perfect. Information not opinion.

A politician now or later still has the same incentives. Those to be re-elected and to be liked. How do they achieve those goals? They give their supporters what they want. What do they want? Favorable laws, funding, and advantages. The consequences of this are front and center. How do we change this if the politician is always going to be this way. Start at the source. Americans need to stop demanding the services. If we did not demand the services, there would be less need for tax revenue. Also, if we did not demand the services, there would be less special interest groups and therefore less pork. Any suggestions on how we can make the American public less addicted to government?

...if we did not demand the services, there would be less need for tax revenue.

Pretty funny Tim. Even without all of the crap---they will still take our money and do something else with it. Government will NEVER truly cut their spending. They just send the money to some other half-baked "project."

MsM,

There is ample evidence that government spending has been on the rise since the time of FDR. The rate at which it has grown has been on the rise since Nixon. Why do you think that is? Do you think that society demands the safety net of government intervention more and more?

Now there is no way to quantify how much society demands it. We can derive implicit forms of it but those are always going to be flawed.

When Lehman Bros. fell and the latest recession started, I noticed a very clear trend. In the newspapers, on the radio, on the TV a theme ran through all of it. The theme was, "what is the government going to do?". This was across the political spectrum. Hmmmm... if we are not dependent on government then why such a uniform response such as this? Consumers were the actors in the mess. They made the bad decisions that manifested the other negatives in this. If anything, it should have been, "What are we going to do?"

Disregard the greeting in the last post, it was supposed to say Opinion Missy.