AP POLL: How to pay for health overhaul? Tax the rich

Started by garbon, November 17, 2009, 04:24:37 PM

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Berkut

Quote from: Josephus on November 18, 2009, 01:34:21 PM
Quote from: citizen k on November 18, 2009, 12:34:04 PM
Quote from: Josephus on November 18, 2009, 12:27:59 PM
I think the poor should be given free vouchers at health clubs and organic food stores,

You don't need a voucher to live a healthy lifestyle.  :rolleyes:

We really need a sarcasm smiley. Honeslty....I was exaggerating about the health clubs and organic food stores. Sheesh. You guys need to lighten up a bit. I know it's tough with Obama being in power.

Your suggestion did not seem anymore fruity lefty liberal than any number of other suggestions made for how the government can fix all of societies problems if only we throw enough money at them. How was anyone to know?
"If you think this has a happy ending, then you haven't been paying attention."

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Josephus

From now on I will use this  ;) to indicate that I was being sarcasticl and not fruity lefty liberal for which I will use this:  :berkut:
Civis Romanus Sum<br /><br />"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." Jack Layton 1950-2011

Caliga

Quote from: Berkut on November 18, 2009, 12:23:03 PM
Where does this end though? We've been doing this for a rather long time, to the extent that the poor in the US don't pay taxes really at all anymore. In fact, most of them receive tax credits and actually get "refunds" on the taxes they do not pay to begin with. Should we do even more of this?

Of course, we did not do this in some effort to stimulate consumer spending - we did it because the poor needed the money.
I'm not saying it is generally a good policy, but from an economic standpoint we do not live in 'typical' times.

But maybe it is a good policy, I dunno.  Bread and circuses :)
0 Ed Anger Disapproval Points

garbon

Quote from: Josephus on November 18, 2009, 12:08:45 PM
Give the poor more tax breaks, and they'll be able to spend more, thus contributing more via sales taxes.

Hmm..that's odd. I don't remember asking for taxes to be raised on the poor.

Oh and what Berkut said later on.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

garbon

Quote from: Berkut on November 18, 2009, 12:26:19 PM
You can certainly send them more money though, in the rather bizarre hope that they will spend it, which will somehow increase tax revenues via sales tax!

That is an order of magnitude more ridiculously than Reagans trickle down economics.

I put my stimulus check into my savings account. I hate America! :(
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

garbon

Quote from: Sheilbh on November 18, 2009, 12:57:19 PM
I'm not so sure.  I spend more per week on fruit and veg than I do on anything else.  I think it's extortionate.

Yeah fruits are expensive. We tried to have more healthy breakfast choices at our weekly department meetings but with our small budget, we can really only afford less healthy things like bagels or donuts.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

garbon

Quote from: alfred russel on November 18, 2009, 12:35:42 PM
You don't need a gym membership to be healthy.

That's definitely true. I supposedly lost a good deal of weight walking around in European capitals the past two weeks.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

DGuller

Quote from: garbon on November 18, 2009, 04:01:15 PM
Quote from: alfred russel on November 18, 2009, 12:35:42 PM
You don't need a gym membership to be healthy.

That's definitely true. I supposedly lost a good deal of weight walking around in European capitals the past two weeks.
I think you took a wrong turn somewhere.

garbon

Quote from: DGuller on November 18, 2009, 04:03:38 PM
I think you took a wrong turn somewhere.

Oh I certainly did. I didn't even have a map while walking around London and Berlin. And in Madrid, I lost my map a few minutes after leaving the hotel.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

MadImmortalMan

Quote from: garbon on November 18, 2009, 03:58:05 PM
Quote from: Berkut on November 18, 2009, 12:26:19 PM
You can certainly send them more money though, in the rather bizarre hope that they will spend it, which will somehow increase tax revenues via sales tax!

That is an order of magnitude more ridiculously than Reagans trickle down economics.

I put my stimulus check into my savings account. I hate America! :(


I used mine to buy some shares of stock in a Spanish bank.  :P

USA!
"Stability is destabilizing." --Hyman Minsky

"Complacency can be a self-denying prophecy."
"We have nothing to fear but lack of fear itself." --Larry Summers

Josephus

NOTE WHAT FOLLOWS IS SARCASM. CAUTION. WARNING. ETC ETC.

And all the lazy poor people used their stimulus cheques to buy Big Macs.


NOTE WHAT I JUST WROTE WAS SARCASM.
Civis Romanus Sum<br /><br />"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." Jack Layton 1950-2011

DGuller

Quote from: Josephus on November 18, 2009, 05:57:03 PM
And all the lazy poor people used their stimulus cheques to buy Big Macs.
If they made the effort to go to McDonalds, and could afford the Big Macs, should they really be considered lazy or poor?

Josephus

Quote from: DGuller on November 18, 2009, 06:10:25 PM
Quote from: Josephus on November 18, 2009, 05:57:03 PM
And all the lazy poor people used their stimulus cheques to buy Big Macs.
If they made the effort to go to McDonalds, and could afford the Big Macs, should they really be considered lazy or poor?

Isn't there a McDonalds on every intersection in America? Thus it's not much of an effort. Even fat, poor people can walk a block. And they can only afford the Big Mac, thanks to their benevolent kind-hearted government that taxes the rich and gives them back nice stimulus cheques.

{do I need to put the sarcasm warning...or can we get beyond that now? :)]
Civis Romanus Sum<br /><br />"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." Jack Layton 1950-2011

Capetan Mihali

Quote from: Josephus on November 18, 2009, 06:12:55 PM
Quote from: DGuller on November 18, 2009, 06:10:25 PM
Quote from: Josephus on November 18, 2009, 05:57:03 PM
And all the lazy poor people used their stimulus cheques to buy Big Macs.
If they made the effort to go to McDonalds, and could afford the Big Macs, should they really be considered lazy or poor?

Isn't there a McDonalds on every intersection in America? Thus it's not much of an effort. Even fat, poor people can walk a block. And they can only afford the Big Mac, thanks to their benevolent kind-hearted government that taxes the rich and gives them back nice stimulus cheques.

{do I need to put the sarcasm warning...or can we get beyond that now? :)]

Big Macs are too damn expensive anyways.   <_<  What is it, $5+ for the meal?  That gets you 3 pieces of tasty chicken and 2 ribs at the Crown Fried Chicken.  At MickeyD's you have to go for the new non-Dollar menu Double Cheesburger for $1.19.
"The internet's completely over. [...] The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."
-- Prince, 2010. (R.I.P.)

Josephus

The Economist uses the Big Mac Index to determine whether a currency's currency is over or under valued.

http://www.economist.com/markets/bigmac/
Civis Romanus Sum<br /><br />"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." Jack Layton 1950-2011