Band on the Run,
"I resisted white racists in the Deep South and I will resist the tea bag people."
So, you are calling me a racist? We have one agenda item, which is that the federal government has to balance the budget as soon as possible. Please enlighten us as to how that is a racist position.
worldtraveler,
"There is nothing wrong with wanting a balanced budget, but it is interesting that the Baggers dump on Obama with racist and bigoted comments"
Please provide proof. I help arrange tea party rallies in south Mississippi, I have never heard such comments, nor would I tolerate such comments. This is a copout from people who don't know what they are talking about.
"when it was Bush, Bush light, and Reagan (Clinton too) who brought down your economy with the policy of 'trickle down economics'".
Let's see, I was a young adult when the Carter depression started. President Reagan ended the Carter depression, and began one of the longest periods of economic expansion in US history. From 1982 to 1999, with a small eight month downturn in 1990-1991. Total growth in this period was 80.9%. There were 35 million jobs created during this period. "Ronald Reagan's record of fiscal responsibility continues to stand as the most successful economic policy of the 20th century" ( Peter Sperry, Heritage Foundation) .
The period from 2000 to 2007 was also a period of growth. GDP grew 25.75% over this period. The economic problems began at the end of 2007.
"Deregulation of the banks and stock markets also aided in financial destruction. What they did accomplish was proving that it does not work!".
Agreed. Both parties were to blame for this. The tea party had nothing to do with this as we were not around yet.
"Plus the fact that big business is withholding billions from the economy in a pathetic attempt to destroy the Obama presidency".
Please provide proof of this statement. You are correct that businesses are not investing about one trillion dollars in profits. This has to do with the current economic climate and the uncertainty in the direction that federal regulation will take, it has nothing to do with Obama per se, it has to do with his policies.
"For what puropse? To elect a right wing religious pawn".
Provide proof, please.
"Plus the Baggers will try to discredit teachers in any way possible".
Interesting. My wife is a teacher, she just completed her Ph. D. in adult education. A degree that I funded. Very expensive. I have worked as a teacher, at very low pay because I was helping people who graduated high school unable to read or write to learn to read and write. I worked many hours for no pay so that I could help these young people. Oh, they were black and I am white, so I guess I didn't get the "all tea partiers are racists" memo. Please provide evidence of how "tea baggers" are discrediting teachers in any way possible. I have attended many tea party rallies and have seen no efforts made to discredit teachers in any way, shape or form.
"Why? Because they are told that teachers and unions are evil. Just watch a Fox News ramble by Beck, et. al. What is so evil about education? What is so evil about thinking for yourself instead of having Fox Noise do the thinking for you? What is so evil about a $45,000 base salary? It always amuses me that it's someone filthy rich telling the working poor that YOU are overpaid. Outrageous!"
What does Fox news have to do with the tea party? We don't care what Fox News says or does. They have nothing to do with us. We have nothing to do with them. The filthy rich? So, you think that all people attending tea party rallies are "filthy rich"? Provide proof of this please. Teachers in Wisconsin don't make $45,000 a year, you are not including their taxpayer paid health and retirement benefits. I have NEVER had a job where someone else paid 100% of my retirement or health care. The tea party has no opinion on this. Our only agenda is that we want the federal deficit eliminated as soon as possible.
"It is agreed by all that the debt needs to be dealt with in the strongest term"
Really? And yet the Congess is currently wasting time arguing over cutting the federal budget by a few billion dollars. The deficit is 1.65 TRILLION dollars. They are not even trying to address this issue.
"but why does GE and its trillionaire colleagues need the US to be its tax free haven? GE got a tax rebate after paying no taxes at all! Why do the baggers avoid that debate?"
Proof please. We are not a debating society, we want a balanced federal budget. If taxing GE properly is part of the plan to balance the budget then we support it. Why are you blaming us for this? It is the elected politicians that created that mess. We want this kind of thing fixed. I don't have the facts on GE. But, if they are not paying a fair share of taxes and they have profits, then something is wrong and the tea party does not support that because we want a balanced budget.
"And one other item of interest. Why does big business insist that it's good for the economy to have everyone (except themselves of course!) work for near minimum wage while the 400 richest people in the US continue to reap the rewards? The wealth of the fortune 400 folks is more that all of you make in your lifetime combined".
Median household income in the United States is $50,000 (more or less). Minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour, some states made it a bit higher. A two wage earner household, both people working at minimum wage is $14.50 per hour or $29,000 per year. Median household income is $50,000 per year. Our wages are down for several reasons. 1) Illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants take jobs at much lower rates that Americans could have had. This depresses the rates for everyone. 2) H-1 Visas. H-1 visas allow somewhere 100,000 foreigners to come to America and take American jobs. The presence of these lower paid people depresses the wages for Americans. I know, because I am in the computer consulting industry and I have watched this happen. 3) Trade laws which are unfair to the United States. We have some of the most unfair trade laws of any country in the first or second world. Our trading partners can sell almost anything they want to us, we can sell very little to them. China is a prime example of this. Look up the trade law that Clinton got signed into law for the Chinese and see how unfair it is. 4) Factories moved offshore because of ridiculous laws and conditions in the United States. Where a company locates a factory is dependent on a few things. One, the standard of living in the country, a country with a very low standard of living and very poor infrastructure will make the cost of pretty much everything the factory has to do be higher than it should be. Two, government regulations, and the dependency that government regulations will stay fair and won't become oppressive. Government regulations in the United States are so burdensome, so unpredictable, and so capricious, that many companies have decided that it is bettter to move their factory off shore than to deal with the business risk of staying in the United States. Three, tax policy. Our tax laws are insane. They punish companies for staying in the United States and benefit companies for leaving the United States.
So, in your opinion if one person earns wealth, they are taking money away from someone else? So, when Steve Jobs created the Apple company and the Apple company makes and sells products that earn it a profit and Steve Jobs receives income from this profit that is somehow making other people poor? You will have to explain that one to me, I don't get it.
"The good news here is that Americans have realized that debt is bad, really bad, and that they are starting to save instead of spend".
Really? The Democrats passed a federal budget which gives us a 1.8 Trillion dollar deficit. Can you write them a letter or call them up or something and let them know that debt is bad. I think they missed that message.
"Unfortunately that does not help the economy as America loses its resource based economy and gains a retail based economy with plenty of $9 an hour jobs. Let's see what $9 can buy. Not much. $9 can't even buy $8. Americans have a long way to go, and I see that the Canadian dollar has reached $1.03 + US. And some of you call us Socialists with Socialized health care. We can afford more as we spend less on health care."
I agree with this. Our ridiculous regulatory policies, monetary policies, and tax policies pushed our manufacturers offshore. I agree that our health care system is too expensive and too low of quality. There are many ways of fixing this. The Obama health care legislation does none of those things.
"Here is Canada our politicians are begging for our vote, but Canadians as a whole put the Debt as the #4 issue. Quite astonishing as the top 3 are unattainable as long as so much money is diverted to paying the interest on government loans. Governments should not be allowed to borrow. Plain and simple."
Please write a letter to people on the budget committees in the US Congress telling them this. They have saddled us with a 1.8 trillion dollar deficit this year, expected to be higher than this next year.
This is the only agenda that the tea party has. We want the federal budget balanced as soon as possible.
