Then reverse most of this;

SOTU: Federal Earmarks Have Exploded Under Bush And GOP-Led Congress»
Bush said: “The people’s trust in their Government is undermined by congressional earmarks — special interest projects that are often snuck in at the last minute, without discussion or debate.”

FACT — BUSH HAS ENGAGED IN HIS OWN EARMARKING: In 2007, Bush stuffed approximately 580 earmarks worth $15.6 billion into his appropriation request for military construction and veterans affairs. Bush’s earmarks included $24 million for the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program and “$8.9 million for the Points of Light foundation, a pet project started by his father, former President George H.W. Bush.” [Washington Examiner, 11/15/07]

FACT — BUSH HAS REPEATEDLY SIGNED PORK-LADEN BILLS INTO LAW: According to the Congressional Research Service, there were 997 earmarks in the Fiscal 2000 defense appropriation bill. By the Fiscal 2005 law that Bush signed into law, there were 2506 earmarks, “more than two and half times the number contained the Fiscal 2000 bill.” In the bill funding the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, the number of earmarks grew from 291 in 2000 to 3,014 in 2005. [Lilly, 1/28/08]

FACT — EARMARKS EXPLODED UNDER THE GOP-CONTROLLED CONGRESS: When Republicans took over Congress in 1994, there were 4,000 earmarks on appropriations bills. At the end of the 109th Congress in 2005, there were 15,000. [Washington Post, 1/25/06; The Gavel, 1/28/08]

FACT — CURRENT 110TH CONGRESS HAS CUT EARMARKS IN HALF: “As promised when they took control of Congress,” in 2007, “House Democratic leaders cut in half from last year the value of earmarks in the bill, as they did in the other 11 agency


http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/28/sotu-federal-earmarks-have-exploded-under-bush-and-gop-led-congress/

I do. I've needed to buy an air conditioner, a furnace, car, kids have birthday parties and Christmas, etc. Those things aren't in the budget. I cut back on other expenditures for awhile.

Tax cuts applied to all. The rich pay the most for equal benefit. if anything's unfair it's that they 're still paying too much. a cut for the rich will always yield more money because they're giving more anyway.

2% of a million is a whole lot more than 2% of $25k - or are your math skills as well honed as your graph comprehension skills?

Ok, but an A/C is a finite thing. You know the added benefit will be that you're cool if you buy a new A/C unit. Therefore, the added benefit is worth the sacrifices you will have to make.

Now, if you have no money, do you go to Vegas and blow $10k at the tables and figure you can just cut back if you lose it? No. That is what this package is. We don't know what it will do. Even those that wrote it say it has a margin of failure. Last time I checked, I can't run up credit cards to pay off debt. The only definite thing about this package is that it will put us further in debt.


To be honest though, those things you listed are what a savings account is for. I keep $5k in an account for just such an issue. That account has sat with that $5k for 6 years now. I never touch it unless I need to. When I do, I modify my budget in order to replace the funds.

Bush did not run on a platform claiming to cut pork from the government, now did he?

Also, stop trying to justify Obama's wrongs by comparing him to Bush. This isn't 2nd grade - two wrongs still don't make a right.

My guess would be that he believes that since rich hide from taxation most of their earnings, then we must tax the visible reminder a lot more in order to achieve an average taxation rate on their earnings within those that poor pay.

Chicken and an egg problem.

The major difference is that the rich don't just get to write off everything. Essentially, money has to be used or lost to write off taxes. Yeah, the rich write off a much larger portion of their taxes than the poor do, but if the rich really wrote off everything, They wouldn't be paying the unbalanced portion of the total taxes they do. In fact, the only ones that pay no tax are those on the bottom - yet, they still get all the benefits the rich do.

You ask questions, then when you recieve the answer you make excuses and contradict your self.
Very immature and counter productive.
How old are you? 12???

who has coffee??? it maybe the sleep talking but can anyone get us out of this????

You were just whining that the Republicans rejected the stimulus because of the pork and earmarks.
When you ask how Obama can cut the deficit, and I show you that it can be cut.
First by reversing the 1.6 trillion dollar tax cuts Bush gave to his rich friends, and
second by reversing the record setting earmarks and pork spending of the Republican congress. You make excuses and try to shuffle the facts under the guise of experience which you have none, and false innuendos of someones maturity, when you have none.
Intelligence would be to not contradict your self, and mature responsibility would be to not make so many flip-flopping excuses.

who???? me???? i just got here

Americans can Rose. Working together. Most support Obama and are working with him and supporting his efforts. But it will take time. One month is not suddenly going to reverse the damage it took Bush 8 years to create.

There are a few who resist Obama's efforts. Some out of spite,
some because of the rhetoric preached to them since they were children by a President who lied constantly under the false claims that supporting his actions was patriotism (brainwashed children).
And some just because the man is black.

On here sometimes they seem like a majority, but if you count them they number only 4 or 5. They are just very loud and their lack of knowledge is extremely profound. This doesn't seem to bother them though as they feel that posting more, and clanning together will hide the fact.

They are victims of;

The seven propaganda devices include:

Name calling -- giving something a bad label to make the audience reject it without examining the evidence;
Glittering generalities -- the opposite of name calling;
Card stacking -- the selective use of facts and half-truths;
Bandwagon -- appeals to the desire, common to most of us, to follow the crowd;
Plain folks -- an attempt to convince an audience that they, and their ideas, are "of the people";
Transfer -- carries over the authority, sanction and prestige of something we respect or dispute to something the speaker would want us to accept; and
Testimonials -- involving a respected (or disrespected) person endorsing or rejecting an idea or person.


As a result they use them regularly, probably without the knowledge of doing so, because that is all they have and the only way they know to debate.
They have learned it from their heros, Bush, Cheney, Hannity, O'Reiley, and Rush!
Facts mean nothing to them. Being loud is their only defense!

I see that a LOT on here. regardless of political affiliation

it has become the American way to validate your own beliefs by demonizing the beliefs of anyone who doesn't agree

I see that every single day on these political threads

The A/C is a necessity in my home. My child has allergies and asthma. It was an unexpected large expenditure in 100 degree weather. The next year the furnace died during freezing temperatures two weeks before Christmas. Santa has a house to visit. Child grows 5 inches. Child's birthday is coming soon. Oops, school tuition payment time for child. Single mom with house payments and home repairs here. That's my world. It's called a budget and cutting back in some areas to take care of it all.

Yep!!
And the Ron Paul supporters come out strong every time the dollar and economy dip a little.

We have a President who is trying hard to fulfill his campaign promises while pulling us all out of a crisis, and too many are fighting him for political reasons and spite.
Everything the man does is not going to be successful but at least he's trying and maintaining honesty and openness with Americans about what he's doing.
Those who wont even give him a chance are fighting us all and bringing more harm to America.
Everyone thinks they are financial geniuses!

Without giving Obama a chance.
How can they be called anything but pessimists, defeatist, and Anti-American?

No reason to hate a man simply because he is a true American.



"Trying" is not good enough for a president. He must know for certain exactly how and what to do. Obama makes a mistake after mistake.



Oh yeah, Fanta, wouldn't you be glad to designate those who do not agree as "the enemies of the state"?




Including you and Omaba, or you two are the only ones who openly admit they have no idea of what it is they are doing?

Which is it? Are you two financial geniuses or not?


?????

So, if you know what's right, and you refuse to give a chance to what is clearly wrong, then you are a pessimist, a defeatist, and even Anti-American?

I rest my case

But quiet,
Im an Independent.
Ive never voted for a Democrat for President until Kerry in 2004. Not because of their party affiliation but because of the men who happened to be running.

I even voted for Bush the first time.
However it didn't take me long, less time than most of the nation, to realize Bush was a liar and intent on war regardless of the lack of a legitimate reason.

Not long after I realized that the whole Republican Party was corrupt and their actions were collective and premeditated.

Two more points.
1.) I looked hard, as usual, at all the candidates running for President from all parties. I esp looked at Ron Paul. What I saw did not impress me.
People say he makes sense, but I dont see him make anything but questions that he never waits, nor intends on getting, an answer for.

He's a front man for something out of his knowledge base and his power. He's an instigator who's only reason for running as a Republican was to hurt the Republican Party. To divide their supporters, an unwittingly to those supporters, help elect the Dem candidate.

2) As every election the unaffiliated or Independent voter determined the outcome of the election. With the two parties evenly divided in support across America the elections would always result in a tie if not for us.
If Hillary had won the nomination for her party McCain would now be President. I would have voted for him as would a majority of Independents.
Most of us would never have voted for Hillary.

That said, Obama won with a clear majority, no recount necessary.
He is our President and I could never be more satisfied. As the polls show the majority in this country feel the same, and like me they support his efforts knowing that it will be a hard climb back from the mess Bush pushed us into.
We dont expect miracles, but we dont expect True Americans to fight against the positive.
For 8 years Ive heard their chit about those who dont support Bush are Un-American.
The way I see it now the true Un-Americans are those who condemn all efforts to save this country!
If they dont like it then they can kiss my ass!
They are spoiled sports and rotten losers.